Feedback & Reports

After landing a 14lbs fish on the Golden Mile, fished White House and took a 19lbs salmon here also.

1 Salmon

First visit to this beat, tried spinning, alas nothing showing despite good conditions. A blank but nonetheless, a fine day at the river.

22lb salmon, taken on flying c.

1 Salmon

Fished New Zealand-style. Saw nothing moving or rising. Water low and very cold. Vaguely depressing, actually.

G and I fished from top through Woodstream. Water .67m and clear. Reasonable hatch at 12.30-2pm, mainly Olives but the occasional March Brown. Fished over a rising trout below log and fish took, tore off downstream and bust 3lb line. Took dark Olive. Persisted with dark olive above rock and hooked another around 1.5lb which came off before landing.
Weather fine and 8C.
No activity after 2.30pm. Fished till 4pm with no further takes.

Nothing caught.

Suffering from serious picscatorial withdrawl symptoms so just had to wet a line on the home fishery!
Went out today, and what a difference a day (sunny again but an east, south-easterly wind) made compared with yesterday. Arrived earlier today at 11.30am but didn't see an LDO until 1.45 p.m. and then precious few. Plus just a few March Browns. What few LDOs there were, fizzled out by about 3.15pm. Duns of both species were pretty well ignored but some fish rose to nymphs, presumably to the olives judging by the grayling caught on a dark-olive Klink. Given the cold, they must still think it is February/March! Much fewer fly than yesterday and precious few wind-free windows for the fish to get up at them. Most rises looked like grayling and only grayling were caught, so I guess that, unlike yesterday, the trout just weren't having it.
On Saturday of course, the weather was lovely - sunny and little breeze but I was only able to fish from about 2.15pm until 4.15pm but, in retrospect, that was probably prime time. Fish were rising quite freely from arrival until about 4pm. LDOs around and fish rising but not to duns. Caught trout and grayling and dropped or missed as many again, all on HE and olive emergers. Must be rusty or just plain incompetent!
On both days the water was still pretty cold at 41-43 degrees F and will presumably stay so for while as the snowmelt gets into the water.
Tomorrow looks even windier and then Tuesday and Wednesday rain. Must be time again for the garden, some indoor jobs and the tying of a few more flies. Come on spring, where are you!
Given the cold weather, we may well not see the Grannom for a while yet...and to think that in 2011 and 2012 they were here before the end of March.

Lovely place and even though there was snow on the hills and a bitter wind there was a good hatch. I was told nothing would move until 1:30pm which was true but then the hatch went on until 3:30pm. The extremely cold weather meant that althouth the restaurant was open the fish didn't respond and I only saw half a dozen fish rise so I was pleased to catch two fish, both of which went back. The fish were heavily spotted perfection. Thank you.

2 Trout

The short version: Doubled my Salmon catch in one day and beat my PB by a mile, twice!! Only downside was they were all on a lure.
The details: First cast from the croy below the cottage, just to check the weight, drag etc.... 15lb out of season pike followed within minutes by the first of two 2-3 lb WBT, cracking looking fish and worthy of the fight they put up...The slower water above the islands produced the first brace of Salmon, 30" cock fish and a 36" hen, both within 10 minutes... Please note; netting these fish required the skills of an otter. The banks in this area can be quite steep and drop into soft silt. After releasing the hen-fish, and being a little breathless, it was only due to the adrenalin and the use of my forceps to dig foot-holes in the bank that I was able to regain the turf above. Fishing down from the lower Carey Island and into Carey Stream with the fly was a joy but nothing was tempted. After lunch a return to the top of the beat with the spinning rod produced two more hen fish, a slightly coloured 40" that gave a good fight and a fresh 42" that looked to have net damage as the top of its tail was missing. This time a check for easy netting point was made before casting!
Finally, at about 5 o'clock, a "just one more" cast into the last pool by the cottage resulted in a screaming run down to the old bridge supports and back upstream into the shallows before the barbless treble let go.
All in all a red-letter day with only one well behaved group of canoeists to talk to!

4 Salmon, 2 Trout, 1 Pike

Water was very low. The three of us caught one nice trout on a size 16 GRHE nymph and returned it to the river. Had another take on a size 16 olive sparkle dun but missed it.

1 Trout