The Powdermill September Trout Challenge

Looking back through the Hastings Fly Fishers Club catch records, early September has often proved a particularly difficult time for trout fishing at Powdermill Reservoir.

On 5 September 2015, five anglers fished without catching a trout. The following year, four anglers fished on the same date, and again no trout were recorded.

There have been exceptions—including three trout caught by T. Thomson on 6 September 2015—but historically, this has certainly not been an easy time of year.

Can you break the September drought?

For the next seven days—5 to 11 September 2026—the first angler to catch a trout at Powdermill will win a FREE BOAT for a full day’s fishing.

September Challenge Gallery

We would also like to record the week in pictures.

If you catch a trout during the challenge, take a photograph and send it to us. We will add the catch to our September Challenge Gallery, together with the angler’s name, date, weight of the trout, fly used, and whether it was caught from the bank or boat.

Let’s see what Powdermill can produce over the next seven days!

All catches must be entered in the HFFC catch return.

We have had some brave souls fishing over the last week with limited success, but feel we are over the hill and the fishing will improve in the next few days. 

We shall be holding a Club meeting on the 27th Septemmber 2026 at 10am at the Fishing Club.
All Members are encouraged to attend so we can introduce the new Directors, David and Andy, as Mary has retired as Secretary and Director with Chris also standing down.
They have been the backbone of the Club for many years and will be missed immensly.
Chris and Mary have been and are supporting all aspects of the transition so it will be as efficent and smooth as possible.

This year has been exceptionally challenging due to the harsh weather conditions, so planning for the future is key.

Communication will be sent to all current members informing them of this meeting. An Agenda will also be included in that communication.

If you do have any questions in the interim, please reach out to the Club via phone or Email: admin@hastingsflyfishers.co.uk

HFFC Directors

We are pleased to announce that The Club now has full control of the Hastings Fy Fishers Website.

What this means in real terms is we have upgraded the servers, the website coding - making it modern, mobile friendly, faster and secure – as well as being more cost effective.
However, the most important element is we shall be able to update our News page ourselves, this is via a secure process allowing us to add recent news, new announcements, such as this one, and endeavour to become as relevant and informative as it used to be.

We will also be adding new elements alongside all current processes such as Online Reservations for Fishing and Rentals, a Shop, Online Catch Returns and a very detailed and dynamic Fishing Statistics page covering over 25 years of Catch Return data.

These enhancements will not replace any methods we have always used, but simply run alongside them.
So, if Members and Visitors wish to book via phone and enter catch returns using the cards in the Weighing Room, that will all continue as normal

An annual joy for three great fishing buddies - Laurie, Ed and Phil from various parts of East Sussex - is a couple of days fishing at beautiful Powdermills and a couple of nights' stay at the brilliant little lodge that can be booked for such an occasion.

We always try to coincide our trip with the unrivalled mayfly hatch on this stunning water and in 2026 the experience was fantastic.

We started fishing on Friday 1st May and caught a few fish each, mainly with MF nymphs, but on the Saturday the water really came to life and we had a wonderful time. These incredibly fit rainbows really go and sport off the surface on dries is really hard to beat, anywhere!

If you love to fish in truly idyllic surroundings as much as you love the joy of fishing itself, there's nowhere better in this part of England. And if you feel like adding comfortable, clean, affordable accommodation, the lodge is perfect. A lovely club run by friendly, helpful people. Thank you once again Powdermills!

Laurie Webster, 07/05/26

We have had a stocking again at Powdermill this week and anglers have already had catches
of some beautiful rainbows. The autumnal weather is looking more seasonal this week with
a bit more sunshine and a drop in temperature so it’s a lovely time to come out and fish. We
look forward to seeing you!

Good morning all. Now that we have had a bit of a cold spell we shall be stocking the lake again this week. We still have good water levels this year and the temperature is going down so we should start to see some results. Hopefully you will come and enjoy some good autumn fishing and we look forward to seeing you at the lake again soon.

Well, after that early rain which never seemed to stop (!) we have a very full reservoir and clear water. In line with our stocking policy for this year, we have been stocking since early February and now have good numbers of good sized superb fish...

The Mayfly has now just started its hatch and the fishing is excellent with lots of 6 fish bags daily. A few days of showery rain is forecast over the weekend but after that the weather is looking warm and settled and Powdermill is the place to be. Everything is looking fresh and green with lots of wildlife and the bluebells are spectacular this year.

Day and afternoon tickets are available for bank or boat fishing and we are selling 3 and 5 day batch tickets at reduced rates. We are still offering membership for the Club and welcome new members. We have Mayfly flies for sale if required.

Come and see us soon and enjoy a lovely day fishing at beautiful Powdermill.

Please see our Membership, Ticket and Boat prices for next year. 2023 Season Prices

Good morning everyone. I hope you are all ok and will be looking forward to getting back to doing some fishing now that we are heading towards the cooler weather, even though warm weather is forecast again this weekend!! However, it won’t last and although the water level at Powdermill is very low, we are now seeing the water temperature dropping and have been able to continue with our stocking programme. We have had a fish delivery this week and the fishing should now improve, so its time to come and see us again.

We are looking forward to seeing you soon!

Please note that the Club AGM will take place on Saturday 1 st April at Sedlescombe Village
Hall. There will be a Shareholders’ meeting at 10am, followed by a general meeting for
members, to include any shareholders who wish to remain for that meeting, at 11am.
If you have any matters you would like to have raised at the meeting please let me know so
that I can include them in the Agenda. Would you please also let Mary know if you will be
attending either meeting.

Good morning. Hope all is well with you and you are managing to avoid all the coughs and
colds around at the moment. It appears that some of you have not received the emails sent
out before Christmas about renewing memberships for the 2023 Season, This is therefore
just a reminder that the subscriptions for this year are now due and I look forward to hearing
from you with your payment. Thank you to all those members who have already paid, I am
keeping the membership cards here until you come fishing in order to save postage. The new
season will start on 18 th February and we are all looking forward to seeing you then.
If you have not already paid, or you wish to join the Club this year as a new member, the fee
for membership this year is £525.00 for shareholders and £550.00 for members. Good value
for unlimited fishing throughout the year. (6 fish daily limit up to a maximum of 120 fish per
season). Batches of boat tickets are also available.

Payment can be made by bank transfer or by card payment at the Club office.
The stocking programme is under way and will be stocked ready to start the season and we
have a very full lake of water, so fingers crossed for good weather for 18 th February.
Thank you, I look forward to seeing you soon.

2023 Season Prices

The water temperature has now dropped to a level low enough for us to
restock and we have 2 deliveries planned for next week. We are still having some lovely late
sunny days so now’s a good time to come and enjoy some cooler days fishing.

The slightly not so good news is that we still have some algae on the water so it is quite
coloured but the fish are underneath and still there to catch.

We also have some new stock in the “tackle shop” so do come and see us for a browse and a
chat.

We are looking forward to seeing you!

We are sad to report the death of two of our very long term members, Tony Clark from
Eastbourne who enjoyed fishing with the Club both here at Powdermill and back in the day at
Darwell. Although Tony has been in poor health for some time and was unable to fish
during the Covid period he managed to come fishing this year. He was so happy to be able to
get out in the wheelie boat with the help of his wife, Sally and was delighted that he caught
fish. A very happy day for him.

We shall miss Tony as he was well like and respected and a genuinely nice man. The
Directors and Club members join me in sending our sympathy and condolences to his wife
and family.

The funeral will take place on Thursday 28 th July at Eastbourne Crematorium.

We are also sorry to say that Terry Beeching has died this week, after a very short spell in
hospital. Although Terry has been in poor health for a while, he appeared to have made a
good comeback from his earlier illness and operation this year and we were delighted that he
was able to make some successful fishing trips with the help of some of the other club
members for which we were all very grateful.

We shall all miss Terry as he was a popular visitor to the Club and was always cheerful with
a great sense of humour.

Two great anglers who will be very missed by the club and by their families. Funeral
arrangements for Terry will follow when I have further details.

If you are looking to buy a new waterproof jacket, I have two very nice items to sell. I have two Airflo jackets in extra large, one which has the trousers with it as a complete set. They are in perfect condition.
I also have a almost new Airflo boat seat in carrying bag, with padded fixed seat. We still have some rods and other items of tackle for sale. Please contact me if you are interested in any of these items.
It is nice to see familiar faces back again now that we are offering day tickets this year and everyone has very much enjoyed some excellent fishing.
Mary 01424 870498

Lovely view of a warm day at Powdermill 2 weeks ago, more of the same please!! Although the weather has turned colder since then, Powdermill is still continuing to fish well, we have had some top quality fish stock deliveries and members and day ticket visitors have enjoyed some excellent returns.

We have some items for sale in the “tackle shop”, some beautifully carved sticks, second hand rods and also a very nice set of Pentax binoculars 12x24. Contact Mary at the office if you are interested in any of these items. You can also click on
this list of rods for sale.

Hope to see you at the lake soon, day tickets available this year.

Some pics..

Click on pic above to see more!

Well, we picked a pretty wild weekend to begin fishing at Powdermill this year!! Despite the rough weather, some of our members who said “I’ve never missed an opening day”!! managed some good catches including some 6 fish limits.

The weather has now improved a bit we hope and is beautiful here today. Although we are continuing to offer batch tickets of 5 or 3 days or half days for this year, which work out a bit cheaper, we shall also be doing day tickets.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE 2022 PRICES

We hope to see you soon for some enjoyable days at Powdermill

We are getting close to the start of the season on Saturday 19th February and hope you are all looking forward to some early fishing, hopefully the weather will stay good and the lake is now well stocked so ready to go!

I still have not heard from all members with subscriptions and I should be grateful if you could get these in now as soon as possible please if you are planning to join us again this year.

Whilst Vic is still waiting for his operation and during the time he will be recovering afterwards, he will not be able to bail any boats required. Bobby is going to help us with this for the time being, when he is able to. There will not be any boats bailed before 9am during this time and we would ask you to please bail your own boat if you require one to take out earlier than that. Please bear with us during the time Vic is not available and if you are able to give any help it would be much appreciated.

For all day visitors, fishing and boats must be paid for at the time of booking when Mary is at the office on 01424 870498 every weekday morning between 8.30 and 12. For any other information or booking out of those hours, please ring Mary on 07831793036, but again, if possible please, keep to those office hours just to assist us for the time being.

Hoping for a good season and we’re looking forward to seeing everyone up at the lake very soon.

Chris, Tim, Vic and Mary

DAY TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE!!

We are continuing to offer 3 or 5 day Batch tickets for fishing at Powdermill and will also
now be offering single Day Tickets from 1 st July. The Price for day or half day is as follows:-

Single Day Ticket £45.00

Afternoon Ticket £35.00

Boats £12 or £6.

We are still operating a booking in system. Please speak to Mary, Club Secretary for further
details.

FURTHER TEMPORARY MEMBERSHIPS NOW AVAILABLE

We are still enjoying a good Mayfly hatch here at Powdermill and there has been
some excellent fishing this year. In order to ensure we could allow everyone to fish
safely, we have had a waiting list for those anglers wanting to purchase batch tickets
of 3 or 5 days or afternoons. With the booking in system working very well we have
been able to accommodate members and temporary members and are now able to
release some further batch tickets, for the remainder of the season.

Prices are as follows:

Batch of 3 day tickets £120.00

Batch of 5 Day tickets £200.00

3 Afternoon Tickets £90.00

5 Afternoon tickets £150.00

PLEASE NOTE: IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE PRICES THERE IS A £10
SUPPLEMENT FOR ANY DAY FISHED DURING JUNE.

For further details, please contact Mary, Club Secretary any weekday morning
between 8.30 and 12.30 on 01424 870498 or on 07831793036 out of office hours.

PLEASE NOTE: !!

WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT
RESERVOIR LANE WILL BE CLOSED
FROM THE SEDLESCOMBE END ON 18 TH
MAY AND ALSO THE 30 TH JUNE FOR
ONE DAY ON EACH OCCASION.

ACCESS WILL BE FROM THE POTTERY
LANE, BREDE ENTRANCE.

Due to Covid restrictions over the past year, we took the decision that we would not have any
day visitors to Powdermill and have only sold pre-booked tickets in batches of 3 or 5. We
have also operated a booking in system which has enabled us to control angler numbers and
ensure that everyone gets the booking they have requested.

We have increased our full membership and this, together with the number of batch tickets
we have sold for this year means that we are now closing our membership list and will also
not be selling any further batch tickets until after the regulations are due to be lifted on 21 st
June. We believe this to be the fairest way to try to ensure that all our current full and
temporary members can enjoy adequate visits, particularly throughout May and. If necessary,
June when we are anticipating the lake will be fishing at its best and will be popular.

We shall be keeping a waiting list, both for full membership and for the batch tickets and if
we find that there are places available during May, applicants will be contacted in strict
rotation to see if they wish to take up any place if we are not as busy as anticipated on any
particular day.

We hope that everyone will appreciate that by doing this we can try to make sure no one is
disappointed and we can all continue to enjoy safe and regulated fishing at Powdermill as we
have over the last year.

Caught by one of our members!

We are pleased to say we are now open and our members have been enjoying some good
results at Powdermill. Two fish of 5lb 14oz and 5lb 7oz have been caught this week and
there have been plenty of 6 fish per day limits caught since we re-opened.

We are still operating the booking in system and will again only be offering a limited number
of batch day tickets throughout the season. Membership numbers have increased and we
have a few vacancies left for full membership for the 2021 season. Please contact Club
Secretary, Mary, for further information on 01424 870498.

The Club is now closed for fishing until we start the
new season, hopefully on 15 th February, provided the Government regulations allow it. Our
stocking schedule is on track for the start of the season and we expect to be fully stocked at
Powdermill by 8 th March.

We were very sorry to learn of the closure of Arlington Reservoir for angling and sympathise
with our fellow anglers in that area who are now denied their fishing. Some of you will have
enjoyed some days fishing at Powdermill and we hope that we shall see you during this
season. We shall again be offering 3 or 5 day batch tickets for the season and we also still
have a limited number of full memberships available. We can also offer accommodation for
fishing holidays at our on-site, Mayfly Lodge.
Hope to see you during 2021.

Good morning all. We have had many meetings and discussions to try to get
the right interpretation of the Government's new lockdown guidelines for
November. The overriding message in the Government's guidelines is that
everyone should "Stay at Home". As Directors responsible for the Club we
have to decide whether or not to allow the Club to remain open. The majority
of members and the Board are classed as clinically vulnerable and we have to
take extra care not to put ourselves and each other at risk from catching this
virus. You are allowed to meet one other person outside of your household in a
public place for exercise and recreation and The Angling Trust have
interpreted this to say that fishing is permissible. However, they also say that
they are seeking additional clarification from the Government, and this will be
updated. We are also very aware that where possible keen anglers will want to
get out and continue to fish. With all that in mind, what we have decided for
now is to stay OPEN with further strict regulations of our own in order to
comply with the Government guidelines. We will be reviewing the situation on
a daily basis and will continue to seek guidance from The Angling Trust and
Sport England. There can be no social gathering, either inside or outside and
the clubhouse will be closed to everyone, WITHOUT EXCEPTION. We cannot
make drinks and if Vic is outside talking to one person, he cannot be joined by
anyone else. Please continue to book in for your timed fishing slot and stick to
those times. Do not just turn up hoping to fish. Please tackle up in the car park
and then go straight out to fish. In this way we are hopeful we can stay open
through November, but we will continue to monitor the situation and will take
the decision to close if we feel the risks are too great or if we are forced to do so.
Our main objective is to keep everyone safe and to keep the Club thriving for
the future and we have to consider the best way of doing both.

As I have said before, we are grateful to you all for your continued support and
would ask you all to continue to help us by complying and above all, STAY
SAFE!!
Chris, Tim, Vic and Mary

We had some beautiful fish delivered before the weekend, including some of 4lb plus and Powdermill is now fully stocked with top quality rainbows. Members have been enjoying some excellent fishing catching on sedges and hare's ears. After the weekend's heavy rain the water level is again rising and there are plenty of fish moving around.

Some memberships are still available for this year and through to the end of 2021 and although we are not offering single day tickets this year, batch tickets of 3 or 5 days can be purchased from the Club office for some enjoyable days' fishing this autumn.

See our Prices page for further details.

We are sad to say we have learned of the death last week of one of our long
term members, John Noble.

John has been a member and supporter of the Club for over 20 years and, at one
time, served on the Board of Directors. His membership number was 59 and as
new numbers now issued are in the 700s this gives an idea of his many years of
coming to fish at Powdermill, and before that at Darwell. He was a kind and
courteous man and was very respected by all members both personally and for
his skill and fishing ability. We were sad when he became too poorly to rejoin
the club and he will be missed by us all.

The directors, secretary and members all send their condolences to Flo and his
family

We are pleased to say we have been able to keep to our planned stocking schedule, which we arranged at the beginning of the year to provide improved late season stocking and we have two very large fish deliveries arriving this week which will include fish up to 10lb.

After a very hot spell, now with the cooler evenings, the water temperature is dropping and with these new deliveries, we are hopeful of some excellent autumn fishing.
It is still compulsory for all Anglers to book in with the Club Secretary for a timed visit and in order to provide quality fishing for everyone, we are limiting the available boats to 5 each day and we would therefore advise early booking for both boat and bank fishing to ensure you are not disappointed.

Although we are still not admitting day visitors, our temporary membership batch tickets have proved very popular and we have a limited number of these still available, either for day or evening visits which can be purchased as a block of 3 or 5 tickets. Full Club memberships, available now which will include the remainder of this season, through to the end of 2021, are also available at a special discounted rate. Please contact Mary, Club Secretary on 01424 870498 for further details.

We look forward to seeing you in the beautiful surroundings at Powdermill Reservoir very soon!

We are very sad to report that we have, today, learned of the recent death of Bernie Meaden,
one of our longstanding and well respected Club members.

The Directors and members all send sincere condolences to Mrs Meaden and her family at
this sad time.

Bernie was an excellent fisherman and was well liked and respected by all the Club members
who knew him. We always enjoyed his visits to see us at Powdermill and he will be sadly missed.

The last fish caught on Mayfly was on 22 nd June and since then we have had steady catches
every day, mostly on hoppers and pheasant tail nymphs. The water temperature has remained
low enough to enable us to have a further stocking delivery and following that large delivery
this week we have had some excellent results with anglers getting their 6 fish limits with 26
fish caught on one day, both from the bank and the boats.

There are now plenty of fish in the
lake to see us through the warm August weather and we are now planning for our September
– December stocking programme when we will be asking our supplier for bigger and more
fish to hopefully ensure we all still get a good season’s fishing, despite having lost the earlier
weeks of lockdown.

We are still offering day or afternoon fishing for temporary members, when bought as a batch
or 3 or 5 tickets and we have some full memberships available at a special discounted rate to
include fishing for the remainder of this year through to the end of the 2021 season.. Please
enquire for further details.

We have enjoyed some fantastic fishing at Powdermill this year and were delighted that we
were at least able to be open to enjoy most of the Mayfly season, which has been excellent.
The booking-in arrangement worked very well and with all cleaning and distancing measures
in place anglers and staff felt confident and safe. We are continuing with these measures and
have restricted visits to Club members only fishing. We are offering temporary memberships
for tickets to be used before the end of September and these have been the only day tickets
available, issued as a batch of 5 for either afternoon or day visits.

As this has been so successful, and some of the 5 visits have already been used, we are now
able to offer further batch tickets for day or evening visits. Please see details of these tickets here.

Some pics..

Click on pic above to see more!

Having successfully tried out the temporary membership scheme on a limited basis, we are
pleased to be able to offer some further vacancies. As we shall not be admitting day visitors
for the time being, we are able to safely accommodate anglers within the guidelines. See temporary membership details on the prices page.

Since re-opening, over the last few weeks, the fishing has been excellent with 700 fish being
caught, with catches of 4 and 5lb plus, mostly caught on Mayfly, which are still evident on
the water. We are planning on stocking the lake again this week so still plenty of good
fishing to be enjoyed.

With the high demand from day visitor requests, we have now considered how we can best accommodate any extra anglers, whilst maintaining our strict safety procedures, and controlling the number of new memberships we can offer.
At the present time, we are still not able to take day ticket visitors, but with immediate effect, we can offer the sale of batch tickets as follows:-

Offer available from now until the end of September 2020

5 days’ fishing with a 6 fish limit : £250.00

Afternoon ticket (2 – 8pm) 4 fish limit : £200.00

Boats : £10

Afternoon : £5

All members must prebook angling visits 2 days in advance, by telephone on 01424 870498 to speak to the Club Secretary any morning between 8.30am and 11.30 am

Although the situation with the Coronavirus is uncertain and there are new developments every day, we want to assure all our members and visitors to Powdermill that we are doing all we can to protect you, and we are open for fishing as normal.

We are constantly disinfecting and cleaning communal areas and equipment and it would help if you could bring your own pen for your use only. Please help us as well by following the guidelines of keeping your distance from others and washing your hands often. If you would prefer not to come into the club house to sign in, there are catch information slips in the weighing room, which we will collect and enter for you. We can also take payment by bank transfer or credit card if you ring us when you are planning to fish or when you arrive at the lake, so that you do not need to come in to the Club house.

We have a further stocking arriving shortly, there are plenty of fish in the lake and the fishing and weather are improving all the time. It’s a lovely place to be out of doors, with seating outside the club house, for a view of the lake and a visit will cheer you up in these difficult times.

We are here every day and hope we shall see you soon.

With the lovely sunshine we have had this week, the water is beginning to clear and at last, the fish can see the fly!

We have had some decent catches coming out of the lake with several 6 fish limits being taken on black and green flies, mostly from the bank. Everyone has benefitted from these encouraging conditions and generally feeling much happier in these strange and difficult times.

Definitely good for wellbeing to be able to get out in the fresh air and forget about the doom and gloom for a little while!

Paul Strevens had a very nice fish, which was estimated to be between 8- 10 lbs. Unfortunately, he had already used his limit on catch and release so it could not be substantiated and was returned, but witnessed by other anglers and even allowing for “it was this………………big!” it must rate as fish of the month so far!

We are open every day – come and see us!

Despite the terrible February weather, anglers have managed catch 50 rainbows from
Powdermill this month.

It seems to have finally stopped raining and hopefully things can
only get better now. Spring must be in the air as the Bailiff’s resident geese have started to
nest and lay eggs, hedge greenery is starting to appear and we had a visit this morning from 5
Canada geese on the lake before they took off and went on their way again.

Further fish stocks will be going in shortly and we are also now selling flies and pre-owned tackle in the
club house reception.

Jim Adams - Funeral arrangements

I am sure that many members and friends would like to pay their last respects to Jim.

His funeral has been arranged for 11.00am on Wednesday 22nd January at Hastings Crematorium.

Very sadly long time member Jim Adams passed away peacefully in his sleep early Sunday morning.

He was aged 87 ( b 25/8/1932 ) and grew up as a member of a trawling family in the Ramsgate area. He joined the RAF and had a successful career as a fighter pilot. In later years after leaving the RAF he was a commercial pilot and also a pilot instructor for Dan Air.

Jim loved country pursuits and was an excellent fly fisher and a very keen shot.

RIP Jim.

Jim Adams
1932 - 2019