Fishing Chew Valley Lake

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

The same 1,200-acre reservoir that sells a £36 bank trout permit also produced the British record pike, a 47lb 5oz (21.5kg) fish, according to Bristol Water Fisheries. Chew Valley Lake fishing is run by Bristol Water Fisheries from Woodford Lodge near Chew Stoke. It is a stocked rainbow and brown trout fly fishery from early March to the end of November, with lure and deadbait pike fishing on a limited number of pre-booked days.

Your day is shaped by the permit you buy and when you book it. This guide covers the 2026 permits and prices, boats, booking, bank marks, seasonal trout tactics, the pike ticket system and how Chew compares with Blagdon.

Chew Valley Lake at a Glance: Operator, Size and 2026 Season

Bank fishing at Chew runs for almost nine months of the year, from early March to the last day of November.


Operator	Bristol Water Fisheries, a trading name of South West Water Limited (Bristol Water)
Base	Woodford Lodge, Stoke Hill, Chew Stoke, Bristol BS40 8XH, 01275 332339 (contact page)
Size and depth	About 1,200 acres (4.9 km²), average depth about 14ft, maximum about 37ft
Opened	1956
2026 season	Season ticket holder day 3 March; bank and boats open 5 March; boats end 5 November; final bank day 30 November
Bank hours	One hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset
Lake records (operator)	Brown trout 22lb 7oz (10.2kg); rainbow trout 14lb 9oz (6.6kg)

Chew is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area for birds (Wikipedia), and the operator lists many areas as permit-only. Lower winter permit prices apply after 14 October, covered in the permits section below.

For other venues, see our guide to UK lakes and reservoirs and to fishing around Bristol. Dates change every season, so check with the fishery before you travel.

Chew Valley Bank Permits and Season Tickets: 2026 Prices

A full bank day at Chew cost £36 in 2026, and the same “all waters” permit also covers Blagdon and Barrow Tanks.

2026 bank day permit	Fish	Price
Full	8	£36
Full, concession	8	£34
Half day	4	£30
Junior	4	£18
Sporting / catch and release	2	£30
Sporting, concession	2	£28

The online portal adds a 50p admin fee. Sporting permits are barbless flies only. On a standard permit you can also release fish, as long as you do it before you have taken your limit.

Regular visitors should compare the 2026 season permits:

Full, 300 fish: £1,100
Lower-limit full, 200 fish: £975
Five-day (Monday to Friday), 225 fish: £890
Weekend, 125 fish: £470
Monthly, 50 fish: £210
Junior (under 18), 100 fish: £300

Season permit holders must submit a catch return after every visit. After 14 October, lower winter prices apply (listed on the operator’s pricing page) and all brown trout must be returned unharmed.

Beginners can book a Bristol Water tuition day at £85 for adults or £35 for juniors, with equipment and licences provided.

All of these are 2026 figures and will change for 2027. If you plan to release every fish, the £30 Sporting permit saves £6 on the full permit. Just make sure your flies are barbless.

Boat Fishing on Chew: What the Permit Includes

Most of Chew’s 1,200 acres are out of casting range from the bank. A boat permit opens up that water, and the price includes the engine and fuel.

2026 Chew boat permit (per person, with engine)	Fish	Price
Full	8	£62
Full, concession	8	£60
Sporting / catch and release	2	£55
Sporting, concession	2	£53
Half day	4	£42
Junior	4	£25

Each boat comes with an anchor, oars, a bailer and an engine with fuel, and boats are usually ready by about 8:30am (fisheries FAQs). Half-day and single-rod boats are booked by phone through Woodford Lodge the day before, subject to availability.

Chew boats run from 5 March to 5 November in 2026, and you can’t launch your own craft. Ask the lodge about safety briefings and conditions on the day.

Rutland Water and Grafham Water are two more large trout reservoirs with boat fishing.

Bank or boat? For the same 8-fish limit, the bank costs £36 and the boat £62. The extra £26 buys mobility and the open water beyond casting range.

How to Book and What You Need Before You Go

A Bristol Water permit on its own doesn’t make you legal. You also need a rod licence.

To book a day or season permit:

Register at bristolwater.clubmate.co.uk and set a password at your next login.
Choose Activities for a day permit, or Memberships for a season permit.
Pay online (50p admin fee).
For a single-rod or half-day boat, phone Woodford Lodge on 01275 332339 the day before.

England requires an Environment Agency rod licence for trout and freshwater fishing, private waters included (GOV.UK). Under-13s don’t need one, and 13 to 16-year-olds get a free junior licence. Check the current price on GOV.UK, because it changes each April, or see our fishing licence guide.

There’s no sign-in for bank trout fishing. Woodford Lodge is open 8am to 4pm daily in season, and its tackle shop sells more than 400 different flies. If you’re fishing the North Shore early or late, park at Picnic Area 2, because the main picnic area gates lock at sunset. Check with the fishery before you travel.

Where to Fish Chew Valley From the Bank

Chew averages only about 14ft deep. That makes the few places where deeper water comes close to the bank the first marks to learn. The operator’s lake guide names three areas.

Dam and outlet tower

The deepest water on the lake, and a logical first stop in bright or warm spells, when stillwater trout generally go deeper.

Walley Bank and the North Shore

Both put up to about 20ft of water within bank reach, unusual on a lake this shallow. For the North Shore at first or last light, use the Picnic Area 2 car park (see the booking section).

Herriots End

The water shallows towards Herriots End, where the Upper River Chew flows in. On most stillwaters, shallow water warms first in spring, so shallows like this are often worth a look early in the season.

Beyond those marks, standard watercraft applies: fish the bank the wind is blowing into, use a floating line over shallows and a slow sinker over depth, and move if nothing shows.

Many areas are permit-only, so follow the signs and the lodge map, and expect steep, muddy banks (see the safety section).

Best for: Walley Bank when you need depth from the bank in bright or warm weather. Skip if: it’s bright and flat calm at midday, when shallow margins like Herriots End are usually the poorest bet.

Chew Trout Tactics Through the Season

After the spring buzzer hatches, much of what Chew’s trout eat never hatches at all. That changes how you should fish as the season moves on.

Period	What the fish feed on	Approach
Early season (March to April)	Buzzers, with hatches that can be prolific	Buzzers and emergers on a floating line
Late spring to summer (May to August)	Buzzers plus non-hatching food	Imitations of corixa, snails, hoglice and shrimp; dries and emergers when fish rise
Autumn (September to November)	Non-hatching food	Corixa, snail and shrimp imitations; dries if fish show

The feeding column comes from the operator’s lake guide; the approach column is general stillwater practice.

For the bank, Bristol Water recommends a 9 to 10ft rod, a WF6 to WF8 line and a leader of no less than 8lb (fisheries FAQs).

The rainbows are triploids reared by Bristol Water: hatched at Ubley, grown on at Blagdon, then moved at about 400g to net cages at Chew and reared to an average of about 1kg (2lb 3oz). The farm produces over 90 tonnes a year (fish farm page). No per-lake stocking schedule is published.

From 14 October, browns must go back unharmed, and bank fishing continues to 30 November. In warm weather, watch for blue-green algae at the edges (see the safety section).

The verdict: match the food the fish are on, not your favourite fly. Lodge staff fish the lakes, so ask in the shop what’s working before you start.

Pike Fishing at Chew Valley: The 41-Day Ticket System

The water that holds the British record pike sells its lure and deadbait days in about three days. Miss the January window and you wait a year.

According to the operator’s pike page, that 47lb 5oz record fish was caught by Lloyd Watson in February 2024.

Lure and deadbait fishing is limited to 41 days a year, on Chew only, and the operator lists these as winter dates. For 2026, e-tickets went on sale from 10 January through Ticketsource, first come first served, with full payment at booking (how to apply). Bank tickets are singles, maximum two per day, and swaps are allowed if you notify the fishery within 72 hours.

2026 prices (dates and prices), plus a Ticketsource booking fee:

Bank: £79 per angler
Boat: £200 per boat for two anglers
Guided day with John Horsey: £650

The 2026 predator season ticket cost £800, was limited to 50 and was sold from 3 to 9 January only. It includes eight fly-for-pike boats and two deadbait/lure boats.

Each date has strict access, fishing, cease and leave times with zero tolerance, and no staking swims. Full terms are shown at booking. Outside the bait days, fly fishing for pike is allowed during the trout season on Chew only.

On Windermere I always have an unhooking mat and long-nosed forceps ready before a deadbait goes out, and pike the size Chew can produce make that non-negotiable. If you want a bait day, be online the morning tickets go on sale.

Chew Valley or Blagdon: Which Bristol Water Lake to Fish

One bank permit covers both lakes, so the choice is about the fishing, not the paperwork. Here is how the two Bristol Water Fisheries lakes differ in 2026.

	Chew Valley	Blagdon
Bank day and season permits	All-waters permit	Same all-waters permit
2026 boats open	5 March	12 March
2026 boats end	5 November	31 October
Pike	41 lure/deadbait days, plus fly in trout season	Fly only, by special permit, 16 dates in May and October

Pike rules for Blagdon Lake fishing are strict. A standard boat costs £270 for two anglers, the wire trace must be at least 40lb and 10in, flies can weigh no more than 5g, and bait, spinning and trolling are banned.

Best for: Chew if you want boat fishing into November or lure and deadbait pike. Skip if: you only want a bank trout day, because the same all-waters permit lets you fish Blagdon or Barrow Tanks instead.

Comparing reservoir trout fisheries further afield? See Draycote Water and Hanningfield Reservoir.

Safety and Biosecurity on the Banks

Bristol Water says the water in its reservoirs rarely gets above 12°C, cold enough to cause cold water shock even in summer (reservoir safety).

Banks are steep and muddy, so take care on the margins and when wading.
Blue-green algae builds at the edges in warm weather and can make people and dogs ill. Keep dogs on leads and out of the water, and check Bristol Water Fisheries notices before you travel.
A lifejacket is sensible in a boat, whether or not one is required.
Check, Clean, Dry your tackle, waders and nets between waters, and leave any traps alone.

Cold water and slippery banks cause more trouble than the fish ever will. Rules, prices and dates change every season, so check with the fishery before you travel.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a licence to fish Chew Valley Lake?

Yes. You need an Environment Agency rod licence as well as a Bristol Water Fisheries permit. Juniors aged 13 to 16 get a free licence, and under-13s need none. See our fishing licence guide.

When does the Chew Valley fishing season start and end?

In 2026, bank and boat fishing opened on 5 March. Boats finished on 5 November, and the final bank day is 30 November. Dates change every year, so check the operator's pricing page.

Can you fish Blagdon on a Chew Valley ticket?

Yes, for bank fishing. All-waters day and season permits cover Chew, Blagdon and Barrow Tanks. Boats and Blagdon pike fly permits are separate. See the Chew Valley or Blagdon section above.

Is there coarse fishing at Chew Valley Lake?

Roach and perch live in the lake, but no official coarse ticket is advertised. Bristol Water Fisheries sells trout and pike fishing, so ask Woodford Lodge on 01275 332339 before planning a coarse trip.

How do you book pike fishing at Chew?

Lure and deadbait tickets go on sale in January through Ticketsource (from 10 January in 2026) and sell out within days. See the pike section above for prices and rules.