Day Tickets

Day tickets are available for the Yarrow Farm and County School beats and, starting in 2026, for the Goff’s beat, which is downstream of County School. Tickets are limited to one a day or two visitors fishing together. This means that you will not have to share the beat with another day ticket purchaser, although you may be joined at some stage by a member. The Committee reserves the right to restrict the number of tickets sold at its discretion. You can use the calendars below to check availability and make a booking. Tickets can only be booked and paid for in advance and online. The cost is £45 per angler per day for Yarrow Farm and County School and £25 per angler per day for Goff’s.

Please note that you cannot pay on the river bank. Our Day Ticket season opens on May 1st for County School and Yarrow Farm beats and April 1st for Goff’s. All beats close on October 29th, both days inclusive. Day tickets go on sale from January 1st.

” . . . what a beautiful stretch of river and the brown trout I caught was in sublime condition. Your river is far more tranquil, better kept, and more bountiful than the stretch of the Itchen I often fish!” NP, day ticket on 8 June 2021

Yarrow Farm and County School

The Yarrow Farm Beat has an interesting mix of water with deep pools and faster-flowing water with a gravel bottom. Wading is not essential although lengths of the Beat can be waded with care. There is a thriving wild trout population on this beat, but they are very wary and not easy to catch! The County School Beat is a mix of relatively slow-flowing and quite deep, straight stretches with some faster flowing shallow glides at the top and bottom of the beat where the wild trout are mostly to be found. Wading is not recommended except for the obviously shallow stretches. Historic cattle poaching has resulted in some bank erosion, but this is now being rehabilitated since the bank was fenced and it is mostly an easy walk.

When you book a ticket, you will receive an email with your ticket, a copy of the fishery rules, the code number for the padlock on the signing-in box and a map of the Fishery showing the two beats, car parking areas and the main access point. Day tickets cost £45 and allow you to take one stock fish only and catch and release as many as you wish.

Goff’s

Goff’s has an interesting mix of water with deep pools and faster-flowing water with a gravel bottom in the upper reaches and slower, deeper water towards the bottom of the beat. Wading is not advised in the deeper stretches, although the upper section is mostly good, easily wadeable trout water. Goff’s is a long beat and worth investigating throughout its length as the deeper sections are known to hold some very large trout and chub. Visitors should take care when walking along the bank as otter and bank vole excavation has created a number of trip hazards in one or two areas. If you want a day’s fishing with only kites and red deer for company, Goff’s is for you.

When you book a ticket, you will receive an email with your ticket, a copy of the fishery rules, the code number for the padlock on the signing-in box and a map of the Fishery showing the beat, car parking areas and the main access point. Day tickets cost £25 and allow you to take one stock fish only and catch and release as many as you wish.

Stock Fish
The club no longer tags introduced stock fish for identification and research purposes, so members and day ticket visitors, who may have looked for a tag in the past, are now asked to be particularly careful when trying to differentiate between wild and stocked trout.

The traditional signs of a farm-reared trout can be fin damage and slightly inferior condition to the indigenous trout, although these days it is increasingly difficult to tell the difference. Recently introduced fish also have a bronze/yellow colouration that often distinguishes them from the more silvery wild fish, but this is by now means foolproof as significant colour and spot variations have been recorded in both indigenous and introduced trout. Size is probably the most reliable factor,  and any trout under 12 inches can be safely considered a wild fish. If you are in any doubt at all please return the fish to the water as quickly and carefully as possible.

Recording your catch
The Committee is anxious that our catch return records are as accurate as possible. We ask that you make a judgment as to whether your trout is a wild or stocked fish and record your catch accordingly – also making a note of any other identifying factors. All wild fish should be measured before they are returned to the river. Their lengths should be recorded on the catch return card. Please complete a separate card for each beat that you fish. Please bring a tape measure with you so that you can measure the length of any wild fish caught or rig up an adjustable indicator similar to that shown below which you can measure later. Fishing is from dawn to dusk.

Recording catches per beat
Anglers fishing County School and Yarrow beats will need to indicate on their return cards which fish were caught on which beat as this information is increasingly important and helps inform our habitat improvement work.

On arrival at the Fishery please go to the relevant signing-in box and complete Part 1 of a catch return card for the beat or beats that you will be fishing. Part 2 of each card must be completed before leaving the Fishery.

Water craft
Although the beats are now mostly fenced, when walking downstream it is usually best to walk outside the fence, away from the river, to avoid scaring fish, particularly in the summer months when the water is often low and clear, enabling fish to see you from some distance. Similarly, care should be taken when fishing from high banks to avoid being silhouetted on the skyline, a sure way to scare them off! Our wild trout are not easy to catch, but if you move slowly and carefully the chances of seeing them before they see you increase significantly, and that is half the battle. Upstream dry fly and nymphing are the only methods allowed, with nymphs producing more fish throughout the season. However, a well presented dry fly will often elicit a rise from what looks like an empty stretch of water, particularly in the summer. 

Please note: The river Wensum is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and we are committed to protecting the local wildlife, which means we cannot allow day ticket holders to bring dogs onto the beats, so please, no dogs. Thank you.

How to find us
The fishery is located north of North Elmham and can be reached from East Dereham or the main A1067 Norwich to Fakenham road. You can download mobile phone-friendly travel directions here:  Day Ticket Travel Directions  These directions will tell you how to find the Signing-in Boxes, the Yarrow Farm and County School beats and the parking area at the former County School station. You can download the map showing the day ticket  ewhbeats, location of the new signing-in box and where to park etc: Download the Day Ticket Map here

In case of a problem with a booking or to confirm a booking has been made, contact Richard Nelson rvnelson@freedom255.com or 07970-759635.

To use the booking calendar, just select an available date, fill in the form and click ‘book now’. The date will be held pending confirmation and you will receive instructions for payment shortly thereafter. At the committee’s discretion, refunds will be made if, for whatever reason, BMTF considers the river to be unfishable on the day you have booked. Alternatively, your booking can be transferred to a suitable day, usually in the next season’s calendar.

Please note: Only one booking for a maximum of two anglers is allowable for any available day