Feedback & Reports

One small brown trout caught and released. No salmon seen. Water was gin clear and very low.

1 Trout

Very little sign of fly life when I started, so I put a PTN on the point and a GRHE on the dropper and started to work my way down from the bottom of the steps. Caught a very active fish of about 11" with my 5th cast. Connected with, but lost what felt like a very good fish further down and then changed to a dry sedge as a few fish began to rise. Action stopped mid afternoon and no further rises, so packed up at about 5.30 pm. I am sure there are good fish there, but this was not their day!

4 Trout

A sunny day and very low river - started at the top of the beat mid-morning and saw two tiddlers then nothing all weekend. Lovely stretch for the right conditions.

2 Trout

Wednesday 15/4/15 Upper Bigswier - Nil. Thursday 16/4 Cadora Backs - Nil

All the trout are 2.lb-2.1/2lb.

7 Trout

Nothing caught but salmon briefly took hold in the Parsons Stream. Ford Stream is a great piece of fly water.

Description of the beat was OK but two points worth mentioning. Parsons Stream is a relatively easy wade in medium to low water. Your description of it being difficult is a little off putting since it is not easily fished from the bank. Ford Stream has a get out ladder at the tail but is a trcky wade in deep water to reach it (with 1ft on the guage.)The alternative is an equally tricky wade back upstream against a strong current. The main holding pool, Rope Pool, can be fished with fly towards the tail but would benefit from having some branches lopped back to open up more water.
I enjoyed my day but think the adjacent Goodrich Court Beat probably offers better opportunities for the fly fisher.
WUF Note: we will look into these recommendations for beat improvement.

The Taf Fechan, one of the club’s jewels, is really starting to wake up following the winter. Fishing on this small stream can see the angler covering quite a distance, but the small and perfectly formed wild brown trout are bountiful and always worth it.
Fishing it recently, hatches of LDOs have been a little sporadic, but the hatches of Yellow Spotted Sedge have been so prolific, I’ve had to swat them from my waders! The real hatches have started from 2pm onwards, and the fish are starting to look up.
Dry fly action during this time has been quite productive although, as always, a quiet approach is essential on such small waters. Keep yourself low, and crawl on your knees if you have to. Generally, any dry fly in sizes #14-#16 will do the job on small streams, with size #12s working well through faster, and more turbulent waters. I’ve been having great success with Deer Hair Emergers (DHE’s). They’re easy to tie, robust, and trout love them.
From mid-April on, the Taf Fechan begins picking up pace fishing-wise, so enjoy this wild trout paradise… and wade like you’re burgling a house.
Long live small streams.

14 x trout 10-15 inches, 7 x out of season grayling 11-15 inches, a couple on spiders but the rest on a Deer Hair Sedge, size 16. A chilly upstream wind made the temperature feel rather colder than it was, but a light hatch of grannom kept trickling off at short intervals all through the morning. A few march browns were ignored but fish (including unwanted grayling and parr)did respond to the grannom and nothing more complicated than the little dry sedge seemed to be needed. Lots of silvery salmon smolts waiting on the gravel flats for the next flood to take them away.

14 Trout

4 Trout

Difficult conditions...bright sunshine. Sparse occasional hatch, only saw two fish rise all day. Single fish surrendered to a nymph. Stunning stretch of water....will definitely return.

1 Trout