Feedback & Reports

Lovely day on the river, but water a bit low. The egret is still around - spotted above the bridge. Lots of birds including Kingfisher and Ravens, but no fish caught. Managed several rises to various flies but no takes. I suspect the rising fish were mainly small and not trout.

Arrived at 2pm, weather overcast to start but the sun did make an appearance later in the afternoon, very warm and humid. The river was very low with a green brown tint and lacked any real flow resulting in a covering of silt and algae on the river bed, when wading I left a cloudy brown trail behind me, I'm no expert but the river looks like it needs a good flush through.
The fishing was very tough going, no hatch and very little fly life about but I persevered with dry flies, at one point I was standing in shallow water and could see trout all around me but they stubbornly refused dries, nymphs and spiders!
Perseverance finally resulted in a take or two which I missed before finally hitting one that stayed on just as I was about to give up and go home. A far cry from the last time I fished here when the trout were almost suicidal.
A lovely beat, full of fish but difficult today.

1 Trout

A little bit of extra water in the morning, which was gone by the evening. All fish taken on small north country spiders. Best trout 10". Very enjoyable day but a little more water would help.

4 Trout, 1 Chub

I fished this delightful beat between 4 and 6.30 pm. The river level was a bit lower than when I last visited, but otherwise in excellent condition. I fished dry, mainly Adams and Sedge. As with my experience at Chainbridge the previous week, the anticipated rise never really materialised. This remains one of my favourite stretches of river anywhere however and the consoling pint at the Bell is the perfect way to round off a day spent fishing rather than catching.

River quite low but normal for this time of year. Fished the morning with nymphs and caught one decent sized WBT (1.5lbs.) on a pheasant tail fished upstream. Tried dry flies for the evening rise ( mainly sedges) but whilst there were fish rising I didn't manage to hook one!

1 Trout

2 Trout

Good river conditions. Saw lots of fish but did not catch any.

Fairly difficult fishing today, though there was some fly life about and the river had been freshened up by the rain. I saw several varieties of sedges, and large upwings hatching that I couldn't identify and a large hatch of iron blue duns in the evening. I was slightly disappointed not to be able to fish the bridge pool; there was a film crew and swimmers using it all day, right up to dusk.
I did managed to catch one thick set, 16", knock out trout. I didn't weight it but I'd guess it to be well over 2lb, which absolutely made up for the swimmers...and canoeists from the wedding at the big house. I also managed to catch a chub of about the same size; both fish were caught on a para tups indispensable.

1 Trout, 1 Chub

Started out at around 1pm, having taken the afternoon off work. Not the best time to start, but I could fish until late. Overcast but bright, and humid. I was hoping for a bit more water after the recent rain a few days before, but the level was still low.
Walked to the end of the beat and was met by a large (but friendly) chocolate Labrador who decided it would be a good idea to run and swim up and down about 100 metres of the river! Not such a good start.
As I walked upstream I spotted four trout on separate occasions in the slow pool areas, but they were easily spooked so it was hard to get anywhere near them. There was not much action until the last hour or so to be honest. Missed a few bites but eventually hooked a decent sized fish that got off the hook before I could land it. Soon after that another bite and the fish was landed. Smaller but beautiful nonetheless. Caught on nymph/Klinkhammer dropper set up. A great day, just would have liked dusk to go on a bit longer!

1 Trout

We fished through the day with a long break for lunch. No real sport before around 7 pm. Very sporadic rises in the morning and managed a single trout on a black penned fished upstream. The evening was fast and exciting with fish freely rising in faster broken water. No rising fish in slower water. GandH sedge lethal fished upstream through faster runs. Largest fish to around 1.5 lbs. Grayling equally active. Might have well started fishing at around 7 pm but this is the most beautiful river to spend time on always holding new surprises.

6 Trout, 2 Grayling