Feedback & Reports

Blustery cold wind, Water was high but clear, no hatch of fly. Tried a number of patterns, without success

Cold downstream wind. Brief olive hatch about 1.30. minimal rise. Pricked one. No grannom.

5 x trout 10-14 inches, size 14 Gold Bead Hare's Ear and one on a Klinkhammer. As one who, with colleagues, spent some cold winter days pruning our way up 5 miles of the Escley Brook, I felt I owed this to myself. Use of the dry fly would have been nice - who would not rather fish that way - but nothing was rising at first although a few dark olives about. A prospecting dry fly didn't work, so I went back to trundling a nymph along the bottom of deep holes and glides and picked up some nice fish there, all but one over 12 inches. Escley trout are as good looking as any Monnow system trout, which is saying a great deal. However, the fish don't seem to be forward on the shallows and feeding lies yet - I'm sure they will be very shortly.

There was one exception. Around about the time I was tired out and ready to go home having done not much more than half the beat, there was one fish rising steadily in a glide. I put on a little Rusty Klinkhammer, greased the leader and got him! More of that please!

5 Trout

Arrived at ten and no sign of life on the Escley. After an hour and a half had only managed one of twelve inches to bead head, between 1-1.30 pm there was a solid hatch of olives which resulted in another five all between ten and twelve inches to olive emerger pattern, also lost three or four more. Then the rises stopped and the river became empty again. Great beat!! In good nick at moment, still only managed to cover first mile and a bit. will get to the end one beautiful may day.

6 Trout

Lovely day water not too cold walking to bottom of beat had a treat watching a kingfisher then came across a small deer. Started fishing with no sign of a hatch but took one 7"brownie in the second pool with a grhe nothong else,to report except a lot of trees fallen into brook making a cast impossible in some likely spots.

1 Trout

Nil return.

Still quite a cold day with a real edge to the wind which was blowing straight downstream.
Just after 1.00 p.m.there was a hatch of LDO's and I caught 3 during the next twenty minutes - biggest just over a pound. Apart from that brief twenty minutes there was no fly or fish activity.

3 Trout

1'11" in the morning after dropping a few inches overnight. Water clear. Fished hard but nothing seen or touched. Only had the fly rod so didn't do justice to Llangoed Pool which would have been the best chance.

No fish. Spent afternoon fishing bottom of beat.

1 small trout to a tube fly and a brief run from a larger fish on a devon minnow. May well have been a pike. Thanks to Don for advice, will be back.

1 Trout