Fly Fishing on the River Ure

The River Ure is a superb river with a long and historic tradition of fly fishing and another Yorkshire Dales river where many of the techniques we use today were developed and practiced by the well known anglers of the past. Even today the River Ure is rightly famous for the quality of it’s Brown Trout and Grayling fishing and many would consider the fishing on the River Ure as some of the best available in the Yorkshire Dales. The River Ure tributaries, the River Cover and the River Bain are enchanting and also provide excellent opportunities for fly fishing.

The premier Trout and Grayling fly fishing on the River Ure is between Ripon and Hawes and within easy reach of Leeds, Bradford, Manchester, Harrogate and York. There is a direct rail link to Skipton from London Kings Cross which makes it easy to visit even from the South of England. The River Ure has prolific insect life and has excellent hatches of fly throughout the year. It’s interesting and varied water makes the River Ure the ideal place to learn all the fly fishing methods and techniques we use today, both modern and traditional.
Fish species / seasons

The River Ure has excellent stocks of both wild and stocked Brown Trout and is without doubt the most productive Grayling river in the Yorkshire Dales. Salmon have now returned to the River Ure and are becoming an increasingly viable proposition for the fly fisher.

Trout fishing on the River Ure starts around the end of March and finishes at the end of September with Grayling fishing starting in mid June and finishing at the end of February. Starting and finishing dates for both Trout and Grayling do vary from beat to beat.
Tackle

A 9 foot rod for between a 4-6 weight line (floating) would be ideal for most fishing situations on the River Ure although a 7.5 to 8 foot rod would be useful for fishing the River Cover and River Bain. Waders with ideally felt or felt and studded soles and a wading staff are required with chest high waders being an advantage on most beats.
Tactics

The beauty of the River Ure is that it offers the opportunity to practice every technique we use for fly fishing rivers, both modern and traditional. Dry fly and upstream nymph fishing together with spider fishing are the standby methods and there are plenty of opportunities for fishing New Zealand style, high sticking and Czech nymph fishing plus others. The nature of the water is varied and interesting making the River Ure the ideal river to learn the essential skills of watercraft and line control.