We knew already that the 2026 summer had been a record-breaker for UK temperatures. However, it ended with a bank holiday weekend and this being Britain the final holiday of the summer turned out to be reassuringly normal, or in other words wet and miserable with some strong winds. The drought was not over, the land was hardly moistened and the rivers hardly rose at that point, but it rained all right. Perhaps a more normal autumn would follow, or so we hoped at the beginning of September. Cooler nights were soon having their effect along with morning dew and mist in the valleys. Later, as showers grew more frequent and heavier, there were even some signs of health coming back into the rivers: coloured water in the Upper Usk and in the Lugg, even a mini-flood starting at the top of the Wye coming down to Rhayader by 4th September. By 14th September heavy rain in the Cambrian Mountains fed into the top of the Wye and also the Irfon. This produced a steep and very dirty rise of water running down the whole Wye system as all the muck accumulated during the summer began to flush out. The Usk rose a few inches, but was much less affected.
Salmon Fishing
A week into September, while waiting for any news from the Wye system, we began to hear of salmon from the crack Towy beats; Golden Grove and Abercothi had each taken 4 fish between 8 and 12 pounds. Then on 9th September with big tides due a 22 pounds salmon was taken at Wyesham on a Red Frances. This was the first fish reported from the Wye in over two months and very welcome news. The Red Frances, which some say looks like a carrot, is an “in your face” prawn imitation, renowned for moving stiff and difficult fish. After the flood, still waiting for more news of Wye fish, it was slightly frustrating to hear from other rivers. Spencer John reported 5 fish from the lower Usk in early September: 11, 10, 10, 9 and 8 pounds. We heard of small salmon taken spinning on the Loughor. Abercothi reported 6 more from the Towy, which put them on 28 now for the season. Spencer John reported a grilse of 6 pounds from the Usk.
Then some further good news for the Wye at last: Wyesham had a 21 pounder on 17th September and up at Builth Wells on the Glanwye beat Christopher Morley caught a pair at 10 pounds and 8 pounds. Redbrook reported a small salmon of 4 pounds on a shrimp fly. The water height looked good and the river was running clean, even if the colour was still a little strong. On the 18th Wyesham reported two more fish, 25 and 14 pounds (making three 20 pounders so far for Wyesham during September). Wyesham had another fish of 8 pounds on the 19th and one more of 14 pounds on the 20th. At the upper end Catalina Stanila caught an accidental salmon of 60cm while trout fishing at Ty Newydd, while Matt Cooper reported a 33 inch coloured cock fish from Lower Glanwye. Christopher Morley had another 8 pounder at Glanwye. Andrew Buckley from Pembroke reported a 7.5 pounds hen salmon from the White Mill fishery on the Towy. And Abercothi on the Towy reported four more: 5, 9, 10 and 12 pounds. We had nearly reached the autumn equinox and the Towy is after all famous for its late run of small salmon. Abercothi had one more on 21st September and Golden Grove reported another 10 since the 13th.
The Wye had settled back down and the total now stood at 56 for the 2026 season with a month remaining. A Hereford angler blanked but enjoyed his day at the Rectory: “River was perfect. Lots of wildlife but no salmon showed. Hut is brilliant.” Louis MacDonald Ames also reported a blank at the Rectory and commented: “Great beat, nothing today but will be back.” Put that one down to Louis’ sense of humour. He would say that about the beat, wouldn’t he – he is one of the owners after all! I wish I had a share in it!
Abernant - James H from Cheltenham Sea Trout
Michael Hughes from Taffs Well reported a 2 pounds sewin taken on the fly from the Aberystwyth AA water of the Rheidol. Generally sewin fishing in south and west Wales has been remarkably quiet.
Trout and Grayling Fishing
On 27th August Aaron Swanson from Inverclyde reported 6 trout and 2 grayling from Craig Lyn, which has continued to fish quite well through the drought. From the North, Paul Smith from Morpeth reported 5 trout and 6 grayling to 1.5 pounds caught from the Darlington Brown Trout Association water of the Tees. A Cambridge angler sent in photos of the Upper Tees displaying a classic example of fast, steep gradient, pocket water strewn with boulders. That’s the place to fish your spiders upstream, Stewart-style. A Bristol angler had 4 trout and 2 grayling from the Mickleton Island stretch where he found deeper water.
Classic Tees pocket water - JL from Cambridge 
Penpont - Ben Stone Wigg Nearer home, Mark Atherton and a friend from Worcester caught 7 trout and 5 grayling at the Rectory, along with a dace and sundry salmon parr. Darren Partridge from East Molesey caught 8 trout from the Usk at Buckland, telling us he used some classic flies: the Pheasant Tail Nymph, Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear and Oliver Kite’s famous Imperial. Philip Wilkinson of London fished the Usk at Glanusk Ty Mawr / Canal and Rivers Trust and caught 9 trout. A Hereford angler found slight colour in the Lugg at Lyepole after rain and caught 10 grayling on the duo method. On 31stAugust Alistair Dickson fished up at Llyn Bugeilyn: “I arrived in thick rain and squally showers…the rain came and went…the wind did not.” A hen harrier was quartering low over the moors. Alastair caught 15 trout by using, he informs us, “…anything black.”
Consider for a moment these two returns from Llwyn On, which is probably the busiest of the Beacons reservoirs:
On 31st August an Aberdare angler reported: “very poor fishing. going to find somewhere else to fish 5 visits to lloyn. On. no fish I tried everything. loads of power bait scattered on the bank. can’t catch fish the proper way. nobody checking baits.”
On 1st September a Pontypridd angler simply reported catching 4 trout at the same fishery.
It’s difficult to conclude very much from some of the reports about the Beacons reservoirs. I do read them all although they often make dull fare. The problem is that they seem to come in two main groups. The first can be summarised as tales of woe from anglers who failed to catch and who therefore want anybody prepared to listen to know that they are very unhappy and somehow feel cheated. And there is usually a similar number of anglers in a second group who did catch and are consequently, I suppose, quietly happy. Some more details about those methods which do work on the Beacons reservoirs would be fun to read and helpful for those who are struggling.
Ben Stone Wigg from London found that a little rain had coloured the Usk slightly at Penpont and so turned the fish on. He caught 8 trout on nymphs. Joe Alexander from Rhayader had been restricted to fishing the cold-running Elan below the reservoirs during the drought period, but on 1st September he moved back to the Clwyedog and caught 6 trout on dry flies. A Colwyn Bay angler fished at Llyn Eigiau, a mountain water belonging to Dolgarrog Fishing Club, and took 15 trout while spinning in wind and rain. A Hull angler reported 5 trout and 6 grayling from the Tees at Mickleton Island, but mentioned nervous cattle near the water. Paul Nicholson from Llangammarch Wells caught 6 trout on worm from the Usk Reservoir. Morgan Rees Price was another who fished at the Usk Reservoir, also catching 6 trout to 1.5 pounds. Shaun Price from Glanamman also had a half dozen to 2.5 pounds, using both floating and sinking fly lines.
Craig Llyn - Andy Lane from London On 4th September Mark Harris from Swansea used his season ticket at the Rectory to take 15 trout to 10 inches along with salmon parr and dace. Cormorants and goosanders were much in evidence and Mark raised the subject of how much damage may have been done to Wye fish during the recent drought and low water. I have certainly seen some very thin trout and yet at this time of year they should be in good plump condition ready for spawning and the winter.
Andy Lane from London was at Craig Llyn: “A beautiful day…with a falling river after rain…a great head of feeding grayling in the 4-8 ounce range bodes well for the future.” He caught 13 trout and 10 grayling during a hatch of pale wateries and other autumn flies. A regular visitor from Dorridge fished the Lugg tributary at Lyepole with a weighted nymph, taking a big catch of grayling and 3 trout including a specimen fish, but commented that maintenance work is overdue on this beat which now suffers greatly from fallen trees and some very poor access at fence crossing points. Andy Lane from London again fished at Dolgau on the upper Wye and took 5 trout and 9 grayling, reminding us of the need to use a wading staff on this beat with its very slippery rocks. Paul Harris reported 6 trout to 1.5 pounds taken on a bottom leger at Llwyn On and a Hereford angler also reported 6 trout from the Usk Reservoir. A Chester angler took 8 surface feeding trout from Llyn Eigiau in North Wales, using traditional flies including Bibio, a small Black and Peacock Spider and Pheasant Tail Nymph. Graham Williams from Evesham fished the Aberystwyth Angling Association’s Llyn Frongoch and caught a brace of trout. The fish were reported feeding on hatching dragon-flies…or hatching damsel flies maybe? Gavin Meredith from Manchester fished the Dolgarrog club’s Llyn Melynllyn (Lake of the Mill) and caught 5 trout: “All caught on Black Pennell! Wonderful day!” On 9th September Paul Dimery from Cheltenham caught 4 trout and 2 grayling from Abernant and then 4 trout and 2 chub from Ty Newydd, where he was joined by Dean Haslop from Cambridge with 6 trout. Gavin Bidmead from Merthyr reported a catch of 4 trout from Llwyn On.
Kenny Simms and a friend from Northampton were very unhappy with access to the Tees at Eggleston Hall where, without stiles, it was necessary to climb over barbed wire fences in waders. While discussing access I should also mention the situation at Ashford House on the Usk. This is by most measures a good beat but by September this year the access had become truly awful, the brambles forming a solid chest-high wall covering both the stiles between fields and the ingress points to the river. Lack of traffic probably has something to do with it but despite the warning on the beat description and the fact that a longish walk will always be involved here, for day tickets at 33.50 each the upkeep undertaken by the owners really should be better than this. Stiles should not be left grown over. A few hours maintenance work should restore access to the whole beat including the way down to the pools, but for now bring your own strimmer!
Tees at Raby Estate - JL from Cambridge 
By 10th September we were experiencing windy weather and the odd shower, but up in the mountains some of our anglers experienced much more than that. Darren Drew from Blakeney fished the famous Llyn Idwal in a storm which blew his glasses into the water so that he had to go after them with his net. He caught a brace of trout on Foam Hoppers.
Mark Atherton with a friend from Worcester caught 6 trout and 6 grayling at the Rectory using nymphs in the fast sections. By the morning of the 13th AM from Solihull was washed off the upper Wye at Doldowlod, describing an extra 3 feet of swirling, muddy water. In contrast, the Usk only rose a few inches. David Jackson with a friend from Halesowen fished with nymphs at Dinas for 4 trout including a specimen of 2 pounds. They remarked on the presence of tomato plants now growing on the gravel above the bridge. We have a theory about that: the Brecon town sewage plant discharge point is upstream and tomato seeds are famous for their ability to pass unharmed through the human body!
With a little more water in the Usk, AA from Brecon with a friend shared 21 trout at Glan yr Afon. AC from Mountain Ash took 7 trout on dry flies from Cefn Rhosan Fawr. SR from Ammanford shared with two friends 12 trout from the Usk Reservoir, 3 on worm and 9 spinning. Luke Turner of Swansea fished the same reservoir on 20th September, taking 6 trout with dry flies: “… a cracking day’s fishing.” A Ludlow angler fished up at Llyn Bugeilyn, taking 18 trout on dry flies. Peter Turpin from Abingdon found the water coloured and rising at Craig Llyn, but took 11 trout and 2 grayling on dry flies. Pete Buckey with a friend from Stockbridge shared 10 trout on the Usk’s Upper Tower. Howell Jenkins from Bridgend reported 8 trout on an X Caddis from the Tawe Beat One. AA from Brecon was strangely disappointed with a catch of 10 trout to 1 pounds 12 ounces from the Usk at Glan yr Afon: “…not quite the end-of-season send-off I might have hoped for.” MR from Winchester caught 7 trout on nymphs from Cwmwysg Ganol although the water was once more low. Keith Gull from Cumnor had a good day on the Herefordshire Lugg at Lyepole, catching 10 grayling on nymphs from the deeper pools. MR from Winchester caught 9 trout on nymphs at Buckland while Ian Gillard from Pontypridd caught 7, also with nymphs, from Dinas. I am reminded that on 24th September Graham Ash from Chelmsford reported a grayling caught from Dinas – a feat that, without wishing to be unkind, seems rather unlikely. Two anglers from Paris had a good day at Doldowlod on the upper Wye, catching 6 trout and 12 grayling. Jason Pereira from Upper Tean led a party of four anglers on the same beat, catching 17 trout and 10 grayling. A Twickenham angler with a salmon ticket on Llanstephan decided with the low water to go trout fishing instead and caught 5 trout, a grayling and a chub from the famous Dolmeudwy Pool. One of these fish was reportedly measured at 20 inches. JL from Merthyr Tydfil reported 4 trout for his day at Llwyn On. A Gloucestershire angler on 28th September had 7 grayling and 4 trout at Doldowlod: “…all caught on nymphs, nothing rising.” Catches were mostly modest at the end of September although Pete Buckey from Stockbridge reported 37 trout from Glanusk Ty Mawr.
Llyn Idwal - WP from Ludlow Coarse Fishing
Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere's Ley - PB from Oxford Barbel and chub fishers continued to enjoy good sport into the autumn. Duff Battye with two friends from Reading fished at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley, catching a single barbel on rolled meat and 45 chub on the float. A Taunton angler caught a brace of chub at Courtfield, but had problems with both parking and access. Parking at Courtfield is never exactly easy but particularly disadvantaged at the moment with ongoing roadworks along part of the beat. Three friends from Oxford were at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley where they caught 19 chub to 4 pounds. Mark Prior with a companion from Dartford reported 3 barbel and 30 chub at Fownhope 5. The same beat provided the son of Karl Evans from Ipswich with his first ever 4 barbel plus 5 chub, taken fishing with hemp and pellets in the renowned Lucky Stone swim. David Talbott from New Milton had 6 barbel and 3 chub at the Home Fishery. And on 31stAugust Paul Smith from Southam had a wonderful day at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley, catching 91 chub and a dace with trotting gear.
Paul Lumb from Portishead was also out on Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley on 1st September and caught 8 chub. John Hedges from Sturminster Newton had just a brief visit to the same beat, but caught 15 chub on float-fished meat, one every cast. A Taunton angler’s day at Thomas Wood was dominated by worries about getting his camper van in the rain up and down the “Hill of Doom” leading to the water. He managed, but others on the beat had problems finding grip. I presume that use of a 4WD with a good ground clearance would be a good asset when delivering tackle to the bankside here. James Hayward from Shrivenham (the village or the Academy I wonder) was pleased with a barbel and 6 chub at How Caple Court. David Talbott from New Milton fished with rolling meat in the fast shallow runs at Foy Bridge and caught 5 barbel from 6 pounds to 8 pounds 2 ounces along with 25 chub. Leigh Sutton from Stevenage (a town which to my mind will be forever famous as the former home of Vincent Motorcycles) led a team of four, fishing I think at The Creel and Caradoc, and reported 30 barbel and 54 chub over two days. A third day for two of the group at How Caple Court resulted in 6 more barbel including a hard-fighting fish of 10 pounds 7 ounces for Leigh’s father-in-law: “Great fishing all week.”
George Butt from Bristol reported 8 barbel and 10 chub from Foy Bridge. David Talbott from New Milton noted an 8 inch rise and improved flow at the Home Fishery; he reported 7 barbel to 9 pounds and 3 chub, but also an unfortunate incident with canoeists apparently trying to cut his fishing line. Gary Ingledew with two friends from St Neots fished at Lower Carrots and Luggsmouth where they reported a pair of poachers to the bailiff. Meanwhile they caught 24 chub to 4 pounds with meat and pellets. MH from Birmingham fished at Middle Ballingham and Fownhope No 8 and caught 17 chub trotting with 8mm pellets. Trevor Elsey from Courtfield from Dorking reported 4 barbel from Courtfield.
Stuart Mee with a friend from Redditch fished at Caradoc on 7th September. They were still plagued by drifting weed but fish were available in the fast water and they caught 9 barbel and 13 chub with feeders and 8mm pellets. AV with three friends from Pevensey recorded 7 barbel and 24 chub from Lower Symonds Yat. David Norris from Carshalton had a very busy day fishing alone at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley, catching a single barbel and 55 chub. He had 4 barbel and 15 chub on the day following. Nicholas Webb fishing the same beat had 1 barbel and 5 chub, along with an attack from a pike experienced at the net while playing in one of his chub. CA from Preston with two friends made a detailed report from Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley, where they caught 14 barbel to 8 pounds and a large catch of chub to 5 pounds. Mark Nicholls with a companion from Redhill caught 5 barbel and 8 chub at the Home Fishery, and next day went on to record 2 barbel and 12 chub at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. Paul Fellows from Bicester reported a barbel and 11 chub from Upper Breinton.
Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere's Ley - CA from Preston David Mercer and a friend from Laxfield had an interesting two days on the Teme at the Knightwick Bridge Haven Fishery, stalking the shallows to locate and catch 6 barbel and 4 chub. On 12thSeptember BM from Exeter used trotting and light ledgering to take 9 barbel and 20 chub at Middle Hill Court. Chris Hinton from Bridport was there the following day and caught 5 barbel and 6 chub, although by now the river was rising. Regular Alan Trevett from Basingstoke caught 17 chub to 5 pounds 9 ounces at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. TB from Warwick was on the same beat, caught 2 barbel and 11 chub, but had much to say about access problems. As I understand this, there is mainly a need for strimming to keep paths clear of brambles and open enough for coarse anglers to walk through while carrying their kit to the river. This doesn’t seem like a very onerous request in the case of a beat with a big sale of tickets?
During the morning of the 14th AM from Sherborne caught 5 barbel to 9 pounds 7 ounces at Wyastone Leys, but fishing went quiet from midday as the lower river rose. Ian Powell with two friends were up at Whitney Court where the river was already a metre up and coloured, but by flood-fishing they managed 31 chub. Jonathan Chandler and a friend from Nuneaton gave us this description of a trip to the Home Fishery: “River conditions were terrible…started off quite clear and then the water went chocolate brown, the level went up about a foot and then weeds, bushes, branches, logs and trees came past making it impossible to fish.” Peter Hartman from Zelhem was up at Foy Bridge where the flood must have passed its peak: “Strong current due to heavy rainfall in Wales. Fished approximately 5 metres out with 8mm cheese and garlic pellets.” He caught 6 barbel and 1 chub. Andy West from Henley on Thames was at the Creel: “River rising and a lot of weed and debris coming down…forced to fish under rod tip. Fed liberally, caught first on pellet and then two on meat. Challenging but beautiful day.”
We started to hear more as the flood dropped off. Stuart from the Cotswolds reported a barbel and 10 chub from Middle Ballingham and Fownhope No 8 on 15th September. David Paris and a friend from Bramley shared 8 barbel including a fish of 11 pounds 4 ounces from Courtfield, while DS and a friend from Ringwood had 8 barbel and 4 chub at the Home Fishery. Nick West and a friend from Slough fished at Middle Hill Court: “River was spot on, coloured and running off, but not high…” By various methods they had 2 trout, 20 barbel and 26 chub along with dace and eels. Richard Knowles with a friend from Sittingbourne had 4 barbel and 26 chub at Fownhope No 5. Tom Harbinson with a friend from Woodbridge reported 17 barbel to 8 pounds and 3 chub from How Caple Court. Tom had 5 barbel and 6 chub from Whitehouse on the following day, after which 3 more barbel and 9 chub from Lower Carrots and Luggsmouth, 1 barbel and 10 chub from Caradoc and finally 4 barbel and 9 chub from White House on the 19th. Allan Trevett of Basingstoke fished an early morning session at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley and captured a single barbel and 58 chub to 5 pounds 9 ounces before heading home. Paul Sanderson with two friends from Watford were at the Home Fishery where they caught 9 barbel and 10 chub: “…barbel coming from all pegs including a Wye double. Pellet and feeder tactics the order of the day.” David Summersell and a friend reported 7 barbel to 9 pounds 6 ounces plus 4 chub from Thomas Wood: “A pleasant day’s fishing.” CS from Cardiff had 2 barbel and 17 chub from Lower Symonds Yat while Marc Pickering and a friend from Stockton on Tees caught 9 barbel and 13 chub at the Creel. They had a single barbel and 20 more chub at Middle Ballingham and Fownhope No 8 the following day. Philip Timms with a friend from Mordiford reported 7 barbel and 14 chub at Middle Hill Court. Ben Penfold from Andover fished at Upper Breinton where he caught 7 barbel and 27 chub before making: “…the long trip home...A lovely venue and a fantastic day.”
Whitney Court - Paul Thurlow 
Courtfield - David Paris Gavin Chapman from Fleet was at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley where he caught 1 barbel and 8 chub. Steven Gabb with two friends from Lydney fished at Home Fishery where they recorded 3 barbel and 8 chub, but returned from moving a car to find a rod and reel had been stolen, presumably by somebody in a boat. That is pretty depressing; I can’t recall that happening on one of our beats before. Chris Monk with two friends from Ware fished the same beat the next day and recorded 20 barbel to 9 pounds 3 ounces and including 4 others over 8 pounds, plus 16 chub. Paul Greening and a friend from Tewkesbury reported 6 barbel and 20 chub from Lower Canon Bridge. BR from Southport caught 27 chub at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. Robert Goody from Penarth was at Upper Breinton on the 20th. He reported “…river rising till lunch, then steady with some colour.” He caught 8 barbel and 16 chub. CS from Cardiff reported 11 barbel to 9 pounds 2 ounces and 8 chub from Lower Symonds Yat. AC with a friend from Bristol caught 8 barbel and 7 chub from the Creel on the 22nd. Mark Springham from Newark led a group of three to take 14 barbel to 11 pounds plus a chub from the Home Fishery. On the following day at the same fishery they took 22 barbel to 9 pounds 12 ounces and 5 chub. Paul Flanagan from Sevenoaks led a party of four at Lower Symonds Yat: “What a wonderful stretch…Access can be tricky (severely steep on occasions) but well worth it.”They caught 17 barbel and 6 chub. Stephen Ford with two friends from Hockley were at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley: “Three anglers fished float tactics…”They caught 8 barbel and 53 chub.
For coarse fishers the final weekend of September was again a busy one, although the game fishers were meanwhile struggling again with low water levels. Chris Butler with a friend from Sandy had serious complaints about the access to the river at Sugwas Court where they caught 8 chub. Mr Butler has complained that no maintenance has been carried out on this beat for 6 years and is engaging with some detailed correspondence with the Passport. Rather similarly, AB from Oxfordshire with a friend decided not to fish their booked tickets at Courtfield due to lack of access, claiming that only two swims were available and both very steep. Ongoing road works may be connected with the access problems here. Matthew Lewis from Ashford had 5 barbel and 15 chub from Middle Ballingham and Fownhope No 8 on the 25thand 2 barbel and 10 chub from the same beat on the following day. Nick Fowkes from Redditch was also on this beat, catching 4 chub, and advised anglers to bring a dog spike and rope to help access to the swims. SM from Swindon with a friend fished at Fownhope No 5, catching 3 barbel and 12 chub. They mentioned a dead salmon lying in the margins; thankfully we have not, to date at least, seen too much in the way of such casualties.
Alan Trevett from Basingstoke took a morning session at Thomas Wood and caught 4 barbel and 8 chub. Sam Twine was at the Creel on 26th and took 2 barbel, 5 chub, a pike and a perch on luncheon meat and krill pellets. Dilwyn Davies from Ross on Wye reported 33 barbel from Upper Hill Court. Sean Judd from Loughton had 8 barbel and 9 chub at the Creel, while MJ of Bristol had a barbel of 9 pounds, a pike of 13 pounds and 11 chub from the Lucky Stones swim at Fownhope 5. RB from Oldbury with a friend fished at Trelough Pool and reported 5 carp to 12 pounds plus 8 bream and 3 roach. Mark Arthur with a friend from Cheshire caught 2 chub and 8 barbel up to 9 pounds 2 ounces from the Home Fishery. RG with a friend from Farnham caught a brace of chub on the quiver tip and 50 dace on the float at Upper Hill Court. All anglers, almost without exception, remarked on how very low and slow all the rivers still were.
Counting the Cost
By September the water temperatures in our rivers had dropped to a reasonable level, but what state were the fish in? Chub and barbel were doing quite well judging by the catch returns and photographs, but how about salmon, trout and grayling? To the best of my knowledge and slightly to my surprise we had no major fish kills, but that hardly implies that no damage has been done. I have a strong feeling that salmon have largely been absent from the rivers over the summer, presumably waiting in the estuary. Trout at this time of the year should be getting plump, ready for their spawning and the coming of winter, but most of those I saw looked rather thin. How will the winter spawning season go?
For that matter, what about the damage to the invertebrates which fish eat, because we have seen their gravel habitat clogged with algal slime for months in a row? I found a remarkable decline in shrimp numbers when I did my regular test on the Bideford Brook and I was told that readings from other monitoring sites, in the Cotswolds for example, fell below their trigger point. To make life more difficult for the angler, as autumn showers fell and rivers gradually rose, the increasing current began tearing the blanket weed away from the bottom until the water became full of rolling green clumps ready to pick up on leader knots or sub surface flies. It was possible to fish a dry fly on the surface if the fish would play ball, but a team of sub-surface spiders or nymphs needed to be cleaned of green slime on every retrieve. “They don’t like salads”the frustrated angler would be remarking to himself through gritted teeth while performing this continual chore, and it’s true, they don’t.
Flood Control
Cannop Brook Leaking Dam Some interesting interventions are taking place in my part of the world which should in theory have benefits for natural life and reduce the risk of flood damage to property. A decision has been made to allow some 300 acres of farmland on the Severn Estuary’s Awre peninsula to revert to salt marsh. This is near the pill or outlet of the Bideford Brook. “Letting the water back in” is a reversal of the policy of the last few centuries of sea defence work. Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust are leading the project with funding from Aviva, and the sea defences are scheduled to be breached to let the water back in during autumn 2027.
A few miles down the coast, my small town or much of it is still living in “sea defence” mode. This is of some interest to me as we live on the edge of the New Grounds, still sometimes known locally as “The Marsh” which was indeed a proper watery marsh some four centuries back. The landscape must have been quite different until the 16thcentury; they used to build and launch large sea-going ships right here near the church. The fact is that even today, if the dykes were breached and the pumps were switched off, quite quickly there would not be much solid ground beyond the Forest foothills and the line of the main A48. After heavy winter rains, most years there is still flooding behind the sea wall and much of this pasture land turns into a wide lake with occasional islands of trees. There is still a sort of tangled wilderness area between the town’s bypass and the main South Wales railway line (which runs straight as a die along a causeway). This stubbornly will not be drained and remains a maze of muddy paths, flooded pools, saltmarsh grass, hips and hawthorns. Plummer’s Brook winds through the middle of it to join Cannop near the port. Nobody knows what to do with the area and foxes, rabbits and ducks, together with whoever leaves the used syringes around, more or less have it to themselves.
Anglers may sometimes gain benefits from flood prevention works. The other day I left the car for service at the garage on the industrial estate on the way down to the port. There are large gravel pits there beyond the railway station, which were created when material was removed to further raise the sea wall defending the New Grounds. Now we have a broad revetment with a grassy top which can be walked along for miles with a grand view down the estuary to the motorway crossings in the distance. If you are lucky you can watch a ship coming up with the tide towards Sharpness with its tall grain silos a mile across the water, apparently passing the entrance before the pilot makes a neat little pirouette using the current to swing the bow into the dock. The original seaward face of the wall on our side was protected with tumbled blocks of Forest of Dean stone and old Severn trading vessels sunk in place. Coffee at the docks, sitting with a view of Sharpness across the shining water and sands, has become a regular habit for us.
Over on the Sharpness side, the bream fishers would populate miles of the ship canal leading to Gloucester every weekend. I remember them lined up on their seat/tackle boxes watching swing tips or tall quill floats. On our own side of the estuary, we have the canal at the bottom of the Cannop Brook before the salt water behind the gates of the port is reached. Local anglers mainly fish the canal for bream and pike. The excavated pits behind the railway station have become grown with willows until they look almost natural and a group of carp anglers have the place to themselves. Carp fishing these days has its own techniques and mysteries. At 7.30 in the morning I watched an angler making long overhead casts with the spodding rod and a sort of plastic rocket, laying down ground-bait in front of his pitch. I hope he had a good day.
In the Forest upstream from town, there are also more ongoing works on the Cannop Brook. These are designed to save those of us living lower down the valley from sudden floods. One concrete tank which used to provide water for a steam engine and in which we used to swim as children (we called it the Lido) has been broken up. The uppermost of the two large Cannop Ponds, reservoirs originally created during the 1820s to provide water power for the iron industry, will have its level reduced to produce a smaller pond and wetlands. The lower pond with its carp and pike fishing will be retained, but the old dam by the stone cutting works which has been deemed unsafe will be reinforced. All this work on the ponds is expected to take two years and I imagine there will be some mud-staining below the operations. Lower down below Parkend on the Passport Wild Streams section of the Cannop Brook, an area of “rip-rap” stone has already been introduced about 100 metres below the EA gauging station. This pool, now of fast running water, stands at the head of what has been a straight section ever since the stream was moved to make way for the New Road from Whitecroft during the 1920s. Above the rip-rap section the earth bank of the stream has now been lowered to give just about a foot of clearance between the water surface and a large forest area cleared of undergrowth which could form a bog and shallow ponds. As I understand it, the first flood of the season which raises the stream level by that extra foot or so is going to start erosion of the bank and diversion (away from the road) into a shallow flood pan which should eventually result in a new more meandering course through the forest and associated improved water absorption capacity. Meanwhile artificial log jams have been added to the natural ones in the bed of the stream and even trees have been felled over it. Downstream below Whitecroft and before it reaches town the stream has already spread itself out and meanders through a valley of overgrown woods containing the ruins of what were once three smelting forges. The forges once had associated mill pools to power trip hammers and bellows, although these are now clogged with silt. Such forgotten places were the origins of the town’s wealth, but the area is now a mosquito ridden bog, full of fallen trees and difficult to make your way through, so the problem of further flood control is quite a complicated one. Plenty of water must be held back in this section already. The heritage steam railway line to Parkend leads above on higher ground.
Clearly the Cannop Brook is going to be a wilder stream than it was before and I am going to have to rethink my pruning strategy. The days of wading all the way up the channel of the stream are over and we are going to face a series of divided pools to dip in and out of. For all that, I am hoping that the trout population will be happy with the new arrangements and that if this latest intervention works, the angling potential of the Wild Stream beat may even be improved. I had a quick fish up the lower section during the final week of September, dodging my way round the new log-jams, and caught over 20 little trout. Meanwhile I am awaiting the first big rainfall of the autumn or winter with interest as I would like to stand and watch the flooding spill over and spread. It might be rather like watching the tide flood the sand castles we built as children!
Despite the current low water, a lot of attention is now being paid to the flooding potential of our rivers, both large and small. On 1st October the Prince of Wales was due to visit Skenfrith in the Monnow valley to discuss recent floods and action being taken now.
Tight lines for October!
Oliver Burch