Feedback & Reports

A fabulous day at Lyepole ! I've wanted to fish this beat for years but the opportunity just didn't arise until last week. I was not disappointed ! There is water for virtually every style of fly fishing and at every turn in the river you're presented with a new set of challenges. I was mesmerised into fishing several shallow riffles and inviting gullies before I twigged that most of the fish were holding up in the deeper pools. My final catch return was rather modest and could easily have been trebled if I'd spent more time actually fishing than just walking the entire beat. I shall be back in the autumn and winter !

Incidentally I have just read the return posted by B.S. of Bristol for the previous day and find it hard to recognise his or her description of the neat. I didn't encounter any balsam and the tree cover was just as I would have expected for a small, intimate river.

3 Trout, 31 Grayling

Fished the Upper Irfon beat for a couple of hours on the Kilsby House rod. Some lovely water. Many small fish including grayling but most quicker than us! We had a decent trout on for 10 seconds but ended up with two 6” grayling and a salmon parr to hand. Many small grayling in evidence in some parts of the beat which is great news.

2 Grayling, 10 Other

Usual feeder methods used. Fished throughout day but canoeist very inconsiderate. The best fish came to pellets as the bright conditions faded.

4 Barbel, 2 Chub

Was great to head off to this gem of a lake , to get my regular Bugeilyn fix . Got there seven in the morning , to be greeted by a flat calm surface and hardly a whisp in the air ! Things could be tricky to say the least . . . . . . . Tackled up with my five weight rod floating line, and my team of home tied small wets, also taking along my seven foot four weight split cane rod , just for a bit of fun . Initially working the westerly shore , I managed to pick up two cracking fish, quickly admired , then returned . By eight , there was a much needed breeze , which pit a nice ripple on the lake , improving sport no end . I worked all the Westerly shore , right down to the bottom end . By the lone pine tree , stuck in some heather was a cats whisker fly . . . . Eeeeeeeeeeek . . . . . Who's been using such a monstrosity of a fly for such a legend of a lake , I think that deserves an exclamation mark or two Mr Birch !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Takes were confident , surprisingly not too deep down , and as always scrapers right to the net , the point fly , my own Kate Maclaren variant being the favourite of the morning , and in total caught ten crackers , in excellent condition , all released back to their fabled home . Next visit , I'll hopefully give some of the flies I'm attempting , from Emrys Evans ' Plu Stiniog . It's a cracking book , and a chap I would have loved to have met , and learned some tips from the Cambrian Angling Assoc Legend . He could snaffle out a trout or two on the Wild Lakes around Blaunau Ffestiniog , awesome country side and some great fishing too !

At half twelve , the sun was high and burning the backs of my hands , reaching a steady 23 degrees , I gave around the boathouse one last blast , managing to pick up my last feisty little brownie . Happy with a tally of ten on such a difficult day , I chilled out for a while , before packing up , enjoying the views on a slow bimble back along the track, before hitting the main drag and heading back to the Pondarosa . Will be back very very soon , hopefully on a more windier cloudier cooler day, but thanks as always Llyn Bugeilyn for another fun few hours !!!!!!

10 Trout

One coloured fish 12lb in Mill stream with Japanese Lure for Cherry salmon.

1 Salmon

As expected river very low and clear. Fish spotted but not willing to feed in the strong sun all the same a good day, not at work We managed two small barbel and two chub to 3lb spent a good amount of time watch a large group of small barbel below the bridge.

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Given the unusual wind-free weather forecast, I decided that I must try to cash in and so went to Abernant for the day, and fished the evening, hoping for spinner fall, on the Gwent AS waters , on the Usk above Gilwern. It proved to be a most interesting and productive day in spite of unabated sunshine and 26 degrees. There were very few risers in the morning , some midge and the odd pulse of sedges and PWs. I started fishing duo and had three fish on a small HE nymph (Louis Noble's Special One) and rose a couple on the HE parachute. Having also seen a rise, and thought that the fish must be looking up, I changed to a single HE emerger (size 16/14 HE parachute or size 18 HE Duck's Dun) and had seven more grayling, mainly 8-10" but two of 12 and 14", and a 12" trout. A good start! Using the same flies in the afternoon, I ended up with 31 grayling on the day. Most were 8-10 inch fish, but a couple more 12 -13" fish were added in the afternoon, when more of the fish caught were dimpling risers, but the majority on the day weren't rising at all. At this time of year and into the autumn, these flies work for me because grayling are often feeding on small surface-active nymphs. I have also found that 18-20 sizes of this HE parachute are very effective when fish get on to midge. The Usk proved very interesting. To my amazement, when I arrived at about 7.15, I found the river literally covered in dimpling rises. The river was covered in ants!!!!! Unfortunately I had only met the end of the rise (curses!) as they had all passed through by about 7.45 and the rise stopped. In spite of a break off and having to set up the front end again, I managed to catch four lovely 12-14 inch fish. The fly I used was surprisingly (?) totally refused once the rise ceased. I couldn't rise a fish with it. After that I had a couple on Paul Procter's rusty spinner. Not a bad day, though being greedy, I'd have really wanted to have fished the whole ant fall. A fellow GAS member saw flying ants in Cardiff yesterday and fish rising at Chainbridge on the way home. Amazing how synchronised across such a wide area, ant-flying is. Anyone lucky enough to have caught all of this ant fall (grrrrr!) must have filled their boots! I mustn't complain though - a great day out and about.

3 Trout, 31 Grayling

16 Rainbows, mainly on Pheasant Tail Nymphs. Damselflies and Daddy-Long-Legs on the south side at the deep end.

16 Trout, 2 Other