The draught warnings imposed on many counties are a thing of the past and have been replaced by flood warnings making river fishing a bit of a lottery.
The main problem for me is that over the last few weeks the heaviest rain had fallen at the back end of the week which pushed the spate rivers up instantly and although they normally drop quickly they always seemed to stay too high over the weekend leaving me frustrated.
Last weekend I headed for the Elan Valley reservoirs run by the Rhayader And Elan Valley Angling Association to relieve some of the frustration of not being able to fish the rivers.
With 850 acres of water available to fish the key is to have some idea of which likely spots are worth heading for first. I would imagine even regular long term fishermen here still find fish location a little hit and miss. Much will depend on wind direction as to which bank to head for (no boat fishing available here).
After a few visits here I'm now starting to get my head around it a little and have a better idea on giving myself a chance to connect with some of the trout which it holds.
Although there is some stocking carried out the majority of the fish here are natural wild brown trout, a fish of a pound in weight would be classed as a good fish. There are no rainbow trout stocked at the Elan reservoirs.
I ended an enjoyable afternoon with half a dozen fish (all wild) and a little more knowledge but still longing to cast a dry fly upstream to a rising fish on a river...please!!!
