River Trent – Wolseley Bridge, Staffordshire

The lowdown

• There’s proper variety packed into this roughly 1,000-metre stretch. Fast water, slower glides and deep holes all feature, so it’s not just one long run of the same sort of swim.
• The fast, shallow water gives one part of the stretch a livelier feel. That’s a useful contrast with the gentler sections when you’re weighing up which bit of river takes your fancy.
• Gentle glides offer the slower-flowing side of Wolseley Bridge. If the quick shallows aren’t what you’re after, there’s another sort of water here rather than more of the same.
• Deep holes add another dimension alongside those shallows and glides. No exact depths are given, but the mix makes depth worth paying attention to when choosing your swim.
• Trees and other features add character along the bank. Put those together with the changes in pace and depth and you’ve got a varied bit of Trent to get your head around.
• Chub and barbel are on the association’s list for this stretch, alongside roach, perch and dace. Grayling, trout and pike are named too — a proper mixed line-up, rather than a single-species venue.
• Fishing is on one bank only, though it isn’t identified as left or right. Members receive the full access and parking instructions, so those are the details to follow before heading down.
• Fancy staying into darkness? Night fishing is permitted without an extra charge. The bigger hurdle is membership: there are no day tickets, and the association currently says it isn’t accepting more members because of its lengthy waiting list.

Methods: Let the swim lead the approach: fast shallows, gentle glides and deep holes give you very different water to work with. There isn’t a named method recommendation for this stretch in the supplied details.

Access & tickets

Fishing access is through Wishing Well Anglers Association membership, but its membership page currently says no more members are being accepted because of a lengthy waiting list. The published full adult membership is £50, with no joining fee; access and parking instructions come with membership.

Fish the club names

chub, barbel, roach, perch, trout, pike

Key rules

• No day tickets are sold.
• Membership runs from 1 January to 31 December.
• Fishing covers a single bank only.
• Night fishing is permitted without an additional charge.
• Under-16s fish free when accompanied by an association member.
• Separate junior season tickets are not issued.

River level

Where it is