Feedback & Reports

Overcast with very few flies about and not many fish rising. 5 trout were caught on beaded PT/Hares Ear nymphs and 3 on cdc sedge flies. Mostly 6-8 inches but one bigger fish of around 13 inches caught in a deep pool.

8 Trout

I fished the Middle Escley a few weeks back and so after a good long rest felt ready and fit enough for another go at this beautiful river. Thankfully there are far fewer fences across this beat, but there is still plenty of scrambling and climbing (and falling over) required to get to the fishable parts of the water. The Mayfly was well and truly over this time and with very little fly hatching there was little sign of any fish. I managed to get 4 fish to the net, all about 10 - 12 inches and all took a small size 14 DHE tied with a pheasant tail body.

4 Trout

Booked a couple of evening tickets on this excellent beat. We arrived at 6pm but with only the occasional rising fish, decided to concentrate on the faster water. We had a few small browns and some salmon parr on nymphs but nothing substantial. Fish started to rise in the slower sections after 9pm and we had an hour or so of decent dry fly action to finish with. None of the trout caught were over half a pound but there were definitely bigger ones there. All the fish caught off the top fell to cdc emerger patterns and Adams.

9 Trout

3 Barbel

Hard fishing with little happening. Managed 4 chub and an eel and at the end of play a beautiful barbel rattling the scales near 10lb, all caught on pellet.

1 Barbel, 4 Chub, 1 Other

Fished the runs through Merthyr Town. Very urban part of the river but plenty of wild fish to nymphs and dry fly up to 2 1/2lb.

Fantastic opening day to the season! Arrived very early and started catching straight away. Between the 2 of us we had 9 barbel averaging 5lb and 5 chub between 2 and 3lb. Fished pellets with the open ended feeder produced more than pva bags although both caught fish. Fantastic work done to the banks creating comfortable swims.

9 Barbel, 5 Chub, 2 Other

Lovely opening day with decent chub, trout and a good barbel lost long trotting, M S ended the day with a couple of decent sized barbel to finish on legered pellet, best 8lbs.
Seven different salmon seen jumping through the day - plenty in residence in the pools.
Thanks Terry for all your help and advice.

2 Trout, 2 Barbel, 10 Chub

Sun and cloud, warm, low 20's. 4 barbel, best 6lbs on pellet and feeder. 18 Chub up 5lbs on pellet. Beware of 3rd swim on road side below willow stump, there's a snag at 45 degree's downstream. I lost some tackle here.

4 Barbel, 18 Chub

11 barbel and 1 chub all on pellet.

11 Barbel, 1 Chub