Feedback & Reports

I was concerned that the traffic noise from the A40 would disturb this otherwise tranquil spot. I needn’t have worried. The field near the top of the beat was hosting a music festival, which drowned out all other sound. This beat had, well, a beat. I didn’t mind my day’s fishing having a soundtrack.
At first I thought the river was alive with rising fish. As I looked more closely I realised it was just the countless sand martins dipping into the water’s surface to pick off insects. The birds were feeding but the fish didn’t seem to be taking insects at the surface yet. There was no shortage of upwing flies to eat. I’ll have to review my copy of ‘Matching the Hatch’ to identify them all. Yellow mayflies were quite conspicuous, but the majority were a duller brown.
Starting at the lower end of the beat, I ran a GRHE and Pink Shrimp through the prosaically named ‘Sewerage Pool’. No fish showing. I move upstream of the A40 bridge to some of the flat glides with the wooded opposite bank. Around 3pm the fish started rising. Time for dry fly. I selected the generic imitation of a Parachute Adams #14, and cast to the rising fish.
A seven-incher first came to the net. It was a very silvery colour. I wondered for a moment if it might have been a salmon smolt.
I lost another larger fish, then took a break when the fish stopped rising.
I returned in the evening sunshine, and walked the riverbank once more. Some bigger fish appeared to be rising in the upper reaches of the beat, but the trees make casting trickier up that end. I moved downstream, and cast to some more rising fish. A ten-inch fish took the Adams.
The largest fish of the day was just shy of twelve inches. The fish helpfully unhooked itself and jumped out of the net before I had a chance to photograph it.
A nice little beat for a day’s fishing. There are some bigger fish to catch here no doubt. I’ll return.

(full report and more photos on my blog: afishingdiary.com

3 Trout

Loads of takes and 3 beautiful wbt, biggest around 1lb. All fish caught on the dry - elk hair caddis and iron blue dun pattern.
Lots of fish around - casting can be quite tricky and the river very narrow at points. 6.5-7.5ft rod is easily enough

3 Trout

7lbs onFC

1 Salmon

Fine day between the showers. Sheltered from wind. Big march brown hatch. Few danica. No takes on nymph. 2wbt both approx 7"

2 Trout

Fine day between the showers. Sheltered from wind. No takes on nymph. March brown and occasional danica hatching. 8 fish not taken to net - "distance release" by shaking the hook - but one that did was surprising for this little upland stream. 1wbt ~13"

1 Trout

First ever salmon. 29 inches on a home tied cascade.

1 Salmon

1 Trout

2 Trout

9 Trout