Brief description of fishery:

Washburn Reservoirs;   Fewston, Swinsty and Thruscross.

For more information on the fishery and clarification on rules, please call the Swinsty Fishing Office on 01943 880658. The office is located at Swinsty Moor car park situated near the western end of Fewston reservoir dam

Members are allowed to book permits free of charge but only 2 anglers are allowed to fish the Washburn waters per day.

Only Day Permits are currently available allowing fishing from 7:30 am until one hour after dusk.

Permits are bookable via the IAA Website and the Clubmate App.

When the permit has been booked you will receive an email confirmation with your permit number.   The email will also contain a password enabling you to register your vehicle for free parking (see ‘Parking at the Reservoirs’ below)

Fishing is undertaken at the anglers own risk. All rules stipulated by Wahsburn Fisheries must be followed.

Catch Returns

On completion of  fishing please complete a catch return at the fishing office is located at Swinsty Moor car park near Fewston reservoir embankment. Ilkley Angling Association would also appreciate notification of catches, via e-mail to secretary@ilkleyanglingassociation.co.uk

Fly Fishing at ay Fewston and Thruscross Reservoir

Thrushcross is the most northerly of the three reservoirs managed by Yorkshire Water.  It is  a fly-fishing-only wild brown trout fishery.  It is catch & release only and so all fish caught must be returned.  Most of the trout are small but occasionally a bigger one is caught.

Fewston is the middle one of the three and is managed as a fly-fishing-only put & take trout fishery.  It is stocked with good sized hard-fighting rainbow trout and there are also wild brown trout present.  All brown trout caught must all be returned alive.

All the normal trout fly fishing tactics work well on their day, including dry fly, buzzers, nymphs and lures.  While water levels are high the trout are often in the margins and it is not necessary to wade or to make long casts.  As water levels drop through the summer it can be necessary to make longer casts into deeper water.  Wading is allowed but only to knee depth.

Coarse Fishing at Swinsty Reservoir

Swinsty is the most southerly of the three and is an excellent ‘silvers’ coarse fishery.  It holds large populations of roach, dace, perch, gudgeon and skimmer bream.  Occasional bigger bream are caught plus trout and chub.  Stunning hard-fighting Blue trout are a possibility as are big rainbow and brown trout.  On a good day it is sometimes possible to catch 100+ fish of multiple species.  All fish must be returned alive.

The best angling tactics are waggler float fishing or feeder fishing.  Maggots and worms are two favourite baits.  It is not necessary to cast far out, although when targeting the bream it can be effective to fish further out than when float fishing.

See also https://www.yorkshirewater.com/things-to-do/fishing/washburn/

Parking at the Reservoirs

Parking at the Washburn reservoirs for the general public is charged for, and monitored electronically.   Members who wish to fish and park a car, can park for free providing they have registered their vehicle on the Bransby Wilson (Yorkshire Water Carparks) website and allocated it to a fishing permit.

Registering  your vehicle is a 3 stage process.  This should only be carried out immediately before setting off.   If you do it sooner you may inadvertently remove a vehicle that is currently or scheduled to park,  or you may have your allocation removed.   Failure to observe this guidance may result in fines being issued by the parking company.

1. Logon to the Bransby Wilson (Yorkshire Water Carparks) website using the password you will find on the email confirmation of your permit booking
2. Record your vehicle registration on the website
3. Allocate your vehicle to the permit number you will find on your permit email confirmation for IAA.

This should only be carried out immediately before setting off.   If you do it sooner you may inadvertently remove a vehicle that is currently or scheduled to park,  or you may have your allocation removed.   Failure to observe this guidance may result in fines being issued by the parking company.