Feedback & Reports

One really nice grayling caught of 16". I estimated it at around the 2lb mark. Beautiful fish. Caught on a heavy pheasant tail nymph tied on a jig hook. Couldn't seem to tempt anything else. Lower beat seems to hold more grayling than the upper.

1 Grayling

Perfect conditions and a lovely bit of river. No fish caught. Couple of salmon seen and one large dead hen fish.

The river was up a touch and carrying a little colour.
However all looked good for an Autumn fishing trip.
We had a couple of Grayling around 12-14" one on a nymph one on the dry which is always a bonus.
Then the rains came, and it really did rain, which put and end to it. A nice stretch and well worth a fish.

2 Grayling

Estimated approx 17lbs hen Argoed Pool on the last day of the season sunny approx 15 degrees. Caught on a small yellow and orange tube.

1 Salmon

Our activity was restricted to the lower section of the beat, more specifically to the pool lying below the fence separating the second and third fields below the access point.
Despite some colour, both anglers were blessed with an end of season fish. Both cock fish dressed in tartan, the first at around 6lbs and the second around 12lbs. A wonderful end to the season.
Wye! Oh, Wye!

2 Salmon

Spent a couple of hours fishing deeper water downstream of the sawmill before locating grayling in shallower streamy water. Caught four between 12 and 16 inches in an hour. Unable to locate any more after that. Caught on beaded PTN and GRHE.

4 Grayling

The second time I have fished this lovely stretch of the Wye. River very low and crystal clear. I mainly fished the gutter on the bottom half of the beat so as to keep out of sight of the fish. Only saw two fish rise so I fished klink and dink all day and ended up with 7 graying 12-14 inch and 1 trout 14 inch. Very small pink shrimps seemed to work well.

1 Trout, 7 Grayling

A dull, overcast day. Fished from 11am until 5pm.
Fished opposite the meadow by the sawmill working upstream to the shallow rapids. Used olive Klinkhammers and took two Grayling about 10" (Returned).
When the rain started I fished back downstream with tiny nymphs without success.
Came out of the river at the point where I had first entered and walked well downstream to dry fly fresh water upstream but could not catch anything, however crafty I thought I was being with different small olive flies and a small Daddy.
A great day to have the beat to myself nonetheless.
The water was low (wading in 12" to 24" under the trees) so casting beneath the trees to the deep run was fairly easy but I guess it could be a challenging beat when the water is up. One day is not enough time to explore the whole beat so I will be back next year!
Can thoroughly recommend accomodation at www.thehaltatdoldowlod.co.uk
We stayed there in our caravan in May and in their Vulcan Lodge cottage this time. Excellent facilities, very agreeable hosts and only a 150 yard walk the the Craig Lynn beat and a couple miles to the Doldowlod beat. Perfect!

2 Grayling

6 x grayling 12-17 inches, Grayling Steel Blue. I made a serious mistake today, neglecting to put my wading staff in the car. It's a known fact in my house that I can be a little vague in the mornings before breakfast. Doldowlod is one of the places where you really do need a staff - at least at my age you do. I therefore opted not to play around with nymphs in the pocket water upstream but hung around the deep pools and gutters lower down. When I saw something rise, I had a pop at it with the dry fly. There are still really nice grayling at Doldowlod: two at 17 inches and two at 16 inches. Unfortunately it went rather quiet when the sun started to shine after lunch, but still a very nice day.

1 Trout, 6 Grayling

First time fishing on the upper Wye, and was advised by the booking office to try Doldowlod as I was after large grayling.
I fished from 10.30 to 4.30, starting on the lower beat limit three fields down from the sawmill. I didn't make as much progress up the beat as I would have liked as I got fixated on fish rising under the trees and in the middle channel. I'd wanted to try out Czech nymphs through the gutter section but the fish were in heads up mode and completely ignored them - a salutary lesson in matching prevailing conditions rather than coming to a river with preconceived methods. All fish were caught on Klinkhammers, with the three trout ranging from 1-1.25lb and the grayling at around a pound. I took the largest trout, all others safely returned. Was surprised by how acrobatic the trout were, with all of them jumping clear of the surface at least three times before coming to the net.
I echo the comments about the difficulty in wading over the bedrock, and I'm glad I took a wading staff as it would have been an early bath otherwise. This is a very scenic beat, with lots of wildlife (kingfishers, red kite, buzzards and wagtails).
Leaves now starting to show on the river surface - won't be long until we're properly into autumn grayling fishing.

3 Trout, 1 Grayling