Feedback & Reports

3 brown trout up to 2 lbs. Greedy B****RS!!

all returned

no salmon

3 Trout

I really enjoyed a couple of hours there, it was so very cold and so I only stayed an hour or so and sadly caught nothing!

A very cold day. Water was still pretty high. May have had 1 pull but other than that no action. The bottom pool on the bend by the island is nice and I felt like I was in with a shot.

1 Trout

6 x trout 6-8 inches on Gold Bead Hare's Ear Nymph. Inspired by MS from Bristol (see Cannop Brook report 27 March) I gave the Bideford Brook a try on a very cold Good Friday morning. Plenty of cold water rushing down, but a few brownies were prepared to pick up a nymph trundled along the bottom in some of the deeper, slower holes. Cold as the wind was, this one is well sheltered by trees and high banks and in fact not much above sea level and just a couple of miles from the estuary.
Back in December, FW of Mitcheldean and I trimmed this beat. It's quite amazing now to see the changes caused by the intervening winter floods: plenty of timber down, deep pools have been filled in with gravel and new dubs scoured out by the currents. We will have to learn it all again.
Those who know this little stream might be pleased to hear that, during late autumn, a salmon grilse was photographed attempting to jump the old eel trap weir in Blakeney village. If it succeeded, this would place it in the even smaller Blackpool Brook above.

6 Trout

The water was very cold, can't think why? BST starts tonight! Struggled with the wind & cloud, saw a few LDO coming off when the sun came out. Saw nothing rise.
The river looks like its ready to come to life, come on spring! 1 x Grayling @ 12ins.

1 Grayling

Very cold, no rising fish. Water running at about 1.5 depth at bank fast flow. Air temp around 1 degree.

Temperature just above 1 degree at 9am with a very cold easterly wind. No signs of life despite best efforts with bugs and nymphs. Lovely beat and suspect will fish better once warmed up, including myself!!

Great Spring day on the river no fish seen or 'felt', maybe should have toasted the water or something?! Possibly not surprising given temperature of river which apparently is below the sea temperature which itself is at an all time low of 7 degrees! Thanks again to Don for his invaluable advice, I'll be back!

Lovely day on the water. Very cold, but good to be out. Water temperature was 3 degrees all day. Air temp 4 degrees with freezing wind chill. The old kelly kettle and the sight of dippers kept spirits high. Reasonable LDO hatch at 1pm and some fish randomly rising at 3pm for about 5-10 minutes. In my excitement I managed to put all rising fish down, but it was still great be out on the water after a cold winter. Dippers, grey wagtails and much more all in attendance.... Many thanks WUF for another lovely day. No trout caught this time, but I will be back when water temperature is more conducive to feeding trout.

4 hours, very pleasant, but cold! Nothing caught. Saw a mink, might have eaten all the fish?