Feedback & Reports

Cloudy and overcast all day but dry and cold. The river was running clear and there was little evidence of either fish or fly activity in the morning when I arrived (08-00hrs.)
First time wading and only my second time river fly fishing. Found it all a bit wobbly but great fun. Tried nymphs first then a dry without success. After lunch noticed some good fly activity which turned out to be a good may hatch and took my 3 fish on a mayfly. The fish were having a feeding frenzy and had I been more experienced and skilful would have caught more. A great experience and will return.

3 Trout

After the torrential rain Saturday and heavy downpours yesterday I arrived to find the Monnow heavily coloured but within normal levels. I didn't fancy wading in such conditions so spent an hour walking the banks before deciding it give it a go anyway as I was fairly familiar with the beat. I started right at the far end and found a few small fish rising, I lost two or three before bringing two small chub to hand. I noticed a few Mayflies among the plentiful fly life so switched to a Mayfly I'd tied with yellowish CDC wings. The river was still very coloured and very few fish were rising, the Mayflies were few and far between but the trout seemed to be waiting for them, I started catching as I prospected my way up river having trout rise to my Mayfly first cast on a number of occasions. There was a lull around midday as the trout seemed to get bored waiting but as the day progressed the Mayflies got more numerous and the trout responded by giving their locations away by rising to them, from then on it was just a matter of casting at showing fish and I took fish after beautiful fish, all in lovely condition and fighting fit, all were returned that way too. I lost count of how many I had, I've said 12 but it was probably far more than that with numerous fish missed and slipping the hook too. A really great days sport rounded off by dinner at the Bell before standing on the bridge and looking into the still murky river and watching the still rising trout before heading home. Thank you WUF for a fantastic day.

12 Trout, 2 Chub

5 Trout

No catches. River high and muddy.

A warm day with some sunshine. Rain late in the day. River a good height but still a little coloured and falling from rain the previous day.

Plenty of flies hatching but very little surface activity. Too early for mayflies perhaps a little late this season due to cold April.

All fish around 9-12 inches caught on small weighted PTN in streamy runs fished NZ style around 12-18 inches down. Tried some dry flies for fun but no interest. The river looked as though it should have been more productive in this condition. Perhaps in better hands it would have been!

River itself in good condition. Nice place to fish as always. The upper half seems to fish best but probably lower sections also fish well on dry fly.

4 Trout

River a few inches over summer level. Sunny day but strong cold wind. Plenty of flies in air and on water but few rises. Caught 4 trout up to 11in on dry fly.

4 Trout

I don't mean to abuse the catch return system but I thought other anglers, as they fish the Skenfrith beat of the Monnow, may appreciate some thoughts. We all have places where we learned to fish - a brook, a lake, a village pond. I was lucky enough to have this beat as my learning ground. My grandfather sub-let a day a week from about 1980 for 20 odd years, in addition to his salmon days on the Wye at Symonds Yat and Preston on Wye and he taught me to fish here. I clearly inherited the fishing genes from him as he was as obsessed as I was. There's a stretch of slower water more than half way down the beat, clear apart from reeds on one side, before you go through the woods. This was always my favourite spot. I can still remember him laying out a beautiful line with his cane rod to a rising fish during the mayfly. I also remember helping him over a stile, well into his eighties, when he turned to me sadly and admitted he was getting too old to go fishing any more. I remember most fish I caught here over 25 years. An early one, from the fast water in the top run after the bridge on a homemade worm fly, with the exhilarating flash of gold underwater and the glance behind me to my father. Or, the one on my own garish green creation, idly dibbled from a high flood-collapsed bank. The bottom run in front of the house was always a place where others seemed to catch fish but it was never somewhere I succeeded. I learned what craft I have on these waters and I still can walk every inch in my mind and I will until the day I die. I don't fish regularly here any more but will from time to time. When you fish from the beach, about a third of the way down, think of countless happy family picnics and where my own son caught his first trout. Its a very special place to me and I am thrilled that the WUF can make it available to so many others. PS - the fly that always did best for me (perhaps because it was the only one I could tie at the time and I was determined to use my own flies) was the Tups Indispensible. I'm never without one now....

A very nice day lots of wildlife spotted including 2 people in a canoe, very windy day (downstream) making presentation difficult, hatch of olives in the afternoon with a few yellow Mays mixed in few fish rising. Caught one on a dry fly and the rest on nymphs fished up stream.

4 Trout, 2 Grayling

Clear water but a chilly day. Sheltered in the valley away from the worst of the wind. Hail shower middle of the day. Nice 14" wbt from pool in front of house at bottom of the beat. Caught on dry March brown. Raised a second fish in the same pool no less than 4 times to 3 different dries but he wasn't biting. Kept me interested for a good half hour. One other rise but no activity at all on the upper part of the beat. Saw the blue flash of a kingfisher. Aswan was enjoying surfing down the rapids. In the last field I was accosted by two lambs wanting food. Must have been bottle reared. A charming way to end a very pleasant day.

1 Trout

A cool rainy day on the river. But a stout raincoat, determination and my first day fishing 2016 kept me focused. Caught six lovely trout on the day: 5 on nymphs and one on a dry. I arrived early afternoon and fished until 5:30. I noted little hatch activity. But the few hatching insects suggested Large Dark Olives.
The water was relatively clear, despite the rain. Water temperature was 10C/50F. Air temperature around 8 to 10C.
The one dry fly fish came on a Para Adams (#14).
The largest trout took my nymph aggressively. Excellent short contest before he came to the net and was soon released. A pretty strong 17 inch (?) fish, with deep belly and vibrant colours.
My duo nymph rig consisted of a Czech style point fly and a Prince nymph on the dropper. Only after the day finished, did I realized that the wonderfully creative Pop singer Prince died that same day. So I suppose my fly choice was an unsuspecting homage to him. Wonderful waters and I look forward to returning again from Canada.

6 Trout