Feedback & Reports

3 barbel caught in the evening, meat and pellet, best 6lb - 13oz.

It had been about 18 months since I last fished Lyepole and fortunately nothing had changed. A wonderful beat with relatively easy wading and a good head of Grayling. Fishing heavy bugs/nymphs, I caught over 20 fish, mostly Grayling, best fish 14" and a few out of season Trout. A good days fishing in the quiet Lugg valley at its Autumnal best.

With the river only about a foot up on conditions that had been kind to us before we were both confident of a good days fishing. K.P had chose to fish for barbel while I opted for a change and targeted the pike. I walked the whole stretch fishing the most likely looking swims and was pleased with the two pike I caught which although only small were very nicely marked and in great condition. K.P did catch four barbel to around 7lb which he had to work hard for, moving swims and changing tactics paying off.

Ideal conditions but sadly not many caught. I had 1 chub early morning then a barbel at lunchtime and a lost fish at teatime. That was the sum total for the day. Moved several times to try and find something to catch. I did not see the barbel bite, a swan decided to fly upriver and would have flown into my line had I not grabbed the rod quickly and lowered the line into the water. As I lifted the rod back up to put back onto the rodrest line started to get pulled off the reel. Thinking it was weed I wound down and felt kicking on the end. Small barbel so I hoped I had found a shoal but no other bites.

Took four rainbows between us all on Mepps Aglia spinners,
2@ 1lb 3OZs, 1 @ 1Lb 7 Ozs and 1 @ 1lb 10 OZs.

First time on Llanfechan and there are some lovely salmon holding pools on this stretch. As for grayling I'm a bit of a beginner so was pleased to catch a couple and lose several more. Best fish @ 18". All on heavy bugs with no rises seen all day. Lovely to be out on an autumn day of heavy showers and weak sun in secluded and beautiful surroundings.

Arrived to find a dog otter working the river upstream. The river valley looked stunning in its full autumn glory. Had a very enjoyable day trotting the stream. Caught loads and loads of dace, a couple of brownies and a couple of medium sized chub. The only problem, I didn't catch a single grayling that were supposed to be my target species.

River just under 2 feet up, looked really good but finding the fish was not easy. Ended up with 8 barbel to 7.5 pounds and 1 chub. Most of the fish did not come from the more popular swims on this beat. Pellet again!

Fished S.E. and N.E. end of lake in overcast skies with very brisk W- SW breeze and intermittent squally showers.
1 rod 5 x Rainbows ranging from 1.5lb to 2.5 lb all taken, plus 11 inch Brownie succesfully returned. Second rod 2x 1.5lb Rainbows. Both of us using Mepps Silver Agila 4.
A good days sport in full waterproofs and wild weather. Reassured that our permit, efficiently purchased on line from WUF, was checked by fishery officers and also on the same day our rod licences were checked by Environment Agency occicers.

Suitably fueled and insulated by “the Big Breakfast” at The Halt Cafe, we met up with Frank Williams at Doldowlod for a days tuition in the art of Grayling fishing. Conditions were surprisingly good, the river being relatively clear and not too high. This day was more about learning new techniques than catching bucket loads of fish. Frank is a patient and encouraging tutor with an engaging manner. He's a good investment. You never stop learning at this game which is why it never loses it’s fascination.

Six fish caught, five Grayling and one out of season Brown Trout. The best, a 1lb 4oz Grayling on the dry, the others on weighted nymphs. All fish returned.