River Dove
Derby Railway Angling Club
A fishery on the River Dove. 4 beats available to book.
About Derby Railway Angling Club
Derby Railway Angling Club holds four sections of the River Dove, spread between Tutbury and Ellastone, and is one of very few clubs on this river still open to new members. On the Dove, most club waters carry a waiting list running into years. DRAC was founded in 1895, and membership runs annually from 16 June.
Fees are straightforward: Associate Trout & Coarse membership costs £95 (£75 concessionary), Associate Coarse £70 (£55 concessionary), plus a one-off £20 joining fee and £12 for a car park key. Night fishing at Tutbury and Scropton needs a separate £20 night permit. The coarse-only tier does not cover the Dove at Ellastone, so anglers wanting that water need the full Trout & Coarse membership. There are no day tickets on any DRAC water; fishing here means joining, applied for online at drac.org.uk.
The 4 sections cover a real spread of the river: barbel and chub water at Tutbury and Scropton, the best fly fishing at Eaton Dovedale, and a small, tightly booked stretch at Ellastone. Between them they hold Chub, Barbel, Perch, Brown Trout, Grayling, Pike, Rainbow Trout, on a club that, unusually for the Dove, still has room for new members.
Beats at Derby Railway Angling Club
4 beats availableEach beat has its own fishing details, pricing, and difficulty. Browse all beats on the River Dove or compare on the River Dove map .
Tutbury
Tutbury is 1.25 miles of single bank fishing on the Derbyshire bank of the , held by Derby Railway Angling Club. A weir sits roughly in the middle of the section and splits its character in two: below it, good pools and riffles give varied, faster fishing; above it, the water slows and deepens. This is as much a coarse water as a fly beat, and it's worth coming prepared for either. Tutbury has a strong reputation for specimen barbel and chub, with double-figure barbel and chub to 6lb not uncommon, alongside dace and perch. Trout and grayling are present too, and worth targeting particularly in the faster water below the weir. Parking is off Scropton Old Road at the downstream end of the section, limited to six cars, by courtesy of Nottingham Piscatorials; the fishing starts from the field upstream of the car park. A night permit is available for anglers fishing on into the dark for barbel. There are no day tickets here: fishing Tutbury means joining Derby Railway Angling Club.
Scropton
Scropton is a shorter section of the , around three-quarters of a mile, held by Derby Railway Angling Club, and it is mainly double bank, worth noting on a river where most club water is fished from one side only. A farm bridge by Riverside Farm serves both banks, so a day here can be fished from either side, or both, without doubling back to a car park. The species mix runs wide: double-figure barbel and chub to 6lb are the headline fish, with trout, grayling, dace, perch and pike also present. Parking sits about 100 yards from the river, roughly in the middle of the section, making either bank an easy walk. There are no day tickets at Scropton, or anywhere else on DRAC water. Fishing here means joining the club, either as an Associate Trout & Coarse member or, since Scropton is included in the coarse tier, as an Associate Coarse member.
Ellastone
Ellastone is the smallest of Derby Railway Angling Club's four sections on the : 500 yards of single bank fishing on the Staffordshire bank, upstream of the road bridge between Ashbourne and Rocester. It's also the most exclusive, restricted to two rods a day, booked in advance rather than turned up to on spec. That trade-off is the point of the place. In exchange for the small size and the booking system, Ellastone stays quiet, and the fishing is good: brown trout and grayling, with the occasional rainbow, across a lower section of steady glides and deeper pools and a faster, riffled top end. A small brook feeds in from the Mill Pool, and trout and grayling can be found holding in its deeper holes and eddies, though the Mill Pool itself is currently badly silted and in need of restoration. Ellastone is also excluded from DRAC's coarse-only membership tier, so fishing here needs the full Trout & Coarse membership, with the day itself booked ahead through info@drac.org.uk.
Eaton Dovedale
Eaton Dovedale runs 1.75 miles of single bank fishing on the , about a mile downstream of Rocester, and it is the best of Derby Railway Angling Club's four sections for fly fishing. Trout and grayling predominate here rather than sharing the water evenly with coarse species, as they do at Tutbury and Scropton, and the section has a good mayfly hatch in late May and early June worth planning a trip around. Chub and barbel are present too, in smaller numbers than further downstream, but the section still produces chub to 6lb and, occasionally, pike to 20lb for anyone fishing for them. Parking is on the river bank at the top of the section. As with the rest of DRAC's water, there are no day tickets here. Fishing Eaton Dovedale means joining the club, either as an Associate Trout & Coarse member or, since the coarse tier covers this section too, as an Associate Coarse member.
Day tickets and booking
Services & Amenities
Where to find Derby Railway Angling Club
The fishery's location.
Exact location is hidden at the owner's request. This fishery is on the River Dove.
River onlyContact
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 fishery before you book. Spotted something wrong? Email hello@fishingbeats.com and we will correct it.
FAQ
Derby Railway Angling Club FAQs
Common questions about Derby Railway Angling Club and its beats, answered in one place.
