Feedback & Reports

2 Trout

2 Trout

Early start river was colured and dropping fished a feeder size 10 hook feeding plenty of hemp. No big Chub all around the 3lb mark but did have some decent Barbel.

6 Barbel, 9 Chub

Beautiful venue, but would not recommend for any fly fisher. Only a couple of small spots able to back cast, but full of course anglers, so not very good fishing.

Nine hours fishing today, covering the beat with fly and spinner. 1’7 on the gauge and a dark peat like stain to the river.
No salmon caught or seen.
The access to the upper pools is much better since the banks had a haircut. Middle beat access is ok. The lower part of the beat is another matter. The catches below the hut are only accessible in a few places. As the island is completely overgrown, a slippery , tricky wade was needed in dirty water to access the Neck of the Rectory and the Rectory pool. I’m not a shy wader, but at this river height I didn’t risk it. The overgrown vegetation at the waters edge further down is an accident waiting to happen and great care needs to be taken if you are unfamiliar with the beat so that you don’t end up in the river after stepping on what appears to be solid bankside.

1 Trout

River high, pushing through and coloured on arrival with all of the expected feature obscured. Was not expecting much fro the day but an obliging dace stirred my spirits and the chub put in regular appearances throughout the day. River fell steadily throughout the morning and by the afternoon the fish were feeding confidently. The two barbel were in superb condition and the larger of the two was around 8lbs (weighed) and a truly beautiful fish. Seeing it rise out of the water and show its flank before diving away into the depths is what fishing is all about for me. A lost barbel told me it was time to call it a day. I was more than happy and this is a beat I know I will return to. Many thanks to the landowner for allowing me to park up and sleep in my car the night before to minimise my driving (having been in the area the day before and wanting to avoid a double trip). A very peaceful overnight stay and not a bad spot to wake up to.

Fishing Passport Note : Overnight stays are by prior arrangement only. Enquiries via the Fishing Passport

2 Barbel, 5 Chub, 1 Other

Hard work, wind all over the place. Wonderful water if you are happy with small fish you have to work for.

3 Trout

I fished from 1400-1830, strong winds occasional rain and sunny spells.
I've not been on this beat for a number of years so memories are faded, but it felt like fairly low water. There was something of a milky hue to the water, which I remember from other Lugg beats but hadn't previously associated with this one.
There was some fly life about so I fished all of the streamy water with various CDC mayfly imitations and suspended PTN patterns. No rises to naturals but dozens of splashes from tiny things (2-3”) in the shallow, fast moving water and one small grayling (5"). Aside from that, nothing on the dry. I had another equally small grayling and a tiny trout (4") on the PTN - but only when I fished it across the current and retrieved, there was no interest in anything dead drifted. Given the stream is so small and foliage is intense, there is very little scope to fish across.
Eventually, I realised that the fast, steamy water that I remembered as being full of trout years ago wasn't going to produce anything so I started again and went through the few deep pools in the lower half of the beat with a long leader and heavy nymphs -tricky with a 6' 3wt rod... I don't particularly like that style of fishing but it brought 3 grayling quite quickly, the largest at 14".

Access is good, especially below the bridge. Above the bridge a couple of fallen trees and plenty of vegetation growth make a section of around 50m unfishable, but it's a slow moving flat stretch so didn't feel like a great loss.

1 Trout, 4 Grayling

2 Barbel