***MATCH POSTPONED UNTIL 12th April 2026***

After much consultation with Bristol Water Fisheries, we have made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s Wychwood Fly Fishing Championship.

The event, originally scheduled for Sunday 24th August 2025, will now take place on Sunday 12th April 2026, with an official practice day on Saturday 11th April 2026.

Luke Cox, Bristol Water’s Head of Fisheries & Recreations said:-

“ This decision was not taken lightly and is due to the current weather conditions and high water temperatures.  We are now into yet another hot spell and the likelihood of safe and sustainable catch-and-release fishing is becoming increasingly slim. As the Wychwood is primarily a catch-and-release competition, we are committed to maintaining that tradition and ensuring the welfare of the fish remains our top priority.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, especially for those who have made travel arrangements. We greatly appreciate your understanding and continued support, and we look forward to welcoming you in April 2026 for what we hope will be an excellent competition under better conditions.”

As you know, this Summer has been the hottest on record and fishing on most of our major reservoirs has seen water temperatures so high that it has affected both the trout and our fishing.  Catch and Release has already been suspended by Bristol Water for several weeks and the “National” has just been moved from Grafham to Rutland due to extremely low water levels.

This is the first time since the Pandemic that such decisions have been necessary, but we wanted to give our competitors sufficient notice to cancel and rearrange accommodation etc

April is now one of the best times in the trout fishing season, with buzzer hatches on Chew being phenomenal and fish actively gorging on the nymphs and adults.

There is no need to do anything as you have paid your Entry Fees and these will be carried forward.  If you have also paid your fishing fees, Bristol Water have agreed to keep these costs to 2025 levels (even though prices will inevitably increase for next season).

Once again, we are so sorry to have to postpone this Event, but weather conditions have sadly dictated the situation for us and we hope you will understand our decision.

John Horsey

Fly Fishing Championships Manager