Adwell Estate Fishing

The lockdown has given me the opportunity to not only expand on my fly-tying techniques i.e. Catskill dries & sea trout flies, I also have been able to explore new fly-fishing venues, one of which was the Adwell Estate.

The Adwell Estate Fishery in Oxfordshire, consists of a series of seven connected lakes covering an area of seven acres of water in total.

On Monday (1st June) I had the opportunity to visit the Estate for the first time in the company of two friends. My first impression was that I have never fished a venue that was so manicured. As a keen gardener and the manager of a Fishery. I certainly appreciate the amount of effort that has gone into maintaining the grounds.

The lakes themselves are stocked with brown & rainbow trout, which are retained when caught. As expected given the amount of sun we have had there was some weed, but not excessively so. The water is quite shallow and very clear, this means that sight fishing for cruising fish is an excellent tactic, a great deal of fun and certainly a favourite of mine. Although, it is quite humbling when you are outwitted by a creature with a brain the size of a pea.

There is plenty of car parking space, plus a hut which has seating and a W.C.

I had a great morning at a very interesting venue, or more accurately a series of venues, as each lake displayed similar but differing properties.

The landscape certainly added to a feeling of relaxation and tranquillity. If you tie your own flies the clear water allows you to see first whether the fly is sitting/moving as you intended, then what that fish thinks of your efforts and perhaps (if necessary) gives you an idea of how to modifying the fly for another day. Bear in mind that you are casting to an individual fish, and that at any given time another fish may be after something totally different.

I will certainly be visiting again.

If you fancy giving Adwell a try, then I can thoroughly recommend a guided day with Andrew Coles of ‘3 Valleys Fly Fishing’ .

Andrew can also offer guided days on a Berkshire chalkstream as well as salmon & sea trout fishing in Cumbria.

“One thing becomes clearer as one gets older and one’s fishing experience increases, and that is the paramount importance of one’s fishing companions”.

John Ashley-Cooper

Regan Skinner