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River Bend

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  • Blog
  • Techniques
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      Fly and Game

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      Species Tactics

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  • Gear
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      Terminal Tackle

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      Lures and Nets

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  • Knots
    • Essential Knots

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  • Locations
    • Rivers

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  • Rules and Law
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      Close Seasons

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  • From the Bank
    • Getting Started

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      Water Reading

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      Tactics and Tips

      Seasonal Fishing Guide How Weather Affects Fishing Overnight Carp Fishing Unhooking and Handling Fish Safely
  • Start Here
    • Getting Started

      First Fishing Session Checklist Fishing Etiquette Getting Started with Lure Fishing

      Water Reading

      How to Read a River How to Read a Lake

      Tactics and Tips

      Seasonal Fishing Guide How Weather Affects Fishing Overnight Carp Fishing Unhooking and Handling Fish Safely

Sarah Marsh

Sarah Marsh came to fly fishing through her father, who kept a rod on a small syndicate water in Devon. She spent her teens fishing stocked reservoirs and gradually worked her way toward wild fish on moving water - first on rain-fed freestone rivers in Wales, then on the Hampshire chalk streams she now considers home water. She holds a level 2 APGAI fly casting qualification and guides informally on the River Test and, from June to September, on a private beat on the River Tay for Atlantic salmon. Her personal best brown trout came from the Itchen at 4lb 1oz; she'd sooner not talk about the salmon that came off at the net last August. At The River Bend, Sarah writes the game fish species guides, fly fishing technique articles, and the legal content covering trout and salmon regulations. Covers: Brown trout, rainbow trout, sea trout, Atlantic salmon, fly fishing, chalk streams, Scottish rivers, close season and regulation articles

The Case for Barbless Hooks, Even Where They’re Not Required

July 6, 2026 by Sarah Marsh

Plenty of UK fisheries don’t mandate barbless hooks. I use them anyway, and I think more anglers should consider it.

Categories Rules and Law Leave a comment

Grayling: The Most Underrated UK Game Fish

July 6, 2026 by Sarah Marsh

While everyone chases trout and salmon, grayling get overlooked – and they shouldn’t be, especially through winter.

Categories Fish Species Leave a comment

The Truth About ‘Match the Hatch’ on Chalk Streams

July 6, 2026 by Sarah Marsh

Matching the hatch matters, but not in the precise, obsessive way a lot of fly fishing writing suggests it should.

Categories From the Bank Leave a comment

What Guiding on the Test Taught Me About Fly Presentation

July 6, 2026 by Sarah Marsh

Watching dozens of anglers cast to the same fish taught me more about presentation than years of fishing for myself ever did.

Categories From the Bank Leave a comment

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The River Bend Fish it properly.

UK fishing knowledge, written properly. Species, techniques, locations, gear, and the rules - all in one place.

Species

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