Upper Wye Near Rhayader

The course of the River Wye (Afon Gwy) takes on some beautiful scenery from its source on the Plynlimon mountain to some 215 kilometres where it enters the Severn Estuary, but the upper reaches are where you find it at its most dramatic.

There are many sections where it travels down steep gradients causes tumbling waterfalls and crashing white water as it flows rapidly over the large boulders and through bedrock gutters it has carved out over centuries of erosion.

A part of the Wye I sometimes fish below Rhayader runs through some quite rough terrain and creates some stunning scenery but as a consequence the wading is quite treacherous in parts and a wading staff is an essential part of your gear.

I also think these more dramatic stretches of water are where you can sometimes find better quality fish, I think the high oxygen levels combined with deep gutters for the fish to hide and of course a good food source all combine to produce an ideal habitat for the odd specimen fish.