Feedback & Reports

Challenging weather conditions....rained all day with strongish winds thankfully from the right direction. Fished from 10 till 3, firstly with nymphs but with no takes whatsoever.. changed to dry flies despite the rain and proceeded to take 7 voracious trout all on size 16 Adams Klinkhammer from 10-14". No sign of any grayling whatsoever despite all my efforts. I must have disturbed a massive tawny owl which flew from a hole in a tree surprisingly close to the water level.Only managed to fish two thirds of the beat.

7 Trout

Lost 2 fish had one barbel and a good chub
5lb 10 all on elips dumbells with a swim feeder

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

Weather and water still unseasonably warm, so brown trout still feeding voraciously. Unintentionally caught 2, both released. Despite fishing deep on the bottom (losing many flies in the process) no grayling caught.

2 Trout

River starting to rise and getting coloured. Only fished from 12 till 15:00. 2 trout on nymphs.

2 Trout

My first attempt at trotting for grayling. Quite a few fish caught though mainly small - largest fish just over a pound.

13 Grayling

Small rise in levels(6") but still running clear. Barbel between 6 and 8 lbs on boilies/pellets. Very mild weather.

4 Barbel

We fished the Abernant beat in bad weather conditions...most of the time some 'mild to heavy' rain. We fished most of our time the Lady Alexanders pool. We enjoyed seeing a lot of salmon jumping about, but could only catch two moderate sized graylings on a weighted nymph in the main chanel. I had one bigger fish on the hook for about 20sec. but this fish came loose in the end. Probably a trout.
I also tried to wade the 'stone catch', but it felt to tricky to risk too much. The bank (left side) of the "Abernant stream" was difficult to walk, so I fished only the end of this part without any sign of a fish.
There was no surface activity the whole day so we only tried to have some luck by nymphing and a few times a wet fly.
Loved the day, but fishing was a challenge.

2 Grayling

First time on this stretch. Best swim access we have experienced on W&U beats. River in perfect condition, weather wet windy and very mild for time of year. Barbel 4-8 lb on pellet and meat. Fish came steadily throughout the day. We now understand why this beat is so popular but perhaps doesn't present the same rewarding challenges as the wilder beats.
Thanks W&U, usual fab scenery.

8 Barbel

Hard going today very windy and wet although sticking with it paid off. 2 barbell, one at 5lb 6 and one at 9lb 15 +
one chub at 6lb. All on elips dumbells on a hair with a swim feeder.

2 Barbel, 1 Chub

River in perfect condition and mild conditions continuing. More swims to choose from now with a tinge of colour in the water. Great day in still, dark and misty mild weather. Thanks W and U for leaving this quite wild.

8 Barbel, 2 Chub