Oliver Burch's Game Fishing Monthly Report - August 2025

The dog days came early this year. For ancient Egyptians, Sirius or the Dog Star used to herald the flooding of the Nile, while for the Romans August heat and the bright giant rising in the morning together with the sun marked the arrival of days of languor. I don’t know about the Nile, but when I was young all anglers would reckon the month of August to be a difficult time for catching fish, even if it coincided with school holidays. Only loggerhead chub seemed prepared to cooperate. Instead and even without the dawn star we already had the sun and heat in July this time and precious little rain to balance it. Most of my farming friends in both England and Wales had already harvested a week or two before we got into August. If you own your own machines you have the luxury of choosing your harvest time, rather than matching the diary of a contractor booked in for the work. However nobody expected to get much profit out of the crop and tonnages per acre were sometimes barely half the normal. The talk was now all about ongoing shortages of fodder and how many cattle can be fed in the months to come.

Never mind the sun and drought; our anglers pressed on when the river temperature was cool enough. John Parkinson with two friends shared 45 chub at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. Andrew Hill from Witney fished at How Caple Court for 5 barbel to 10 pounds 3 ounces. WK from Bristol accounted for 22 chub with the method feeder, hemp and halibut pellet, at Lower Redbank 1. David Stone from Poole fished at Caradoc and caught 7 barbel to 9 pounds 4 ounces along with 3 chub on ledgered pellet: “Great day after finding the fish.” Neil Taylor from Wollaston fished after dark on the Towy at Llangadog and caught his first sewin on a Silver Stoat fly. I bet that was a happy moment!

Others were not so happy. JW from Newtown with a friend were incommoded by the lily beds when fishing at Llyn Bugeilyn – but on that point I need to mention that the trout usually hang around the same lily pads! However, JW’s comment about the difficulty or even danger of walking round the lake is a fair one. This is hollow ground, where you can unexpectedly break through the crust of peat deep into the wet bog underneath, perhaps even breaking an ankle as JW suggests. The land is full of holes and trickling water deep underground. I once pulled an Achilles tendon while walking round this remote lake, so I can appreciate JW’s concern. Looking on the bright side, he advises that the access road is now “…easily accessible in a normal car,” which is certainly good news.

Tim Rollinson of Walsall reported on fishing the Lugg at Eyton as follows: “Very overgrown. Not worth going. Caught 2 trout from the same swim on duo but very hard work. Green algae showing in slower water. A real shame. Fished same beat over 10 years ago in the summer caught 10+ trout and grayling will not be visiting again. Not looked after.” The complaint about green algae growing in still water is a little harsh, given the present drought conditions. That will soon disappear as soon as the flow returns. But I think Mr Rollinson’s other remarks about Eyton, particularly his last sentence, are worth paying some attention to. Indeed the beat is not looked after, and could really benefit from a major pruning and branch trimming session plus some access stiles over the barbed wire fences. Not mentioned by Mr Rollinson, but really very important, is the seemingly never-ending closure of the footbridge and public right of way crossing the river. I don’t doubt that there are plenty of fish in Eyton.

A few brief showers produced very little effect on our landscape or our rivers.  Storm Floris arrived from the Atlantic heralded by warnings that a summer storm with the trees in leaf can be a lot more dangerous than a winter one. From the predictions I envisaged Floris as mainly a Scottish and Irish problem, but I did hope we might get a decent amount of rain in our river catchments for once. As it turned out, there was indeed serious damage in the North, but apart from the gusting wind the rain we received down here did not amount to very much. There was enough to raise the upper Wye by a couple of inches, but the level dropped back within 24 hours. The Usk seemed unaffected. Nights did become a little cooler for a time.

A rather odd report came in from Christopher Topping of Singapore, who had purchased two day tickets for the Pontardulais Angling Association’s water on the Teifi. The PAA have a mile of single bank fishing on the Teifi near Lampeter, and this is a section traditionally known for its late season salmon and sewin run. Mr Topping described the water as so narrow, so overgrown and generally lacking in flow as to be impossible to fish and he has asked for his money to be returned. He included a couple of photographs of what looks like a ditch or tiny stream almost covered with branches. I am still a member of the PAA and while it is quite a few years since I fished the club’s section of the Teifi, the odd thing is that I cannot recognise Mr Topping’s photographs at all. It does not look like any part of the Teifi which I know. Members of the PAA committee think that it might be the feeder stream crossed on the way to Dolgau-gwryddon-isaf Farm, the yard of which you pass through on the way to the parking and the river. The WUF are investigating.

KC from Blackwood was another who did well at Llwyn On, reporting 8 trout. Dusan Sramo of London with a friend shared 6 fish between them from the same reservoir. Alan Godfrey with two friends from Hoddesdon did well in the heat, reporting no less than 100 chub from the ever-productive Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. They had 50 more a couple of days later. Mark Miller of York was another with a huge catch of 74 chub from this beat with another 80 taken by others in his party. The Kitching family had a good time at Sugwas Court with 10 barbel to 9 pounds 12 ounces plus a chub. TW from West Barsham with a friend caught 7 barbel and 9 chub at Sugwas Court, while JK from Peterborough and a companion reported 11 barbel and 10 chub from Foy Bridge. David Matthews from Staffordshire caught 6 common carp to 11 pounds 12 ounces from Trelough Pool using a running ledger. They were all lovely fish and many have fallen for the charm of this little Herefordshire fishery. Jarred Williams with two friends reported a dozen trout from the Usk Reservoir. David Perrin from Dardilly (near Lyon I think) caught 12 trout by nymphing pocket water on the Upper Wye at Dolgau. Fishing continued to be very slow in the heat, but Thomas Salsbury from Northolt managed 12 chub from Lower Canon Bridge on 15th August despite the need to constantly clear green slime from the tackle. BH from Cardiff managed 5 barbel and 17 chub to 5 pounds 3 ounces from Foy Bridge on the 17th. 

By mid-August the jungle drums were beating out the news that sewin between 2 and 5 pounds were being taken on the fly by night, mainly on the Towy’s Llandeilo AA beat by Jan Bobrowski and others, and also on the Pontardulais AA water of the Loughor. It does seem sewin are now attempting to run the rivers of South Wales. On the 19th LW from W Midlands reported 26 chub from The Creel along with a giant 4 pounds perch which attacked a small chub being played in and so was netted itself. Mark West from Petersfield was booked at Fownhope, but: “I did not fish the beat, as in my opinion the river was unfishable.”  He did fish at Foy Bridge next day and caught 1 barbel and 10 chub, reporting: Banging day’s fishing!”  Callum Price from Brecon enjoyed himself at Sugwas Court, catching 4 barbel to 10 pounds 1 ounce and 10 chub to 5 pounds 9 ounces: “Great sport on this beat, access proved a small challenge but the rewards were there.” Doug Quiney from Worcester took 2 trout, 1 barbel and 8 chub using rolling meat on Lower Canon Bridge. Stuart Pippen from Weston Super Mare used mostly nymphs to take 6 trout from fast runs on the Usk Town Water.

During the final days of August, although still without rain we began to experience cooler nights and some cloudy days. Anglers in the period submitted some interesting reports. On the 20th Adam Moore from Worcester with a friend fished at Llyn Bugeilyn, unfortunately experiencing a puncture on the way in, which at the time seemed to be a bad start. The wheel changed, they commenced on the fishing. The weather was cloudy all day and the sport was initially difficult, but then various black terrestrial flies began to blow onto the lake “…with trout going mad for them.” It seemed that flies of any colour would do provided they were black and fished or near the surface and they put together a catch of 40 mountain trout up to half a pound. To finish a great day, they spotted the famous Bugeilyn hen harrier. Alan Ryan from Ebbw Vale sent in this report about fishing the Usk Reservoir which should put some of us to shame: “As usual I had a lovely day fishing at a beautiful location that is (Trecastle) Reservoir, quite chilly but to compensate I caught 5 lovely rainbow trout weighing from 1 pound 8 ounces to 2 pounds 10 ounces, lovely eating size, all in good condition…my partner gathered a large bag of plastic litter which she took home and recycled so we both had a good day.”  Fishing Passport note: “Thank you Alan and your lovely partner for the clean-up. Very much appreciated.”

It’s easy to become demoralised by tough conditions. Christopher Pagett from Gloucester with a friend had this to report from the Monnow at Skenfrith: “This nil return comes with a measure of sadness. I love this stretch of river, but it is now in a sorry state. Very low, slow and tinged with green by a thick fringe of algae. It was a cooler day and the water temperature was below 20 degrees. We dutifully fished dry, but in the knowledge that any fish which came to the surface would probably be looking to give himself up. Mercifully, none did.”

Neil Stewart from Macclesfield caught 5 trout and 5 grayling from the Tees at Eggleston Hall using both dries and wets: “Very good variety of water but tricky wading.” Dave Collins was out on the upper Wye at Doldowlod, first time there for quite a while, and used dry flies to catch 5 trout to 12 inches and 15 grayling to 16 inches. Dave has “new knees” and he ruefully described difficulties in moving around the Channels at the bottom of the beat. Everybody likes Doldowlod, but you couldn’t call it easy wading. Philip Yapp of Hereford led a party of four on Craig Lyn and they reported 8 trout and 4 grayling: “Lovely day.”  Duncan Wood-Allum from Haywards Heath reported 2 barbel and 10 chub to 5 pounds from Wyebank, while Andrew Stone with a friend from Bromley caught 1 barbel and 15 chub from Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. David Mathews from Staffordshire was back on Trelough Pool and caught the following weights of handsome common carp: 11 pounds, 10 pounds 14 ounces, 8 pounds 14 ounces, 7 pounds 2 ounces, 14 pounds 4 ounces. There were also 3 bream to 4 pounds 8 ounces. Gary Walker from Reigate was another who had 4 good carp from Trelough Pool, in his case using dog biscuits on the surface.

Cooler temperatures began to make angling slightly easier now. On the 21st Stephen Pratt with a friend fished at Foy Bridge for 7 barbel, 18 chub, a large dace and an eel. Ron Denne from Hillingdon reported 20 chub from the Creel. Strevan Ranson with a friend from Evesham caught 14 barbel and 20 chub at Caradoc. A party of 4 anglers led by George Maltby from Southbourne had fun catching 20 small barbel and a chub on the float at Courtfield. Paul Smith from Southam with a friend reported 3 barbel and 110 chub at Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere’s Ley. They had thanks for maintenance work done on the beat but mentioned that some loose stiles need attention soon. Later they fished at Wyebank for 2 trout, 3 barbel and 20 chub, all taken by float fishing meat and sweetcorn. SK with a friend from Chippenham had a good day at Foy Bridge catching 1 barbel and 20 chub and reported: “…had two smaller groups try to start fishing who weren’t booked on, but moved when asked politely.”  Truly, that is the politest description I have ever heard applied to poachers! Good to hear the problem was resolved.

Game fishers were doing a little better, despite the low water. Maciej Stepien from Cardiff reported 6 trout from Llwyn On. Nick Jenks from Cwmbran had 12 small trout and grayling using a Black Gnat in fast water on Gromaine and Upper Llanstephan. An angler from Dorridge reported 5 trout and 4 grayling from Doldowlod.   DN from Guildford came across a hatch of yellow mays on the Usk at Dinas and caught 13 trout with a dry fly, again from fast water. Dave Collins from Moccas with a friend came to fish the Wye at Abernant, but found it hard work with the fish in the main river still apparently affected by recent heat. For all that they recorded 14 trout, 15 grayling and even a barbel taken with a nymph.

Our little Severn-side town is unlucky with its bridges. Everybody knows about the great disaster of 25th October 1960 when two fuel tankers dragged their anchors in a fog and drifted into a pier of the Victorian railway bridge connecting to Sharpness across the Severn. The resulting explosion brought two spans of the bridge down and set the river on fire. Five lightermen died that night and the bridge was never rebuilt. More recently last winter’s flood and vehicle damage to the stone bridge across the Cannop Brook has been repaired so that traffic flows once more on the high street and the two halves of our town are reconnected.

Lately, and doubtless like many others, I have been bombarded by requests to join what I am now persuaded is a distinctly unhelpful class action by solicitors Leigh Day against defendants alleged to have injured the Wye and the Usk. “What is the problem with that plan?” you might be asking yourself. “Shouldn’t polluters pay?” But what exactly is the objective of the action? Is it to punish the “bad guys,” including water companies and agricultural interests, with swingeing sanctions? Or is it rather to make money for the damaged parties, including fishery owners and those who work and play on the river, and of course to earn a large fee for Leigh Day at the same time? The real question is: will a successful class action make the river any less polluted?

The problem with the Leigh Day approach is that it targets defendants who have already shown concern about problems with the rivers, who certainly don’t want to be known as polluters, and who have already begun to co-operate quite willingly with the various environmental protection organisations in order to identify and correct the problems. You may or may not believe in a collaborative approach, but the fact is that Leigh Day in building their case have used data gathered voluntarily and in good faith by the defendants themselves. The result of such a class action succeeding or even going forward may well be that farmers and others in future “plead the fifth amendment,” clam up and decline to share further information to avoid putting themselves in jeopardy. Alternatively, in the case of a class action failing, polluters may well be encouraged to pollute more. Should not Leigh Day instead be targeting the regulators? But then regulatory bodies do not have large amounts of money and so are presumably much less interesting as targets for a class action. In the case of a proven polluter denying responsibility and refusing to co-operate, I am all for using the law. I am certainly all for achieving cleaner rivers. In the case of individuals, agricultural businesses and other organisations currently attempting to improve their environmental foot print, a witch hunt may not be the best way to do it.

When I am not out of doors, I spend a lot of my spare time surfing my way through every news channel I can lay my hands on. My family find this pretty annoying when they want the television for something else and wonder loudly and pointedly why I don’t go off to my den and tie some flies. I wander the channels and take some time over it because I could never understand how anybody would voluntarily rely on only one media voice. So I note that is four years now since the launch of the avowedly rightward leaning GB News. Owners and management of the enterprise expressed from the start their aim of balancing the political media spectrum in the UK and there was additionally a definite mission to debunk the growing phenomenon of “wokery.”  Left/liberal journalists and pundits poured scorn on the project at the time and there was a concerted boycott campaign to try to starve it of advertising revenue. Now, apart from awards for journalism (determined by viewers’ votes), the news channel has scored viewing and listening audience figures which put it at number one in the UK, ahead of both the BBC and Sky. Today even Sky advertises some of its services on GB News. So who is laughing now? As far as the UK is concerned, GB News have proved themselves to have the eyes and ears of the street. From my point of view, the remaining weakness of the channel is in its international coverage. It costs a lot of money to maintain a network of good foreign correspondents, but GB News should address this as soon as possible – you can’t rely for ever on UK based journalists however good and agencies like Reuters and AFP. Can they pinch Jeremy Bowen from the BBC?

You may have been impressed lately to see the slightly surprising friendship between the UK Foreign Secretary and the US Vice President celebrated with a family carp fishing session on a lake in the grounds of Chevening in Kent. What do these two individuals have in common? Well, both of them have said very rude things about Donald Trump before taking their current jobs, since when they have been exceptionally polite. The press were invited for a photo-opportunity and the two statesmen were duly pictured in their best hunter-gatherer mode wielding poles over the lake. Unfortunately neither Mr Lammy nor Mr Vance had a rod licence at the time. Apparently nobody on the FO staff had thought of that one, although an eagle eyed reporter from the BBC followed it up and checked. Mr Lammy was later obliged to write to the EA with an apology and send in his 7 quid like everybody else. I was prepared to bet he wouldn’t be fined though, and so it proved. Apparently the EA did issue a warning letter. I don’t know whether Mr Vance subsequently bought a licence and the children, who actually caught some carp, were under 13. Who would have thought it?

Nobody has caught a Wye salmon for nearly 3 months at the time of writing. On the 28th August the known total still stands at 30; hopefully that may have changed by the time you read this. With that in mind, here is something to cheer us up in these dry days of meagre salmon runs. It might resonate with anybody who has had the experience of catching an accidental salmon while wet fly fishing for trout, or maybe set us all trying to work out the detail of an 85 year old description of the Abergavenny Town Water. The Bridge Inn is still there, but whatever happened to the “bathing house” referred to in this account? The successful angler and writer of this story of dramatic events on the river just before the Battle of Britain was a Mr W.E.B. Smith and this is courtesy of The Fisherman’s Bedside Book compiled by BB:

“This is the story of my first fresh-run salmon, a giant only because of the light tackle in use.

It was the first day of a week’s welcome break in the early part of May 1940, and the River Usk at Abergavenny was still fishable although fining down somewhat. The weather was perfect, being fairly mild with some sun and light cloud. There was a light westerly intermittent breeze and a delightful freshness in the air that invigorated and made one eager to commence.

The previous winter I had partly bought and partly made salmon spinning and fly outfits and had so far obtained nothing but kelts. This was not discouraging as no fresh-run fish had been taken on this stretch, the Town Water, which was excellent for trout but lacked a good pool. In fact the only chance of a fish was in three “lies” that yielded an average total of six fish per year.

At about 10.30 am on the day in question it was decided to fish down-wet for trout, and fixing up a 10 foot Walker, a No 2 Kingfisher and Hardy Houghton cast tapering to 3X, a Greenwell was tied as a dropper. In May, Usk trout do not always rise well, the chief attraction being apparently the larvae of the stone fly, which hatches in considerable numbers, and elvers which run in April and May. In an endeavour to meet these contingencies, without sight or photograph and only the male and female fly as a guide, I tied a truly weird mass of silk with colours varying from dirty yellow to dirty green, and with two turns only of a small red hackle a third of the length from the head. The whole almost covered the shank of a long mayfly hook and this was tied to the point, and be it said, confidently fished without result down the first stream, just below Llanfoist Bridge.

A few hundred yards below, after passing some rapids, the bathing stretch is reached. This is really good trout water and occasionally a salmon rests here on its journey upstream. Wading out at the head of the stream, every yard was carefully searched across and down. Soon the line was sinking well and hope rose as it was evident that the best chance of a fish was near the bottom. About halfway down and just above the bathing house it happened.  The line stopped and a wristy action followed. At first there was no movement, just a tight line into something heavy. Then a slow, very slow, move against the current. A whacking trout this, I thought. Putting on all the strain I dared, I could make no impression – just the slow, steady movement upstream. I thrilled! Was it a “daddy,” an eel or simply a bunch of weed? Was I fancying the movement? No! Definitely it was a yard or two higher now than when hooked. Could it be – was it – a salmon? In any case, what chance of a kill was there? If only I had put up a reservoir cast to 2X! The gut would soon wear in the jaw – it is a salmon! With a rush it went almost to the head of the stream. With butt well up and light pressure on the reel, the fish was “tops.” Whatever it said – went. There was only 40 yards of backing, making seventy in all and immediately below was a row of trees with deep water and high banks. I had to keep in the water and then had only 20 yards in which to manoeuvre. The fish turned and tore madly downstream – on – on – on the test was surely coming very quickly now – wait! It has stopped – near the far bank about 30 yards below – phew! Would my heart never stop pounding? What to do now except to keep up as much strain as 3X would allow? I wondered if the fish was feeling it.

Fortunately I had caught several large reservoir trout in the 4lb region, and was not entirely new to a fish that really took charge – but this was different. Voices broke in from behind. Two anglers whom I had passed earlier offered to go back to the car for a gaff, but then I thought it a waste of time. After about 20 or 30 minutes I began to hope. The fish must be lipped only and the jaws in that case would be bearing on the long shank. My heart leapt. There were quite a few spectators on the opposite bank and one offered to send his boy for Charlie (Mr Charles Morgan, mine host of the Bridge Hotel at the top of the water and a good river man). It was a good three-quarters of a mile away and the boy would not be back for at least 40 minutes. I accepted and he trotted away. By now my arm was aching and the fish had left the far bank and was boring easily just below and about ten yards out. Things were not entirely hopeless. Could I recover some line? Was it tiring?

I went to the bottom of my twenty yards beat, hoping to get the fish above when it decided to take charge again. Down the river it rushed and why it stopped when only a few turns were left on the reel is just “one of those things.” I could see the reel drum plainly. It just had to be. Stop it did, however, and back it came at almost the same speed. I backed and recovered frantically and luckily was able to maintain contact. How my left arm ached! It had been locked at the elbow for nearly an hour. The fish started to bore almost opposite again. I took a welcome rest, just keeping contact with the butt still perpendicular.

“Here comes Charlie,” I heard someone say. I looked round. Yes, it was he, hurrying with a long gaff. I had an attack of nerves. Would I really be lucky enough? I started day-dreaming. I visualised walking into my friend’s engineering shop and placing the salmon and cast – I woke up. The fish was off again – up and towards my side and Charlie was entering the water. I trembled. Charlie was asking questions. What fly? Where? I answered in monosyllables. The fish was now well upstream and on the other side of the stream. Charlie was issuing orders. “As soon as you can, bring it near and I will take a chance.” It came over under the relentless if slight pressure I was able to bear, and was now near my bank only twenty yards up.

I tried hard to bring it towards me and sure enough it was coming down and out. “Get out further, Charlie – and don’t miss.” He “got out” and then, with only a few yards off the reel and within six feet of the gaff, the salmon saw him. There was a step forward, a lunge – and up and sideways shot the fish for quite two or three yards. It was the first time it had broken water. Experience only saved a break. I had dropped the point and thus eased the pressure. I tightened. With relief I found that it was still there and taking line fast. Out and downstream again – it could have gone three hundred yards without hindrance – and then it turned towards a collection of brushwood under the roots of trees immediately below me. If it gets there, it’s finis. “Pull him back,” shouts Charlie, forgetting. I held on and watched. It approached the brushwood, turned inches from it and came towards me. The agony in my arm had been temporarily forgotten in the anxiety of the moment, but now forced attention to the need for getting the fish in quickly. I could stand little more. The fish was tiring; there was no doubt about it. Surfacing in deep water out and below, it showed its side for an instant or two before again moving slowly upstream.

“You’ve got him,” says Charlie. Again that thrill despite my left arm. I got out of the water. The fish was up and out. “It’s now or never,” I said and tried light pumping operations.

The fish gave and gave ever so slowly and then it temporarily stopped struggling and drifted down with the current. A quick upward movement and Charlie had the fish in the air and on the bank in a jiff. He dropped the gaff and picked up the fly from the grass. It had not pierced the skin apparently and simply dropped out when the tension was released. What luck – and what a sight! I dropped the rod and could not straighten my arms for hours afterwards. Spectators agreed at a ninety minute fight, but to me it seemed ages. The sight of the fish and the unstinted praise of the anglers present was ample compensation however, and it was a very happy being that was dragged back to the hotel to celebrate.

The weight was only 10 ¼ pounds, but to those who have not experienced the joys and the agonies of such a fight, I say they have missed something. Exactly a week afterwards I got another in the same spot on salmon tackle. It was killed in under twenty minutes, fought well but is now almost forgotten.

The trout cast with the original flies attached is a possession I shall cherish always”

So we leave a triumphant W.E.B. Smith. I hope he remembered to give something to the boy (possibly a very old man by now) who went for Charlie and his gaff.  

Tight lines and hope for autumn rain!     

Oliver Burch http://wyevalleyflyfishing.com