Feedback & Reports

Bright hot sunny day. Quiet at first (fish, people and canoe wise) but by 11.00 there were dozens of people in the river at the top of the beat, gradually migrating downstream, swimming in the various slacks. The top half of the beat also became a lunch spot for large groups of canoeists. Carried on until late afternoon but a small number were still swimming and partying until 21.00, when I left.
Fish were caught at the very bottom of the beat on rolling meat and one on PVA bagged halibut pellet in the early evening after most of the mayhem died down. River was up a few inches but very clear.

2 Barbel, 1 Chub

3 Trout

lovely day in baking heat, moved about and caught through the day. thanks for the rope in the swan pool it really helps

6 Barbel, 6 Chub

Arrived late but temperature still around 27 degrees when I started fishing around 17.00 hrs in bright sunshine. River back to normal summer level and clear. Action started after a couple of hours, with three decent barbel, all on sweetcorn and feeder before I packed up with the light fading fast.

3 Barbel, 1 Chub

3 Trout

Bright July dog days can be hard and unproductive but, with a favourable breeze, midge, lots of sedge and the odd up-wing showing, casting to at least some rising fish and knowing that others are likely to be looking up, makes a change from using bugs - though that worked too with a drab Duracel, either bugging or duo. In the morning, small HE emergers caught some trout and grayling, though the most successful pattern by far was Goran’s Sedge, as it often is at this time of year. But what really made the afternoon and early evening so memorable was that I luckily hit that day each July, when the ants of south and mid-Wales all seem to take to the wing together, and for a while the river is alive with rising fish. There were small black ants and big brown ones too and appropriately sized F flies or a spent ant did the rest. A fellow member of Gwent AS caught trout at the same time on the Usk at Gilwern. In submitting this report a day later, I can also report that I found the same ants (yesterday’s meal) in the stomach contents of rainbows caught just over the hill from the upper Wye, at Llyn Gwyn, on 31st July - not far as the ant flies! The synchrony of this remarkable annual natural phenomenon never ceases to amaze me. As for the trout and grayling, they were fish of up to 15” (~1.5lb) with far more than usual of the larger residents tempted by the annual feast. Back to tungsten next week?

12 Trout, 15 Grayling

3 Trout

4 Barbel

1 Barbel, 3 Chub