The Nadder is not a true chalkstream. It has it's
source up in the hills beyond Tisbury and rises in
greensand not chalk. It's banks are steep, tree
lined and often up to 6' above normal water levels
and spates are common after heavy rain. More akin
to freestone rivers than a chalkstream. The river
changes nature as it moves into the chalk beds near
Burcombe it starts to pick up more alkaline water
from a number of springs and begins to look more
like a classic chalk stream. The Nadder will still
colour very quickly after rain and will remain
coloured for days after a heavy downpour. In my
experience however fish will come back onto the
feed more quickly here than on other local rivers.
Having passed Wilton, particularly once the Wylye has joined the Nadder it becomes very wide for a chalk stream and as it flows behind the industrial units of Churchfields in Salisbury it feels like a very different river to fish than the small stream encountered upstream of Tisbury. The Nadder officially ends where it joins the river Avon in Salisbury and our water then rushes off through the justifiably famous coarse fishing stretches around Fordingbridge and Ringwood before emptying into the English Channel at Christchurch.
Having passed Wilton, particularly once the Wylye has joined the Nadder it becomes very wide for a chalk stream and as it flows behind the industrial units of Churchfields in Salisbury it feels like a very different river to fish than the small stream encountered upstream of Tisbury. The Nadder officially ends where it joins the river Avon in Salisbury and our water then rushes off through the justifiably famous coarse fishing stretches around Fordingbridge and Ringwood before emptying into the English Channel at Christchurch.
The river to my mind has the widest range of
environments out of all the local rivers; from
ranunculus heavy wide gravel bedded stretches open
to the sun, right through to dark, tree covered
deep (and I mean really deep) pools.
Anecdotal evidence suggests good Salmon and Sea Trout runs up the Nadder to spawn and salmon are often returned by anglers plugging for Pike on the coarse fishing stretches of the river near Salisbury.
If I’m asked about why the Nadder captures my attention I wonder to myself, is it because its different to other local rivers? Is it because of its enormously varied fishing? Is it because it isn’t as famous and thus overfished as some of its more well known neighbors? Perhaps its all of these things? To be honest its all of these things and none of these things, its something I can’t quite put my finger on.
Fish it for a while yourself and you’ll know...
Anecdotal evidence suggests good Salmon and Sea Trout runs up the Nadder to spawn and salmon are often returned by anglers plugging for Pike on the coarse fishing stretches of the river near Salisbury.
If I’m asked about why the Nadder captures my attention I wonder to myself, is it because its different to other local rivers? Is it because of its enormously varied fishing? Is it because it isn’t as famous and thus overfished as some of its more well known neighbors? Perhaps its all of these things? To be honest its all of these things and none of these things, its something I can’t quite put my finger on.
Fish it for a while yourself and you’ll know...
