Feedback & Reports

Went high up the system to avoid coloured streams lower down. OK on arrival early afternoon, but very quickly two downpours in close succession raised the level by 8 inches and turned the water peaty brown. Persevered with nymphing and had a few missed takes and a small wbt in the evening, by which time normal level and clarity had been resumed. Good to have room for the backcast for a change and red kites, heron and numerous toads added to the scenic variety.

1 Trout

I’m not much of a river fisherman but with the Llangurig gauge at 3ft the evening before, and knowing that it drops like a stone, I hoped for a bit of a “play” with some small trout in Ty Mawr, freshened up by the spate.
So 1ft 6” and absolutely gin clear = good start apart from a downstream wind. I put on a 3mm tungsten PTN aware of others’ fishing reports of how critical depth is. First pool, upstream the leader pulled away and a great brown shadow dashed across the width of the pool . “My God” in contact with one of the upper Wye s’ big browns. I’ve seen them occasionally sprinting away once spooked- but now I’ve hooked one ! My baby 6 ½ ft rod struggled to keep the fish in the pool but eventually I got the head in the net and the rest teetered on the rim ...and flopped in ! 20” of perfection c. 2 ½ lbs. Safely returned I sat on the bank for 5 minutes in wonder.
Walked up to the top of the beat – there really aren’t that many pools – and with the forecast “gentle breeze” now bending the bushes in half, down and across was the only option for an uncoverable pool I had left on the way up. Before the fly was even in the neck of the pool the water exploded and another big fish was on !! A frantic fight and this was a female, slightly shorter at 18” or so but the fattest wild fish I have ever seen, well over 2 lb. Stunned, stumbling along the bank I caught 2 more much smaller fish and saw another large fish .
So now with the rest of the family in bed, I’m sitting quietly with a beer reflecting on a day I really don’t want to end. Wow.

4 Trout

Well kept an eye on the gauge map after Friday and Saturdays deluge of rain, saw that the very Upper Wye , Ty Mawr and Clochfaen were dropping nicely and this morning early bells took a look and Pant Mawr gauge reading 0.243 spot on , so headed for the hills prompto !!!!!

Got there at ten , tackled up my old eight foot four weight , nice to get it out for an airing , and tackled up to sell tungsten nymphs , onf with a bit if pink see how the mop flops !!

Water at a lovely height and clear as a bell , proceeded prospecting the tiny nymphs , was a while before any interest, actually about an hour and a half , and first fish was a feisty little eight inch brownie, quickly slipped back in , hundreds yards up head of another nice pool , another fish on and ditto sand sized fish, another brownie, doooh , and that was a fairly drop pool for here , thought it initially may be a grayling!!!!

Lifted a few stones , very little invertebrae to speak off to be honest , and the water looks superb being so clear , worked my way up, and hour later had my last fish if the session , a ten inch scrappy little brownie, slipped back in . . . . .

It seems the population of fish here isn't huge , and the river screams fir a bit of cover really , some old fallen willows and boulders would provide some cover as it's very sparse in fairness !!!! Still a lovely four hours , dont think the temperature raised above six degrees in the Llangurig valley all morning , packed up at two, was nice to get out even though no grayling seen or caught , oh well maybe another day . . . . . . A fun session , back here or Clochfaen beat in November . . . . Happy days !!!!!

3 Trout

Looks scenic but at least 90% of beat is ankle deep and crystal clear, with bright sunlight and no fish seen.

Finding myself in the area with an afternoon free I thought I would give this little fished beat a try despite the steady light rain. With sixteen anglers catching 11 fish in a little over four years I knew it would not be prolific and sure enough, like eight of the sixteen before me, I blanked. I saw no fish but there were two herons about so they must be some to be had. Twelve red kites circling overhead.

Fished from about 11.30 until 16.30. Maybe this was the wrong time of day to fish this stretch with the water being crystal clear and low and the weather being mainly bright sunshine. I say this because I didn't even see a fish. Nothing spooked, not a single rise spotted, and inevitably no fish caught.
A nice day out though.

Holidaying in Wales for the week, took advantage of the passport scheme to have two days river fishing . Day one the Ty Mawr beat probably the closest to where I was staying on a very bright and breezy day. The water is extremely clear and was quite low, or is this it's natural level? I started French nymphing but struggled in the wind so changed the long leader to a fly line and tried standard up stream nymphing. The beat is very open so I still struggled in the wind. I spoke to the farmer as I first approached the river, he said he sees fish bow waving through the fords in the early mornings. I saw no fish throughout the day, I rather suspect they saw me first. I'm a beginner at river fishing, the open nature of the beat means on the whole casting would have been easy but for the wind, but the extreme clarity of the water makes the fishing hard. More experienced fisherman might fair better.

My second day fishing the Passport scheme this week, picked this beat to be hopefully different than the last (Llanddewi), and indeed it was, much wider more open but with more features than the beat photos suggest. From reading the reviews and beat description I had decided it would be an ideal beat to make my first attempt at French nymphing. I fished the whole beat from 11 until about 5 on a really hot September day, the river was crystal clear but very low. Throughout the day I saw no sign of any fish. I'm a complete beginner on rivers so my river craft is in its infancy but I fished all the most likely fish holding spots to no avail. I really enjoyed the day, the solitude, the scenery, the challenge of a new technique, everything I wanted.

Have been holidaying in Wales for the last few years fishing in lakes, came across the passport scheme on a fishing forum, what a wonderful resource. Having read as many reviews as I could, booked two beats for what would be my first time river fishing in forty years. Access was overgrown but I followed the trail of a previous fisherman, the beat provides plenty of variety, overgrown in places, but as a complete novice I always felt confident in my wading. The weather was overcast and windy but the beat is sheltered. I fished from 11 till about 4.30. I started with a weighted pheasant tailed nymph and I lost the first one to a tree on about cast three, after that I was a bit more careful. I saw a few fish rising in the first half an hour. I fished nymphs without success until lunch when I noticed some fly on the water and changed to dry fly for the afternoon. Three very small wbt fell to a parachute Adams and one to a olive quill CDC, all safely returned, suddenly I'm a river fisherman! Secluded, peaceful and challenging everything I wanted, a great day.

4 Trout

First visit to this beat, seemed like a good flow but the water is incredibly clear. One nice Trout of around a pound caught on a Gold bead nymph in one of the deeper runs.
A couple of fish rising in the slow pools but getting close enough for a cast was very difficult.

1 Trout