Feedback & Reports

3 of us fishing, and one trout caught on a mayfly. Very little fish activity.

1 Trout

1 Salmon, Female, 12-13lbs, Vanstone Pool. 2 others hooked and lost. 1 Shad, 2lbs.

1 Salmon, 1 Other

I brought zero fish to the net - did not even hook & loose any. The first hour or so I saw no evidence of trout at all. No rises, no sighted fish, no spooked fish despite a reasonable hatch happening. Eventually I saw a few tiddlers (2-4 inch brownies) and then a few in the 5-6" range but nothing connected. I am not sure why - I was using the same setup from the previous day (Parachute Adams as an indicator with a nymph dropper - Bead head PT #16, Hare's Ear bead head jig #18, etc..) which saw me catch 9 fish to the net and about twice that many hooked & lost on the lower Escley. I eventually sighted a 2-3 pound brown but he was a foot off the bank in 6 inches of water in no current. Watched him for 5 minutes as there was no way to actually cast to him & then he buggered off. After 5+ hours I was, to say the least, disappointed in the day's catch but the weather & scenery was glorious. It seems that much of the Wye/Usk Foundation water can be a bit of potluck where some good inside knowledge is a big help - that insight I got from a serious salmon fisherman on the Wye who ran me through each of the beats & gave them a thumbs up or down as to fishiness.

This was something of a day to forget really. I set off very early and was only a mile or two from home when my car alerted me to an air temperature below 3 degrees. I arrived at the beat before seven and was on the water by half past. But it was a cold start with no fish showing. Around 10.00 I finally encountered a rising fish. On my first cast to it the braided loop parted company with my fly line and I had to trudge back to the car to repair it. By the time I'd made my way back, said fish was still there, still feeding, and willing to take a weighted nymph. A lovely fish of around a pound who lifted my spirits and gave me confidence things were about to get better. They weren't. Nothing all afternoon and into the early evening as the wind increased and a few showers rolled in. I was about to head home when I noticed swallows skimming the shallow water at the top of the beat suggesting some sort of sustained hatch at last. It yielded two more trout before the wind got too gusty and unpredictable to make the fishing comfortable and safe. Headed home around 7.30 after a day that promised much and yielded much less. Still, it is a truly beautiful beat. Next time they'll be rising and taking all day!

3 Trout

A lovely spot to fish that just seems as though it ought to be teeming with fish. A bright but cool day that despite half term had kept the bathers away so I had the place to myself. Cool and overcast in the afternoon. Huge amounts of fly life all day - olives through to mayfly - but next to no action on the surface. Fished most of the day using the duo up through the pocket water and the faster deeper pools. With more confidence in European techniques I think you could take a lot of fish here. As I was, I was happy with my 2. Both on small weighted PTN variations.

2 Trout

No salmon. Water clear and level dropping. Good day.

5 Trout, 1 Chub, 1 Other

1 Trout

2 carp - approx 8lb each. Small bream and roach. Lots of eels.

20 Other

4 Trout

5 Trout