Feedback & Reports

Great maps and directions as usual. Arrived very early just before first light and headed off from the car park to my intended peg "The Lucky Stones" which i had been successful on a previous visit a few years ago. From the feedback although the beat had been very busy over the last few days i was still hoping to find one or two hungry mouths that would still oblige, after concurring the dreaded "heart attack" hill and settled in my nominated peg i realised that id left my specs at home which made tying hooks and threading beads that more difficult, that said somehow i managed. From the off the Chub did not disappoint, however it did go quiet mid morning and with no barbel to speak of i decided to bait the swim with Hemp, small cubes of meat & pellet and made a move slightly upstream, one or two Chub followed but it was slow, so i decided to move yet again into one of the pegs in the field, worst decision id made all day, it was dead!, so i immediately decided to make my way back to the "Lucky Stones" and boy it didn't disappoint, second cast small tap and bang i was into something really big, and school boy error "set your drag before you start fishing" not during a frenetic fight needless to say i lost it, much to my disappointment the hook length parted company, a rock or mussel who knows? It was 11am by now and with the sun high in the sky my thoughts of catching a Barbel were diminishing, how wrong i was, a few cast later i was into another heavy battling fish, this turned out to be the biggest of the trip, it tipped the scaled at 9lb 5oz, after a quick photo and a well deserved rest in the net i returned her to the river, feeling elated i settled back into my chair after the next cast, the tip nodded again and in quick succession i was into yet another hard fighting fish, after a short battle it tipped the scales at 8lb 7oz, well chuffed. Despite trying hard for another hour or so i could not tempt another Barbel only small nuisance Chub, by this time it was touching 30 degrees and decided (reluctantly) it was time to leave, and head back up "heart attack hill". All fish were caught ledgering meat and feeding hemp and small meat cubes.

The Canoe traffic arrived somewhat earlier than expected and although some were courteous some were very loud and insisted on banging their canoe as they paddled by, beyond belief !!

Anyways i had a great days fishing considering the hot conditions and low water level, thanks as always the the WUF and Land owners for allowing us some great access to a great river and lovely nature it provides.

Be back soon.!

2 Barbel, 20 Chub

5 Barbel

4 Barbel, 20 Chub, 1 Other

3 Barbel, 28 Chub

4 Barbel, 13 Chub

Bit better

4 Barbel, 20 Chub

More chub????

9 Chub

If, like me, you read these catch reports for detailed information only to be disappointed that SB from Bristol caught 16 chub and GG from Morecambe caught 1 “other” (an eel) then hopefully you’ll enjoy this.

I’m from the Black Country and we like our moneys worth so I got here nice and early to get full value for my 25 quid – I reckoned if I fish from 0500 til dusk it’s only £1.5625 per hour which is decent value.

Headed off from the car park as it got light and walked the easy way, thus avoided going through that poor blokes front garden. Weird that you have to go the long way round when there’s a much easier route via a public footpath on the other side… And, if you go that way, you’ll see the sign where the farmers daughter offers free tractor rides over Heart Attack Hill for fat fishermen – just my luck that the first shuttle was at 06.00 and I was already there at 05.00.

I’m only kidding, obviously.

They start at 07.00.

Yomped over the hill, through the woods and set up camp on the Lucky Stones just as the mist rolled around the river. From the first cast til the very last cast I didn’t stop catching fish. I lost count of the number of chub (guessing 50+) but I did count the barbel. 9 in total, including a baby at about 1 pound (beautiful in miniature) and a chunky double – only my second ever. I didn’t weigh it but it was massive, with a big thick set head, broad shoulders and the rock hard stare of a heavyweight boxer at weigh in.

I also caught a dace that took a pellet bigger than its own head and a big eel that fancied my meat. Bonus – it somehow managed to unhook itself after doing some weird fish yoga moves.

All fish were caught in the river on various methods, including float, rolling meat and electro. For bait I used meat, pellets and some leftover Tetra Goldfish flakes. The big uns were hoodwinked by Hinders Ellipse pellets on a short hook link attached to a 2 oz lead, plopped right into the whirly bit I’m pointing to in the picture. I was too lazy to move (even though I’d been sat still all day) so I’d cast slightly upstream into the fast bit – no idea if this made a difference but the bites were violent.

Safe to say that this was my best ever fishing day, one that will stay with me for a long time. If you’re thinking of booking this, get over the hill first thing – it’s not as bad as some make out and the fishing past the shallows is magnificent

9 Barbel, 50 Chub, 2 Other

All fish caught in wooded section on float and feeder. Barbel approx 6.5lbs and 1lb.

2 Barbel, 70 Chub

Hot and very bright conditions

18 Chub