Feedback & Reports

Small rises throughout the day but no fish taken. They were pipping for a black gnat off the surface but weren't interested in anything else. Excellent day out though despite lack of any takes but will definitely be back when the water is higher.

Two small Brown Trout (C&R). River very low. Sun very bright. Had I been able to fish in the evening I'm sure it would have been better. I was not happy to have campers from the downstream field walking well upstream throwing stones into the water. I asked them not to and they did stop.

12 x trout 6-10 inches. Casting lessons in the morning and then dived indoors to watch Will and Kate do their thing in style...and not forgetting Tiggy's little lad waving and grinning at the crowd with great confidence like he did it every day. After which, with a few hours left in the day, I nipped down to try this new beat on the Garren. I probably didn't see it at its best - none of our streams are really at their best at the moment - and initially it looked a bit murky and the bottom covered with slime, just like the Trothy further down always does. But as I went upstream with a Klinkhammer, I began to take to this one. There were plenty of rising fish, initially very small dace, but trout higher up. In fact the brook completely changes its character as you go upstream, particularly above the mill dam where it cuts steeply through a sandstone gutter. In these very low flows I was probably able to wade the bed further up than normal, and in any case the steep banks make it difficult to get in and out of the river bed. Don't use your very best waders because there is much scrambling. Incidentally, the voucher box is located on the downstream side of the bridge at the start, right-hand bank. I did catch and photograph one very odd looking small trout. All the right markings and fins, but a short deep body with the dimensions of a fat little crucian carp. Dwarfism perhaps, or have we discovered a mysterious new cyprinid-trout hybrid?

Slow day. 12 fish caught in spurts all stocked rainbow trout.

Looked at the lower beat first but decided on the upper as it's a little more open. This is a gem of a stream, which is absolutely stuffed with trout. Easy fishing it isn't, however, and with crystal clear water and a lack of meanders, a long cast is necessary. The section from the old weir upstream of the farm to the 'no go' area is probably the best and was enough for about 4 hours of fishing.

A gusty side wind meant a lot of untangling from trees/fences yesterday but when a cast landed in roughly the right place, there were plenty of takers. Ended up with 8 trout to 12" and saw spooked fish shooting past me which were approaching 2lbs. All fish caught and released on dries - black parachute or hawthorns.

After fishing the Pinsley in the morning, headed upstream and fished this beat for the first time. 18 wild brown trout. Nothing massive; most of them around the 4-5" mark but a few larger ones around 9-10". Lost/failed to connect with about the same number. Again, all fish came to dry hawthorn, black parachute or black klinkhammers. A wonderful stretch of small river fishing.

5 Trout. 4 grayling, 1 Salmon Parr mostly on PTN, a few others hooked and lost. All in the 8" to 10" range. No fish retained. Very enjoyable on a very peaceful beat. Despite the lack of flow in the long gutter up from the water works, a small hatch brought many fish to the surface for a short time around mid afternoon.

Despite an overcast day and low water I decided to only use dry flies. The scenery is spectacular here and as I set up among banks of bluebells watching a kingfisher, I just could not help myself tying on a dry fly. I fished the lower beat in the morning and rises were very sparse. Despite this I managed to persuade two wild trout of 10-12 inches to rise and come to hand before release. The low water meant I could wade through the whole of the bottom section, and I had great fun. Just before the 2pm beat changeover rises started appearing but it was time for me to drive to the upper beat. Simply beautiful, but the very sparse rises were very difficult to cover in an unhelpful breeze and I only added one fish for my trouble. I planned to fish into the evening but late afternoon the rain came in and the gloom over Sugar Loaf, the rumble of distant thunder and a distant crackle in the air convinced me to end a very enjoyable day. I would certainly have caught more fish using wet flies, but my intention had been simply to go fishing today - rather than to just catch fish.

Nil caught.
A large run of Salmon (& Shad) pased through Wyesham on Friday morning - Over 30 large (upper teens / twenties) - seen jumping as they came into the various pools. Only oine of the six rods had a touch, but none caught.
Water temperature 59", 7" on gauge, #12 & #14 small black silver flies on floating lines with intermediate sink tips, were advised the Ghillie Ray Morris.

Bright conditions and a low river. Managed 7 brown trout and two grayling between us. Hard going but great fun. Fish caught on dry flies, wet flies and nymphs. Reasonable sedge hatch around three in the afternoon, but generally not too much hatching.