Spot Guide - Beat 3c
Beat 3c Harpers
From the Harpers Car Park, you could walk down to the Footbridge and work downstream on either bank. This guide will however start lower on Beat 3c and assume you will fish upstream either on the LB or RB. The upper part of this beat (Tractor Bridge to Footbridge) can be busy and popular with walkers and dogs.
From the Car park, instead of walking down to the Footbridge, follow the main track to the right, parallel to the river until you reach the Tractor Bridge ///saints.ambushes.ejects You can then continue further downstream on either bank, but only a short way on RB.
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Harpers 3c Right Bank
You can walk under the Tractor Bridge and up into the Asparagus field then down a short way towards the extraction pump. Before you reach that, there is a gap in the trees and a ladder down to a wide glide ///belts.honey.nightlife . This was quite shallow, but new deflectors have been installed so there could now be deeper channels, so a wading stick is advisable. This has been good for Grayling in particular. You can wade up as far as the Tractor Bridge or climb out onto the RB near a berm, or return via the ladder. You can also fish the top of that stretch from just below the steps into the Asparagus field, ///rhino.jolly.lovely where there is a fast current just below the RB that can hold Trout.
Working upstream from the bridge, the first access is down a long slope to a bend above a wide but increasingly shallow pool ///rushed.impressed.warm . The pool often has a variety of coarse fish as well as Trout, and as the channel narrows upstream, there can be Grayling Dace and Chub seen. You can fish up that bank until the path slopes up into the field. At that point ///stale.chiefs.diverting , it is possible to cross to the LB in order to fish the bottom end of the Chain Pool. Staying on the RB however you can walk along the field and then down steps with a rope ///unravel.overt.dragonfly to the stream entering near the top of the Chain Pool. The pool is very deep just beyond the stream, so take great care, but this is a very good pool for Rainbows, usually on a nymph. You can exit the stream on the other side up a very steep set of steps aided by a chain (hence the name), but it is not for the faint-hearted; the alternative is to go back up the steps, along the stream to a small bridge, then back down again.
The next spot ///culling.backpacks.known allows some fishing down to the mouth of the Chain pool, or upstream there is a shallow glide which often has trout sitting near the RB. You will probably have to cross over if you want to continue wading up, or return via the same steps. After that is another set of steps ///doll.paths.magazines to a deep still pool, good for Chub, and for Rainbows at its mouth, and sometimes Grayling and Browns in the shallow glide below.
Beyond that, another access ///plugged.limiting.sundial point allows you to walk down to the mouth of the still pool or up a narrow channel which often has Grayling, to the Dog Beach ///obligated.adhesive.reporting below the site of the old weir. The wide fast area down from the Footbridge often has Trout and can have large Grayling. This marks the top of Beat 3c.
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Harpers 3c Left Bank
At the Tractor Bridge, you could fish up to Harpers Footbridge, but a quieter longer stretch is down as far as the Green Concrete Footbridge (GCF) ///upholding.serious.grins , which is where this guide will start. There are also a few spots on the LB below the GCF, which are part of Beat 4 and accessible via ladder, and where ‘other methods’ can be used. Most of the stretch above the GCF can be waded up almost as far as the extractor pump below the Tractor Bridge, but the access points will be covered here.
From the GCF, the first spot ///static.coder.firebird allows fishing down into the fast water beneath the bridge, and wading up through wider, stiller water. Rainbows are usually to be found all along this stretch, but wading should be done stealthily due to the wide, slow nature of much of it.
Upstream is a further access point ///zealous.bulldozer.toxic to a very deep but snaggy pool opposite a beach on a long bend. Crossing above the pool allows wading up the RB but access can also be gained near the field boundary ///commenced.packets.skewing . This allows wading to some more productive pools under the LB, so you may need to wade along the RB, and this allows access to the very shallow rapids below the next access point ///enough.agree.eliminate . This shallow stretch is where Brook Lamprey were filmed a few years ago (see elsewhere on this website) so watch out for their Redds here especially in April. The access path closely follows the bank here, then the shallow slow stretch ends in a deep pool down from the extractor pump, and the path goes back up to the field. This pool cannot be waded, but can contain coarse fish including Perch. The final access point on this stretch ///stroke.mixer.commit is down very steep steps and a short ladder onto a shady beach. Grayling and Trout can be found here, and it is possible to fish up into a deep pool above the narrow rapids.
Above that you reach the Tractor Bridge, immediately above which, where there is an extremely difficult access point ///exclusive.damage.newer almost requiring abseiling down a chain to the river above the bridge. This can be good for Rainbows and you can wade up the LB to the bend, then cross onto the RB. Bypassing that spot and staying on the LB, the next access is to the prime spot for fishing the Chain Pool ///bombshell.dignify.juror which is the most productive point on 3c. You can fish the foot of the pool where Browns and Grayling will often be seen sitting, but they can be very resistant. You can also fish up into the deep water below the RB using heavy nymphs, and this usually produces results. You can wade close to the LB to the top end of the pool, where Trout and Chub often rise, then up the faster stretch to another access point ///mini.observers.splendid , or continue up the still glide. At the top of that glide , you can usually cross to the RB, or there are steps up onto the LB ///protest.delved.tweed, but that is the last access point on the LB until you reach the top of this beat at Harpers Footbridge.