Feedback & Reports

A beautiful spring day, fished the morning. Four wbt taken on gold head hares ear nymph approx 6 inch in size. Changed to dry and had a 9" brown and lost a few more on green klinkhammer. Water clear and fish in good condition. A good days fishing on this lovely peaceful stream.

5 Trout

First time on this brook this morning. Access is straight forward but wading is essential and casting is tricky. It's small but there is a good mix of fast runs and deeper pools. Not much rain lately and from the look of the banks the level can get quite a bit higher. Fished for a couple of hours working upstream taking it very slow. A lot of midges on the water but saw just two rises. Fished the duo with a Klink and gold head pheasant tail size 18, took 4 lovely little brownies to hand all about 7 inches and hooked and lost 2 more. All took the nymph and were returned safely. A stealthy approach is essential for this brook.
There are two places where barbed wire stretches across the water so watch your waders!

4 Trout

Lovely warm and dry day. River low and clear. Lots of very nervous trout spotted. 3 fish taken on weighted nymphs biggest 8 inches. Not much surface activity but a few (missed) splashy rises to klinks.

3 Trout

11 x trout 6-10 inches, prospecting with Rusty Klinkhammer and Deer Hair Emerger. A couple of hours relaxation after a long drive back from Swansea. Well, here too, they do seem to be looking up now, or at least some of them are, although I saw few natural rises. 15 degrees air temperature by the time I finished. The nymph patterns remained on the fly patch.

11 Trout

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.