Halifax - Straight Outta Copley

The Calder at Copley, on the outskirts of Halifax, epitomises urban fly-fishing. It’s ugly, it’s dirty, it’s cheap, and it’s full of massive trout.

You have a choice – you can say you don’t want to fish in a place like Copley, and that’s fine. That’s your business. Or you can say you want to. And that’s fine, too. But here’s the catch, if you say you don’t want to fish in Copley then don’t go around yapping that the people who fish in Copley catch more, bigger fish than you do. Copley is good because you don’t want to fish there. It’s good because the people who do fish there put the fish back because frankly, the Calder at Copley smells bad. Once again, if you don’t like it you don’t have to fish it. It’s almost entirely catch-and-release because the trout from this rather dirty river, taste off-puttingly of soap. Why? I don’t know why. Who am I – Jacques Cousteau?!

Get your permit from Jewson’s, 28 Horton Street, Halifax, 01422 354146, and hit the water. Jewson’s can also sell you personal protective equipment, guns and the like, and if you’re planning any night-fishing in Copley you’ll be needing a shooter. It’s not exactly a fly-only water.

I did run into a couple of pretty serious-looking fly guys on the river, split-cane rods and stuff. I asked them if they got lost on their way to The Wharfe. They laughed, but it’s their local, they fish it all the time, and they love their fishing. The truth is it’s a great place to fish, and the dry fly works very well, and you’ll easily catch more fish than you would on The Wharfe. Also long-shank things cast across and down work very well. There are lots of good grayling too. There are some very low power lines above, so look up.

I walked to the river from Sowerby Bridge train station. Just follow the river downstream, it’s a couple of miles. I said hello to an old lady. It’s an intimidating looking place and I wanted to put her at ease. “It’s lovely down here, int it?” She asked me and then it was me that was terrified. I quickened my step to get away from the old crack hoe. A few years ago next to the river in Copley a man objected to three young men trying to steal his car. They stuck a screwdriver right through his head. The police found them and threw them in jail for ever, but that doesn’t mean he gets to go fishing again or see his children grow up. So keep it very tidy in Copley.

The day before I fished Copley, there was a huge fish kill just below Copley, which apparently killed the fish for two miles downstream to Elland. There is a place called Elland, and yes, Elland Road is a road that goes to Elland from Leeds. Leeds United were playing at Elland Road, trying to avoid relegation by beating the mighty Ipswich. The river was the best place to be for a moment of denial, of not wanting to know. The fishing was very good. As I headed downstream past Copley towards Leeds, the river began to smell very bad. It already smells a bit, it’s The Calder, but this was raw, pungent, untreated sewage. The sun set. Copley smelt of shit. So did Leeds United. It takes a long time to recover from a really disgusting incident that reflects badly on everyone.

On the subject of fishing shops, Jewson’s is one of those places that is emphatically a coarse fishing shop, when it’s not being a gun shop. As their advertising says – ‘A J Jewson (Est.1900) GUNS and FISHING ACCESSORIES Fresh Bait All Brands Stocked’. You get the picture. It’s very near Halifax train station. They are knowledgeable and friendly, and know about flies even if it isn’t their main business.

In contrast is the extraordinary Lathkill, 19a King Cross Street
Halifax, 01422 354444 – ‘One of the largest stocks of fly tying materials in the UK, held in our purpose built shop in Halifax. We specialise in importing direct from the premium manufacturers in the USA’. Lathkill don’t sell fishing permits, guns or maggots. Broadly speaking, you know which shop you need. Lathkill kitted me out when I first got a four-weight rod, and explained all the gear to me perfectly. When I broke the end of my rod, climbing, they repaired the end in five minutes for a couple of quid. I have the only 8ft 3inch 4 weight Greyflex in the world. And I go to Jewson’s every year and get my permits.


Price: £28 a season.
Price/quality ratio: Very good.
Quality: 6/10 (marked down for appearance)
Chavtastic: Post-industrial wasteland, mostly empty, fairly intimidating.
Debris: Abundant and thrillingly varied; seats, skips, ladders, dolls, surgical gloves.
Water quality/smell: Water always quite dirty and discoloured, slightly smelly.
Wildlife: Very little.