Fishing in North Somerset
There are several nearby fishing locations to Home Farm including the famous Blagdon Lake, Cheddar Reservoir and Chew Valley lake, plus fishing in the severn estuary.
Kings Sedgemoor Drain
The fishing extends from the junction of the Cary River and the 18ft Rhyne, about ¾s of a mile above Greylake Bridge on the main Taunton to Glastonbury road, to the A38 road bridge at Dunball. (About 8 miles).
Entrance to the banks of this water are only to be made at road bridges. No fishing allowed from Cradle Bridge upstream on Bridgwater bank to Greylake Bridge. See Rules, 8,31. Species; Bream, Tench, Rudd, Pike and Perch. Height Restrictions 1.6m at Sillver fish car park.
Huntspill River
Fishing rights on this water extend from the pumping station at Gold Corner to Sloway bridge, a distance of some 5 miles. It may be approached from any of the road bridges which cross it except at Gold Corner.
Elsewhere fishing is from either bank. See Rules, 8,31,45.
Species; Bream, Roach, Gudgeon, Ruffe, Perch and Carp.
Cheddar Reservoir
Constructed in the 1930s to make better use of the water from the springs in Cheddar Gorge, which had first been used as a source in 1922. The lake has a capacity of 6 million cubic meters (1,350 million gallons). Some of the water from the reservoir is pumped to Bristol for treatment at the Barrow Treatment works with the rest being treated at the Cheddar works to supply the surrounding area.
In 1947 it became the first supply reservoir in Britain used for sailing. Since then, other recreational activities have been developed like coarse fishing and wind-surfing.
Blagdon Lake
Are there many fly fishermen in the world who haven’t heard of Blagdon? The name stirs emotions for thousands of anglers as the home of still water trout fly fishing with catch records going back as far as the early 1900’s. Sitting at the foot of the Mendip Hills in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), Blagdon Lake covers 440 acres and is classified as a SSSI by Natural England for its’ wildflower meadows and bird populations. The long, narrow shape makes it ideal for both boat and bank fishing. There are deep basins and long banks to drift over, plenty of points and promontories for access to deeper areas as well as shallow, sheltered bays of quieter water. Most of the seven-mile perimeter has easy bank access but to explore the more remote areas a boat is the answer.
Chew Valley Lake
Chew Valley is well renowned for its scenic beauty and top quality fly fishing. The size and condition of the trout caught here is second to none and anglers find success using a wide variety of fishing methods and fly patterns making it a popular competition venue. Opened in 1956 Chew is a relatively shallow reservoir with an average depth of only 14ft at top level and a maximum depth of just 37ft. The area it covers, once rich farmland, is now fertile ground for the aquatic life necessary for sustaining quality trout fishing.
As the water starts to warm in early season Buzzer hatches can be prolific before giving way to a rich larder of non-hatching aquatic insects later in the season such as corixa, snail, hoglice and shrimp. With such a plethora natural feed it is easy to understand why fishing imitative dries, emergers and nymphs on floating lines proves so popular amongst our regulars. Chew has an excellent capacity for producing grown on fish and the lake records stand at 22lb 7oz for Brown Trout and 14lb 9oz for Rainbow Trout.