Feedback & Reports

River very low & clear. Caught lots of chublets on the float and mate had 2 barbel from beach area.
Lovely fishery but not so picturesque as it used to be, as it seems the gardens opposite have closed and become overgrown.

2 Barbel, 20 Chub

4 Trout

Lovely overgrown wild beat with plenty of small trout around, some of which were rising to very small mayfly duns. It was an ambitious place to try to teach a 9 year old to fly fish but still made for a great adventure. Only a handful of the pools in the middle of the beat are deep enough to hold larger fish and accessible enough to easily fish without spooking the fish, especially as the water was so low.

Fishing with JB as usual. The day started before the fishing when Stephen’s sister came along walking the dogs just as we were tackling up. Despite her sadness she very kindly spent 5 minutes saying hello and chatting. Kind words never seem enough at these times…but she was plainly keen that we fished, so having passed on condolences off we went.
The river was low, the sky was bright and there was little by way of insect life – just a few needle flies and occasional olives – and rising fish were few and far between. We have fished often enough however to know that the fish are still there. They just have to be found and tempted! As usual we had our parachute dries to do the business, and on these lower beats we generally expect smaller fish than the higher beats.
The willing fish were very localised and 12 came to hand – 7 wbt and 5 grayling. The grayling were of a stamp of which we might expect to encounter perhaps 1 a day on this beat but of the 5, 4 were in the 18 to 20 inch class. Stunning! The trout weren’t bad either – nothing smaller than 10 inches, most up to 14 inches but one 18 inch clonker. Overall probably the best class of fish we have ever encountered on the rivers.
But a word of caution – is the absence of smaller fish worrying? 3 of the grayling bore the scars of cormorant encounters and a flock of 4 goosanders were also present….

Good location and some rising trout spotted. Lost a couple and nothing landed but the surroundings made up for it

Great stretch and accessibility without waders. A few dippers and kayaks however.

2 Trout, 2 Grayling

Fished with JE from Kingston. Last beat of a 4 day trip. Whilst JE took a good bag over the weekend, I found the going tough all weekend. Rescued by a couple of nice sized Grayling at TyN. I have to say that the position of the entrance to parking could have been better thought through. Traffic comes over the brow of that hill very fast indeed. Only a matter of time.

2 Grayling

Great day to take my nephew for his first barbel trip. All fish caught on pellet with the best fish being just over ten pound.
Considering the lack of recent rain I didn’t think we would be catching a great deal which I think made the day even more special.

10 Trout, 9 Barbel, 5 Chub

1 Trout, 2 Grayling