The Red Lion Hotel Bredwardine, Herefordshire

The Kingfishers.

The exploits of a group of local fishermen and women exploring the art of river fishing ​on the River Wye, Herefordshire.
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29/4/2018

A fire was required

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​We continue to be lucky with the weather.  Not so lucky with a plethora of fish.  The river was clear and even-flowing but the temp was only 10C, five degrees colder than last week.  The wind picked up around 9.30am making the temp of 8C seem even colder.  Mr Survivalist, Panda, a.k.a. Badger, built us a fire from "nothing".  There is so much drift wood scattered around that once the fire was started it was easy to keep going.

Chris did a bit a fly fishing.  Sandy joined him around 11am.  Panda and I used toby spoons and devon minnows.  None of us caught anything.  That was not a problem.  We were the only ones on the river on Beat 2.  Paradise.  The Oyster Catchers have returned.  Beautiful birds.  The Swallows, Sandy Martins and Egret was all showing themselves but no fish.  Not a knock.  Not a show.  Always next week for Panda, Chris and Sandy.  I am off to Menorca with my walking group for a week.  I hate to miss the fishing but it cannot be helped.

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22/4/2018

The river was crystal clear

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The trees are greening up by the moment.  Always so lucky with the weather. The day was cloudy.  It felt warm at 7am, with the temp around 11C but then the wind picked up slightly wo hours later and there was a chill in the air.  The river depth was just under 1m and the water was crystal clear.  Using a new fishing "tool", Chris measured the water temperature which registerd 15C.  Just perfect for Wet Flies for Fly Fishing.

Despite all of the elements going for us, no fish were caught on the day.  Both Panda and Chris lost a lure / wet fly to hungry fish.  Sandy joined us around 10.30am with his lighter-than-air Orvis Fly Rod to join the fun.  Arthur stopped by en route to do a bit of salmon fishing.  He confirmed that if there were any salmon in the river that day, that Sarah would have caught them based on her line-in-the-water percentage.  She was using a wooden toby (a.k.a. devon minnow) given to them by Mike.  You've got to love the way the little lure glides thru the water.

All retired to the Red Lion Pub where a good time was had by all.

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15/4/2018

No pictures, just memories

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​Great Sunday on the river, Beat 3 above (towards Beat 2) Cox Comb.  The weather was mild with a slight breeze.   Light rain had been predicted from 9am onwards but as luck would have it there was a little drizzle for only 30 minutes.  That was it.  The river was clear, 1m in depth.

Rob arrived on the river just before us.  It was great to have a quick chat before selecting our respective beats.

We all tried fly fishing, both single and double-handed rods.  Chris tested some new flies that he bought.  A March Spider and Olive Dun Fly.  He hooked three 4-inch trout.

Panda lost a "big one" with the double-handed rod.

Sarah went back to using a lure after exhausting myself with the double-handed rod and caught an 8-ounce trout on a lure.  The Kingfisher pin is back to Sarah.  Chris' turn next week.

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8/4/2018

A lesson learned

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Always fish into the wind as the saying goes.  We decided to fish the ponds because the river came up 1 metre over night to a height of 2.5m.  It was muddy and fast, not good for fishing at all.  We collectively decided to fish the ponds and were pleased to see groups of six to eight good-sized carp pairing up for spawning.  They were moving so gently but suddenly disappeared into the deeper water when someone, who will remain nameless, stretched her arms out to describe the size several of the fish.

We did fish into the wind but did not catch a "sausage".  The day was overcast, with no wind and a warmth in the air.

Bacon sarnies with out first cup of coffee made us all smile as we agreed we were in "paradise".

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1/4/2018

A personal best

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​What a brilliant day on the river!!  We are so lucky it is unbelievable. On Saturday the river was over 2m, turbulent and opaque with mud.  By Sunday morning it had dropped to 1.5m and was clear.  The wind had died down and the sun came out.  It was cold.  We built a fire and a good time was had by the Kingfishers. We fished Beat 2 again.  The same place as last week where the river bank is low and gently meets the water.  Mind you the erosion of the bank that we scale to reach the river's edge is steep.  We were all trying different meppes. Panda landed his personal best trout, 18 inches long and weighing between 3.5 pounds.  [ The length and weight of this fish was debated my many at the Red Lion.  Based on the girth of the fish and it's muscular body, two experienced fisherman decided that the trout must weigh 3.5 pounds. ] Gorgeous markings.  Sadly I had not recharged my camera battery.  Chris took photos on his phone as attached.  Panda is very deserving to keep the Kingfisher badge another week. Note to self for Sarah:  Must buy a digital scales to weight our future catches and recharge her camera!

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    New favourite hobby is fishing on the River Wye.  Caught 10 species in my first fishing season; ranging from barbel, chub, dace, eel, gudgeon, grayling, salmon, trout on the River Wye and extending to common carp and mirror carp on Oakchurch ponds. We three Kingfishers go fishing every Sunday morning, starting at 6am in the summer and now 7am in the winter. The weather has been dry, sunny and calm except for one rainy Sunday in September and then the snow on December 10th 2017, which was very challenging with 10" of snow on the ground at 5am and still coming down.  We persevered to get to the river and then fished for our normal five hours before retiring to the Red Lion Pub to everyone's amazement that we braved the elements.  I managed to catch two lovely graylings which made it all worth while.  We do have fun!

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