River Avon - Newbridge

Details

This stretch of river is as good as any in the south-west, if not the country with loads of bream, roach, hybrids and chub for the match and pleasure angler; as well as big pike for specimen anglers. The bream average 4 to 5 pounds and 100 lb catches are commonplace. Also, the numbers of good roach (1 lb plus) are impressive with quite a few 2 pounders being caught every season.

Competitions are fished regularly so members should check “Waters Closed” posters in local tackle shops or on this website.

Being close to Bristol and Bath, the whole stretch from Newbridge to Kelston is popular with boats and boaters of all shapes and sizes especially at weekends in the summer. Then float fishing can be difficult but ledgering with swimfeeder or straight lead can be equally productive.

Alternatively, early mornings and late evenings can be superb in the summer and it is a noted autumn and winter fishery.

WHICH PEGS/AREAS?

One angler who knows this part of the river as well as anyone is committee member and local legend, Mervyn ‘Topper’ Haskins and he gives detailed breakdown for members information:-

All the pegs in the field on the right hand bank upstream of Newbridge can be very, very good.
Peg 3 is about the best. Fish down the middle with a Topper float or waggler; and down the side with stick float or pole. In the warmer summer months hemp and caster are ther best baits and it’s always worth trying hemp or tares on the hook.
A great day’s roach fishing can be had using hemp only and this can be an inexpensive day out.
In the same field, pegs 11, 12 and 13 are also favourites. There’s a good depth here and you need to fish only a couple of rod lengths out for roach, chub, dace and bream. I’ve even seen carp here but never caught one (yet).

Peg 14, immediately downstream of the bridge produces well when there is extra water in the river.
Then the next few pegs – as far as peg 21 – are good summer hemp pegs. I fish the area down the middle of the river to start with; and at the same time feed the inside line with hemp and maggots or casters.
When feeding hemp put in only 3 or 4 maggots or casters with each pouch full.
My next favourite area is at the bottom of the straight from pegs 36 to 46, as these pegs always seem to hold a lot of fish.
A personal favourite is peg 39 as it is so consistant; roach in the summer, bream in summer and winter according to water conditions, as well as good hybrids when the river is coloured. Then if you want an excellent chance of BIG BREAM in large numbers then make for pegs 53 to 57. This is a well known out and out bream area and produces consistently. They have been in this area for many years and seem to like it as they stay and grow.
(In actual fact, the club netted Bowood Lake in around 1962, when Norman Moore was secretary, and transferred a couple of hundred bream to the Avon downstream of Newbridge. Until then there were very few between Newbridge and Saltford although there was a bream hole at Newton St. Loe – before the river was straightened – which produced some big fish).

Back to the present, and bream up to 9 lbs 2 ozs have been weighed in matches – that’s a big river bream – and double figure fish are supposedly caught by pleasure anglers.

DIRECTIONS: From Bristol, take A4 to Bath. Dual carriageway from Globe Inn to Bath outskirts. At end of dual carriageway take left fork – just before traffic lights. Go over bridge over river (this is Newbridge) and park in lay-by immediately after bridge on the right. Walk back over bridge on footpath and over the stile leading down to river. Fishing extends one field on right hand bank upstream and for approx. 2 miles on left hand bank downstream.