Dusk Legend of the Frome
Dusk Legend of the Frome
Bindon Mill, 2 July 1911: a European sturgeon almost three metres long and 92 kg hauled from the Frome — a concrete, breath-catching fact that sits under every other story told at dusk. Below Poole Bridge, the pool is immensely deep and the trout there are thick set and stubborn; locals say a single wet fly will settle the argument between angler and fish.
The wet fly and the seam
On chalkstream water, seams and undercuts are where brown trout and sea trout lie. Tactics are old-school: a 9–11 ft trout rod, a 3–5 lb leader and a well-presented wet fly fished across-and-down through the tongue of slower water. Presentation matters more than flash; one careful drift through the bridge pool will tell a man what he needs to know.
Evening light brings folklore. Tales of a cunning trout that moves like a shadow beneath the bridge join the real history of the Frome — and the memory of that Bindon Mill sturgeon — in pub corners and riverside gardens. The River Avon nearby offers similar sport and a calendar that moves from trout to grayling as the months cool.
When the fish are fed and the embers glow, simple cooking wins: a pan-fried brown trout with butter, lemon and parsley or hot-smoked trout on crusty bread, the sort of fare that follows a long day reading seams by lamplight. The night closes with a splash under Poole Bridge as the wet fly vanishes and the river holds its secrets.
Recommended: lightweight trout rod