Feedback & Reports

Fished the peg almost opposite the fishermans hut on the crib. It looked fantastic but was very clear and the level appeared to be below normal as the bay on the opposite bank (point of the small island) was only a few inches deep. Sat for probably 4 hours without a bite using every method and bait I had with me including halibut, elips pellets, boilies, luncheon meat in all sizes. Feeding hemp and barbel bomb (hinders) through a feeder. Was really disappointed so decided to move downstream to a peg on a concrete and stone ledge under a big tree. Having sat there for another 2hrs I eventually had 2 barbel about 5lb on 8mm pellets. All in all a disappointing days fishing but loved the location and views. My two mates managed to catch 4 chub and 2 barbel between them. One of the barbel was over 8lb but again not a very impressive day considering all 3 of us are experienced Barbel anglers. We put it down to the condition of the river level. But will be back to give it another go.

A good days fishing was eventually had by all 4 rods. Had to move around the stretch a bit to find the barbel & chubb. Not a prolific haul of fish but an enjoyable day none the less. Variety of baits used but pellet seemed to produce the fish.

First of 4 days on Courtfield. Loveley stretch with plentry of variation and pegs to fish from. The ownwer, Don, met us shortly after we arrived and gave a really useful introduction to the top half of the fishery pointing out many of the fish holding features etc. really nice guy and his knowledge of the stretch ceratinly paid dividends over the 4 days.
Fishing itself was really hard going with only 1 barbel and 2 chub caught between us. We tried a variety of area & swims during the day but all fish were caught during afternoon/evening and all on groundbait/pellet approach

2 x Trout; 5 x Dace; 2 x Chub (4-5lbs). All caught using maggots. All fish released.

6 x trout 6-15 inches, 5 x grayling 12-17 inches.
My heart was set on Autumn dry fly fishing for grayling, but it's unwise in angling to go out with a fixed idea in your head. That cold wind was blowing again, although the sky clouded over nicely during the afternoon. The Irfon was very low and slow, and the surface seemed strangely dead for most of the day. A few olives and sedge arrived during the afternoon, but no reaction. A few of us have noticed a decided reluctance by grayling to rise to the surface so far this season. I persevered for a long time with dries, and with a little Grayling Steel Blue picked up one nice trout which I saw rising under overhanging branches. I gave the fly a twitch and he whacked it. Otherwise it was very hard going for the occasional small trout - not a single grayling on top.
Quite late in the afternoon, I saw the error of my ways and changed the rig to one for heavy nymphs. This saved the day. In a medium-paced gravel run, I found a small pod of grayling and four of them were proper Irfon fish - 15 inches, two at 16 inches, and one at 17 inches. It's good to know they are still there, even if they were looking down on this occasion. They all accepted the dull grey Tungsten Hare's Ear, rather than the more colourful Pink Shrimp further up the leader.
Records at the Cammarch Hotel show that guests have had quite good fishing, including with Daddy Long-Legs patterns. That one doesn't normally live in my grayling box but it's food for thought. There are certainly a lot of crane flies about this year.

Fished 3pm until late evening. Had a swirl at the tube fly in Stone Catch. There is something big there!

2 rods, one salmon and one trout. Arrived early and water was clear but low. Salmon rod fished above the bridge with Flying Cs, Mepps and Devon minnow with no success. No salmon seen. Fly rod fished below the bridge. A lovely stretch of river but limited to about 100 yards because access is difficult due of heavily overgrown steep banks. Tried wets, nymphs and dries but nothing caught which was probably due to my skills and the need to master roll casting. Had to leave at 5.30 when a limited amount of surface activity was starting.

Seven brown trout and one salmon parr taken on a beadhead nymph. Did have a couple of splashy rises to a klinkhammer but surface activity was sporadic. Nice stretch of river but wading is tricky and a wading staff strongly recommended.

Nil. Gave it about an hour with neither sight nor sign of any fish. The wading was very tricky and I called it a day before I fell in!

13.00 - 18.30, water level very low and clear, threw everything at it, twice! Raised a couple, pricked a few, no results. No hatch to speak of, surprising for such a warm day. A rather fine specimen broke the surface half way up the beat, caught me off guard and in my haste to target the fella my cast ended in the overhanging greenery. Never saw him again.