There’s no doubt that Winchester is one of the all-time-classic urban fishing destinations – since we saw that rippling chalkstream along the city’s Roman walls, we’ve loved it ourselves, never mind eulogising it in Trout in Dirty Places – and the latest issue of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying tells the story of how Cumbrian Daniel Calderbank has been discovering it in his own time.
Daniel includes wry observations of several situations that other urban fly-fishers will recognise, including that lightbulb moment of fishing a #14 pink shrimp pattern somewhere downstream of a coarse angler’s lucky supply of maggots (yeah yeah, we’ve all found ourselves doing it at least once…)
The article also features a fairly detailed description of the Winchester area’s total 4.5 miles of ‘free fishing’ (with Environment Agency rod licence) on the River Itchen, thanks to knowledgeable local guide Keith Dipper.
Get your subscription to FF&FT by clicking here, or buy a copy of this issue from any good newsagent.
Update 12 July 2024: in a recent comment attached to the second photo below, Rupert Hill has provided this update from the Twyford Parish Council website which supersedes some of the details in FF&FT’s article. Anyone wishing to fish in and around Winchester is asked to take note of this information.
Hi. Re your 12th of July update. Where is this updated information to be found. It mentions the second photo but not which edition of the magazine it’s in. Thanks
Hi Dave, I’ve added the update and link in bold type at the end of the blog post above. Hope that helps?