Feedback & Reports

Booked for my friends, a difficult day with few fish showing in the usually spots.

6 Trout, 2 Grayling

River had clearly had some rain on the Saturday and was up and a bit coloured in the morning but fell about 3 inches and fined down during the day.
All my trout were caught in the Wood Stream from 11am to 12pm on a goldhead PTN and a Greenwell's Spider fished across & down. Nothing large, 6oz each, but great fun on a 3-weight.
A really good hatch of fly from 4pm on, both small sedges and a spinner of some type and there was a really interesting rise on the flats above the Wood Stream: the fish were big but intermittent and selective. I missed three on nymphs, which was REALLY irritating!. I also saw a few Mayflies during the day.
Lovely water, fun wading, and clearly plenty of trout there. Barry, the owner, was incredibly helpful, giving me some excellent advice on the phone a few days before: really helped me fish in the right places. And he told me of the wonderful film of Oliver Kite fishing the beat which is on YouTube: lovely footage.

4 Trout

Fished during the afternoon and evening in bright, low sunshine and fairly low water. Not really conducive conditions or timing but easily fished beat with lots of rising trout or grayling. Amazing clouds of flies at times.

Poor days fishing, had two perch one each between me and a friend. He lost 3 on bubble float with worm, nothing on bottom. Tried popping up the worm but they weren't having any of it. Missed a take on fly. 3 guys next door had 20 trout between them after they left went to their location and it was just riddled with signs of Powerbait everywhere. Will not be returning anytime soon, worse days fishing I've had there in 2 years.

2 Other

Fished Sunday morning 5.30am, open ended feeder with 10mm halibut and caught 3 good chub. Left about 1.30pm (canoeists). Came back about 5.30pm fished same method till 9pm and had 8 barbel from 6 to 8 pounds (Fantastic). Went back next day at 5.00am had 3 more barbel and 10 chub to 5lbs. Stayed at the Greenman in Fownhope - excellent accommodation. Best time ever will be back soon.

11 Barbel, 13 Chub

Fished dawn til dusk in four promising looking swims with not so much as a bite. All swims look very well used and came to the conclusion fish must have moved downstream into deeper inaccessible swims. Will be back in the Autumn to try again.

Spent most of the morning poncing around with a team of spiders on a coloured river - which, while still on the low side, was pushing through a bit - without issue. Switching to a tungsten, and moving up to the quieter water above the Abernant Stream, resulted in a run of quality Grayling in the afternoon.

2 Trout, 10 Grayling

River come up a little overnight. All fish on halibut pellet

14 Barbel, 16 Chub

Was really looking forward to the trip as there had been rain during the previous days and the water level was just starting to rise (not by much) and normally this brings the barbel onto the feed. However something must have happened as they just didn't feed. There was a oil like shimmer on the river surface which I had not seen before.
Having fished this stretch many times over the last few years this was perplexing. It was not the fishery fault as we were getting line bites from fish swimming into the line. Towards the end of the day one 7lb 10oz barbel was landed together with a small chub. Some other anglers came along from another beat and they hadn't had a bite all day! So what was supposed to be perfect conditions didn't deliver. As I say it's not the fishery but something about the river condition!

1 Barbel, 1 Chub, 2 Other

A lovely day to fish and my favourite beat too. I have been keeping an eye on the weather and water levels and though it was worth a punt. It wasn't! The water was pretty low and virtually little sign of fish all day. There were a couple rising at the bottom, but no sign of salmon sadly. I hope I was just unlucky.