Feedback & Reports

Perfect conditions, except for the horrendous wind which really made trotting impossible in some of the pegs, however there is enough of the river which is more sheltered, i walked the full stretch upstream and landed 6 brownies, all 1lb+, then walked the stretch back and landed 4 grayling all 1lb+ aswell as losing a good fish at the net.
Kites , buzzards,noisy ravens, pair of goshawks courting, dippers, a kestrel, green and greater spotted woodpeckers made it hard to keep my eyes on my float, (although the 12 or so goosanders that were on the river when I 1st arrived were not so pleasant to see, no doubt hoovering up the last few salmon parr left in the river) the other downside was the waterside trees all dressed in bits of agricultural plastic and bale wrap from the recent floods, a reminder that its not just sewage and agricultural run off that is destroying our rivers. That said its still a gorgeous part of the world and there are few places i would rather be than stood thigh deep, with an apron full of maggots, trotting a float for big grayling.

6 Trout, 4 Grayling

The river was pretty low/ clear and no fish were spotted or caught. The one large holding pool is where the fish must be shoaled up and is very difficult to fish with nymphs in low flows without spooking them.
Maybe this beat fishes best for the Grayling in the autumn when the Salmon are moving through.

The idea was to try trotting and I did explore most of the beat, but I think the fly rod might have been better today.

Difficult day trotting with the river fairly low. 1 grayling just under the 2lb mark

1 Grayling

Beautiful stretch of the river a few grayling seen one hooked and lost, a little slip in the river resulting in a soaking! But still all fun

Had two lovely grayling just shy of the 2lb mark. Lost another.

2 Grayling

Dim Grayling

Beautiful beat and the water level and clarity was good but no grayling. I did manage to spot salmon and the top of the beat which is a good sign for the river.

Me and my brother covered all the pools on this stretch trotting maggots and managed 3 grayling a piece, all of which were decent fish. Probably should have brought my nymphing rod as well to get the best out of the stretch. Stunning river. Access to the second field from the bottom end was very difficult due to a collapsed river bank which has dragged the fence down into the river.

6 Grayling