Coarse fishing:

For our coarse fisheries, Durleigh and Tucking Mill, please continue to book in advance by contacting the lodge. You are now able to place a booking up to seven days in advance.  

Game fishing:

You no longer need to book in advance at the game fisheries for bank angling. Rangers will continue to be available to assist with card payments between 8am and 9am - outside of these times you will need to come prepared with the correct payment and self service.

Boats must be booked in advance.

All bookings will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

Where it is required to place a booking, please call the relevant fishing lodge between 9-10am. You can now book up to seven days in advance. Outside of these times you can leave an answerphone message, but your booking will only be confirmed when you hear back from the ranger. If you do not hear from the ranger, you do not have a confirmed booking.

The numbers to call are as follows: 

• Clatworthy – 01984 624658  
• Durleigh – 01278 424786  
• Hawkridge – 01278 671840  
• Sutton Bingham / West Pond – 01935 872389
• Tucking Mill - 07795 305989 (Tony, local bailiff)

We are planning to introduce online booking of tickets in the coming weeks.

When you book online you will not be charged so please bring a debit/credit card with you when you visit. We encourage everyone to pay using a contactless card.

When paying by card you will need to be seen by a ranger so please arrive between 8am and 9am.

If you arrive outside of these times you will need to have the correct payment (cash or cheque). Any cash payments must be in a sealed envelope and no change will be given.

Season ticket holders do not need to book in advance if they are bank fishing. For boat fishing pre-booking is required by all anglers.

No, our prices have not changed.

The number of tickets and boats available each day are listed below: 

If you have a confirmed booking please arrive at the reservoir from 8am. Please do not arrive before this time.

Evening tickets will start from 3pm at the trout fisheries and anglers are asked to arrive between 2:30 and 3pm to check in wherever possible. 

Anglers will be allowed to continue fishing throughout the day until they have reached their bag limit or the advertised closing time, ie, 9pm during June and July.

Please leave all your equipment in your vehicle until you have checked in with the ranger and received your permit. This will ensure kit around the lodges and shared spaces is kept to a minimum.

When you arrive please follow any directional signage and remember to social distance at all times. 

The ranger will be available to take payment using a contactless card device during the advertised arrival times. Please avoid cash payments if possible, however, if there is no alternative these must be made in a sealed envelope and no change will be given.

You will still be asked to complete your ticket and catch return as normal and leave in the drop box. Pens / pencils will be provided which can be taken away to avoid sharing.

Please be patient and considerate as check in may take longer than normal.

Social distancing must be observed at the site; we have increased our cleaning arrangements and sanitiser stations will be available for use by anglers.

During the lockdown we have made significant improvements to the swims on the far bank as well as surrounding fencing and the accessible toilet. 

This work at Tucking Mill will:

• improve safety and the experience for anglers
• increase the number of usable swims
• enable us to work with small groups for tuition in the future. 

Unfortunately the lockdown has also seen an increase in anti- social behaviour at beauty spots across the country and Tucking Mill has been no exception. 

To help restrict unauthorised access we have placed a temporary security fence around the reservoir and this will remain in place at least until a longer-term solution or a reduction in incidents is achieved. 

The fence will be opened when bookings are made to ensure the site remains accessible to legitimate users.

Don’t forget that you must book in advance or you may not be able to access the swims on arrival. 

We thank our bailiff Tony for his work to support anglers, enabling access to the site each day and his stewardship of this beautiful fishery.  

Once you have checked in and received your ticket, you can fish from any permitted bank so long as social distancing is maintained. We recommend staying at least 15m apart from all other anglers. Please consider less mobile anglers and give them priority to use the closer/easier to access swims.

Please remember to stay in public areas only and do not enter any staff or office spaces.

To safeguard all anglers, no sharing of equipment such as nets is allowed. 

If you move to a swim that another angler has been using, please be aware it is not possible to disinfect swims or outside areas between use.

Please be considerate of other visitors and share the space. This includes walking along the paths and also where back-casting might affect walkers or other visitors.

• Please pack down and ensure all rubbish is removed from your swim and taken home with you. 
• Remember to finish your fishing on time and be prepared to leave the car park at the advertised closing time.
• Please leave your catch return in the marked place. Weigh stations will not be available so you will be asked to estimate the weights.
• Don’t forget to wash your hands, particularly before eating.

• Please ensure you have pre-booked your boat. 
• On arrival, please complete your tickets and ensure payment has been made as usual.
• Please unload your equipment once you have confirmed your allocated boat and do not leave equipment around the lodge. If there is a clear space at the top of the pontoon then you may leave equipment there as long as it is distanced from others.
• Please only use the boat allocated to you and do not change without speaking to the Ranger first – this is to help us ensure each boat is cleaned between users.
• Please use your own lifejacket if you have one available. We will continue to provide them to anyone unable to provide their own.
• Please be considerate of other boat users at pinch points such as the pontoons. You may have to wait until the previous boat is clear before embarking.
• Boats may be used by two people, however, if from separate household please:
  • do not share equipment
  • avoid touching the same surfaces as other users
  • avoid face to face contact – sit back to back wherever possible
  • use a face covering
  • do not shout or talk loudly
  • maintain all other good practice such as hand washing and use of sanitiser.
• When you return your boat please remove all equipment promptly and directly into your vehicle.
• Anti-bacterial sprays will be provided on the pontoon, please spray these onto the seats, oars, gunwales, engine controls and any other surfaces / equipment used. Leave this to soak and our team will then complete a full clean before the next user.
• If you use one of our lifejackets, there will be a separate return point for these. Anti-bacterial wipes will be provided and we ask you give the entire outside a thorough wipe before leaving it – disposing of the wipe in the bin provided.

In the coming weeks we hope to be able to offer socially distanced one-to-one tuition.

It is now possible for small, well managed competitions to take place where social distancing can be maintained.

Wessex Water will not be organising any competitions in 2020, but if you would like to stage at event at one of our fisheries please email fishing@wessexwater.co.uk

We will be extending our fishing season until mid December 2020. Detailed information including opening times will be released in early September. For further updates, please check our facebook page.