|
The
Fishing
The
map below shows the areas controlled by the Avon Angling Club.
Click on a letter for a description of each area.
|
(A)
Bristol Avon - Beanacre
|

Picture:
The top end of the Beanacre stretch where large Barbel can
be caught.
|
The
fishing at Beanacre can be accessed on the Chippenham road
(A350) from Melksham. Parking is on the right-hand side
of the road, the far-side of Beanacre. This stretch of the
Bristol Avon has around 20 pegs. Fishing at the first few
pegs can produce some large Barbel and lots of Chub, with
Roach and Dace spread throughout the whole length. Please
note we no longer have the fishing bellow the ditch.
|
(B)
Bristol Avon - Forest to Town Bridge
|

Picture:
The Scotland Road stretch, home to many Avon Bream.
|
This
area can be divided into three seperate parts, starting
at the upstream end with the Forest
stretch, then Portman Road, Scotland Road
and finally the downstream end at Melksham
Park.
Forest:
Access to this strecth of the river can be gained by crossing
the Scotland Road footbridge at the bottom of Scotland Road
or from the top end of the Portman Road stretch then crossing
Black Bridge and walking up stream. Our fishing ends at
the hatches.
Portman
Road:
Parking is by the garages next to the green at the end of
Portman Road. Fishing is from Scotland Road footbridge to
the fence line at the upstream end of the green. Some good
Roach fishing using seed baits can be had here for just
a short walk from the car.No driving or parking on the grass.
Scotland
Road:
This is a short part of the river opposite the Avon Rubber
Factory thats noted for its Bream fishing, best around the
middle of the stretch, and also for some sizeable Tench.
Access to this strecth of the river can be gained by crossing
the Scotland Road footbridge, then turning right and heading
downstream. At the end of this stretch is
a footbridge crossing a small brook that will take you into
Melksham Park. It is worth noting that in times of flood,
when the main river is unfishable, the brook can be well
worth a try.

Picture:
The River at Melksham Park.
Melksham
Park:
Fishing
is from the town bridge upstream to the canoe club. (no
fishing from the canoe club slipway)
Again, this is a short stretch of the river, with a weir
in the middle. Bream can be caught from above the weir and
pike directly below. The fishing ends here at the Town Bridge.
Parking for this stretch is available in the car park situated
between the Town Bridge and Melksham Park, which is accessed
from Bath Road. Please donot park by the canoe club building.

Picture:
The Weir at Melksham Park.
|
(C)
Bristol Avon - Town Bridge to Conigre
|
|
This
area can be divided into three parts, two relatively short
stretches - Sainsburys and The Bypass - and
a long stretch of river knnown as Conigre.

Picture:
The river Avon next to Sainsburys car park in Melksham
Sainsburys:
This stretch starts below the Town Bridge and follows a
footpath down to a wooden gate - about 10 pegs in total.
The entire strecth backs onto Sainsburys supermarket car
park at the bottom end of Bath Road. Some very good Roach
fishing can be had here in the later part of the season
when the weed growth has died back.

Picture:
Looking upstream from the by-pass bridge
The
Bypass:
This strecth is again only around 10 pegs long, but can
produce some of the best Roach fishing around Melksham.
Starting at the wooden gate at the end of the Sainsburys
stretch and ending about 6 pegs below the Bypass Bridge,
it is easily accessible from the A350 where you can park
on the bridge and walk down to the river on either side
of the road. This can be a good place to fish when the river
is carrying a little extra water. Please note that fishing
is from the footpath side.
Conigre:
This long and winding stretch of the river has plenty of
tree cover, is very narrow in places and normally has good
flow, even in the summer months. Access is from a gateway
on the A350, opposite Melksham Cemetary, just a few hundred
yards from the Bypass Bridge. Parking is on the grass verge
either side of the gateway. Plenty of Roach, Dace and Chub
can be found right throughout this stretch, with the odd
bigger fish such as Tench, Bream and a few large Barbel
in the early pegs. Most of the club's matches have been
fished here over the years as it has been found to be the
most consistent stretch of the river. It has been permanently
pegged for a number of years, the most productive of which
are Nos. 1, 9 and 25 (No. 13 for Barbel). No need to say
where the fishing ends here as nobody will walk that far!
|
(D)
Bristol Avon - Whaddon
|

Picture:
The river Avon at Whaddon
|
If you
like miles of river bank all to yourself, then this is the
place for you to fish. This stretch of the Bristol Avon
is very under-used by both Club Members and Day Ticket Visitors
alike. It's very likely that more than half our members
have never been here, but it's well worth a visit, especially
in the summer months. The few anglers in the know will catch
good nets of Roach in July and August, using hemp or casters.
The river here is slower and deeper than at Conigre, and
holds fewer of the small Bleak and Minnows that can be a
nuisance when fishing with maggots or casters. Bream can
be caught on the second large bend in the river (walking
downstream from the parking point) and some large Chub
can be had from swims with good tree cover.
To get
to the Whaddon stretch of the river, take the A350 (Semington
road) out of Melksham and turn right at the roundabout
on the far side of Semington onto the A361 towards Trowbridge.
Drive into the village of Hilperton and turn right opposite
the Lion and Fiddle public house. As the road turns sharply
to the left, turn right into Whaddon Lane and drive right
to the end You will cross the Kennet & Avon canal about
a mile along this lane and the Club's fishing is to the
right hand side only. At the end of the lane you will come
to a small T-junction and see a small industrial-type building
on the left, with pig-pens next to it. Please park opposite
this on the grass verge.
The
fishing starts right behind the pig-pens and, as with Conigre,
runs downstream further than you will want to walk. The
most popular swims for the Roach are the ones directly behind
the pig-pens, just a short walk from the car.
|
(E)
Kennet & Avon Canal - Semington to Hilperton
|

A . Kings Arms Hilperton, B Whaddon
Lane , C Semington Road

Picture:
The Semington end, just off the main road.
|
The
Kennet and Avon Canal is well known for the quality of its
fishing and this stretch has a fast growing reputation for
being one of the best the Avon Angling Club controls. This
is mainly due to the work carried out here over the last
few years, which has added extra depth to this part of the
canal. The Avon Angling Club controlled stretch starts at
the humped-back bridge on the A350 at Semington and runs
through to the bridge on Whaddon Lane. It can be accessed
from either bridge (see map). Fishing is from the
towpath side only.
From
September 2003 we have taken control of the K & A from
Whaddon Lane bride through to Hilperton Bridge next to the
Kings Arms. Approx another 1.5 miles of top quallity canal
fishing. This gives the club a continues run of about 200
pegs.
The
main target fish for anglers are the Skimmer Bream. They
can be found right throughout the stretch, though the fishing
at the Semington end is usually more productive. Apart from
the Bream, there are plenty of Roach, Perch, Tench and a
few good sized Carp. This stretch has also produced a few
big Eels in recent years. It is possible to catch small
Roach and Skimmers by the hundred on a good day!
*DANGER!*
Please do not fish near overhead power cables!

Picture:
The sun going down on the K & A at Whaddon
|
|
|