Feedback & Reports

I took a chance and booked this beat in advance of my short break near Brecon. It lives up the the description, a beautiful stretch of water. The river was slightly coloured and flowing quite swiftly. A gusty, showery day made life difficult and I saw little evidence of fish on the surface.
Tried just about everything, dry, wet and nymphs. I eventually tempted an nine inch trout with a Walkers Mayfly Nymph in the Waterfall Pool. I connected with something bigger later but the excitement didn't last very long.
If only I'd booked it for the next evening.... that's life.

1 Trout

Lots of flies but few rises. Caught 5 trout, max 15in on dry fly.

5 Trout

6 Trout

Water 0.7m and slightly coloured, so perfect. Fished for salmon at the Top Run and Rock Pool with another angler. No salmon contacted.
Switched to trout through Wood Stream on spiders with 3 takes but all lost. None were sizeable fish so no worries.
We had to leave at 3.30pm due to thunderstorms but again hardly any fly life, just a few pale Yellow Duns and one or two Mayfly. Watched one for about 100yds and nothing came for it.
Disappointing, but my friend is now casting well with the Sgagit line, so he went home happy!

7pm to dusk. Spinning a Mepps, no salmon but 1 WBT of around 2lb from immediately below access to beat followed next cast by a similar sized Chub that showed no signs of spawning. Lovely evening on the Wye with considerable Mayfly hatch and much surface activity.

1 Trout, 1 Chub

15lbs fresh cock salmon in good condition off The Grange on fly after very heavy thunderstorm nearly pushed me off the river! Also small 1lbs shad in same area, no sign of any fish showing, water gin clear.

1 Salmon, 1 Other

I arrived at the river at about 12pm on a warm sunny day, with the weather becoming much more overcast and windier as the day went on with several brief showers. Water running low and clear.
I decided to fish dry fly only, catching ten trout to about 9 inches on Klinkhammer, CDC & Elk and Olive Comparadun flies. There was a small trickle of olives during the day and several Mayfly began appearing around 5pm as I was getting ready to leave. Very difficult to avoid spooking the trout in the low clear tails of the pools who would then shoot upstream disturbing more fish. Most fish were caught in slack water adjacent to faster currents.
I fished the bottom half of the beat which seems to have suffered quite a bit over the winter with several fallen trees and collapsed banks. I also had a couple of narrow escapes with hidden barbed wire in the undergrowth/bankside which I don't remember being there last year.

10 Trout

Conditions were very favourable and when my partner and I started on the water we were optimistic for a good day.
Being hardened dry fly fanatics when on the river we were determined to catch off the top. Started in the weir pool at the bottom of the beat but nothing rising. Tried nymphs but no success at all so moved up river after an hour or so.
A Mayfly hatch was underway and a few fish rising but with no consistency. We both pricked as well as hooked fish but nothing banked so I have to admit to blanking twice on the trot on this beat BUT the fish are here! Had good takes on CJ's Duck Dun as well as a Plastazote Mayfly but anything higher than a 4lb leader seems to give the game away. Stealth and a quiet approach is needed but for those anglers with the skill I suspect this stretch will reward. A few good fish did show amongst the splashy juveniles and the wooded section towards the bottom of the stretch housed a few good fish if you're skilled and brave enough to try making the cast. A short rod in the woods is a must, 7' being ideal.
We will return.

With nearly a foot on the Brecon gauge, the intended ford to the upper pools (prefered understandably by the owner to parking at the A40 rest area on the south/west bank and 'advertising' the fishing) looked uncertain but, for reference, there are at least two fairly comfortable crossings for experienced waders at Fir Tree pool, maybe 200+ yards into the woodland from the stile at the top of the field nearest middle parking place. If not too stained, the depth of water is fairly clear from the path.
However, as in the past, these beautiful pools towards the top with their bedrock platforms nosing towards the main flow tantalised but largely kept their secrets. The one decent fish marked down ignored my dry and after both upstream dry and nymph both largely failed I switched almost in desperation to across and down, leading a team through a far-side secondary stream. I connected with a very strong fish but, concerned to get line off the water and onto the reel, I allowed the trout to get among the bedrock and boulders in front of me, and you've guessed the rest. Poor tactics but a tricky situation. Should have tried to keep it moving?
Switching to the main bank I briefly tried Vicarage Pool which was quiet bar the odd parr on top, and from this part of the day (lunchtime) on there was a fair amount of thunder and some heavy showers, one featuring hail! Going through the gentler part of Poplar Stream (the head looked too fast at this height) was uneventful but in Highwell there were finally some risers. Here I finally connected with another incredibly strong fish not far above the tail break only this time to get caught up in weed after this fish too came towards me, with the same outcome. Two good fish lost despite stout 5lb fluoro and both with a hook to deal with. Not good.
After more thunder and briefly high winds, things settled down in the evening and of the catch between 7 and 9:15, five of these Usk leopards averaged a good pound. All on small PTN and shrimp. Covering the water without getting on top of fish often requires switch casting or (upstream) casting over the left shoulder. Not for beginners and the wading is a bitch (leg recovery time: unknown) but Fenni Fach is a wonderful place. Lots of dippers, wagtails, song thrushes today.

11 Trout

Beautiful conditions, unfortunately I only had until lunchtime. Loads of fly life coming off. No fish caught and only a few rising in the Bridge neck. I couldn't tempt them to take a fly. I was informed by another angler that early evening was the time to be there.