Feedback & Reports

This was the first time I visited the area. The Grywne Fawr is a very beautiful little river in a wild setting. It is good for the soul to spend time in such a place. I started fishing the bottom of the beat and worked my way up. Very carefully at first. But as time went on, and as I fished all the structures and specifically concentrating on the deeper pools I started to doubt that there was much fish to be caught. In fact, I walked the entire beat font and back and did not see a single sign of a trout. No rises in the distance, no fish being spooked as you wade up river. I am convinced the fish had moved downriver, perhaps due to the time of the season, or river level - not sure! I packed up before lunch. It is a real shame as I love to fish small and wild rivers like this. So to summarise: the location was stunning, but the fishing disappointing.

Another new beat. The river was very low, which made it hard work. Only caught 1 fish but what a fish, bigger than yesterdays WBT on the Lower Henllan. A good 14" plus and in very good condition. A good day which would have been an excellent day had I not lost another monster WBT a little later. I will just have to come back and have another go in the future, but not until it's rained first !
Also very impressed with the WUF and the efficient service they are providing. I think I will have to become a regular visitor.

1 Trout

Approx 17lbs from Dolmeudwy

1 Salmon

Salmon 8lbs Redbrook Rapid pool hen fish on a small shrimp fly coloured fish.

1 Salmon

5 Barbel, 1 Chub

Much cooler today, including a cold downstream breeze to deal with. Nothing rising, but prospecting with an iron blue para in the streams and runs generated some interest. Most either splashed at the fly or unhooked themselves quickly, but I landed 4 at 9/10". Lovely stream with a wide range of challenges, will definitely return.

4 Trout

Fished with shfc in morning then fished the fly late afternoon early evening 1 trout caught. 1st time fishing this stunning beat. Will be back again when theirs a bit of water running. Great days fishing on a nice overcast day.

1 Trout

Weather much cooler , cloudy and a N wind. 16 degrees at 08:00 and it never got higher than that. Rained gently most of am. But I had learnt a lesson and arrived armed with a packed lunch acquired from Morrisons in Leominster. Full of everything you need: Even the 5 a day (he lies - it was sarnies, brown food and a diet coke: boy food).

Checked out this small beat first. Just as well. The access at lower end is tough and only bank fishing near the weir is from right hand side (facing downstream). I slipped into the river in a glide just upstream of the woods - and promptly sat my fat arse on some barbed wire hidden in the undergrowth. My waders leaked henceforth and by the time I reached the top of the beat, it looked like I had some terrible inflamation of the right leg... about 4 litres of water was in there with my lower appendage... But the fishing....

Water was very clear and the slight milkiness seen yesterday at Lyepole and Middlemoor seems to have been diluted by the time the river hits this stretch. I could see the bottom in pools over 5' deep. Even determine if fish were in them... Which isn't good. Fish were rising sporadically so I went dry fly straight off and stuck with it. I put down 5 or 7 fish for every splashy rise - and missed 5 to every 1 I hooked. Incompetence seems my middle name... Although the very clear water is my defense, m'lud.

Result? In the morning I caught 2 wbt of 6" & 8" (the latter perhaps generous) and a 8" Grayling. The productive pools were a straight run about 100m from my wader ripping access and a series of pools starting at the downstream cormer of the 'main' field that you go through from the farm...

Saw a grey heron and a white version of a similar bird (?). Bloody big anyway. Kingfishers too. But on second day.. yawn. At the top of the beat (the woods bit after the weir, where the river is like something out of Borneo, except for the flora, obviously - and the temperature) I found scat and spoor of what I believe to be otter. Didn't see any fish, even though it looks very 'fishy'... So if you are put off by the almost impossible access you ain't missing much, frankly.

Went to B&Q in Leominster after I finished first run through and mended my breathable waders with something called Gorilla Glue. Welded the holes and rips shut (I found 7 in total, some more than an inch long - no wonder the bloody things leaked). It dried in an hour and seems to have done the job (looks like my waders have acne, but they are almost teenagers now). Certainly my evening trip involved me keeping dry, apart from soaking feet where I replaced my socks onto the wrong feet and the soaking wet neoprene from the earlier water carrier experiment. I just didn't think that through...

Evening I stuck to the easy wading bit. Not many rises, so I prospected with a dry adams where I now knew fish were. Rose a few that I missed and spooked some others, as witnessed by the bow waves in tailwaters... But I still managed to hook the fish of the day: A 14" grayling, that came from the depths at the head of a deep hole to hit the fly like it was its last meal. It very nearly was. The de-barbed hook was right down its' throat. Got the old disgorger out and that immediately sliced through the leader like it was a razor. Making use of the tool a tad difficult. So back to plan B: my Foreceps. Mr/Mrs fish didn't enjoy this at all and after I had got the fly free the fish refused to swim... I took 10 minutes to nurse that fish back to life.

Having done my duty as a C&R angler I packed up, as the western skyline tinged pink. Which is pretty much how I felt.

A good day... very challenging, making the reward that bit sweeter. I had booked Middlemoor as my reserve beat, but never got there.

2 Trout, 2 Grayling