Feedback & Reports

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of the Clywedog was taken a few months after fencing and coppicing work had been completed and is therefore a little out of date.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.

Five days on WUF waters was something to look forward to and we were not disappointed. Day one found G and D perplexed since last year's swims at Caradoc had disappeared so we started afresh testing new ones. Late afternoon saw the first barbel in the net and then as, surprisingly, water levels began to rise eight more were netted before we retired for the day.
Rain in the mountains on Sunday had produced a flash flood and we were greeted with a rise of 7 feet of muddy weed strewn torrent at Lower Ballingham. Ever helpful WUF staff diverted us to the Lugg where the opposite was the case and this delightful small river, rather low, made finding barbel difficult. After fighting our way through a jungle of Himalayan Balsam feeling rather like the Ellawe tribe we finally emerged tousled and sweaty but fishless.
The following day we returned to Lower Ballingham and found water levels dropping fast so settled into two swims on the Lower Bridge Pool. The barbel were feeding as usual three quarters of the way across the river, - why are they always on the opposite side ? - but once we had found how to hold the bottom with our feeders we caught 10 barbel and 4 chub.
The last 2 days were on Holme Lacy 3. G took his favourite swim part way down while I went the distance and fished the last swim. We were not disappointed and for once didn't need Colin's expert guidance. G caught 10 superb barbel and 4 chub while I landed 19 hungry chub and 5 barbel. An eventful day.
The same swims on the last day were less productive as the water level was reaching normal and clearing and the fish had fed. So the tally for the day was 11 barbel and 18 chub.
An excellent 5 day break in gorgeous surroundings with each beat to ourselves.

1 x 9", 2 x 7", 1 x 6". Very rewarding day.

Water 0.6m. Fished 3 hrs for salmon with no success. Landed 3 trout to 1.25lb from woodstream between 4 and 6pm and lost another in tail above woodstream in excess of 2lb.

"5 x Troutlets to 6". 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.