Feedback & Reports

Note for WUF- is Himalayan Balsam a pink shrub, few feet high, very bright pink flowers and with buds that explode with a pop when squeezed? If so there is a lot on this otherwise beautiful beat. Would you like anglers to squash down the balsam?

WUF Note: That certainly sounds like balsam, so yes any help with pulling or removing it would be appreciated!

Not a bad day. Despite recent rain, level still quite low, overcast. Only caught one of the fish in the downstream section. Innumerable fish came off the hook, and missed many more takes. Biggest fish, 2 grayling 11/12" both on emerger dry. Majority caught on red bead ptn under a sedge, mostly in the slow, cloudier runs. Cottage section bypassed and didn't have time for the succession of pools near the top unfortunately. A mink also came along to the pool I was fishing and would not go away no matter how much I hissed at it.

7 Trout, 12 Grayling

Only managed very brief afternoon session upstream of bridge. Bright sunshine, nothing rising.
One trout and one grayling caught - both about 8 inches and both on weighted nymph.

1 Trout, 1 Grayling

Arrived before 8 am: thin cloud and 18 degrees. It promised to be a baking hot bank holiday and my expectation was obliterated by that fact. On the bottom of the beat at 08:25. Water felt cold and with just the merest touch of colour. Nothing hatching and no sign of fish. Picked a small gold bead GHRE, size 16 as my prospecting weapon of choice with no real expectation. So, naturally, I took 5 grayling from the very first pool! Not large, ranging from 4" to 8".

Then it got more difficult. Saw just 2 fish rising along the whole length of the beat by 3pm, when the sun had been freed from its veil and was beating down like a Spaniard on a donkey. I had 1 more grayling on a glide below the cottage, where 2 pairs of kingfishers residing, the males flashing past like dive bombers as I worked that section. A herd of cows had broken the fence on the left hand bank just up from he cottage (and down from the bridge) and had essentially camped in the shaded, cooling river by that time. Not that you could blame them...

2 more grayling of between 8" and 10" and a single 10" wbt from the top part. Saw a signal crayfish in the top half. This is where I saw the rising fish (it was afternoon by this time) and managed, through a process of stealthy stalking and careful casting (maybe not!), to put them down every time. Old elephant foot strikes again!

Getting out at the weir was fun... I had no idea I was that fat and useless. But then, I don't dare look in a mirror anymore.

A good beat. I should have tried the dry more. Went to Middlemoor for evening and discovered this works. Perhaps that's the secret to catching wbt...

1 Trout, 8 Grayling

Great location for fishing. I had 7 grayling and 1 brown trout - 2 grayling fishing a duo, 4 grayling and 1 brown trout to French nymphing, and 1 grayling to dry fly. Found this beat very inaccessible due to the bankside vegetation, barbed wire fencing. For a stretch of river with a mile long beat, there isn't much actual fishing available.

1 Trout, 7 Grayling

The heavy rain, which woke me at 5:00 am (nay bother, it was time to get up anyway), was more than welcome in this driest of dry summers. Its reappearance, albeit brief, as I was getting suited and booted in the Sned Wood car park at 07:00 hours, was less welcome. In spite of the rain, the river still painfully low; even if the rain had put a fraction on the level and a hint of colour in the water.

20 plus fish from the upstream section in the morning. As ever, a lot of these fish came from just two runs; a deep corner (that does not usually produce for me) and a shallow run (and I mean shallow - I doubt that it was a foot deep) just below the weir. Is it just my imagination, but are the Lugg Grayling smaller this year? In previous seasons, most of the fish I caught fell into the 8-10 inch bracket. This year, 7-9 inch would be a more accurate description - with many of them at the 7 inch end of the range.

Less productive downstream in the afternoon. I usually find this. A combination of less water (both in terms of what is available to fish and lower level/colour), more sun and a post prandial angler, me thinks. I will try reversing the order next time to see if it makes a difference.

Fished a tugsten Endrick Spider on point and a Snipe & Purple on dropper for most of the day - with nearly all of the fish on the point fly. While there were a few fish rising, as far as I could tell, they were mainly micro Grayling (at least that's all I caught when I covered them with a Klinkhammer).

The Trout number is accurate. The Grayling number is an estimate

9 Trout, 25 Grayling

went in search of the grayling today and brought 20+ to hand . lugg down to its bones now with very little flow and clear waters which made for a tricky day. with only the odd rise i fished size 18 2mm bead jig gently bouncing bottom. size wise all between 6-14 inches with most on the smaller side 7-10 inches. all the trout bar one were around 12 inches. still shocked after the weather tuesday and wednesday water levels have dropped not held or risen.

8 Trout, 21 Grayling

River running very low and clear, even after recent spell of heavy rain. Some parts of the beat inaccessible and a couple of trees down in the upper part of the beat.

River coloured after rain.One 9" grayling to a rusty klinkhammer. Very few rises but no success with nymphs.Disappointing day given the recent good catch returns for this beat.1/10. Must try harder!

1 Grayling

First time on a river after breaking my elbow 2 months ago! Just a couple of hours during a short stay in the area. Lovely stretch of water, plenty of variety. A few fish coming up, and managed to tempt a few on dries. Most takes on nymphs though, but my reflexes obviously need a bit of practice! Word of warning. Very aggressive bull in adjacent field. I had to make a hasty retreat through a field on the opposite bank.

1 Grayling