LOCAL DAY TICKET WATERS - THE RIVER COLN AT FAIRFORD
Tickets available from: The Bull Hotel, Market Place, Fairford, Glos. Tel. (01285) 712217. The web site address is www.thebullhotelfairford.co.uk
How to get there: Fairford is located east of Cirencester on the A417. From the Cirencester direction, turn left into the market square. The turning is off the very narrow section of the main road in the centre of town. Car parking is available in the square, or further along the road near the church.
Cost: At September 2005 the cost for non-residents is £27 for trout and £20 for grayling. Half day trout tickets are available at £20 for non-residents.
Booking: Normally only necessary in the mayfly season. The Coln can have good hatches of mayfly and the water becomes very popular.
Rules: Catch and release only. No wading. Dry fly only in the trout season. The rule on wading is not rigorously applied. The landlady of the hotel accepts that some areas are not fishable without wading.
Nature of the water: The Coln is a limestone stream - what fishermen like to call “spring-fed”. The water levels are, therefore, relatively constant, respond slowly to rainfall and do not colour up unless the rainfall is very heavy. This means you can fish most days of the year. The water surface is normally just below ground level, so there is no scrambling down banks.
The fishery is a natural water and unstocked. The fish are fairly small (½ to ¾lb being a typical size) and fairly plentiful. Occasionally, large stocked fish from the Ernest Cook Trust water upstream escape, and a 4lb rainbow has been caught. The landlady likes rainbows to be removed.
Vegetation is cut back in certain areas to aid casting, but the banks are definitely not manicured. Expect to lose some flies.
The length of river available for fishing is about 1½ miles.
Equipment: Typical river fishing gear, such as 8ft to 9½ft rods with #4 to #5 floating lines, possibly #6 in a wind. Thigh waders are all that are required when fishing those areas only fishable from the water.
Flies: Typical chalk-stream flies are suitable, e.g. in the trout season Greenwell’s Glory, Tups Indispensable, Pheasant Tail Spinner, Terry’s Terror, Kite’s Imperial, or one of the multitude of mayfly patterns, if you are fortunate to be fishing when they are hatching. Parachute dry flies can be very effective. When fishing for grayling the usual suspects seem to work, such as Sawyer’s Killer Bug, gold headed Gold-ribbed Hare’s Ears, Red Spot Shrimps.
Other attractions: The food and beer in the hotel is good. Its worth taking a decent lunchtime break.
The church, largely built in the 15th Century by a local wool merchant, contains a huge amount of medieval stained glass, rare in England after the depredations of the Roundheads.
The Coln Gallery sells books and artists materials, for any budding Charles Jardines. It usually has a few fishing books.
The butcher sells a good selection of decent cheese.
Summary: The Bull Hotel water provides a good opportunity to fish a classic Cotswold stream that is normally difficult to get on, unless a member of an exclusive syndicate. Some of these charge £1500 annual subscription. Fishing is not easy, but a competent fisherman is unlikely to fail to catch under reasonable conditions.
Fishing in the depths of winter is difficult because of a lack of large deep fish holding pools. When the weather is warmer, however, the fly hatches are usually good and the fish free rising.