River Trent – Great Haywood, Essex Bridge to above Hoo Mill Weir

The lowdown

• The club calls this water Trent at Great Haywood. At approximately two miles, it’s the longest of its three listed Trent sections — a sizeable stretch to get to know, rather than just one little corner of river.
• Essex Bridge marks the downstream end, with the fishing extending upstream. That’s the landmark to keep in mind when getting your bearings, though it isn’t a publicly confirmed parking entrance or instruction for getting onto the bank.
• The upstream boundary sits 500 yards above Hoo Mill Weir. So the named stretch carries on beyond the weir itself; don’t mistake that landmark for the end of the club’s fishing.
• Fancy a bit of trotting? The club describes its Trent sections collectively as classic stick-float water. That’s the clearest steer on approach here, without pretending every Great Haywood swim has the same depth or pace.
• For barbel, the club recommends stronger leger tackle. That gives you another approach alongside the float rod, but there’s no Great Haywood-specific breakdown of flows, depths or individual swims to turn into a peg-by-peg plan.
• The club’s Trent fish list includes chub, perch, barbel, roach and pike, plus dace, gudgeon, grayling, occasional bream and trout. That’s a shared list for its Trent sections, not a promise that every species is in each Great Haywood swim.
• Maps and access points come with joining. The club also advertises accessible car parking at all its venues, but doesn’t publicly pin down the Great Haywood entrance — get the joining details rather than faffing about looking for a gate.
• Sort river access with the club before heading out. No Great Haywood day-ticket offer or current river-membership price is published in the supplied details, and the shop’s canal-only membership isn’t a confirmed ticket for this stretch.
• We're not sure on ticket prices for this one — check with the club or local regulations before you leave.

Methods: Stick-float trotting is the club’s headline approach across its Trent sections. If barbel are the plan, its advice is to use stronger leger tackle.

Access & tickets

Use Bibby’s / Stone District Angling Club’s online contact form to ask about membership covering Great Haywood and the current price. Maps and access points are supplied on joining; the canal-only shop membership is not a verified river permit.

Fish the club names

chub, perch, barbel, roach, pike, bream, trout

Named by Bibby's Angling Club / Stone District Angling Club across its Trent day-ticket waters, not for this stretch on its own.

Key rules

• Keep within the stated stretch: upstream from Essex Bridge to 500 yards above Hoo Mill Weir.
• Confirm night-fishing permission with the club before planning an overnight session.
• Confirm stretch-specific tackle rules with the club before fishing.

River level

Where it is