Fishing

Two mile stretch of the river Wear, 1 mile either side of the Abbey offering you prime Salmon, Sea trout, Brown trout and course fishing. Long streamy runs, glides and deep holes gives you perfect fly ,spinner and worm water for game fishing.

For the course fisherman, float, feeder and bomb, with maggot, caster and worm will tempt Barbell, Chub, Dace, Grayling Gudgeon and Eels

2008 Fishing Day tickets are available from the shop £7 a day (inc car park) £4 Junior or Season Tickets for £35 (car park not inc)

Further details please contact the farm 0191-3866528

Finchale Abbey Fishing Rules
1/ A valid " Environment Agency " licence must be produced before a day or season ticket will be issued
2/ No Day, season ticket , or licence to be transferred.
3/ Fishing will only take place on the "Abbey " bank approx one mile upstream and a mile down
4/ No more than one rod to be used at any one time
5/ No nets ( fyke), or traps to be used.
6/ All coarse fish to be returned
7/ Keepnets must be at lest 8 feet in length, not less than 15 inches in diameter, of knotless material.
8/ Fish to be retained in Keepnets no more than 5 hours, no trout to be kept in Keepnets
9/ Two fish in season may be kept, brown trout (10") all others to be returned.
10/ No fires
11/ No maggots to be used during close season; March 15th - June 15th, both dates inclusive .
12/ The Riparion owner has the right to terminate your day or season ticket without refund, if it is proven that you have broken any of the above rules, or any other "ENVIRONMENT AGENCY" rules

This Water has a working Bailiff

Method of Fishing

March 16th - June 15th
Fly, spinner or worm only

June 16th -March 15th
Any Legal Method

March 16th - June 15th
Ban on maggot

All dates inclusive

Closest tackle shop
Hetton Angling Centre, 37 John Street, Hetton-le-Hole, Tyne & Wear Tel Jimmy or Mel 0191 5265831

Fishing update 2007 Season

Now at the being of Autumn it is now time to look back at the seasons fishing. Spring started well with large numbers of small trout being caught on a variety of flies, Watson’s Fancy, Dunkeld, Grey Duster, Black Pennel and the Bibio were just an example of the flies taking fish. The river was down most of the spring and summer with Sea Trout entering the pools and runs but remained hard to catch.

The course anglers that visited our stretch, did well, landing decent catches of Barbel and Chub at the Chub peg but catches would have been better if the water levels had allowed.

The exciting draw to this stretch of the river is that it suits both most anglers, and most fishing methods. From the stick float, the bomb, the waggler, feeder and the spinner. One thing is for sure though the seasons and the weather are on the change, and beyond out control.

During the first week in October one of our residents landed a good 7lb salmon on the fly and lost several others. He also commented that whilst wading salmon were leaping past him with their backs clearing the water, proving that our migratory fish are still coming back but conditions are making them difficult to catch.

The number of Season Ticket holders this year was low however speaking to Bailiffs and other parties this was a common spread all over the county but we have a band of loyal fishermen who keep coming back.

As you all know the Finchale stretch of the river Wear is a beautiful little gem and as long as the weather permits and the water keeps running people will fish here.

Tight lines to you all and I look forward to seeing you all back in 2008 in greater numbers.

Baliff

Fishing update 2006 Season

Sorry for the delayed update and hello to all of you season ticket and day permit holders.

            We are now well into winter which gives us time to reflect on the season we have had here on our two mile stretch of the River Wear on the Finchale Abbey Estate. Spring brought us a large increase in sea trout numbers, again due to the water levels. Both the sea trout and the brownies took a variety of flies, the black pennel, grey duster, butchers and the faithful grey duster.

            The river towards the end of the spring and start of the summer became very low. The long bright days draw the fish into the dark caster runs and pools. This was where most fish were being caught especially just before dark on small meps.

            The river was down most of the season allowing the sea trout and the salmon to sneak through under the cover of darkness. The course angler did pretty well this season and  were awarded with good bags of Dace, Chub Barbell and the odd Greyling. Some Chub and Barbell up to 4 ½ to 5 lbs. The famous Barbell holds didn’t fish too well this season I think due to the lack of oxygen in the water. The biggest of the season was 4 ½lb but there are plenty of stories of bigger ones being lost.

            Plenty of Chub have been seen at the Chub pegs which is only a good sign for next season. Speaking to other bailiffs and land owners nearby our stretch has not fished too bad. A good sign though is we have more people fishing here now. It’s a stretch of river that suits everyones different fishing methods weather it be the stick float, waggler, feeder, spinner, or the bomb, they will all catch fish when the conditions are favourable.

            I would like just to point out also before I go that because we are becoming so popular now are season tickets will now be £35, a day permit will be £7 including £2.50 parking fees and juniors upto 15 will be £4 per day.

            So join us on the banks next season and you will be rewarded in kind with a good days fishing.  Look forward to seeing all your faces again.

Fishing update 2005 Season

To all our season ticket holders, and others, this will be our last update of the season. The summer months, especially July and August have been fishing poorly due to the dry weather conditions and low water levels.

The long bright days produced few fish, due to the low oxygen levels in the slow running water, night time fishing however resulted in more fish. A long overdue rise in the water level came in the water levels in mid August but dropped quickly after a couple of days giving a fresh run to migratory fish, most of which ran straight through upstream at night but with no takes.

Our keen course fishermen caught an abundance of small fish, landing a few decent Barbel and Chubb up to 3lbs in weight.

To those fisherman who were attracted from Blackburn, Blackpool, Scotland, Brighton, Liverpool and Doncaster most have promised to return next year, when I hope the river levels will be in better shape.

The Finchale Abbey 2 mile stretch of water is a little gem, running through it’s beautiful surroundings and I’m sure it will prove itself to be much better in future years, especially now that the migratory fish are returning and on the increase.

Tight lines to you all, and for further information contact us at Finchale abbey Caravan Park on (0191) 3866528 or E-mail: godricawatson@hotmail.com

Bailiff

Fishing update 2004 Season

We are well into winter and it is now time to reflect on what sort of season we have had on the River Wear on the Finchale Abbey Estate.

Spring saw an influx of sea trout into the river, numbers increased because of the absence of drift nets at the mouth of the river. Both sea trout and brown trout took a variety of flies, including snipe and purple, black penal and bibio and the ever faithful grey duster as well as Watson's fancy and dunkeld. But I must admit, the majority of the fish I took were on the spinner, a small meps just before dark did the damage on a number of occasions.

The river itself was up and down all season, beneficial to the salmon and sea trout running through at night. The security man Jack and myself spent many an hour watching them. Anglers fishing the worm for chub and barbel often hooked salmon, but failed to land them on light gear and straightened hooks. This was a daily occurrence.

As I said, the river was up and down. This meant there was often colour in the water, this helped the course angler and they were rewarded with good bags of dace, chub, gudgen and barbel as well as the odd grayling. I had bags of fish up to 15lb, but one day I had 7lb of gudgen, which was a lot of fish!

The famous Barbel hole didn't fish too well. The odd one or two on the feeder around the 2lb mark, biggest this season. The biggest this season was 4½lb and an unconfirmed report of one of 7½lb which I can believe because a lot of anglers have told me they were losing fish on 6lb line. The chub pegs are holding good fish, fish to 6lb have been spotted in the shallows but are easily spooked. Early and late being the best time for fish up to 1½lb to 2½lb, a lot of 2inch chub are in the river, a good sign for the future.

Speaking to other bailiffs and owners, our stretch has not fished too bad, more people are fishing here now, catching fish we didn't know were there, it's a river that suits everyone's favourite method weather it be stick float, waggler, feeder, bomb, fly or spinner, they all catch when conditions allow.

So join us on the bank next season or this winter if you're brave enough to withstand the cold, you could be rewarded with a good days fishing.

So I'll look forward to seeing you whenever.

Bailiff

Fresh sea trout caught in the cliff pool in the first hour of darkness

The following review was in the August 2002 edition of 'Improve your Coarse Fishing'

Scenic Fishing

The river Wear at Finchale Abbey, located beside a caravan site three miles from Durham City, offers some cracking, under-exploited fishing in picture postcard scenery. The stretch is made up of two main sections, both a mile long. The top section upstream from the abbey is broken water, and perfect for flyfishing. The bulk are brown trout, but dace and grayling can also be caught.

During summer months the dace are small but are there in numbers. Travel light with a stick float, trying the many small runs downstream to the Abbey. Downstream of the Abbey is where the serious coarse fishing begins, with fast shallow runs in summer, full of dace and chub and far bank glides alive with chub and barbell. Roach and perch have been caught, but they’re only in small numbers.

Fish caught last season included chub to 5lb, with a lot of fish around 2lb, barbel to 7lb , although they average around 2-3lb, plus dace to 1lb but mainly around 6-8oz.

A wide range of methods can be used including, stick float, waggler to the far bank and feeder or bomb, though legering can be tricky with meaty baits and you can have problems with eels in the summer.

The best bait is caster as maggot tempts too many trout. Maggot is worth a go, though, when dace are on the feed. Fish off the bottom and go easy with the loosefeed. Fishing worms in slacks will tempt the chub. Early and late in the day are the best times, indeed, what has been a motionless river all day comes alive. Don’t make the mistake of packing up early as it could cost you some good fishing.

The photograph below shows a sea trout caught July 2002.

Fishing 21/07/05
Jack Weir, holds an 18lb salmon (nothing gets past Jack) found exhausted in the pool above the chub pegs on the Estate water.

People don’t realise the stamp of fish holing up on the water, up to a dozen fish are lying in each pool, waiting for much needed injection of fresh water. Sadly, this could not be revived, but its place in the pool was soon taken up by another fish. Let’s hope the rains come before oxygen levels become too low.

Bailiff