Feedback & Reports

Had a very frustrating and difficult day on this beautiful stretch of the Arrow. The day was bright with no wind and the water was clear, I had thought that with all the thunder storms around the Midlands and Wales that it might have been slightly coloured but definitely not!
I knew it was going to be tough when every time I saw a fish rising by the time I got to a point where I could cast the fish was long gone.
While I'm still a novice at fly fishing I do have a lot of experience stalking fish when coarse fishing, and how anyone got in range of these fish with tenkara outfit amazes me! I even tried sitting still for a while and waiting for the trout to re-appear, which they did, only to have them disappear the moment my fly hit the water!
To make matters worse I actually managed to hook 10 fish, including one large brownie tempted from under a tree, sadly the majority got off the hook.
I began to suspect there was something wrong with my flies, but they seemed ok, and they definitely didn't have any problem hooking and staying hooked to every leaf, twig and rock on the entire stretch.
On a bright side the whole river was alive with wildlife, Mayflies, dragon flies and damsel flies were all on the wing, and twice a pair of king fishers shot past me in blue blurs.
Overall this beat is superb, plenty of fish and plenty of likely looking areas to cast to, shame there are so many of those fly eating beech trees though!
Thanks WUF for another great day

2 Trout

An quick afternoon session. The Arrow was full and carrying a bit of colour following rain earlier in the week. Three fish of about 6”, one to a GRHE the other two coming up to a small Blonde Wulff.

3 Trout

I fished from 11am-4pm on a fairly cool overcast day. 8 trout were caught on single cdc dry flies, 1 on a Klinkhammer and 7 on a beaded PT nymph fished under a Klinkhammer. The fish were a variety of sizes up to 12 inches. Not many fish rising when I arrived but more seen as the afternoon went on. Lots of wildlife about including an otter [think it was too big to be a mink] which swam into the pool I was fishing before it spotted me and scampered up the bank.

16 Trout

Had a couple of hours to spare while my son played Cricket in Kington so fished from 6 till 8 PM. Quite a few fish rising so stuck with a CDC and Elk emerger. Rod used was 8ft Tenkara and fish from 6 to 10 inches.

12 Trout

I have only recorded the fish I caught, the other angler Clive caught 14 but will report his own. The fish was about 8inches long and in beautiful condition it was returned safely and unharmed.
Please convey my thanks to all concerned with organising a fantastic weekend Wild Stream fishing; I will also return next year. Also thanks to the Riverside Inn where I stayed on Friday 13th; excellent accommodation and a super host to the event. I would also recommend the Oak at Wigmore where I stayed on the Saturday evening.
Thanks agin for a wonderful weekend.

1 Trout

Wild Stream Open Day Day 2 15 May 2016.
Teamed up with Stan from Yorkshire to explore the Arrow at Kington, above the Gladestry Brook.
Very good conditions. Warm, 17C, very slight breeze with the occasional cloud over the sun. From Midday on the sun was shaded by the trees on the south bank.
The river was also looking good, rain a few days earlier had left a fining down river with about 24" viz, the gravel side banks were mostly covered.
Invertebrate life much different to the Upper Lugg. Here the cased caddis was common, with few shrimps and only a few nymphs found after lifting stones.
The pools at 10ft+ long and about 18 to 30" deep. Great for fishing a duo. Sz 14 black klink with a 14 GH PTN or HE under. HE was best
I fished 11-12 below Hergest bridge for 4 fish, with several long range releases.
We broke for lunch. Resumed after 1pm and I fished the top 500 yards getting many offers and bringing to hand or net another 10 fish. Mostly 5-6" but an 8", a 10" and a clonking 12" brownie inc. One on the dry and the rest on the point nymph.
The last 2 fish were rising in a pool but showed no interest in the dry.
I settled down in the bankside growth to watch as my closing approach had spooked them.
Resting them for 10 minutes. Got one on a nymph and after waiting another 15 mins took the 12" fish. Great end to a great weekend.

14 Trout

Arrived at 10am and fished till 12.30. The river coloured a bit as the morning went on from the overnight thunderstorms. Best fly hatch I have seen this season although the fish weren't impressed with no rises seen. Fished with 8 foot Tenkara rod and small Tungsten bead nymph.All fish caught in the heads of the pools.

6 Trout

Given the weather of the previous twenty four hours I wasn’t particularly optimistic as I arrived for my first outing of the season. The river was flowing swiftly and carrying quite a bit of colour. However, my 2.15 start at Hergest Bridge coincided with a dry spell. With no sign of fish and just the very occasional Large Dark Olive hatching I opted to go ‘duo style’ with a Klinkhammer and weighted GRHE. Two fish in the first hour came as a real bonus. Altogether it took two and a half hours of careful, steady wading to reach Mahollam Bridge by which time the rain had resumed. Two further fish came to hand making a total of four, ranging from 5”-8” and all to the nymph.

4 Trout

No fish caught, but a nice stretch of wild river to spend an afternoon on. A new-looking fence has been put up at the end of the field above the weir, which looked too tricky to cross without risk of damaging the fence or your tackle. This means the beat cannot be fished from start to finish in one go. Both parking points need to be used, and the beat divided into two sections.

Arrived mid-morning to find the river running clear. This, combined with the low, bright sunshine made it difficult not to spook the fish. Concentrating on the broken water and deeper shaded pools I winkled out four fish of about 6” and one splendid specimen of 12”+. All came to size 14 gold head PTN or GRHE. I didn’t venture beyond Mallhollam Bridge.

5 Trout