Dorset · Hampshire
Christchurch Angling Club
Membership: price on application. It controls 7 stretches of fishing.
About Christchurch Angling Club
Christchurch Angling Club controls a large spread of the lower Hampshire Avon, the Dorset Stour and the middle Frome, and it is one of the few clubs of its size in the south where membership is genuinely open. There is no waiting list and no proposer. You join online, your membership runs 365 days from that date, and salmon and sea trout fishing on the waters where the club holds migratory rights is included rather than sold as an extra.
The fly fishing that matters most here is on the Frome. Tincleton and Waddock Farm are prime middle-Frome chalk stream, strictly game fishing only from 1 April to 14 October with traditional tackle and methods, and between them they hold some of the best wild brown trout and grayling water on the river. Tincleton is 1000 metres of main river and 950 metres of carrier, bookable as a whole fishery for up to two rods a day. Waddock is 1500 metres of main river and 300 metres of the North Stream, where the Upper beat is bookable and the Lower beat and North Stream are left open so members can drop in without booking. From 15 October to 14 March both switch to specimen grayling, float fished only.
On the Avon and the Stour the club lists seven fisheries as game water. Winkton, on the lower Avon above the Royalty, is the salmon fishing, with sea trout through the summer and two large weir pools on the upper stretch. Ringwood, Ibsley Stream and Little Canford on the Stour all hold wild brown trout and grayling alongside a strong coarse head, and are open to fly fishing in season. Away from the rivers, White Sheet Trout Fishery near Wimborne is three stocked lakes, one of them catch and release, with a clubhouse, boats and fly casting tuition laid on for members each year. No dogs on any river section.
How fishing here works
Anyone can join. There is no waiting list, and membership is usually bought straight from the club.
A member can bring a guest fishing, usually capped at a set number of days a season.
A reciprocal arrangement with another club — members of each can fish the other's water on production of their own club card.
Membership and waiting list
Membership
Membership: price on application
Waiting list
No waiting list. Membership is open to everyone and runs for 365 days from the day you join, so it can be taken up at any point in the year. Full and junior memberships include salmon and sea trout fishing on every water where the club holds migratory rights, and a migratory-only membership is sold separately for anglers who want the salmon and sea trout fishing alone. Visitors can buy 7 day or 14 day holiday membership instead. Members may add guest tickets, though coarse guest tickets are not issued for Upper Winkton or Tincleton. Everything runs through Clubmate, and joining is done online or through local tackle shops.
Water Christchurch Angling Club controls
7 stretches
River Frome
Tincleton
Around 1000 metres of the main Frome and 950 metres of a smaller carrier, bookable as a whole fishery so the two rods who have it get the lot to themselves for the day. Do not be put off by the trees and bushes just downstream of the bridge on the main river. Walk a hundred yards or two past them and the banks are clear all the way to the bottom boundary. Wild brown trout and grayling are the main quarry and the fishing is strictly game only from 1 April to 14 October, traditional tackle and methods. Sea trout are known to be present along with the occasional salmon, though neither is often reported. The carrier is worth as much of your time as the main river. From 15 October the beat turns over to grayling, and this is classic long trotting water through the winter with fish over 3lb caught every year. Booking through the club app is not optional during the game season: no booking, no access.
River Frome
Waddock Farm
Fifteen hundred metres of single bank main river and 300 metres of the North Stream, a little way downstream of the club’s Tincleton water. This is prime middle Frome chalk stream and the club rates it as some of the best brown trout and grayling fishing on the whole river. From April to mid-October it is game fishing only, traditional tackle and methods, no exceptions. The fishery is split so that you can have it either way: the Upper beat is bookable and exclusive to up to two rods for the day, while the Lower beat and the North Stream are left open so a member can turn up without planning ahead. The carrier fishes quite differently from the main river and is the better option when the main channel is up. From 15 October to 14 March specimen grayling take over. Coarse methods are allowed then, but the club asks members to float fish for them rather than leger or use a swimfeeder, to keep the damage down on a wild stock.
Hampshire Avon
Upper Winkton
The upper half of the club’s Winkton fishery, and the water to head for if you are after an Avon salmon. Fish lie up through this stretch and can often be seen above the top weir throwing themselves clear. Sea trout run it too. There are two large weir pools, and the slower, deeper water between them stays fishable when the rest of the Avon valley is in flood, which makes it a useful stretch to know in a wet autumn. Access is good along well-maintained paths and there is a swim close enough to the car park to suit anglers who cannot walk far. Out of the game season it is a serious specimen coarse water, with barbel over 16lb, chub over 7lb, roach over 3lb and pike over 25lb in recent seasons. A light, roving approach pays off across the huge variety of swims.
Hampshire Avon
Lower Winkton
The downstream half of the Winkton fishery, running to the upper boundary of the Royalty. Apart from the section just below Winkton Weir it is very lightly fished, which on a river as well known as the lower Avon is worth something. It is a stretch to cover ground on and search out fish that rarely see an angler. Salmon and sea trout run through here on their way up, and wild brown trout and grayling are present. Grayling are plentiful and are the realistic target for most visits outside the migratory season. The character changes as you walk it: deeper holes towards the downstream end, weedier shallows further up. It also holds a large head of chub averaging 4lb with some a good deal bigger, and a small head of barbel with fish over 12lb reported.
Hampshire Avon
Ringwood Fishery
A middle Avon fishery between the Somerley Estate water and the Severals at Ringwood, and the most varied of the club’s river holdings. There are deep holes, fast shallow runs, bridge pools and side streams, and the fish move between them through the year depending on conditions. Brown trout, grayling, salmon and sea trout are all present and the club lists it as game water. The places worth concentrating on are where the main river splits and where the side streams come in, which is true whichever species you are after. It is a wandering fishery rather than a sit-down one. You never quite know what is in the next swim, and in winter the same spots give good sport to a trotted float for grayling, roach and dace alongside the barbel, chub and pike the stretch is better known for.
Hampshire Avon
Ibsley Stream
A very attractive side stream running about half a mile as an offshoot of the Hampshire Avon. It is shallow and weedy through the summer, and comes into its own when the cold weather arrives and the main river rises, because fish drop into it looking for shelter out of the heavy flow. It is worth being straight about what this water is at the moment. It was originally a trout stream and the club stocked it with brown trout for years, but without enough control over the flow levels that stocking has been suspended, and coarse angling is now allowed through the traditional coarse season. The club still lists it among its game fisheries. Dace, chub and roach dominate, with the occasional trout and grayling, and perch, pike and barbel free to move in from the main river. Anglers report excellent sport, and it remains one of the prettiest bits of water the club holds.
Dorset Stour
Little Canford
A lightly fished stretch of the Dorset Stour and one of the club’s listed game fisheries. It suits an agile, roving approach. Some of it is awkward to fish, but the rewards are worth the effort, and a path along the bank makes getting about easy. Brown trout, grayling and sea trout are present, and in summer the fish can be found and tempted out of the shallow gravel runs beneath the ranunculus even when the weed is heaviest. Through autumn and winter a lot more of the stretch opens up as the weed dies back. It is a beautiful piece of river with deep holes set among the shallow runs, giving a wide choice of water. It also holds a good head of chub averaging 3 to 5lb with specimens over 6lb reported, along with large barbel and specimen roach, perch and pike.
FishingBeats is an independent guide with no affiliation to the fisheries we list. Listings are editorial and unpaid, and are not supplied or approved by the fishery. See our listings policy. Listing details are compiled by FishingBeats and may change or contain mistakes. Some services, such as tuition, ghillies, or accommodation, may only apply to certain packages and not to standard day tickets. Always confirm pricing, fishing details, and what is included directly with the beat before you book. Spotted something wrong? Email hello@fishingbeats.com and we will correct it.
