Feedback & Reports

16lb from beat 3 on a fly.

18lb salmon on fly Beat4

Fished from 2 - 5.30 pm. Rather windy on arrival but it abated during the afternoon. Arrived, probably at the tail of the day's main Yellow May hatch, but Olive Uprights were also emerging. Found some rising fish, one gently sipping in a foam lane. Missed it the first time on a Yellow May emerger, but saw it, and as is so often the case, little sips can mean big fish. Ten minutes later, a two and threequarter pound beauty fell to a Duck's Dun style O.U. emerger. Later five out-of-season grayling to 11" and five trout to 12" were taken on similar DD style patterns. Needless to say, all fish returned. At 5p.m someone turned the switch off.....time for a beer!

20lb on Fly.

Have fished the home patch here at Moccas off and on over the last few weeks and also the Gwent Anglers water at Ty Mawr on the Usk. The Grannom hatch has developed slowly on both rivers since 23 March as per last year. Grannom now around on both rivers in substantial numbers but not yet "plague proportions"! Fish taken on all three grannom emerger patterns. f you tie flies see my article on Gwent Anglers website with tying details(go to flies/trout)and, if you don't,you can now buy two of them ex-Fulling Mill from Hartley Fly (Fulling Mill new 2012 range). Also try tying up a weighted pupa tied along similar lines. Has worked well this year upstream alone or as the point fly with team of spiders.

What a lovely day to be on the river, no salmon showing or caught but a prolific trout rise on No 1 beat. This was the 1st time of fishing this stretch and it could probably have done with a drop more water but we will return. Proprietor extremely helpful as well. Booking through WUF was quick and smooth.

River pushing through and rising as we fished loads of twigs, leaves and weed as well as larger logs comming by. No barbel but a couple of chub caught.

15lb salmon taken on fly and returned.

Out on the home turf again this morning. Having fished off and on last week, and having seen plenty of LDOs in the hour either side of midday, I was absolutely amazed to see a substantial number of grannom hatching from about 10.30 am. this morning - nothing before then. As Oliver says in his earlier report from Glanusk, this is really very early (I did see about half a dozen grannom on the Usk near Gilwern at the back end of last week though as well, but too few to interest any fish). Today however, the fish were after the emerging pupae as the grannom appeared once each passing cloud had gone. With each pulse of sun, the grannom lifted off and the fish then rose. As usual when the sun went in, so emergence ceased and the fish went down....and so it went on until about 1pm. Trout and grayling taken on my shuttlecock and parachute grannom pupa emerger patterns and some fish on dark olive patterns as well, once they emerged later on. If you are interested in grannom pupa emerger tying details and missed them in T and S, or in FF and FT in recent years, they are now published in an article on the Gwent Angling Society website. Maybe Wednesday's forecast rain will slow things down a bit and set back these very early hatches? March Grannom - just amazing!

Have had a couple of enjoyable lunchtime sessions on the home turf. LDOs from about 11.30 until 1.30 with trout and grayling rising. None with any consistency, given the trickle hatch, but enough to give away their locations. Some clearly taking duns but most not, so presumably on nymphs and emergers. Some seriously fit grayling and trout over a pound, and other smaller fish, taken on various LDO dun and emerger patterns. The sun on your back and spring is sprung - don't you just love it!