Feedback & Reports

A bright sunny day with a strong flow,fished in slacker water to a crease caught a 6lb barbel 2nd cast on pellet then nothing till a lovely conditioned chub took my boilie wrapped in krill paste early in the afternoon weighing 4 1/2lb. DS caught a 7lb barbel late in the day in the faster water followed by a 4lb chub both on pellet. A lovely beat, thank you wuf.

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Arriving early again we walked up to the very top end of the beat, baiting up a couple swims just after the woodland. We settled in the swims the far end of the field and fished for a few hours. No luck until early afternoon when 2 barbel were banked in quick succession, 5.08 and 7.12. Moved up to the pre-baited swims, again fishing for a couple hours with no success. Finally the rod wrenched around to what turned out to be an incredible fight with a barbel weighing 9.06. So nearly the magic double!! We moved back down towards the car and the lower half of the beat. Fished up until dark, unfortunately losing what felt like another specimen sized barbel. Nevertheless a good day was had on a river under challenging conditions. All fish fell to groundbait feeder and pellet or meat.
On a slighly more negative note, we did notice 2 small (2-3lb) barbel dead in the water in the shallow cattle drink at the top of the beat. Nothing suspicious I'm sure, but maybe worth other anglers keeping an eye out in the near future.

3 Barbel

Arrived early after a couple hours drive. Found the river in the condition expected. Chocolate brown and pushing through at a rate of knots. Baited up and fished swims in the lower beat. Due to the conditions, we are only fishing a few metres from the bank in the creases and slacks. All fish came mid-late afternoon (4.08 chub and two small barbel in the 5-6lb bracket). All fish taken on pellet with a groundbait feeder. Really nice looking beat. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

2 Barbel, 1 Chub

Fished lower section of beat another great day to be on this fabulous river, conditions looked good and we were hopeful of an even better day when 2 of the Barbel were landed around lunchtime. Alas only one further Barbel and 5 Chub came in the afternoon with majority to meat hookbait.

3 Barbel, 5 Chub

Fished from 2pm til about 6pm when darkness came. Caster and hemp accounted for many small fish for first hour then we went to meat on swim feeder or direct. Fabulous sport. Fished very close to bank. Barbel around 6-8lb, chub from 2-4lb. Beautiful condition fish. The barbel pulled so hard and go off like a train on the first run. Heart stopping stuff on a scenic, quiet beat.
Accommodation for the night and breakfast at nearby Southbank House was excellent and would highly recommend. Dinner and good ale in the 'Bunch of Carrots' nearby very tasty too.
Will come again, for longer.

4 Barbel, 6 Chub

This was the final day for the 3 of us, of a 3 day trip. We have been trying to get a first Barbel for one of our number for over a year and with the conditions being fairly bad we didn't hold out much hope. But with an hour and a half til sunset, SH caught an absolutely pristene 5lb'der on meat, that made the trip worth while :) The 2 Chub were also caught on meat, and the bits were caught on maggot. Thanks WUF. We'll be back!

1 Barbel, 2 Chub, 20 Other

Feeder method. River running high, cold and coloured with large amount of leaves following heavy wind, so not easy fishing.
Very enjoyable!

4 Barbel, 6 Chub

Beautiful stretch, challenging water conditions with the river high and coloured, difficult to present bait effectively as a result. Lost a large fish in the stretch before the wooded section early on, then settled into the pump pool for the afternoon. We took 5 barbel in total which we were pleased with given the water conditions. Largest was about 7lb. Hooked something which took off like a rocket and bent my hook out. Can only imagine it was the elusive double.

5 Barbel, 1 Chub

Good day, really tricky conditions. But still 4 barbel caught!

4 Barbel

Tough day on a great looking beat. We started on the upper beat on the first peg by the orchard, It looked fantastic, good colour, good level, pushing through a bit though. Stayed there for a couple of hours, to our amazement nothing caught. We moved upstream into the woods and found a couple of fishable areas. G W caught 2 chub about 4lb each, K W caught 1 chub about 3lb. We moved back down to the orchard and K W caught 1 more chub, about 3lb.
There are not too many pegs on the upper stretch. Next visit I will go to the lower beat and will hopefully do better. Lovely beat, fantastic wildlife.

4 Chub