Feedback & Reports

Sneaked 45 minutes on the brook at lunchtime - my first time here this season and it has changed dramatically with the wet winter! Only ventured as far as the end of the first field. No rises seen and no hatch evident - 6 trout 6-9" all took a goldbead GRHE - on at least 3 occasions almost as soon as it hit the water though...

6 Trout

had a few hours today on the Bideford brook overnight rain had risen the stream and added a slight amount of colour which made for perfect nymphing. fished 12-3pm nymphing the heads of the pools and brought 28 to hand and having several slip the hook also. all between 5-9",taking size 18 2mm black tungsten baetis nymph with a hint of orange at the thorax. Plenty of fly on the water LDOs, a few Grannom and midges but only two rising fish spotted which were both brought to hand on the nymph...

28 Trout

6 x trout 6-10 inches, Goldbead Hare's Ear. The brook continues very high with most pools too turbulent for best fishing. Nothing rising. Still, nowhere else looks too good at the moment. Had a pleasant chat with the EA lady come round for a monitoring visit. Their electro-fishing results seem to confirm our general fishing experience - not a bad little stream with a population including juvenile salmon.

6 Trout

The brook was running high and fast, but only coloured not muddy. Saw the odd fly until 1.30, when a short cold and vicious hailstorm descended. Sunny after that, but no flies appeared and nothing rising. However, pleased to land 3 X 9" trout on gold head nymphs, from the bits of slacker water around. First trout of the season, but finished knackered after wading against the flow for 5 hours - just have to keep fit...

3 Trout

8 x trout 6-8 inches, plus a few salmon smolts, already beginning to silver up. A dark and stormy morning with rain on the way. Nothing rising on the way up, so fished with a Goldbead Hare's Ear nymph. However, the last two fish were caught on a Deer Hair Emerger after being seen rising splashily to large dark olives at the top end.

8 Trout

I fished this stretch this time last year and the fishing was better with a few more fish rising, the water didn't feel as warmed up so the fish were not so free rising and confident in taking the fly. I did raise a few fish but nothing connected.
Met a couple of blokes who were checking the Dipper nesting box.

Fish evident, but my skills not adequate to tempt any! Was using a green olive and only saw a couple of rises, though there were flies above the water. Maybe a nymph might have worked better.

River low. Fish easily spooked. Lovely day with heron, kingfisher and woodpecker in evidence.

6 x trout 6-10 inches, Rusty Klinkhammer. This little stream is still extremely low. Incidentally, Martin the farmer here currently has cattle in one of the left bank fields and has made a drinking place for them by wiring off a 20 foot section of the channel. Just duck under the slack wire and head on upstream.

6 Trout

A warm sunny morning and I was on this stream by 0930. A short, shallow beat which when waded, and even with care, it is unlikely that more than one pass could be made in a morning. A spooked fish early on told me there were some little blighters here, but with the air still cool under overhanging branches, there was no fly life, but I persevered with a dry fly rig, and on an exposed piece of water, half way up the beat and in sunshine, I spied a tiny rise at the head of a short pool. My pale watery emerger was too tempting for him, and this turned out to be my only fish, for time was tight, I was just stopping off for a short distraction between fishing the Taff at Abercanaid the previous afternoon evening with Daniel Popp, and was en route to the Wylye at in Wiltshire. Mountain stream to lowland stream to chalk stream...lucky me!
A difficult water, but fun, nevertheless!

1 Trout