Feedback & Reports

Fished from 11am-4pm. Mild and overcast with the river runnning fairly clear and at a good height. Lots of flies about including a few early mayflies. Not that many fish rising although I started to see more between about 2-3pm.
I had an excellent days fishing despite falling face first in a bed of nettles near the end of the session! 18 trout caught, the majority 6-9 inches with one big fish of about 14-15 inches near the start of the beat. Lost quite a few fish as well including another big one that snagged me in tree roots. I fished for most of the day with a tungsten bead PTN suspended under a size 14 Klinkhammer catching 11 on the nymph and 1 on the Klinkhamer. 6 more fish were caught on a Parachute Adams dry fly.

18 Trout

Stunning river fished with weighted nymphs and dry's tenkara style, without success. No fish caught or sited throughout the day, maybe down to my inadequacy. Spoke to a local who used to fish the river but gave up due to decline of fish population, noted a land drain flowing into the river on the lower half of the beat! it would be interesting to know if the water quality is ever tested?

Morning mist cleared leaving bright blue sky and 14 degrees. Casting awkward as there are plenty of bankside trees forming tunnels. Chest waders needed as half a mile into the beat at the end of the first field both banks are barb wire fenced. Plenty of fishing done wet first then dry but no catching. No fish seen all day.

Knill beat, nil return! My first visit to the area, stunning scenery, lots of trout, all spooked. You get within casting distance of the tail of a pool, and they are all off! Ah well, lots of kingfishers, and was it a mink or an otter that I saw?

This beat has got the better of me yet again. I did see a number of small brownies and one of about 8 inches, But they all eluded me. This challenging stretch of river redefines the art of stealth walking. I have never come across such spooky fish. The water was crystal clear, and perfect conditions. So if nothing else, a grand day out!

Clear water and fish easily spooked, so nil caught. Good to see a few scurrying away though.

Overcast with some small/med olives & mayfly hatching but only a couple of rises seen. River seemed fairly high and was pushing through very fast.
I caught two fish in the first hour on tungsten bead nymphs and then persevered for the remaining four hours with dry flies catching 3 more. 3 of the fish were about 9-10 inches and 2 were about 6 inches.
I hadn't noticed Himalayan Balsam on this beat before but there seems to be quite a few plants starting to appear in the second field and onwards upstream. There is also a large tree that has fallen across the river in the second field.

5 Trout

The stream was high, coloured and flowing fast. None caught.

River looked in good condition and only a little higher than summer level. Sunny intervals although it was a cold wind. Nevertheless I'm afraid I blanked. It may have been a little too early in the season or my technique. I know there are some feisty wild browns in this part of the river so I'll just have to try harder next time! Thanks to WUF for the help in booking the beat.

Very low water and gin clear. Plenty of fish about but easy to spook. Would like to have made longer casts so as not to spook them but this is impossible due to too many overhanging trees. The beat could do with a bit of a trim this winter!
Both trout caught were between 10 & 12 inches and came from deep pools on a heavily weighted nymph.

2 Trout