Fly Fishing in Berkshire

Berkshire's fly fishing is built around two chalk streams: the River Kennet and its tributary, the River Lambourn. Between them they carry 13 beats currently listed on FishingBeats, and while that's a fraction of Hampshire's numbers, both rivers are serious chalk stream fishing in their own right, with wild brown trout and grayling and the clear water, weed and gravel character that defines the type.

The Kennet rises near Avebury in Wiltshire, close to Silbury Hill, and flows east through Marlborough, Hungerford and Newbury before joining the Thames at Reading. It's a longer and more varied river than its short distance from source to Newbury suggests, largely because of the carrier system dug over centuries by watercress growers and mill owners: side channels and leats that multiply the fishable water well beyond the main channel. Parts of the lower river run alongside, and sometimes into, the Kennet and Avon Canal, which adds a slower, deeper character in places, quite different from the classic fast gravel runs upstream. The Kennet runs clear for most of the season, which makes it a good river to sight-fish, spotting individual trout and grayling rather than fishing blind. Wild fish predominate, with some supplementary stocking on certain beats, and the mix of day-ticket and syndicate water means there's something for most budgets, though the best-known stretches are not cheap.

The Lambourn rises near the village of the same name on the edge of the Berkshire Downs and joins the Kennet at Newbury. It's one of the coldest and clearest of the southern chalk streams, spring-fed rather than fed by any significant surface catchment, which keeps water temperatures stable through the summer and gives it a strong wild brown trout population alongside naturally occurring grayling. Most of the river through the trout season is held as private syndicate water, so day-ticket fishing on the Lambourn is limited, and worth confirming directly with the fishery before you plan a trip around it. Where it opens up is in winter: grayling fishing on the Lambourn continues well after the trout season closes at the end of September, and the same clarity that makes it hard summer dry-fly water makes it excellent for spotting grayling holding over gravel in low, cold flows.

Both rivers fish best with the standard chalk stream approach: upstream dry fly and nymph, fine tippets, and a fair amount of watching before casting. The grannom hatch in April is worth timing a visit around on the Kennet, and mayfly follows through May into June on both rivers in most years. Because Berkshire doesn't have the sheer volume of beats that Hampshire does, it pays to book ahead, particularly for the Lambourn's limited day-ticket water and for any Kennet beat during the mayfly weeks. What Berkshire lacks in scale it makes up in quality: two proper chalk streams, both capable of very good fishing, within reach of London and the M4 corridor.