Feedback & Reports

First time here. Cloudy and no wind for a change - wonderful! Hardly any emerging bugs: a couple (literally) of YMs and mayfly, and some sedges, and that was about it - so standard, sparse mid-July fare. Few rises apart from the odd oncer - all appeared to be trout and didn't catch a grayling either all day. Had nothing on nymphs but caught and released 13 trout mainly of 7-10 inches with three of 11-12". Taken on hare's ear emergers and on a small black F fly. Haven't noticed the marked white leading edge on the Lugg trouts' anal fins before (so "nil points" for past observation).

Nice day had 12 fish between us 6 wbt to 8" and 6 grayling 8-10", with plenty of fingerling grayling having a go at the dry flies.
Tried to fish more of beat but very disappointed as although it is said you can fish both banks we found it impossible due to access and overgrown banks.
Bearing in mind the cost £20 per rod this puts a bit of a damper on this otherwise very tranquil stretch of the Lugg.

One salmon from Chapel House Fishery at Abernant, 12 llbs on a spinner. Returned safely.

12 x trout 6-8 inches, Klinkhammer. After a morning spent belabouring the Usk (unsuccessfully) with a double-handed fly rod, I tried something less energetic after lunch. In fact my little 7 foot brook rod seems long at Cannop, which along with the Pinsley is one of the tightest beats for casting on the Passport. I sense I am going to talk myself into buying a 5 footer sooner or later. Not much in the way of rises to natural fly (but quite a few may flies still around) and a little size 16 Klinkhammer brought them up. Great fun.

Nil return. High water and very muddy - just my luck!

19.00 to 21.30hrs. From swim half way down Leggs Meadow, 2 chub of around 3lb and 4 barbel of 9lb10oz, 8lb approx and at last, after telling visitors where they are and seeing them catch but failing myself, my first Wye double at 10lb 6oz followed by another of close on 11lb. All caught on large halibut pellet, size 8 hook and 12lb line and swimfeeder from what appears to be a deeper gulley under far bank where salmon frequently lie and jump.

Mid morning to mid afternoon spinning for Salmon as many jumping and rolling throughout the beat, tried everything without success and to add injury to insult got drenched on Leggs croy when one landed beside me! They were still there in evening, a few dark fish in residence plus silvers and some Grilse.

It appears a slug of water from a local downpour on Friday passed towards Monmouth and these fish may have moved up to Courtfield, however the river was up 18in, muddy and rising this Tuesday morning.

The weekend rain seems to have missed the Monnow but a reasonable summer flow promised better fishing than my two little Brown Trout (6") and even tinier Dace suggest (all returned fine). Olive Klink and Para A were on at the time with May and Yellow May imitations unsuccessful despite sporadic hatches. As it seemed only tiddlers were rising I was disappointed not to tempt anything to a nymph or spider, my failing as I'm sure the better fish were lurking there. Wading access is very easy on this beat.

We cought 6 trout in total, 1 bigger size, the others all small. Very small water and hard to fish if you got used to casting as i do. Some very very nice pools and easy wading. Dead sheap bit upstream of the voucher box in the river stuck under a tree.
Bit of rain all day but enjoyed the experiance. Must say that i have no idea where the picture of the passport was taken. Most fishing/wadimg is under trees.

- cought 6, 1 bigger (brownies)
- recommend Symon Templer nymph (prefer gold head)
- hook size 14

WUF Note: The photo of the Clywedog was taken a few months after fencing and coppicing work had been completed and is therefore a little out of date. We will provide a new photo for the website shortly and for the 2012 Passport.

I don't normally record fish under 6 inches. But so tiny is this forest brook and its fish, that I think special circumstances apply. So, on a Mini-Klinkhammer, 5 little troutlets of which the best pair just made 6 inches. Handsome little chaps, with beautiful cream-coloured leading edges to dark red lower fins.

I have a very soft spot for the Blackpool Brook, because it was here on this beat, some time in the late 1950s when we lived up the hill, that I caught my very first trout - on a Garden Fly of course. It was very beautiful and I seem to remember it as more than 6 inches. Probably the passage of time has enlarged it in my mind. Still, the ledge in a rocky pool from under which it darted is still there, although the alder tree above has gone.

I can also remember talking to an old miner round about then who reckoned that when Howbeech Colliery up the valley was pumping out into the brook, it was much larger, and he used to catch 2 pounders. But perhaps his memory was deceiving him also, or the glass of cider in his hand was improving his recollection. Howbeech Colliery closed in 1926 when the brook flooded into the galleries during the strike and it never re-opened. If you walk upstream a mile or so you can see the efforts made to keep the brook out of subterranean workings.

The nice thing is that this is still as healthy a little stream as you will find anywhere. There is no agricultural land in the catchment, only forest. While fishing today I saw damsels and a few late may-flies dawdling about. At the weekend we took our grand-children for a picnic at Wench ford, just upstream. Turning over a few stones and scooping with muslin nets they found bullheads, numerous stone clinger and agile darter nymphs, lots of shrimp, various caddis grubs and a few corixae in the calmer pools.

A bit slow today; river was very clear compared to my last visit. Only 1 chub caught in the morning then had to wait till the evening for the barbel to put in an appearance. Only 2 landed, best 7.10. A slow day but enjoyable none the less.