Feedback & Reports

Cloudy and colder than of late so surprised to see masses of May fly hatches. Fish preoccupied with spent May so quite tricky but managed a couple on a drowned Grey Wulff

2 Trout

Afternoon fishing with plenty of fly hatching. Fish caught on mayfly imitations, all around 9in. Tough little fighters. Plenty of missed takes. Sadly I only have an 8ft rod with me so the rod is too big and the talent too little to get into those tight little corners where fish were rising regularly.

3 Trout

10 x trout 6-15 inches, Monnow Gosling. The word was that the mayfly is up on the top part of the Monnow. That being the case, perhaps an afternoon / evening trip would have been wise. However, all I had was a morning taken on the way home after staying overnight in Swansea, so I did my best. No fly was to be seen and precious few rises, but some handsome Monnow trout of all sizes were prepared to come up for a big (size 10) dry fly, so I'm sure they had been conditioned to mayfly in recent days. The stones were alive with insect life - I only wish it was like that lower down. One small grey drake put in an appearance as I was leaving at lunch-time.

10 Trout

River very low and clear. Few fish rising to a sparse hatch of mayflies. Guess who hadn't put his mayfly box in the bag.
Managed 3 trout between 7 and 10 inches on a CDC Deer hair dun pattern. Spent a frustrating but fascinating hour trying to tempt a large trout that was enthusiastically wolfing down mayflies, but ignored everything I threw at it.
Lovely day on the river will be back soon, with the mayfly box.

3 Trout

After trying the Honddu a quick stop on the lower longtown. It was very slow and it soon became apparent somebody else must have fished the beat just before us judging from the freshly disturbed gravel and footprints. A couple landed, none big and a good size fish lost. A few risers were targeted with dries, but strangely ignored. The water level was very low, the bigger pools are now almost stagnant. We need rain.

2 Trout

River very low.

3 Trout

Difficult spot for me, not very experienced at fishing or wading. It’s really narrow and casting was almost impossible for me. Caught a lot of trees and undergrowth but no fish. I learned a lot about wading and I’ll be getting a walking stick before next time.

The best access is via the public footpath at Tan Campsite, cross to a bridge in the corner of the field and then you’re half way up the beat. I made the mistake of trying to go in lower and had to negotiate a lot of barbed wire.

Fished the evening after a warm day. Low water and bank side vegetation a challenge. 1 small trout caught on a PTN.

1 Trout

Only had a couple of hours due to problems on the journey there by road. River very low and heavily over grown on the banks. Met the farmer who said activity in the river a lot lower this year - the evening rise noticeably quieter. A couple of takes but only 1 landed - around 7 inches

1 Trout

It was a sunny day with little breeze. I accessed the beat via the campsite opposite The Crown pub in Longtown then walked up the field and into the next field on the left. A lovely walk actually and when you reach the top corner it reveals a opening that allows you to fish.
I will mention though that it was little overgrown and you have to be careful. From this point you can wade further upstream and there is a deeper area that looks more promising. Saying that I didn't catch anything, partly because I had recently loaded a new rod with Orvis Pro Trout Line (awful stuff!) and trying to make this work limited my fishing time.
As I waded to this point, as well as the overgrown greenery I also encountered rubbish debris in the water which looked farm related. It was only one or two items but in my opinion still needs removing.
I heard fish activity in this upper area despite not catching anything and would definitely book this stretch again, perhaps when the water table is little higher.