Upavon Farm

Upavon Farm sits right at the point where the two headwater streams of the Hampshire Avon converge, placing this 0.3-mile beat at the very top of the main river as it begins its chalk-filtered run southward across Salisbury Plain. To fish this stretch effectively, wading is required, the river here is intimate and heavily vegetated, demanding careful approach and precise presentation. One to two rods are accommodated, keeping the beat uncrowded.

This challenging chalk stream offers the keen fly fisher a superb opportunity to fish for quality wild brown trout from April through to early October. From October, the focus shifts to wild grayling as they become more dominant throughout the winter months. The season runs from 14 April to 30 December on a strict catch-and-release, fly-only basis. Dry fly only applies until 30 June; nymphing is permitted thereafter, making the beat particularly well suited to targeting grayling on deep-sunk patterns through autumn and winter. The trout season opens in time to catch early hatches of grannom and large dark olives, and consistently good fly hatches (especially mayfly (greendrake)) make the Avon a firm favourite for fly fishermen. Olives, duns, spinners, caenis, and sedges feature throughout the season; on tippets of 3 to 6 lb, klinkhammers and parachute-hackled dries in sizes 16-20 work well. For trout fishermen, the pick of the Avon beats are upstream of Salisbury, especially over Salisbury Plain where Frank Sawyer (inventor of the Pheasant Tail Nymph) lived and keepered all his life.

A rod between 7 ft and 8 ft 6 in (7 ft favoured) with a floating line rated #3/4/5 depending on wind conditions is recommended for the Upavon stretch. Day rod pricing runs from £74 in the grayling season to £111 to £137 in peak summer, with toilet facilities on site. Upavon also hosts two local inns, the Ship and the Antelope, both within two minutes' walk, making it straightforward to base a day's fishing around the village. This is expert-level water: the clarity, the wading, and the dry-fly-only restriction through June demand experience, but the reward is access to some of the most historically significant wild-trout fishing on the upper Avon.