Feedback & Reports

Thought I'd have a day on the Escley today. I used to love this stream and I fished it regularly a few years ago. But now it has sadly become pretty much unfishable. I parked up at Ponty's mill and worked upstream from there until the end of Escley 4, then started above the waterfall onto Escley 3. At this time of year you'd expect it to be a bit overgrown but it has been so neglected that it was pretty much impossible to fish and I gave up after a couple of hours and headed back for an early lunch.

6 x trout 6 - 12 inches, Parachute Adams. This one is getting rather overgrown.

6 Trout

Had a few hours up here after setting up camp at Tan house farm, been a few years since I've had time up here and it used to be pretty tight then but now very tight indeed to fish !
It was carrying some colour still , fair enough ,but there was a fair bit of what looked like land run off sediment on the bed , don't recall it being as bad as it was today in the past .
Nothing doing at all so a Butty Bach and pie at the Crown finished the evening off rather nicely !

I saw a recent report of 20 fish caught which tempted me in and I keep on coming back to see if Escley can be like it was before it got butchered into E1, E2, E3 and E4. This will probably be the last experiment. The 45 min walk to start of beat from the parking was the first problem. Then low water, no flow and high undergrowth meant impossible conditions to reach the few rising fish I saw. I stopped after lunch to go in search of water.

River still very low and not much flow. 1 small trout on a nymph, lost 2 more. A few mayfly about but no fish rising.

1 Trout

Ecsley low and showing her bones! Dropped another inch or so during the day. Fly life was prominent – mayflies and olives, some sedges but also many diptera. Fish there but very spooky and never settling to regular feeding patterns – other than 1 12” brownie which was scoffing mayflies confidently and hammered ours. Come the evening a few mayfly spinners around but large numbers of olive spinners too – but the fish still lay doggo. Rain desperately needed. And the chippie in Eywas Harold does an excellent steak roll to end the day....

1 Trout

Small emergers gave way to a Steady hatch of mayfly. Conditions tricky with low water and low branches! But we like a Challange. Wonderful bird life kingfisher, dippers, buzzards as you might expect also hobby, tawny owl.

20 Trout

My favourite beat but a slight shame it is shorter. Could have done with a coppice last winter as in places more overgrown than usual. Three fish in an afternoons fishing on mayfly. Largest well over a pound.

3 Trout

James and I fished as one rod on this restructured beat - thanks to the office for helping with clarification before we set out.
On the river the day started off at 10 degrees but warmed up once the sun arrived about 2 pm. There was a trickle of mayflies all day, with olives and sedges too = but the fish only locked on in very localised rises. We had 4 between us - but what fish! 1 x 12", 2 x 14" and the best a 16" trophy. All fat, strong and beautifully marked. Felt like par for the course - all on parachute mayflies, a challenging yet excellent day.
Had a very pleasant chat with the farmer - but the stench from the mangled dead badger at the parking place was bad!

4 Trout