Sunderlandwick is home to the Driffield Anglers’ Club, which preserves over 6 miles of pristine chalkstream water in and around Driffield.

Descriptions of the Water

Alexander Macintosh “The Driffield Angler” 1806

“I have angled in many parts of Scotland and the North of England, but of all the places on this side of Great Britain, most delightful for this charming recreation, I must prefer the river at Driffield. It is fed by several small rivulets, or becks, rising at Kirkburn, Elmswell and Little Driffield, which falling into one large stream just below the town of Great Driffield, is called West Beck.”

T Donald Overfield  “Famous Flies and their Originators” 1972

“If a timorous soul from the South were to take his courage in one hand and his fly rod in the other, and venture as far as the East Riding of Yorkshire, he may be surprised to discover, nestling at the foot of the sweeping Yorkshire Wolds, a chalk stream that can rival, and in some respects surpass, the Test. It is the Driffield Trout Stream. The clarity of its water is generally accepted to have no equal throughout the country, being judged to be “just a little inferior to distilled water” by a Doctor Sollitt, of Hull, in 1846.”

A Courteney Williams “Dictionary of Trout Flies” 1973

“I believe that the Driffield Beck in Yorkshire is a “purest of the pure” chalk stream.”

John Roberts – A guide to River Trout Flies 1989

“The Driffield Beck is a glistening jewel in the East Yorkshire countryside, a rare outpost of true chalkstream fishing.”

Angling at Driffield

Sunderlandwick is home to the Driffield Anglers’ Club, which preserves over 6 miles of pristine chalkstream water in and around Driffield. A discerning membership is bound with the common passion for upstream dry fly fishing for brown trout. Upstream nymphing is permitted from 1st July.

Angling purists will enjoy the shallower wild waters of the Shepherds Cottage and Huntingbridge beats where stalking the skittish prey in crystal clear water requires a honed blend of stealth, accuracy, delicacy and patience.

Dawsons Dam and The Island provide easier access and slower deeper running water where a rising trout is more readily seduced.

An experienced, full time professional stream keeper tends the banks, weed growth and riparian habitat. He is an expert in his field and is able to guide the less initiated to the most likely haunts on the trickier days because Driffield trout can be fickle.

Ecology

The Driffield Trout Stream is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. Bullhead genetic surveying by Hull University and the ready abundance of grayling on the lower reaches attest to the high quality of the water.

A wealth of freshwater shrimp (Gammarus pulex), caddis and numerous other fly larvae create the perfect brown trout habitat, which has been associated with the Driffield water for over 200 years. Hatches of Hawthorn-fly (Bibio marci), Blue Winged Olives (Ephemerella ignata & Ephemerella notata), Duns (Baetis Pumilus, Baetis Rhodani, Baetis Vernus), Pale Watery Duns (Centroptilum sp.), Sedges (Caddis fly), Caenis, Gnats (Bibio johannis) and Midges (Chironomidae sp.) abound.

The Driffield Dun and Misty Blue Dun are two dry fly patterns born out of the legendary hatches on the stream.

Membership

No day tickets are available for this water, however, contrary to popular belief places do become available on the waiting list for membership. Applications for membership can be made in writing to the Club Secretary and must be supported by an existing member.