Feedback & Reports

A sublime three hours on a local beat ....Just a lovely dry fly session today !!! All eyes were looking up .!!... marvellous... Great fun too, with the six foot, two weight .....A muggy, overcast kind oc day, with rain imminent later this afternoon....Perfect Blue Winged Olive weather !!!!!!
I fished between ten thirty and one thirty ...Large Dark Olives and Blue Winged Olives on parade by midday !!! Trout smashing them in the pool heads, just great fun . Rivers low.. ish .. Reading 0.166, i think last night on the gauge ... could do with morr in it, to be good sport during May .....
Nine made it to the net, a futher five self released !!! Doooooh ...All between five snd eleven inches ... Mind you, the last pool, which i got snapped in last week, I had a gloriously aggressive take....
I knew straight away this was Moby Dick from the other week.... Subdued him, and eventually in the net, after three hairy powerful runs ... Two dry flies in situ, easily removed, innthr scissors, rested him... a couple of quick photos, and awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay !!! Fantastic.... And that was my dry fly fix fof the day, well and truly quashed!!!
Home time, freshen up and a couple of cold scoops in The Crown in Rhayader ....That'll do me just fine !!

9 Trout

Fished the morning session from bottom of beat right to the top before the rain arrived in the afternoon. Beautiful day, possibly too beautiful as you could see most stones across the river bed, such was the brightness. Anyway, persisted with duo and was rewarded with two beautiful WBT to the nymph.

2 Trout

First time I have fished this beat although I have fished the Ithon at the Severn arms a few years ago. It was a dull and much colder day than yesterday with a blustery wind. I fished up from the bottom of the beat the level was low and the river very silty on the river bed. I saw no signs of fish and had no response in the morning to nymphs wets or dries fished upstream. After lunch I fished back down with either two wets or a point nymph and a wet. In one small area I saw a few fish rising in a deeper pool under a tree. I managed one six inch brown on a wet but saw no further rises. I still think fishing is deteriorating in all the rivers and im not sure if I want to keep spending on beats with no success.

1 Trout

Lovely day, warm, light breeze, cloudy with occasional sunny spells. Lost a fish early on, however my fishing partner managed to land a couple. Very few bugs hatching, saw only two fish rise all day.

2 Trout

A slow start today, on a local beat !! The ithon was very quiet at the bottom of the beat, no rises, no activity at all!! Im thinking maybe those goosanders have done the morning rounds here !!! Or that mink!!
Anyway , I persevered , as you do !!! Lol. Bang, half one at last, the first feisty little fish, well over half way up to the dry !!! Only seven inches, but most welcome ..........
Another two from the next long pool, with one of those lovely trouty seams, so, im always ready on that one !!! Never disappoints either .... Two, ditto in size , then another near the top of the beat.
With masses of olives about, and grannom, I was very surprised how "sulky" the river was. Nice to chat with Jane, the farmers wife.... We discussed the river, and how it really ''greens" up mid summer. She explained they never use any of these chemicals or insecticides, or any slurry... Proper old school techniques....nice to see !!!
The river could almost do with a freshen up and a full night of rain would do her the world of good.
Another nice session , I'll try some of the Edw and Arrow beats next week.....Happy days !!!!

4 Trout

Another fun session on a local beat . Warmer today with not that annoying easterly wind .... Just nice, and the fish responded well too !!!
I think the air temp got up to 17 ish .... very pleasant indeed . A really nice mooch upstream, on the top section, just sublime, with fish looking up from half twelve. Plenty of olives on the go today, cracking stuff !!!!
Seven wee chaps, between seven and eleven inches, just super fun on the dries .....
Tis noticeably lower here than a few days ago, and, that slimy algae starting to form on rocks.....All of them!! Might be worth sending one of the WUF HABITAT TEAM up there, do some water testing etc etc.... It certainly doesn't look particularly healthy in fairness!!! Two goosanders seen ... bloody things , and right where i wanted to place a dry too !!!!!
I saw two on the town stretch of the Wye early bells the other morning !!! These birds are forever on the increase, like comorants !!! Gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............
Anyway still some really fun sport, back home, water the garden, top the pond up, and a nice cold bottle of Thatchers cider ..... Happy Days !!!!!

7 Trout

Another odd sort of day weather wise !!! Cool, with an easterly breeze .....Dire for thr big lakes in the Cwm Elan !! Thr sun put in sn appearance ftom.11 ish today...... Again cool till about two .
The Ithons sitting at a nice level ...0.182 was the last time I looked at it ... Perfect tbh !!@
Dry fly sport was fun between 1:45 and 2:30, with s good flurry of olives between that window. The trout quickly switched on , with splashy activity on most of the decent pools.....
Five trout to the net, another long range released one also, and, one really decent grayling. The trout were the usual stamp, seven to eleven inches, with the fighting fit, quickly released lady, being about 16 or 17 inches ...All, took a dry, three to risers, the remainder, tight at the pool heads, in the creases.....The Grayling certainly put a good bend in my six foot two weght rod, cracking stuff !!!
A fun session here, but a frustrating down stream wind. When it picked up, I packed up, and mooched back across the fields to my truck....A perfect early season dry fly sortie !!!! Lovely job .....

5 Trout, 1 Grayling

Well, what a pleasant day !!!! Luuuuuuuuurvly ....Think it was reading 21 degrees, when I got back to my truck at two ish.....
A lovely session on an old favourite!!! Dry fly action, with plenty of grannom and olives on parade by half twelve. Five wee little chaps to the net , lovely aggressive takes off the top. Best i'd say was about nine inches .... Such fun back out on the streams. My favourite style of fishing tbh !!! On another tommoz, maybe over Leominster way, my old stomping ground!!!!!
The river is looking mighty fine on this beat in fairness, and i think on the online gauge she's sat at about 0.179...... pretty bang on.... A touch more in her would be Carlsberg !!!!!
I generally always leave the streams till just after the Easter carnage. Peace and tranquility reigns back in Rhayader .... Ahhhhhhhhhh !!@! Ive had six cracking sessions in the Elan Valley, on Craig Goch and Penygarreg .... Fish well distributed, and, i must say, very healthy, despite last years draining palava !!! Great sport, and some superb fish too !!! Back in the Cwm Elan with clients later this week ....Love it !!! On another stream Wednesday ....Living the Dream !!!!

5 Trout

River up to 0.36m, torrential rain, sleet, snow and howling wind. Tried from the bank for a little while but not really fishing conditions!

River looked in perfect condition, which was nice to see for once. Despite this I couldn't tempt a bite all day, and had my first blank on this beat. Too early in the season I guess.