Ogston Reservoir

Ogston Reservoir sits around 4.5 miles east of Matlock, Derbyshire. It’s a proper big-water setting, stretching roughly 1.6 km and reaching about 800 m wide in places. Plenty of room, then, for a windy day and a long look at the water.

• 1 lake: Ogston Reservoir
• Fish: trout
• Tickets from: DCAC full membership — £370 per year
• Find it: Matlock · DE55 6FN

Based on how each lake is set up — not a ranking.

Ogston Reservoir sits around 4.5 miles east of Matlock, Derbyshire. It’s a proper big-water setting, stretching roughly 1.6 km and reaching about 800 m wide in places. Plenty of room, then, for a windy day and a long look at the water.

The reservoir is operated by Severn Trent Water, while angling rights are retained by Derbyshire County Angling Club. Ogston has been tied to DCAC since the club was founded in 1959 and remains its flagship water. That’s a decent bit of club history behind the place.

The main fishing described here is bank-based fly fishing. Rainbow trout, brown trout and triploid trout are the reported targets, so this is one for the fly rod rather than a casual float session. Big open water can be a proper challenge, but it also gives you space to search the margins, wind lanes and likely feeding water.

This is a drinking-water reservoir and an SSSI, so the rules matter. Anglers need the right DCAC permission and must stick to current club, Severn Trent Water, Environment Agency and SSSI requirements. No winging it and hoping for the best, basically.

Access is not unrestricted public fishing. DCAC membership or an authorised ticket is required, with full membership covering the club’s coarse and game waters. Day memberships are sold through Catch for selected waters, but an Ogston-specific day price and its exact ticket inclusions weren’t displayed on the checked current pages. Best bet? Confirm before travelling.

Getting there is fairly handy, with public North, West Bank and South car parks. Parking is reported as free, and toilets are associated with the North and West Bank car parks, though their availability should be checked. There are also public viewing areas and a bird hide, with the wider site noted for birdwatching and wildlife.

The fishing information is a little less plug-and-play than some venues. No current Ogston-specific opening hours or season dates were published, and no permission for night fishing was found. The Environment Agency lists the reservoir among Midlands waters subject to national coarse-fish close-season rules, so check the latest position with DCAC before packing the flask and heading out.

Good background reading. Most of it is a few years old, so treat it as a starting point and ask on the day.

Videos linked by the fishery

• Our read

  Checked Sept '26 — “Ogston Reservoir is DCAC’s flagship Derbyshire water, with a big 220-acre canvas for bank-based fly fishing. Rainbow, brown and triploid trout are the headline targets, with access controlled by club membership or an authorised ticket.”

This is our own summary of recurring public feedback and the venue details we checked, not a copied customer review or a promise you’ll catch. Feedback changes, so we keep it separate from the Tackle Index score.