Feedback & Reports

First time on this beat for me. Lovely weather, starting with a breeze that became quite chill at the end of the afternoon.
Managed 7 WBT to hand all in good nick and returned safely. I used my 5ft 2weight which served me well - only a couple of times did I wish it was a 6ft or a 4ft!. Saw two splashy rises but could not tempt anything with dry.
There didn't seem to be much emerging. So all caught on gold head nymphs. Deep run nymphing hit many underwater obstructions. Trees and bushes are still bare of leaves. Water was clear and flowing well but was not as high as I expected, therefore wading was very easy. There was a disappointing amount of waste debris on and in the water both natural and caused by humans. Searched for the fourth, but could only find three car wheels.

7 Trout

7 Trout

Caught the last hour or so of light. Good flow and a bit of colour. 8x wbt all on GRHE

8 Trout

10 x trout 6-8 inches, Gold Bead Hare's Ear nymph. By choice I would have been out on the Usk today, but due to rain and high water it was not to be. It's a little early for the brooks, but the Forest of Dean streams were unaffected by the rain and looked in nice condition. And as they are not so far above sea level, it's not a bad place to start. The fish were still deep in the pools this morning, but despite a rising gale a few olives came off as I walked back to the start and I'm guessing that trout will be rising before long.

10 Trout

Belatedly remembered the Forest of Dean streams were still open so sneaked in a trip on the last day to the Bideford brook. Very low and clear, most pools static. Did not see anything happening so started with the nearest I had to a rust klink. Got some interest from very wary trout but could not land any. Things went quiet till about 4.00pm, when in the last run a rise started. In the very shallow water I missed most but landed 2 at 8" on a small blue dun before all stopped again. Also met the owner on the way back for a pleasant chat including the spread of the wild boar!

2 Trout

Water levels low, clear and slow running. A number of fish were seen and spooked as a result but none caught.
Noted invasive weeds along the bank, significant stands of both Japanese Knotweed and Himalayan Balsam.
(WUF note: noted and added to the list!)

A dismal start with heavy rain in the morning, the stream is overgrown in places with Himalayan Balsum spreading rapidly. There is a tree down across the stream which appears recent and makes passage difficult, not the easiest fishing but very rewarding. I brought five wbt to hand and lost a few more, nothing rising so all taken on gold ribbed hares ear nymphs.

5 Trout

9 x trout 6-10 inches, Rusty Klinkhammer. The river was still very low and clear this morning as little rain has fallen in this catchment lately. However, it's coming now and cattle are already lying down in the fields under lowering clouds. Has anybody else noticed the apparently abandoned and overgrown orchard by the footpath on the way back to the car parking place? If I am not mistaken it mostly contains Blakeney Red pears, which used to be made into perry. However, the trees are tall and the fruit far beyond reach. My father, who reckoned he knew something about pruning, used to say: "Let a pear tree tower."

9 Trout

Recent rain had improved the flow and depth. 5 trout to 15cm on a black gnat and beadhead PTN. Also a roach took the nymph.

5 Trout, 1 Other

Water still clear despite the heavy rain over the last 36 hours. Level returned to quite low again though and more stealth than I possess was required for most of the pools. I did however get quite adept at spotting the shadows darting away in the distance ! Weather was bright and relatively warm, even a brisk wind rippling the water on occasion. 3 trout caught (4-10"), 2 of them to a tan klinkhammer, 1 to a bead head olive nymph. However, the tree canopy can consider itself victorious today as it claimed more of my flies than I caught trout! Fished until I started to get wet from the late afternoon showers, although it had stopped by the time I got back to the car so I decided to throw a tenkara line through the pools upstream of the bridge which resulted in a 5" wbt to a bead head nymph.
Obviously been some weather in the area. A fairly large tree has fallen across the stream about 1/2 way along the beat. Harder to navigate than the barbed wire and needed a hands and knees crawl in the shallows. Also, it looks as though the fallen trunk right at the end of the beat has shifted as I couldn't see the end of beat marker. Didn't hang around too long looking as I was getting damp by then.
Shared the beat at various points with; kingfisher; couple of dippers; plenty of wagtails; had to shift the bull and his ladies from the drinking point (thankfully enough driftwood around to act as a prodder because he wasn't going to move otherwise and I couldn't get passed!); and for once no swimming dogs!

4 Trout