Fishing in the River Wandle in Earlsfield

The river Wandle in Earlsfield, is a great place to catch barbel, or other coarse fish like chub, roach, gudgeon, dace, or carp. This post is all about fishing in the river Wandle in Earlsfield, and includes photographs of the best fishing spots.

This article is a write up of the amazing Walk and Talk organised by Roger Berry of Wandle Anglers in January 2023.

Map of the River Wandle in Earlsfield

The map below shows the section of the river Wandle in Earlsfield that we walked along. The red markers are places where we stopped to look for good fishing spots.

If you are walking to the river from Earlsfield Station, you will need to walk down Garratt Lane a short way before turning onto Summerley Street, and then Trewint Street.

This section of the river is ideal for coarse fishing. There are many fish species here, but it is a particularly good spot for barbel.

If you are more interested in trout fishing, you would be better off going to the stretch of river alongside Poulter Park, or further upstream.

Check out the full guide to fishing on the River Wandle

Fishing Spots on the River Wandle in Earlsfield

During the walk and talk we explored five different fishing spots along the river Wandle in Earlsfield.

These included:

• the island in the river near Trewint Street
• the river bank opposite the northern part of Garratt Park
• the river bank opposite the allotments
• the river bank opposite Garratt Business Park
• the stretch of the river just before you reach Plough Lane.

There is information about each of these sections of the river below.

Island near Trewint Street

You will find an island in the middle of the river Wandle as you walk over the bridge from Trewint Street. There is a black gate on the metal bridge where you can gain access onto the island. This is shown in the photograph below.

Fishing on the island below the weir is a great place to catch barbel. Barbel love fast flowing, oxygenated water, so this is a prime spot to find them.

Barbel also like areas that are dark and shaded, and may not come out in bright light. The best time to catch one is in the early morning, late evening, or dusk.

Northern Stretch of Garratt Park

Unlike on the island near Trewint street, there is no steep drop onto the river, from the river bank alongside Garratt Park. In this part of the riverside walk it is possible to get close to the river, as shown in the photograph below.

The photographs above and below were both taken by the river bank opposite Garratt Park. There were quite a few weeds and brambles, but we were still able to get down to the river.

At the time when we were there, the river in this stretch was quite shallow.

Northern Part of Garratt Park Allotments

The stretch alongside Garratt Park Allotments is a good section of the river for catching roach. You should bring hemp, tares, and either sweetcorn or maggots.

If you are fishing in the winter bring maggots, but in the summer use corn instead of maggots otherwise you will catch minnows.

You can see there are a lot of brambles and trees in this stretch of the river. Much of it is too overgrown to access the river, however we did find a couple of good spots, such as the one in the photograph below.

Southern Part of Garratt Park Allotments

Fish of various species can be caught here, but it is an especially good spot for catching barbel. Again, this section of the river bank is overgrown with brambles and weeds, as you can see from the photograph below.

This part of the Wandle Trail is also quite narrow, with many tree branches and brambles close to the path.

Garratt Business Park

Although it is still fairly overgrown, there are a few good fishing spots opposite Garratt Business Park. The drop from the river bank to the river is a bit steeper at this point, and the river is deeper.

You can see the sides of the river bank have been reinforced at this point, as the water levels here will rise after heavy rain.

Although this stretch of the river bank is a bit higher up, and further from the river, it is still close enough to be able to see the fish. It would be difficult however to get into the river at this point.

This section of the river is wide, deep and slow compared to the section of river down stream near to King George’s Park. You can catch larger fish here, in deeper sections, or under bushes.

Northern Side of Plough Lane

The final stretch of river before you reach Plough Lane contains contains large amounts of bramble and bushes that grow over the river.

There are also signs here of the industries that once existed along the Wandle. The bridge shown in the photograph below leads over the river to the original site of the Calico Printing Works in Summerstown. Presumably it was once used as a means of transporting goods across the river.

Before you reach Plough Lane, you will pass by a large electricity substation, with a huge pylon and overhead cables next to the river.

Fishing next to overhead power cables can be dangerous, as carbon fibre fishing rods and poles conduct electricity, and can cause injury if they make contact with overhead lines.

There were lots of branches and bushes over the water at this point in the river, and as it becomes more overgrown it may be hard to see where the river bank ends. You can see in the photograph below all the branches that have started to grow over the river.

Tips for Fishing on the River Wandle in Earlsfield

Roger showed us the best floats to use in this part of the river, which are called Trent Trotters. This type of float takes its name from the River Trent as they were first used on the Trent in the 1950s in shallow parts of the river.

Roger kindly gave us each two different Trent Trotters of different sizes. These are shown in the photograph below.

Gallery of Photographs from the Walk and Talk

More Information About Fishing on the River Wandle

• The Complete Guide to Fishing on the River Wandle
• Fishing for Trout at Night on the River Wandle
• Fishing on a Full Moon
• Are there Pike in the River Wandle?
• Best Places for Barbel Fishing on the River Wandle

This Post was About Fishing on the River Wandle in Earlsfield

This post was about fishing on the river Wandle in Earlsfield, South London. It was written after the Walk and Talk arranged by Roger Berry of Wandle Anglers. If you have fished in this part of the river, please feel free to leave a comment below.