Feedback & Reports

Beautiful morning. River looked in good condition, plenty of Mayflies but very few signs of action up until I was about to leave the water at the bridge, and got a fish on the hook. Sadly it got away. 3rd time on this beat and still yet to net a fish. Maybe next time! It was a little more wild this time with 2 fallen trees to negotiate - all made for bit of extra fun! Shallower water meant I could fish almost the whole beat without exiting the water which was good - previous visits have found frustration with missing large sections due to deep pools and sections with no access. But not this time :)

Well set of initially fof the Kington beat this afternoon, but when I arrived at the bridge there was a car already there at one , displaying their Wild Streams pass , so did an about turn back to Pembridge and plumbed for Court of Noke , ahhhhhh success no one was parked in the field and no bookings either ,happy days , kitted up and mooched to the start , well actually the style that is wrapped in so much barbed wire you can only just about see it !!!!!!

Anway when I started at half one , plenty of Mayflies , Brook Duns and stone flies on the go , and masses of mayfly shucks in the quieter water , although thfe brownies weren't hard on them during my three hour visit !!! They were still keen ti rise to flies causing a disturbance though !!!!

Still great fun casting to risers , and them hammering the big dries , superb!!!! After all the doom and gloom of COVID-19 it was nice for some real escapism . . . Trout ranged today from a tubby thirteen inches to ten inches ,and netted five in total , all in cracking condition, two long range releases on the big Mohican Mayfly , and a couple more savage attempts at the fly !!!

Getting a bit low now, and algal deposits starting to accumulate on rocks etc , could do with two good days if rain to be honest . . . But I guess cant complain still great catching gorgeous browns on the Mayfly . . .

Half way up the beat two young lads walked passed, I surprised them in the river and mentioned where were they going with spinning rods!!! The one was about sixteen I guess with a youngster of about ten in tow ,he explained Edward B . Is friends with the family and lets us fish here !!! I doubted them and mentioned its fly water only and permit water also, so WUF , could you look into this and contact the beat owners, to see if they allow friends to Spin the water !!!!! I think the proverbial brown stuff was coming out if his mouth , so I did send them.packing !!!

Anyway after that fiasco , finished with one more fish short of the bridge on a large Para Adam's, great fun , and a superb three hours , will get on the Kington or Titley beat one evening this week , happy days . . . . Stay safe out there folks !!!!

5 Trout

Fished 5-7pm from approximately two thirds of the way down the beat. River very low and the impact of winter floods notable as previously un-wadable holes now filled in and several fallen trees blocking wading progress upstream. No fish rising at all. Nothing, even with clouds of hatches. No true mayfly yet. Managed 2 stunning wbt close to the top of beat to a nymph under a Klinkhammer. Although the above might seem a bit negative....I had the best 2 hours fishing that I can remember! Just so good to be out, wildlife, cool water and waders not leaking! Fantastic!

2 Trout

The 5 Grayling were taken trotting maggots 2 of them were over the 1 lb mark. The river was still on the high side but just about fish able for the fly

5 Grayling

Water high and dark - not much to be had.

Fished the whole beat from the road bridge to the weir in 5 hours. A lot more fishable than my previous visit in early November, although a little less water would of been preferable. Trotted maggot landing 2 trout and 1 grayling, all 3 around the 10" mark.

2 Trout, 1 Grayling

Desperate to get out grayling fishing I had been watching the river level slowly coming down and with more rain forecast decided to take a chance and book the beat. Having checked the river level just before leaving and saw it was rising again my fears were confirmed as I drove over the river at Pembridge noting the amount of water and its grey colour. Fortunately had put the float rod in and some maggots as fishing the fly would have been impossible. Caught a very small grayling from the margins early on and a 6" trout from just above the weir at the bottom of the beat. Five hours of fresh air and solitude. Will keep watching the levels and return again soon.

1 Trout, 1 Grayling

Made the best of falling water after flooding. Only one catch on a nymph which I think may have been a salmon parr.
WUF note might be a small trout?

1 Other

Managed not to contact with any fish at all. River had what i thought was a good tinge of colour and was carrying a little extra flow which was falling throughout the day. The banks are overgrown and some parts not really accessible. In the parts that I fished, I was confident of catching, tried various methods but to no avail. Only saw a couple of Buzzards and a huge Kite. Strangely a total lack of insects, Bees, Wasps or anything else for that matter. Parking great, map instructions excellent, took a new scenic route from home which made the journey so less stressful, pleased with that! Where are the fish?!?

No fish from just below the bridge, only bit of water I could get at!!!, right hand bank brambles and electric fence and high banks, left hand bank had Himalayan balsam almost running the entire length of the beat, where there was none banks were to high to access bank, I understand it is wild stream fishing but this felt a little bit like a forget about it fishery,really needs attention. surely the WUF has some responsibility to control this invasive weed on their waters???. I'm more than happy to help where I can regarding maintenance and weed control.

Fishing Passport Note: Thank you for your offer to help, we will be in touch regarding volunteer opportunities very soon. Himalayan balsam is a problem throughout the catchments, except for the Monnow where after an intensive programme over several years it has almost been eradicated. Unfortunately, current methods of dealing with it (pulling, strimming and spraying) are extremely time consuming, costly and have to be comprehensive to be effective. However, the Foundation will be soon starting some balsam rust trials, which we hope will be the answer in keeping this prolific invasive plant in check. In the meantime, our limited resources are going towards eradicating Japanese knotweed and the noxious Giant hogweed.