Feedback & Reports

A quiet few hours on the bottom part of the beat up to the weir. The algae or silt on the lower part of this stretch made the wading very slippery despite having studs. The cleanliness of the river bed seemed to improve markedly about half way up for no obvious reason. One rather lean trout took a GRHE nymph. It had a puncture mark on its flank, evident in the photo - maybe from a lamprey? You have to admire the thoroughness of the barbed wire fencing on the left bank!

1 Trout

Well opted for a quick afternoon session ,.hoping of times it right !! Parked up just before one and plenty of upwing olives and other insects on the go and already enjoying the party !! Yes yes yes !! Reading 15 degrees in my truck so tackled up the usual two weight , six foot rod !! Tiny parachute Adans size 16 I thought should work should there be risers. . . . . .

First riser tricky location , well arent they always on these wild streams!! Second cast gingerly ahead of him.bang he took it !! Absolute cracker at eleven inches and gorgeous colours !! You just cang get enough of trout confidently hitting a well placed dry . . . Nice !! Second fish again lovely colours, was at the head of a little pool , again a splashy rise ,.hammered the Adam's nice !!!! Two was my lot but actually with the gin clear low water and creeping around was quite happy with two Arrow crackers in a couple of hours . More than satisfied with my Brownie fix I called it a day at the weir !!The water is terribly low now just trickling over the weir !!! This beauty of a river will be in trouble in a week or so if no rain is imminent !! Let's hope we do get some as the field walking back is cracked and the crop looks very unhappy !!! A fun two hours hopefully next time I go its refreshed with some more H2o , we shall see !!!

2 Trout

Well looked a promising day and with us now being allowed to travel further afield I opted for the Kington beat, one of my old favourites !! Its like a big mug of Horlicks here !!!!! Already 11 degrees when i parked up at the bridge at ten . . Running as clear as Ludlow Gin and at a nice height , when I got in , noticibly still very cold . . . .

Fished various nymphs the two hours I was there and first fish a goooooooooood fish for here,.a twelve inch cracker on my own GRHE , half way up the beat in a deep pool !!! Nice !!!

Second from another deep pool on a hot orange tiny nymoh , good take and another good ten inch powerful fish . Lovely Arrow markings as always. . . . Last one in another deep pool just down from the weir ,. Again a nice tubby ten inch fish , superb. They still haven't really woken up here as water is very cold ,but that aside did see some insect life and upwings at about half eleven . A fun two hours ,only went io to the weir ,.as wanted to crack on with the garden this afternoon . So packed up at twelve, and a slow mooch back to the truck . The field this season is thankfully crops , so no feisty cattle to deal with , along with the three strand barbed that still hasnt had an exit point made by the weir ????? A lovely Spring morning in the upper Arrow valley,.and three brownies to the net , lovely job !!!

3 Trout

Weather, river and hatches all good but no sign of fish apart from a solitary rise (inaccessible). Plenty of barbed wire!

Well thought I'd sneak in a quick session prior to my onslaught of night shifts , so headed off to the Arrow at Kington ,getting there at half nine . Looking over the bridge river looked a picture , and was running at a lovely height with some upwings out on parade as well , nice to see . . .

I initially tackled up with my usual six foot two weight , and a 16 Parachute Adams , a lovely splashy take from the first pool , as I came out from under the road bridge ,feisty ten Inch fish , spot on !!!

Alternated between the dry Adams and a flashback PTN for the deeper pools , and that too was successful , although three did slip the hook this morning!! Ah well that's life . Last fish of the session was from the weir pool , again ditto in size, and the usual Arrow Markings on these gorgeous brownies .

The huge ash tree half way between the bridge and the weir is a nuisance to get around , although great to see some kind soul has cut the alder at the start of the beat , which opens up again that decent pool , lovely job !!!

The fish this morning ranged from.seven to ten inches and four made it to the net , a lovely chill out , cutting out from the weir and negotiating the four strand barbed wire fence which is hairy with expensive waders on . . . When I'm next here I'll bring some sand bags to wrap around the top and bottom strand , seeing as nothing has been done to aid anglers access etc etc !!!

A lovely morning , even though it was a quick session ,its set me up for my session of night shifts . . . Joyous ,cant wait !!! Back here before the end if the season . . . . .lovely job !!!!!

4 Trout

With temperatures of 30 degrees forecast, I wasn't really expecting anything. However, I was on holiday and in the area so thought I'd at least enjoy a walk along the river. Access at the bottom of the beat had to be made under the bridge, as the field on the left hand bank has had a newly installed barbed wire fence along it's entire length. This makes both initial access, but also exiting the river on that bank at any point, almost impossible.

Levels were incredibly low, though there seemed to be a good number of fish in there spooking away from me as I made my way up. Only a couple of fish I could even cast to but I think I chased them off pretty quickly. Fish numbers dropped significantly after the initial lower section.

Decided to exit at the pumping station as it was getting really hot and make my way back along the public footpaths to the north of the river. This seemed like a good idea on paper but it looks like these footpaths hardly ever get used as I had a real jungle stomp to get back! Brambles, sticks and 7+ foot high ferns all trying to get in my way.

An expected blank, but a fun (if sweaty) excursion.

River was surprisingly low.

2 Trout

A couple of pleasant hours mooching up from the lower beat bridge. The bones of the river are really showing now and several trees fallen across what used to be fabulous pools and runs. Still managed 3 wbt.

3 Trout

Hmm...

3 smaller brownies to the net with a few lost. Access is pretty poor here now with lots of trees down but also so many pools inaccessible due to overhanging branches/debris, won’t be back in a hurry. Called it a day after a couple hours because of strong wind. Beat could do with some work for sure. Light entertainment provided by tracing the fence line back while trying to remain inconspicuous to some very playful inquisitive young cattle.

3 Trout