Feedback & Reports

Perfect conditions for trotting. Should have been good - but wasn't.

1 Grayling

9 x grayling 14-17 inches, 1 x out of season trout 10 inches, trotting and Tenkara. I had to roam around a fair bit. Rain fell to the south and a good dose of snow on the Black Mountains, but Builth Wells area stayed dry and the Irfon continued to fall. Level today at 0.69 and dropping slowly, cold and clear. It should fish well for a bit while it stays dry.

9 Grayling

Trotting maggots, river still flowing fast. Three good grayling a lovely little trout and salmon par. Nice beat to fish.

1 Salmon, 1 Trout, 3 Grayling

I knew that booking was going to be a gamble and on this occasion it did not pay off. The river was high but always the optimist I had a go and there were a few areas that looked promising but blanked. Despite this, it was good to get a rod out and brush up on some skills and the scenery was good. Hopefully better luck next time.

This beat was fished by members of the Grayling Society on this occasion. 14 X Grayling (15 - 35cms) 10 X Trout (15 - 30cms)

10 Trout, 14 Grayling

10 x grayling 6-17 inches, trotting and Tenkara. Back to the rivers, but in fact this was quite hard work. I can't complain about the water level, down to 0.60 now and pretty clear. But the air temperature in the Irfon valley on this day of freezing fog was only above zero from 2 in the afternoon until around 4. There's a world of difference between minus one degree and plus one degree, or rod rings frozen or not frozen, when you want the trotting gear to work properly. I sidestepped the problem of iced rings for most of the day by using the Tenkara rod. Also, the grayling seemed to be dispersed rather than tightly grouped as is often found by this time in the winter and I had to wander a good deal. Still, there were quite a few healthy looking and bright silver fish of 15 and 16 inches in the bag - typical Irfon.

10 Grayling

Gauge at 0.7m, clear and falling slightly. Wade-able in places but much fishing was from the bank. Trotting maggots under a 2g Avon. Grayling were well spread and present in most pools and creases, with sizes varying from fingerlings to 12" (only 2 of the larger fish were hooked, one was lost). Whilst a bleak time of year, another lovely day on the Irfon with plenty of action to keep us interested. One salmon parr was landed.

2 Trout, 12 Grayling, 1 Chub, 1 Other

2 x grayling 11-12 inches, trotting. Oh dear me! Today's visit smacked of desperation. After more than 2 months without fishing a river, I was ready to take almost any chance to get back to it. Ordinarily, I would like to see the Irfon gauge at no more than 0.60, maybe 0.75 at a pinch for some carefully selected trotting. Seeing it at 0.98 the night before and showing signs of falling, I took a very long chance and made a booking. Hopefully the "light showers" predicted for the next day would not have too much effect and maybe the river would continue to fall. Such optimism! The light showers, when they came, would be better described as relentless and the river was rising all the time I was there, eventually to 1.31 metres. I picked up a couple of small ones from under the bank at my feet, lost a couple more, but when the colour came into the water the bites switched off. I went home as I never have much confidence in a rising colouring river. However, there should be chances later in the week if the rain will only hold off for a bit.

2 Grayling

It was going to be a bit of a gamble with such a wet December. Unfortunately it didn't pay of as the river was too high and unwadable. My son hooked one small grayling that got off before he landed it but nothing else all day. We met Charlie at the house who was very friendly indeed and we'll definitely be back when the water is lower.

When I eventually found the fish it was a fish a chuck. What a river - jewel in the Crown in my opinion.

6 Trout, 20 Grayling, 3 Chub