Bank House Fly Fishery was opened in 1974 by local vet and his wife, David and Jan Dobson. They still manage the fishery today 33 years on, which I believe is a record for a British still water fishery. They have now been joined by their son Ben and together they also run Stocks Reservoir.

At 2½ acres Bank House is only a small water, but it has been carefully planned and designed with fly fishing and wildlife in mind. A total of twelve small islands are scattered over the water giving the fishery a network of slow swims and pools. The water flows evenly around the lake before exiting from one of three outlets. This means that there are few if any ‘dead’ areas where the water can warm in summer and become low in oxygen.

It also means that the trout movements around the fishery are widespread and determined only by the availability of food. The islands and the vegetation break the line of sight for the angler, so that even when the fishery is full with 16 fishermen it does not feel crowded and gives a feeling of privacy with plenty of space available for the roving fishermen.

Bank House is rich in both aquatic and terrestrial insect life. It has large populations of corixa, damsels, buzzer, shrimps and sedge. Also present in abundance are sticklebacks, which are readily eaten by the resident Kingfisher as well as the trout. Above the surface the fishery has been planted to encourage insect life and in the summer months there is a constant supply of tasty morsels falling from the overhanging trees. These include a variety of weevils, beetles, moths, spiders and many species of adult fly.

Although Bank House has been carefully designed it has had 3 decades to mature and has a very rich wildlife population. The Dobson family are passionate about natural history and try to manage the six acre site to maximize its potential as habitat. The islands and surrounding banks have been planted with a mixture of cover and food trees for birds and nest boxes are scattered all over. Some land has been planted into small woods and some set aside for scrub. The result is a compact oasis with many differing habitats that attract a wide variety of British wildlife. It is worth a visit on a spring morning just to listen to the dawn chorus. Bank House offers the imitative angler a chance to fish for naturally feeding trout in a beautiful setting and with big rainbows, blues, browns and tigers on the prowl you never know what you might catch.

The resident Sparrowhawk