Feedback & Reports

With the lack of rain over the last few weeks I wasn’t really sure what to expect… but I was desperate to fish and this was the only day I had free. It was pretty fresh first thing, with light cloud. The sun did eventually break through mid morning and it turned into a stunner of a day.

I have fished here once before quite a few years ago and things did look slightly different. Of course the Honddu was low for most of this beat, but with a bit of searching there were some deeper and faster flowing sections, but much of it was either very shallow or barely moving. I struggled to start with on this small stream to get the technique right, and the trees and vegetation all around were ‘interesting’! After a few snags and tangles I got into a bit of a rhythm, more on a flick than an actual cast.

I wasn’t really expecting much but the fish came in the morning session up until about 2pm. I caught four (in varying sizes) and missed a few. I stopped then for lunch, and after that there was no action at all. A massive hatch started mid afternoon, with all sorts and sizes taking to the air (someone with greater knowledge than me would have to tell me what they all were). In some sections of the river the air was thick with flying insects, zipping around in giant balls, clouds of life... but there seemed to be no rising fish at all! Nothing. I sat and watched on many occasions, but nothing. So I stuck with my trusty Klinkhammer indicator with a copper Hare’s Ear dropper, and I was just about to call it a day when a massive WBT tugged on my line (at about 7pm approx). This was a big fish for such a small stream and put on a hell of a fight. Having lost a few earlier in the day I was worried that I may lose this one too, but thankfully I netted it. A beautiful fish, and a great end to the day.

This was wild stream fishing at is best, in such a beautiful part of the world. The only things that would improve it for me would be a sign or marker to show where the non-fishing section of the stream starts and finishes around the old fish farm, and some plastic pipe on the barbed wire fences that you have to cross would be useful. All fish returned.

5 Trout

The river was looking a little fresher after a small lift last week but still needs more, as they all do around here. All quiet as far as any fly coming off or falling in so prospected with the old workhorse of a fly, black klinkhammer .
Only worked up to the house below the fish farm today as was quite a windy day and with it coming in from all directions too!
Picking off trout here and there in the 6 to 8 inch bracket, none of the bigger chaps wanted to play today but still great fun but the highlight was a 14inch cock grayling, never had any grayling out of here before, lovely! Am certain there was another decent one in the same pool too as fluffed a couple of the those 'blipping' grayling type rises !

6 Trout, 1 Grayling

Fished for a couple of hours late afternoon. Excellent beat, the water running lower than I expected with the recent rain but still fishable. I took 3 small trout and a grayling from the faster runs with a gold head pheasant nymph but missed several more on the dry. Not on my game and should really have had double figures. I put it down to the really aggressive herd of cows that ran at me forcing me to beat a hasty retreat and scramble over barbed wire. Must be something in the water of the Honddu.

3 Trout, 1 Grayling

Nightmare!!! low flow and horrendous down stream wind killed all sport. Nothing rising and very small trout 6-9 inch bracket when wind dropped reacting to nymphs. Gave it an hour but the wind strengthened and that was that.

6 Trout

Arrived late morning to find little sign of hungry fish but managed to catch two trout around 8" in length in the first half hour. Thereafter no success for an hour so I decided to go to Upper Grwyne Fawr which is a short drive from Lower Stanton.

2 Trout

Lovely beat to fish, water levels ok ish on the Honddu but very minimal rising trout. Fished the heads of pools with brass bead nymph size 16. All trout in the 8- 12 inch range bar one which was about 13 inches and was snapped by one of a decent size. Fished from 11.30am-3.30pm and the majority of fish came between 2-3pm. After 3.30pm not a touch.

16 Trout

Couple of hours in the evening. Few rising fish in the middle of the beat. I did not fancy braving the cows/bullocks.

1 Trout, 1 Grayling

Beat was looking good after heavy rain two nights before. Weather warm and sunny, light north easterly wind. Plenty of fly life but very few rises (too bright?). Fished with dries because that's what we like. Took a brace of trout each. Missed a few rises too. Only problem was the frisky herd of bullocks mid beat. I'm from a farming family but did not fancy spending anytime with them. Made a very nice middle stretch of the river unfishable.

4 Trout

lovely stretch of water what was fished, all trout between 8-14 inches and one grayling 8 inches. All was going ok as never fished this beat before until I exited the water at the fish farm. On getting back in the water above there was a herd of cows paddling in the stream and when I tried to walk around them they followed me up the stream lol. So only a third fished. there were plenty of olives and mayfly on the water with your regular midges also. Not many sizeable rises today so opted mainly to fish heads of pools to try and target larger trout on nymph. I feel if i had of managed to fish the rest of the beat icould of picked a fair few up on dry fly as above the fish farm the pace of water is much slower and does look good dry fly water

10 Trout, 1 Grayling

A lovely river that reminded me of the brook that ran past my house as a child in which I spent many an hour paddling around after stickle backs and stone loach
had a really enjoyable day well afternoon as customers with problems got in the way of an early start caught two on dry fly and rest on small nymph fished upstream
Some Mayfly were starting to emerge I saw dippers, robins, a stoat, and a squirrel that was nearly the size of a cat. No canoes this time.

6 Trout, 1 Grayling