Throop or the royalty

[Connor Smith]

Hi,
There's a good chance il be going down to Dorset around the end of July, i could be taking my little girl to peppa pig world for her birthday and whilst I'm down that end of the country it will probably be the only chance I get to fish the Dorset stour.
I've made a deal with the missis where I can go fishing one of the days we're away. So the question is where would people recommend out of the 2. I only have 1 day so can't do a day at each
Ideally I'd like to fish the less busier of the two but also be in for a good chance of a fish, which I know isn't always guaranteed

 

[Richard Isaacs]

I don’t know these areas that well but the less busier of the two is probably going to be throop. Nowadays throop is more commonly known for its specimen sized chub and most anglers looking for this type of action want to go at the back end of the season when they are at their biggest.
The royalty probably gets more attention from barbel anglers in summer

I’m happy to be corrected on this mind by more local knowledgeable folks on these rivers/areas

 

[Richard Parsons]

Yeah - in agreement with the other Rich here - my impression from various people is that Throop is the harder of the two, with regard to barbel. That also kinda suggests why the Royalty is busier. I saw a few photos of barbel from Throop towards the back end of last season, however the summer looked like it was difficult. Mind you, last summer was difficult on most medium and smaller rivers. Let's hope the currently tropical conditions don't continue into July.

 

[Paul Barlow]

Possibly of interest. Is Longham Bridge still a free stretch? Lovely bit of water that with a bit of everything .

Though if I'd never fished the Royalty there would only be one place I was heading, tough or not, it's stunning.

 

[Connor Smith]

Cheers guys, helps out a bit.
I try to avoid the chub and ideally want to catch barbel so looks like il have to put up with the busier banks and try the royalty.

 

[Trevor Summerfield]

Cheers guys, helps out a bit.
I try to avoid the chub and ideally want to catch barbel so looks like il have to put up with the busier banks and try the royalty.

Try the high bank at Longham. you cant miss it, you have a couple of islands in front of you. Most peop-le give it a miss because of the high bank. just work out your fish landing area. And keep your head down, they w3ill see you..

 

[Connor Smith]

Thanks Trevor I'll have to give that a try