Feedback & Reports

I had planned to fish the Edw but arrived to find it high and coloured after overnight rain. Came back down and opted for the Hindwell which proved a good choice.
I was a bit over gunned with a 9ft 3 weight but with some improvised casting and commando style hands and knees fishing I fished French leader with 2 Tungsten bead nymphs. Caught a dozen lovely Trout from the faster water the biggest at 14 inches. Avoiding all the small Trout in the pool tails was difficult, once spooked they would race off and put the whole pool down. The only downside was a Cormorant fishing about halfway up the beat! In 4 hours fishing I only got as far as Knill farm.

12 Trout

Fished with the Tenkara style as part of the WUF Tenkara day. 2 fish taken on Sakasa Kebari (size 16) and 2 taken on my own goldbead GRHE with CDC collar (size 16). Weather was very bad throughout the day, managed only around 3 hours of actual fishing due to lightning storms and heavy rain. 3 of the 4 fish were taken after the main front passed through the area, the water had coloured up but cleared quickly, possibly as this stream is spring fed? Largest fish was around 6 inches, smallest 4 inches, the other two around 5 inches. Great day fishing between the storms, this is a quite a technical venue in places, it is however quite a long beat to explore and is wider and easier to access further up into the middle of the beat (one of the staff suggested fishing near the ford but it didn't get up that far) All the fish were taken at the bottom of runs / head of pools. I would fish this venue again as I enjoyed the variety of river features and the surroundings. Small rod (7- 8ft western style or 8-10ft Tenkara) recommended.

4 Trout

Water very low. Strong down stream at times making casting difficult. Only fish caught were those seen as rising fish 6"-9". No interest in nymph or wet fly. A lovely peaceful beat must return when more water.

3 Trout

Fished from 11am-4pm. Mild and overcast with the river runnning fairly clear and at a good height. Lots of flies about including a few early mayflies. Not that many fish rising although I started to see more between about 2-3pm.
I had an excellent days fishing despite falling face first in a bed of nettles near the end of the session! 18 trout caught, the majority 6-9 inches with one big fish of about 14-15 inches near the start of the beat. Lost quite a few fish as well including another big one that snagged me in tree roots. I fished for most of the day with a tungsten bead PTN suspended under a size 14 Klinkhammer catching 11 on the nymph and 1 on the Klinkhamer. 6 more fish were caught on a Parachute Adams dry fly.

18 Trout

Stunning river fished with weighted nymphs and dry's tenkara style, without success. No fish caught or sited throughout the day, maybe down to my inadequacy. Spoke to a local who used to fish the river but gave up due to decline of fish population, noted a land drain flowing into the river on the lower half of the beat! it would be interesting to know if the water quality is ever tested?

Morning mist cleared leaving bright blue sky and 14 degrees. Casting awkward as there are plenty of bankside trees forming tunnels. Chest waders needed as half a mile into the beat at the end of the first field both banks are barb wire fenced. Plenty of fishing done wet first then dry but no catching. No fish seen all day.

Knill beat, nil return! My first visit to the area, stunning scenery, lots of trout, all spooked. You get within casting distance of the tail of a pool, and they are all off! Ah well, lots of kingfishers, and was it a mink or an otter that I saw?

This beat has got the better of me yet again. I did see a number of small brownies and one of about 8 inches, But they all eluded me. This challenging stretch of river redefines the art of stealth walking. I have never come across such spooky fish. The water was crystal clear, and perfect conditions. So if nothing else, a grand day out!

Clear water and fish easily spooked, so nil caught. Good to see a few scurrying away though.

Overcast with some small/med olives & mayfly hatching but only a couple of rises seen. River seemed fairly high and was pushing through very fast.
I caught two fish in the first hour on tungsten bead nymphs and then persevered for the remaining four hours with dry flies catching 3 more. 3 of the fish were about 9-10 inches and 2 were about 6 inches.
I hadn't noticed Himalayan Balsam on this beat before but there seems to be quite a few plants starting to appear in the second field and onwards upstream. There is also a large tree that has fallen across the river in the second field.

5 Trout