Feedback & Reports

Very poor fishing today most probably due to the extreme heat. Temperatures hit 32 degrees at 2pm.

1 Trout

A very warm day, low river although the fish didn't seem to mind all in great condition and fighting fit. ????

4 Barbel, 66 Chub

Great maps and directions as usual. Arrived very early just before first light and headed off from the car park to my intended peg "The Lucky Stones" which i had been successful on a previous visit a few years ago. From the feedback although the beat had been very busy over the last few days i was still hoping to find one or two hungry mouths that would still oblige, after concurring the dreaded "heart attack" hill and settled in my nominated peg i realised that id left my specs at home which made tying hooks and threading beads that more difficult, that said somehow i managed. From the off the Chub did not disappoint, however it did go quiet mid morning and with no barbel to speak of i decided to bait the swim with Hemp, small cubes of meat & pellet and made a move slightly upstream, one or two Chub followed but it was slow, so i decided to move yet again into one of the pegs in the field, worst decision id made all day, it was dead!, so i immediately decided to make my way back to the "Lucky Stones" and boy it didn't disappoint, second cast small tap and bang i was into something really big, and school boy error "set your drag before you start fishing" not during a frenetic fight needless to say i lost it, much to my disappointment the hook length parted company, a rock or mussel who knows? It was 11am by now and with the sun high in the sky my thoughts of catching a Barbel were diminishing, how wrong i was, a few cast later i was into another heavy battling fish, this turned out to be the biggest of the trip, it tipped the scaled at 9lb 5oz, after a quick photo and a well deserved rest in the net i returned her to the river, feeling elated i settled back into my chair after the next cast, the tip nodded again and in quick succession i was into yet another hard fighting fish, after a short battle it tipped the scales at 8lb 7oz, well chuffed. Despite trying hard for another hour or so i could not tempt another Barbel only small nuisance Chub, by this time it was touching 30 degrees and decided (reluctantly) it was time to leave, and head back up "heart attack hill". All fish were caught ledgering meat and feeding hemp and small meat cubes.

The Canoe traffic arrived somewhat earlier than expected and although some were courteous some were very loud and insisted on banging their canoe as they paddled by, beyond belief !!

Anyways i had a great days fishing considering the hot conditions and low water level, thanks as always the the WUF and Land owners for allowing us some great access to a great river and lovely nature it provides.

Be back soon.!

2 Barbel, 20 Chub

3 trout, not very big, size 18 black PTN.

A very hot day at Knill, with the air temperature in low-30s. However, the cold and crystal clear stream made it refreshing to be in the river, topping up by good shades from the trees. The water was low but the flow was still decent, considering the current drought we had. There were still plenty of pools with 3+ foot depth.

Fishing-wise, very difficult. Started at Knill farm up-to the foot bride with nothing caught. Then moved to the lower section. There were many good looking deep pools but none produced. Had 3 brown on a size 18 PTN. The first one came from a flat and the other two came from drifting PTN right next to undercut banks. Caught a crayfish by accident.

There were lots of cased caddis, under pretty much on every big rocks flipped. With that many caddis, I suspected the fish would be selective. Anyway, it was a good day out with nature.

3 Trout, 1 Other

5 Trout

9 Barbel, 6 Chub

1 Chub

Tooo hot!
Worryingly low water.