Avon Interlude
The other day my son Malcolm and I had an invitation from friend David Burren to the Upper Avon. It has been a while since I fished at Heale, which is a very special fishery embedded in an agricultural system which has not changed, I suspect, in a very long time. Of course there are reminders of a more brutal modern world close by, because as you turn down into the valley from Salisbury Plain you pass a chemical warfare research establishment and regularly through the day a military flight comes over after taking off from Boscombe Down. But quietly sunk as it is beneath the military activities of the Plain, the Avon valley itself with its thatched cottages, shining river and dreaming water meadows is a magical, timeless sort of place.
As always here, apart from soaking up the atmosphere we had a lot of fun. To be quite accurate, it was Malcolm who fished this time while I gillied and plied the landing net net for him. Malcolm is an experienced fisher but this was his first time on a chalk stream. The plan for the day might not have seemed entirely wise at first because although it was mayfly season the extreme heat was still on and more sensible angling activity had reverted to evenings. Keeper Peter Major had a theory that the duns were hatching during darkness and was encouraging his rods to fish from 6 till the last of the light. Other anglers had already cancelled their booked daytime rods due to the heat-wave. I recall one member here who always fished the evenings before dashing to catch the last ferry to his home on the Isle of Wight. Unfortunately on this occasion all three of us had commitments for early the next morning, so late evening fishing before a 90 mile drive home was not really an option.
Under the plane trees So we did the wrong thing, started at 9.30 in the morning and fished through the heat of the day until 5.30 in the evening. We had the fishery to ourselves and slightly to my surprise it all went remarkably well. We have heard of some disappointing days on the Avon this season, but this was certainly not one of them. There are numerous shaded places to be found at Heale especially in that marvellous section under the plane trees with the park and the grand old mansion of faded red brick in the background. Not many fish were rising to begin with and there was a mix of natural fly species to be seen occasionally rather than any particular hatch, but dry fly was the order of the day and the first main question was whether to use a large pattern or a small one to entice the fish up.
In Malcolm’s case we started with a small Parachute Adams for the first couple of fish and then changed to a size 10 Monnow Gosling as the odd mayfly dun began floating down as the day went on and swirling rises became more frequent. Malcolm ended up with two wild brown trout of a little over a pound each, nine of the big stock fish running up to a specimen of 21 inches, and a small chub for good luck. At the end of it all he lost a very large fish in the Turbine hatch pool during a smash take to the Gosling which somehow ended the day definitively, but with an intriguing question mark remaining. Some very heavy trout live in the depths of that pool. David had a good time too. If ever, in some flight of fancy, I get the chance to design a special corner of paradise for myself, family and friends, it will look something like the Avon valley at Heale.
Avon at Heale - Malcolm Burch Trout Fishing
Mark Lloyd and a friend from Abergavenny were fishing the Usk at Dan y Parc:
“A blissful, highly memorable day on a very scenic beat with forest and mountains. Patchy rises, but some beautiful fish up to 2.5 pounds. World class fishing. The river came alive with rises late in the evening, but struggled to match the hatch so only caught about 2% of the fish covered. The torment of Tantalus.”
They caught 14 trout between them. A Bristol angler reported a dozen trout from Llyn Bugeilyn high on the Cambrian moors:
“Tough conditions to start with. Hot, but very strong wind. Took a number off the top with Sedgehog patterns as there were plenty of large beetles being blown about. When the clouds came in, a Bibio in the film took 6 more. Massive thunderstorms stopped me from fishing and I beat a hasty retreat.”
Ashford House JP from Kidderminster The weather was breaking up. Anthony from London took 3 trout to 2 pounds on dry fly at Dinas during a hot and windy day. Stephen Broad from Looe reported 15 from Abercynrig. Andy Lane visiting from London had 8 trout on nymphs and dries up at Cefn Rhosan Fawr. PW from London had 5 at Glanusk Ty Mawr / Canal and Rivers trust, while Andy Lane again reported 15 trout from Fenni Fach. With the odd mayfly in evidence Nick Reeves from London fished the Middle Llynfi Dulas until sunset and caught 5 good trout on dries: “Beautiful day.”A visitor from Bognor Regis chose to fish the upper Wye at Abernant and took 19 trout on various nymphs. It was a shame that he had to pick up some recently deposited rubbish. Peter Thomas with a friend from Aberdare took 14 trout on worm from the Usk Reservoir. Joe Alexander visited the Clywedog and reported 16 trout. NH from Truro reported 8 trout from Dinas: “First cloud cover for weeks.” SS with a friend from Solihull fished a quiet corner of the Glanusk Estate and between them caught 8 trout to over 2 pounds. IC from Gloucester was on the Usk Town Water and caught 6 trout to 16 inches on the duo method. AA from Brecon enjoyed a rainy day at Fenni Fach and caught 16 trout on nymphs, noting the water temperature as 15.9 degrees. The report of Brian Eustace from Cheltenham reflected on the legendary kindness of Chainbridge owner Barry Paraskevas:
“1 brown trout on dry Adams. Sole on boot came loose and lost balance on edge of deep pool and went swimming. Barry called me when sitting in pub after change of clothes, kindly offered a set of waders. I ordered another pint.”
Well, what else could Brian say but maybe “stin y yiassou Barry?” Bob Clark from Leigh on Sea reported 6 trout to 14 inches from Llanwysg.
Heavy rain came on the night of 1st/2nd June so that all the rivers rose and coloured a little from the top end. By this time the middle and lower Wye were already stained brown by one of the thick algal blooms we have come to dread in recent years. Up in North Wales an angler from London fished at Llyn Cwellyn with traditional wets, Bibios and Hoppers, during heavy rain, but with pond or lake olives hatching. He caught 16 trout. Andrew Buchanan from Chester took 20 trout on Llyn Bugeilyn. Robin Guild from Freshford was on the Usk Town Water, catching 8 trout to 18 inches on a streamer while the river rose and became muddy. Nigel Hughes from Truro reported 4 trout caught on a mini-lure in muddy water at Penpont. Member Mark Harris had 8 upper Wye trout from the Rectory, mainly fishing the flats during the evening of 4th June. Andy Kat was another who caught trout from the Rectory, using a black streamer in coloured water to take a leash including a specimen of 3 pounds. Bob Clark from Leigh on Sea managed to fish both the Usk at Glanusk Estate and the Talybont Reservoir on 4th June, taking 6 trout on the first and 12 on the second fishery. Mark Hill of Exeter had 5 Usk trout at Upper Tower, and Ben Garnett from Exeter reported 7 from Dufnant as the water was clearing and improving through the day. He also mentioned the difficulty of wading on this beat. An angler from Leigh with 2 friends fished the Abernant beat of the upper Wye on two consecutive days, taking 32 trout on the first day and 37 on the second, mostly with spiders.
Skenfrith - Andrew Kelton On 5th June a Weobley angler (I wish I had his full name) had a delightful time on the Arrow at Whittern Lyonshall, which hasn’t been fished so much this year. His report is so evocative that I think it deserves reproduction in full:
“Arriving at the river, there were only a few spits of rain in the air. Waders on, assembled the rod, and set up. Nothing felt particularly remarkable at that point. Then, as I walked down to the river, something changed. The breeze disappeared completely and an extraordinary stillness settled over the river. The sort of silence that makes you stop and take notice. Almost immediately, spinners appeared from nowhere, dancing above the pool in the calm air. Then came the flash of a fish rising at the head of the pool where the fast water poured in.
The first cast was in the wrong place. The second wasn’t much better. The third landed where it needed to. I dropped the flies (Wry fly setup) into the fast water and allowed them to drift naturally down into the pool. Wallop! The fish took decisively and tore off head down! On the 7’6” rod, every head shake and run was magnified. Despite not being a huge fish, it fought far above its weight and kept me occupied for several minutes before finally sliding into the net. A beautifully marked wild brown trout, somewhere around the one-pound mark, full of life and impossible to photograph properly as it twisted and rolled in the net. After a brief pause in the net, kept entirely in the water, she recovered strongly and swam away into the current. As if on cue, the moment she disappeared, the heavens opened!
The rain arrived in earnest and the spell was broken. I continued upstream and managed, still bewitched, and missed a couple more fish in unlikely lies, but it didn’t matter. The evening had already given me everything I could have hoped for.
Fishing often feels like a search for moments rather than fish. Most trips are enjoyable, some are productive, but every now and then everything aligns perfectly: the weather, the river, the insects, the trout and your own timing.
This was one of those evenings. A narrow window between the storm clouds and the rain, a rising fish, a perfect drift, and a wild Arrow brownie returned to the river.
The sort of memory that stays with you long after the details have faded.”
Arrow trout markings Kevin Marlow of Hereford was in the next valley over, on the Lugg at Lyepole, where he caught 8 trout on nymphs. In between showers, calculating whether the main rivers were about to flood or not became difficult at this time, but a surprising amount of rainfall was sucked up by the ground and neither the Lugg nor the Arrow are prone to rise quickly.
Ross Watchorn with three friends from Newthorpe were fishing on the River Tees at the Raby Estate and shared 33 trout between them. A few days later they were back and this time took 21 trout. David West from Ivybridge used dry flies to catch 8 trout to 16 inches from the Usk at Abercynrig: “Most enjoyable day and a lovely beat.” Colin Hughes from Dartmouth fished at Dywarchen Llyn Cwellyn and reported a catch of 12 trout, browns and rainbows, all between 1.5 and 3 pounds. He had 5 more the following day. On 10th June Mark Harris from Swansea began his day at the Rectory with the salmon rod and caught a trout of 1.5 pounds from the Rectory Neck after which he turned to the trout rod and caught 11 more. Louis MacDonald Ames fished the following evening, caught 5 trout on salmon gear in high water, and described some very big fish rising regularly above the bridge. Gareth David from Builth fished the Grwyne Fawr tributary of the Usk and caught 6 trout from the upper beat. Olly Shepherd from Darlington reported 15 trout taken from the Tees Raby Estate water. Gareth Roberts from Letton tried the Arrow tributary at Titley. He was disappointed to find the mayfly season about done, but he caught 5 trout on smaller patterns. Two visiting anglers from Oxford fished the Usk at Dan y Parc and caught 6 trout to 2 pounds on spiders: “…the evening was brilliant fishing.” Stephen Evans from Treharris caught 6 trout at Llwyn On Reservoir in the Beacons. An unusually large party led by James Atkinson from Driffield reported a large catch from the Raby Estate Tees: 9 anglers caught 68 trout on 13th June. Not to be outdone, AA from Brecon with a friend took 40 trout at Cwmwysg Ganol with the Usk still high. PK from Hereford reported 6 rainbows to 1.15kg from the Usk Reservoir. Mark Goddard with a friend from Cardiff took two 4 fish limits from the same fishery: “…super dry fly fishing.” Further north, Aled Davies of Caernafon reported 8 trout from Llyn Dywarchen (SGLL Fishing Association).
With bankside growth at its height in early June, we had some complaints about access to the smaller streams. Timothy Holmes was unhappy with the Hundred House beat of the Edw and felt his day had been wasted on trying to fish an overgrown brook with very few viable pools: “This beat should not be sold by itself.” To be quite fair, there are those who can get a result from wild streams like this, but many of the beats are challenging, especially during the growth of high summer. A Shobdon angler was also rather taken aback by the nettles and balsam on the Court of Noke beat of the Arrow: “…jungle warfare, just to reach the river!” He did catch a brace of small trout, but thought he might next try somewhere more open such as one of the Irfon beats. However, Joe Alexander of Rhayader had an excellent day on the Ithon at Llanddewi, using a dry fly to take 23 trout from 6-10 inches. At the same time he wondered after reading the reports: “Why is no one fishing the wild streams?” I have been asking myself the same question. Plenty of fish are usually rising under the trees. While we acknowledge some of these can be difficult in high summer, Joe pointed out that he reckons to take a pair of secateurs with him and spends about 20 minutes of each fishing session in trimming branches. This is good advice and if we all did that accessing the brooks might be much easier. Take a wading staff, a proper solid wooden stick rather than one of the flimsy ones in sections, and do some nettle bashing as you make your way. I suspect some of the wild streams are becoming overgrown through lack of traffic.
Cwm Silyn - MG from Bournemouth Nick Bartholomew of New Radnor sounds like a man after my own heart:
“Had a Sunday evening phone call to say my job was cancelled for Monday, so I grabbed my rods and headed up to Llyn Bugeilyn…what a place…it never disappoints…caught 10 on a Black Klinkhammer, but missed 20 plus.”
Mike Smith from Brecon tried the top end of Talybont Reservoir in what looked to him like perfect conditions, dull light and cloud cover with a light breeze. He got 5 trout on caddis and nymph patterns. Andy Roberts from Crickhowell caught 4 trout to 15 inches on dry fly at Dan y Parc and found a lost set of forceps which he left on the steps of the hut by the Pipe Bridge. Joe Alexander of Rhayader took 13 more small trout from the Ithon at Llandewi, which had now dropped to its normal summer level. He also caught half a dozen rather better fish (to 12 inches) from the short Oakfield beat, and expressed a wish that it might be extended.
Daren Drew from Blakeney fished at Llyn Lygod Rheidol in North Wales:
“It’s a 50 minute stomp uphill to the llyn…it was blowing a fair bit by the time I got up there…I dragged a Foam Hopper through the chop and got plenty of action, landing 9 trout and missing as many.”
Jeremy Marsh from Worcester reported a brace of grayling from Lyepole – and at 21stJune, definitely seasonable in the eyes of the Law! AC from Plymouth reported an allis shad, Alosa alosa, from the Usk Town Water. Now that is a rare one and I’m not sure I have ever seen an allis shad or could tell it apart from the normal twaite shad if I did. I believe the number of gill arches as well as the overall size has something to do with it. The area of the Town Bridge in Usk used to be famous for shad fishing, but today both species are protected and should not be deliberately targeted. JP from Kidderminster fished at Ashford House and caught 8 trout on small CDC patterns during a rise “…right at the death from 9.30 on.”
By the final week of June a serious heat-wave was in the offing with amber and then red warnings issued by the Met Office. Clearly there wouldn’t be much good fishing for a while, except perhaps on shaded tributaries. In truth, this situation has become almost familiar during recent summers. This time air temperatures in southern Britain were predicted to rise above 30 degrees, and perhaps to record levels well above 30 degrees. With fish welfare in mind, the Foundation asked anglers to check the water temperature when at the river, the dangerous upper level for releasing fish being considered 20 degrees for salmon, trout and pike etc, and 25 degrees for the hardier coarse fish. The Bristol Water Company suspended sales of bank and boat tickets for its reservoirs on 23rd, 24th and 25th June.
Salmon Fishing
After an extended period of low water with nothing caught, the build-up of showers had produced some kind of a rise by the 6th June. This was enough to end the drought on the Wye for now and Wyesham reported fish of 12 and 14 pounds. Ed Brown fishing at Sread Eagle on the upper river had experienced some action on the previous day. He caught one “bar of silver” before losing a big fish in the Grange. He also noticed a couple of fish moving up Glangwye into the Rectory beat. 8th June and continuing showers provided better conditions for the salmon anglers with more two sea winter fish turning up. Wyesham reported a fish of 12 pounds on a Mepps and Robin Stewart had one of the same weight on a Cascade Tube. Abercothi reported 3 more from the Towy: 12, 7 and 10 pounds. The Dan y Parc fishery on the Usk reported a salmon of 10 pounds from the Rheid Pool on the fly with other fish moving through. On the 10th June Wyesham recorded a salmon of 11 pounds plus a rare 3 pounds bass. A 15 pounder was taken on the fly the following day, making 36 salmon for the Wye so far this season. The “one a day” procession of catches for the Wye continued on 12th June with a sea-liced 10 pounder caught at Wyesham on a single hooked Flying C.
There was enough rain on 11th June to produce another little lift in water levels although the lower river now had a strong colour to it. An angler from Neath declared he was surprised to meet two men who described themselves as being from the estate at Goodrich Court. It wouldn’t be unusual to meet estate workers on this private estate. I imagine this was the estate’s appointed bailiff Stefan, who does indeed look after these beats to a very high standard, in which case all was well. But if ever in doubt when unexpectedly meeting strangers on the river, my advice would be to start by showing your own ticket before asking to see their credentials. No salmon were caught on this day, but some large fish were spotted moving up. After the weekend we had some news of salmon catches on the Towy since the higher water arrived: four to 14 pounds from Golden Grove and three to 13 pounds from Abercothi. On the 15th, with the water level dropping again, a Builth Wells angler caught a 12 pounds salmon on fly from the Cafn Stream of the Nyth beat…and lost another a few minutes later. Stuart Macoustra from Broadway used a Bann Special to take a 12 pounds salmon at Newbridge on Usk … and also lost another fish a few minutes later. Bigsweir reported a sea liced hen fish 8 pounds for Richard Skan, caught with a Cascade on 19th June.
Newbridge Usk - Stuart Macoustra Coarse Fishing
On 10th June Jonathan Hughes from Lichfield float-fished luncheon meat in a corner of the Trelough Pool (just as my son once used to do in our local gravel pit during his school holidays) and accounted for a 10 pounds carp.
The glorious 16th June opened the Wye coarse fishing season in style as usual and plenty of catches were reported. Andrew Smith from Roydon fished at Fownhope No 5 and caught 42 chub from 1.5 to 3.5 pounds: “My best ever day trotting for chub despite a paddle boarder falling off right in front of me.”
Daniel Morris with two friends from Leatherhead reported a “fantastic day at Middle Hill Court,” catching 3 barbel and 60 chub. Matthew James from Maidstone caught 4 barbel to 8 pounds plus 35 chub to 3.5 pounds at Wyeastone Leys. JP from Hampshire was impressed with maintenance work undertaken during the close season at Foy Bridge: “The work that has been put into preparing the swims is outstanding.” He caught 4 barbel and 12 chub. Chris Duller from Ystrad Meurig recorded a pair of barbel to 8 pounds 12 ounces and 10 small chub from Lower Carrots and Luggsmouth. Alan Miller of Rugby had 1 barbel and 11 chub from Middle Ballingham and Fownhope No 8. Paul Nash and a friend from Weston Super mare fished at Trelough Pool for a pair of carp to 12 pounds and some nice roach.
Daniel Morris of Leatherhead had another day alone at How Caple Court, where he caught 6 barbel and 6 chub, while Matthew James from Maidstone reported 2 barbel and 20 chub from Thomas Wood. Richard Kozioi from Boyle fished at White House for 3 barbel and 7 chub: “Great day, float fishing very fast water…” Several of the coarse fishermen mentioned that the barbel still remained in fast water after spawning when the season opened.
Another common theme, shared with the trout fishers, was a complaint about the level of undergrowth choking the banks of our rivers at the moment. The growth this spring has certainly been luxuriant. CW from Swindon praised the maintenance at How Caple Court where he caught 2 barbel, 20 chub and an accidental shad, and suggested that some more excavated fishing platforms would be welcomed. The WUF pointed out that the river is a SSSI and owners cannot carry out works on the banks without special permissions. RE from Cwmbran fished at Lower Ballingham where he caught 20 chub, but complained that he met four different anglers on the beat although he knew that just two were booked on through the Fishing Passport. In fact the Passport information includes the fact that a small syndicate of salmon anglers also have direct access to the fishery, not via the Passport, but if you want to check credentials to be sure, there is nothing to stop any visitor showing his own ticket and inquiring to see if his interlocutor has one.
RS from Coventry fished at Sugwas Court: “…sunburned, stung, but happy. A long day spent roving.” He caught 4 barbel and 22 chub. RB from Bristol caught 1 barbel and 17 chub at Upper Breinton, while KT from Bath had 9 barbel and 6 chub at Upper Hill Court. Andrew Stone from Bromley was another who complained about the “unapproachable” Fownhope No 5. Mark Pegram from Bishops Stortford caught 15 chub at Middle Ballingham and Fowhope No 8. David Talbott from New Milton fished at the Home Fishery for 2 barbel to 8 pounds, 8 chub and 6 eels.
Finding the Fishery
On 22nd June Mr Talbott had difficulty finding the access to Sugwas and reported:
“Very difficult to find the fishing. Do not use the postcode on the website…sorry but directions are very poor on the website.”
To which the WUF replied accurately:
“We neither give a post-code nor directions on the website. Directions and maps can be downloaded from the Order Confirmation we send when the booking is made.”
I wish I had a pound for every angler who arrives late at the parking spot having failed to download the map and directions as requested and then tried at the last moment to rely on the vehicle’s satnav, although previously warned not to. Satnavs are a wonderful invention, but they don’t rise to every occasion and even the what.three.words software does not solve every problem although the WUF uses it in places. Please do as requested and download the map and directions after you have ordered your fishing and received your ticket. This is the third download link on the ticket, coming after “biosecurity for anglers” and “what to do if guide for anglers”. Download it even if you have been to the beat before, because parking places and beat boundaries can change. I am glad to report that Mr Talbott caught 8 chub during his day at Sugwas.
Photography
May I transmit a gentle reminder about the photographing of live fish before they are returned? As I come from an angling generation which was once accustomed to kill almost every game fish caught for the table and from a time when any photos taken during the process involved holding the dead fish up with a finger through the gills, this is something I have to remind myself about. But in the case of catch and release of wild fish, which is what most of us are now engaged on most of the time, the primary and over-arching objective is a successful release without injury. The bigger a fish is, the more easily it can damage itself if allowed to flap around on unfriendly surfaces. So, by all means send in a photograph of your handsome fish in the water, lying in a soft net, or cradled momentarily above the surface in somebody’s wet hands. But definitely not with the fish lying out on rocks or dry gravel please! A photograph is always nice, but if it is difficult to manage that, a quick measurement against the net handle or even weighing in the net is absolutely fine. Don’t worry; we will believe you, asking only that you be precise about your measurement so that we can quote it with confidence! What do I mean by that exactly? Only this:“15 inches” is a measurement. “About 15 inches” is a guess.
Declining scottish salmon and sea trout runs
There was a time when poor salmon results here on the Welsh borders might be compensated for by making the consoling remark: “There is always Scotland.” In fact there was a time when a bunch of Welsh friends and I would head up to SW Scotland when our rivers closed and have a few extra days on the Doon or Stinchar. There would be plenty of late salmon in them too, at least by our standards. Not any more, judging by a brief report in the June edition of Trout and Salmon. This summary of the Scottish Marine Directorate’s report for salmon and sea trout caught during 2025 showed a 41% decline for salmon caught over the previous year and an 8% decline in sea trout. Excuses might be made that it was a bad year with low flows, but in fact the latest figures merely continue a depressing downward trend. As far as migratory fish runs are concerned, Scotland is in as much trouble as almost everywhere else. I don’t think I would make any particular claims for Ireland these days.
Nevertheless, there is still quite a high demand for guided salmon fishing. I am always impressed by the determination of salmon anglers in the face of adversity and many just want to fish hard in an attempt to find a taking fish despite the known scarcity of salmon in the river. Sooner or later, most of these will succeed unless the situation becomes even worse. Others again are preparing for a foreign trip after steelhead, Pacific salmon or the Atlantic salmon of the remote North. Quite a common scenario involves casting practice with a rod purchase and a foreign trip in mind and experimentation with rod, shooting head and tip combinations in order to find a good balance. After that, during the rest of the day there is plenty to be worked on in learning our famous pools. Even a low water day on the Wye can be very instructive as the river bed becomes exposed. The Scottish figures for 2025 are the lowest since records began in 1952. And yet the same Trout and Salmon edition also records a silver Tay springer of 24 pounds taken during this April by a man who had been trying for 5 years. That’s why we keep fishing!
There's always Scotland... Afonydd Cymru
As you might imagine, the organisation representing Welsh river trusts has great expectations of the new government in Cardiff. No opportunity is being wasted by Afonydd Cymru to influence newly appointed ministers on the subject of the environment, but “…so far the New Senedd has showed continuation of a tendency to focus disproportionately on the water industry.”
There are fears the ball will be dropped right at the beginning by a failure to recognise the multiple factors causing the pollution of Welsh rivers today. Merely reforming the water industry to reduce sewage spillages and unauthorised outfalls will not by itself be enough to achieve sufficient pure water standards. We know that agriculture is a very powerful lobby in Wales and yet agriculture is the other main offender causing river pollution. The old voluntary code for responsible muck spreading proved inadequate to prevent damage to waterways, even though it is only a minority of farmers who abuse the system. Afonydd Cymru favours a tougher approach and equal enforcement to all offenders polluting rivers.
Day in the Life
The Asian lad at the checkout of the filling station shop was looking unusually cheerful. “I’m buying my new wife next month,” he told me.
“Oh…right, jolly good,” I replied while wondering how one is supposed to respond to such confidences. “Well then, I will just take a Daily Mail and a latte please.”
I love these little human interchanges, the passing contacts which so brighten our brave and diverse new world. So much nicer than buying online or by posting a card into a machine. I sometimes think that if it weren’t for all the Turkish barbers, vape shops and sweet shops opening downtown, we would be looking forward to a world where nobody talks to another. Not that there seem to be many people in the new shops when I look. Nor is the High Street downtown as friendly as it was. The police were called to fighting in the street last Saturday night. It would be nice if they would take a walk through the High Street now and then as they did in the old days. Another new feature of our little country town is supplied by the young beggars who sit in relays on the pavement leaning against the bank façade and scrolling on their phones with their caps laid out for coins. There is nothing to be done about it according to the embarrassed bank staff. Instructions are that they mustn’t be harassed. The other evening my wife had her bank card snatched by a running youth in a hoodie as she retrieved it from the outside cash machine. Nothing to be done about that either apart from cancel the card and, yes, there ought to be a camera, but there isn’t. (It’s funny, though, how there is always a camera when I drift above the speed limit in my car). At least we still have a bank for now, but if it closes, as the staff and customers fear, there will be no branch nearer than Gloucester.
Enough of gloomy thoughts! Off I went then to the river, away from roads and towns, to a scene where the sun was very hot, the water was low and no fish appeared to be moving. The cold wind of the earlier spring had dropped and the fresh fields were dreaming in the heat. There was some fly life, including some yellow may duns and olive uprights now, but the trout of the lower Usk did not seem to be impressed at all. Eventually I gave up prospecting with the dry fly rod on the gravel flats and changed to spiders, which got me a pull and a nice fat trout of a pound which jumped a few times on its way upstream to the net. After that came a series of silver salmon smolts which persuaded me to desist. It is good to see salmon in the river, but we don’t want to be catching them at this stage. The river was low and they would be waiting for rain to take them to sea. “The first flood in May, takes the smolts away.” Now it would be June for these ones before they reached the salt.
An angler upstream stated that he had caught nothing and seen one trout rise only. I climbed up onto the bank and sat on the seat placed there by the club while eating my sandwiches and watching the bright colours of fields and trees. A new generation has taken over at the farm. In fact all the young farmers I know have changed to giant Tonka-Toy tractors which cost more than a Ferrari. When they are not blocking the lanes so that we have to reverse up endlessly, some of these giants will use satellite navigation to plough a field on their own. What a wonderful new age we live in! There used to be cows here, then sheep, and now up the hill there is an array of massed solar panels erected by German contractors. They still grow wheat and maize in some of the riverside fields, but before ploughing and harrowing with the automated tractors the remains of the old crop is treated with herbicides which turn everything a uniform tan colour.
As there was still nothing rising I took out the Daily Mail to see what the man on the Clapham omnibus was reading and thinking about our latest political crisis. However, the problem with age, as you may know or at any rate will find out in time, is a certain tendency to fall asleep after lunch. Crisis; what crisis? I didn’t even get as far as the Andrew Neil column.
On summer evenings a couple of times a month, my little town boasts a sort of informal down the line shoot held in a field by the Severn. Most of the people shooting there are farmers or farm workers and some are wildfowlers during the winter. I am not very good at this branch of the sport and in any case we prefer sporting clays, but I go occasionally when I am free. In any case it makes an excuse for owning a trap gun. I arrived early to the meet that evening to find Ralph and a pal putting home-made black powder loads through an extraordinary looking piece with a single 10 gauge barrel, almost 40 inches long, fired by a prominent external hammer. It was a Goose Gun, they explained and I could see the wood was in surprisingly good condition for what must have been a vintage piece. Possibly it was made especially for a wild-fowling professional more than a century ago. I imagine the main aim of the designer would have been to build a barrel which, once moving, would swing for ever and throw a lethal load of BB shot for 45 yards. Clouds of black smoke were produced but I didn’t notice many clays being hit. More than 5 feet in length overall it was a remarkable tool, but of such a weight that I would not have liked to carry it far.
I did wonder how many such heirlooms are still being kept in farmhouses either side of the estuary. People in the shooting world are often intrigued to own curiosities alongside their regular sporting and game guns. A chap turned up at Keeper’s Lodge the other day with a little “practice gun” which turned out to be a .410 pump action fitted with a sound suppressor. This didn’t seem to hit much either and when the trigger was pulled it made what I can only describe as a sort of subdued hissing noise like “Pfutt!” I think I can manage without one.
Tight lines!
Oliver Burch http://wyevalleyflyfishing.com