River Thames — Sonning downstream to above St Patrick’s Stream (BADAC)
A cracking-looking 1¼ miles of Berkshire Thames run by Barnet and District Angling Club, with tree-lined banks and some properly deep margins. This is BADAC’s Sonning stretch, not RDAA’s separately listed Sonning River venue.
Run by Barnet and District Angling Club · checked 5 Oct 2026
River Thames
River Thames — Sonning downstream to above St Patrick’s Stream (BADAC)
The lowdown
- There’s 1¼ miles to get your teeth into, with the downstream boundary just upstream of St Patrick’s Stream. Keep that endpoint in mind when choosing a swim — it marks the end of the club’s water.
- The tree-lined banks give fish cover and create fish-holding areas. That’s a useful starting point when weighing up a peg: there’s more to this stretch than simply picking somewhere comfortable to put the chair.
- The first ten pegs have marginal swims around 14 feet deep. Proper depth close in, that. Don’t automatically overlook the edge in favour of fishing farther out; those margins deserve a bit of thought.
- Moving upstream, the depths ease back to roughly 6–9 feet. That gives you a different proposition from the deep early pegs, so choose your approach around the swim rather than treating the whole stretch alike.
- At the upstream boundary, depths vary around 8–12 feet. There’s a fair bit of depth variation along this water, making careful plumbing a sensible first job before settling on where to present a bait.
- The club names barbel, bream, chub, carp and pike, plus bleak, dace, gudgeon, perch and roach. Historical 2019/2020 reports included barbel exceeding 16 lb, bream exceeding 12 lb and chub to 8 lb — proper fish, but historical figures.
- Caster, hemp, maggot, meat, paste and pellet all feature among the club’s suggested baits. Summer boat traffic can be substantial, so bear that in mind when planning a session. The locked car park is at the St Patrick’s Stream end.
Methods: Plumb up carefully to make sense of those changing depths, especially the deep margins. For bait, the club suggests caster, hemp, maggot, meat, paste and pellet.
Access & tickets
2026/2027 adult membership
£98 plus a £30 joining fee: £128 for the first year.
£128 (as listed 5 Oct 2026 — check before you go)
2026/2027 junior membership
Under 18; no joining fee.
£35 (as listed 5 Oct 2026 — check before you go)
2026/2027 disabled membership
£75 plus a £30 joining fee.
£75 (as listed 5 Oct 2026 — check before you go)
Apply online through Clubmate, entering your personal details and uploading a membership photograph. A club key covering Sonning and Shepherds Way costs a separate one-off £18.
Fish the club names
barbel, bream, chub, carp, pike, perch, roach
Key rules
- Access is through Barnet and District Angling Club membership.
- The downstream fishing boundary is just upstream of St Patrick’s Stream.
- Confirm night-fishing permission with the club before planning an overnight session.
- Check the club’s detailed Thames-specific rules before fishing.
Coarse fishing on English rivers is closed from 15 March to 15 June inclusive. That's the law for coarse fish on rivers — it's not a club rule, and game-fishing seasons work differently.
GOV.UK — Freshwater rod fishing rules: when and where you can fishRiver level
Measured — Environment Agency
Shiplake Lock gauge
Nearest EA gauge we've matched — it isn't on this stretch, so levels on your peg will differ.
Loading latest reading…
We don't publish an "ideal level" — nobody can promise one. Flood water is dangerous: if it's up and coloured, stay well back from the edge. Open River Ready
Where it is
Pins mark the access postcode each club gives, not the bank itself. Exact boundary map: see rights holder.
Community reported
Recent angler updates
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How busy was it?
Nobody's said yet. It's part of the 20-second update below.
No live tracking — this is what anglers told us after their session, and it's never part of the venue score.
Water updates from anglers
No active water updates.