The best of the fly fishing on the River Wharfe is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park above Bolton Abbey 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. Running through limestone the River Wharfe is rich in insect life and has excellent hatches of fly. It’s interesting and varied water makes the River Wharfe the ideal place to learn all the fly fishing methods and techniques we use today, both modern and traditional.
Fish species / seasons

The River Wharfe has excellent stocks of both wild and stocked Brown Trout and in recent years a surprising number of exceptionally large Brown Trout have been caught by anglers fly fishing. The beats around Bolton Abbey and Burnsall provide good Grayling fishing and extend the season throughout the Winter months.

Trout fishing on the River Wharfe 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 Wharfe although a 7.5 to 8 foot rod would be useful on some of the higher beats. 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 Wharfe 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 Wharfe the ideal river to learn the essential skills of watercraft and line control.