Dever Springs

Dever Springs sits on The Street at Barton Stacey in Hampshire, between Andover and Winchester and about a minute off the A303. Two spring fed lakes, Willow and Spring, cover roughly six acres between them, and half a mile of the River Dever runs along the bottom of the site. The lakes are fed straight off the chalk and are usually clear enough to see the fish, so most of a day here is spent picking one out and casting to it rather than covering water blind. The banks are trimmed, with casting platforms and seats at intervals.

Big trout are the reason people know the name. A brown of 28 lb 1 oz was caught here in 1995 and held the British record for cultivated fish until that category was dropped in 2015. The lakes are stocked from the fishery’s own ponds, which you can walk round and look into, with rainbow, brown and blue trout from a standard 3 to 5 lb up to double figures. Fish from the lakes can be kept or returned, and anything you take home is prepared and boxed on ice before you leave. The river is a different thing entirely: wild brown trout and grayling, catch and release only, and it wants a quiet approach.

Dever Springs stopped selling day tickets when it reopened after a refurbishment in April 2025. It now runs as exclusive hire for private parties and groups, minimum ten guests, booked through Fishing Breaks. The price covers the fishing, an instructor, a rod licence and food, with tackle for anyone who needs it. The lodge looks out over the lakes and has a bar, an open fire, a dining room and a veranda. Open all year apart from August, and May and June are the months most people ask for, when the mayfly is up.