Feedback & Reports

River level good. Warm day. Flies hatching and laying. Trout feeding, especially 4pm onwards.
2 x 9 inch trout, 2 x 12 inch trout. All on dry fly. Celebratory pint at the Bridge Inn. Great day!

4 Trout

Wet fly used as despite a good hatch there was little surface activity. Trout caught were small and were returned. Barbless hooks used.
The river was a little cloudy following the previous rain but otherwise was in good condition.

3 Trout

3 nice trout, 10" to 12" long. The day was cool and showery with a strong wind blowing downstream from about 2pm onwards. The fish were caught during the sunny spells before then. There were quite a few olives hatching with the odd yellow mayfly making a showing.
An enjoyable few hours fishing.

3 Trout

Day started well with two 10-12inch trout however from midday onwards, it was totally ruined by kayakers and canoeists. Despite there supposedly being no right of navigation Monmouth Canoes are happy to offer guided trips and Canoe Wales advertise the whole beat on their website so personally I won't be returning as I suspect there's little chance of changing this behaviour. The Bell as welcoming as ever.

2 Trout

Water coloured and cold. No sign of any fish. Beautiful location. Good supper at The Bell Inn.

River up about 12 inches, coloured but clearing. 4 fish caught on nymph. 2 fish lost. Very pleasant day.

4 Trout

After weeks of expectation the weather of course turned nasty.
Three hours in the cold drizzle and nothing to show for it but suddenly changed at about 1pm when a small hatch began and there was a rise right in front of me. Result, a 9" WBT and the first fish of the season.
Three fish (9-12" WBT) and one missed from a fast deep section with a boulder strewn bed then nothing except a dunking after a slip and a lost fly box drifting off downstream. A dry off and a cup of tea but nothing until about 4.30pm when rain stopped and it warmed up. Four fish rising in the upper section, two caught, the last and largest a fraction under 15" (possibly a stocked fish?). Had to leave before covering the last two fish. A classic roller coaster day.
All caught on grey duster and Adams parachute, all returned unharmed.

6 Trout

River a little coloured from rain yesterday. Sunny morning, clouding over in the afternoon, warm. A few grannom hatching,but no surface activity; we saw only two fish rise. We caught nine trout, from half a pound to about one and a quarter pounds, and one small grayling, all on heavy nymphs in deep but fast water.

9 Trout, 1 Grayling

Another great day on the Monnow. Despite plenty of sunshine, the temperature didn't get up beyond the mid-teens - however plenty of fly life. Water was low (almost summer levels) and clear, but cold. No fish moving all day, although a number seen using Polaroids.
Fishing was hard due to temperature, with the best method using a heaving nymph fished NZ style to cover and search plenty if water.
Only 3 WBT banked, biggest of which was a pound, smallest about half that. All fish were silver and skinny. 4 more hooked and lost, and each angler missed half a dozen takes. Once the temperature begins to rise this beat will be even better.
Stunning location, great fishing and a fantastic pint of HPA at The Bell to round the day off. Finally a big thank you to Chris Price (www.castingwithstyle.co.uk) for a great hour of tuition in the morning - can't recommend enough.

3 Trout

River quite high and water carrying a bit of colour. Hatches at around 1.00 and 3.00 but no rises. Didn't bother with dries, stuck to nymping but with no success! Still, a glorious day to be out on such a beautiful stretch of river.