Feedback & Reports

Spent the afternoon after no joy at Blackpool Brook, water levels were good, plenty of space for casting (stuck with my trusty 6ft brook rod) and caught a single Grayling. No active signs of fish movement.

1 Grayling

Only a couple of bites, but no takes.
Fine summers day, rivers still low due to lack of rain and overgrown. Used a 7ft 3wt rig to avoid the jungle growth.

I thought I'd fish the afternoon into the evening given how sunny and hot it was. I also read others reports of substantial rises occurring late evening, but alas, this did not happen. Plenty of fly life and a fair few rises for around an hour or two in the afternoon, but many of them were chub milling around in the shallows. Managed a small trout from a fast riffle and a good chub on the dry that was rising for flies on the far bank! Lost a few others. Wasn't fishing at my best if I'm honest with myself. Fished this stretch numerous times and never had an issue with access to the river like others have reported, but this time was different. Crops planted and at their highest right up to the field edge. Real jungle warfare all along the beat. Any efforts earlier in the year to clear access points are in vain... Can barely see the marker posts indicating access points. Note to self.... Avoid July in the future. Will be better post harvest I guess.

Enjoyable afternoon nonetheless, slightly overshadowed by some swimmers in on of the most productive pools.

1 Trout, 1 Chub

3 Trout, 1 Chub

This morning i went fishing on the river Monnow, access is sometimes difficult. The water was shallow and clear. Seen not many insects in the first part of the morning but seen plenty in the second part. Catched two little grayling on sight on a grey spider.

2 Grayling

1 Trout

I could only get there after 5pm and found the water a bit murky after the rain of the last 24 hours, decided to therefore try some brighter patterns but soon changed to dry flies as I noticed fish surface feeding. After 8pm the fish really started feeding in a frenzy and would bite at anything I floated past them. This was most productive in the slower moving pools which were about 2 foot deep. I left at 9pm but the fish were still at it.

1 Trout

2 Out of season Grayling returned- one about 12" and one about 8". Both in the faster water up from the recording studio. Saw 2 trout rising under trees (caterpillars ?) but otherwise nothing. Maybe the stormy weather in the previous 2 days or maybe me stamping about in the river.
Easy to find and to park (there is even a sign!) . What rods need to know is that you have to access some of the water through the studio's garden and that access points are marked by yellow posts. Make sure you have plenty of tippet handy for replacements as these trees are angry! To be fair, willow is quite forgiving when it comes to recovering your hairy projectiles.
I didn't see ladders or hand rails as mentioned in the notes, however, I didn't cover the whole beat. NB if volunteers are needed to clear some of the entry/exit points I can rouse a couple of willing folk. Fun day on the river!

2 Grayling

1 Trout