Countess Wear Fishery, River Exe – Exeter

This highly productive tidal fishery is a popular water for match and pleasure anglers due to its quality year-round fishing. Very large nets of bream are reported from all sections of the fishery, in addition to the big nets of fish, there are many reports throughout the season of individual bream going over 10lb in weight. As well as big bream, large catches of dace, roach, chub and mullet are also possible along with the occasional double figure carp. As the river is tidal, it can make for more challenging fishing, with many anglers preferring to fish on an incoming/outgoing tide, whilst others preferring to fish the back eddies in one of the many bays only found at low water. Whichever tide is fished there are many fish to be caught, with the majority of fish readily taking maggot or caster, usually over a good helping of groundbait on a pole or waggler set-up, many of the larger bream however, tend to be caught on a feeder, again, with a good amount of groundbait introduced so as to hold the fish. Whilst summer fishing is the most popular and productive, there is though good fishing to be had during the winter months, usually by fishing in the deeper bays at low tide.

Popular areas: the bays upstream from the Exeter by-pass road bridge, further up again around the left hand bend, behind the Double Locks pub. Also, for the energetic angler, the left bank downstream from the by-pass road bridge, the best fishing being opposite the black piling opposite & below the access road for the sewage works & slipway. At low tide there is large gravel bank from which to fish with a long stretch of deepish water running below the opposite piling with vast shoals of bream usually in situ, they are very rarely, if ever, fished for, possibly due to the long walk across the field!

Rules: As per the Association handbook

Boundaries: From the Exeter by-pass road bridge, left bank upstream until the pedestrian footbridge that crosses the river (behind the Double Locks pub) this bridge being our top boundary. Whilst downstream from the by-pass bridge we have the left bank down to the leat that meets the main river opposite the sewage works. Still looking downstream from the bridge, right hand bank until the boat slipway, this is where a stream exit’s into the river after running under the Exeter canal.

Season: 16th June - 14th March

Warning: Beware of power lines on this water