Effort/Reward Ratio...Not Always Obvious

The last few years I've dabbled with casting the odd salmon line out on the off chance that I could be one of the lucky few who manage to connect with one of these magnificent migratory fish that enter the Wye system each year with just one purpose...to ensure the continuation of future generations.

I have likened the process of salmon fishing to that of a coarse angler who is in pursuit of a big double figure carp...a lot of invested time for what seems like a small return.

But my way of thinking has changed quite considerably, I've learnt that for me a major part of the appeal of salmon fishing comes from the casting process and trying to deliver a worthy cast when using a heavy line, big fly and a double handed rod.

I'm still very much a novice at it all but after spending many many hours of effort this season trying to improve my techniques I got my small reward on Sunday when I connected with and landed my first salmon of the season which came from a pool on the River Irfon near Builth Wells.

The Successful Fly

From This Pool

With only a couple of weeks left before the season ends it is likely to be my one and only fish, which on the surface would seem a wasted exercise for the amount of time put into catching it but the learning process together with the anticipation I've experienced means that I'm sure to be doing it all again next season.

Summer Over...Thankfully!

The weather at last seems to be settled into what we expect for this time of year and river levels last weekend were perhaps a little low but with the implementation of a little more stealth than normal fish were definitely on the lookout for an easy meal.

On Saturday I headed off to the River Ithon and had the company of Steve...a mate who I used to fish alongside during my old coarse/match fishing days.

A midday start and a brisk walk down the river and we were soon connecting with some fish but the larger fish that this river holds were definitely very wary and not really showing themselves.

Both of us fished our way up fishing the duo style (Klinkhamer on a dropper with a small weighted nymph 18"-24" below). Persistence paid off and we had both ended up netting a couple of good quality fish along with the smaller ones, arriving back at the car with our lungs filled full of pure Welsh air and the scent of freshly baled hay from the fields...and of course the odd whiff of manure here and there!

This quality trout eventually calmed by Steve after putting on quite an aerial display! 

On Sunday I spent a few hours battling the much stronger winds a little further south on the River Irfon, a totally different river with faster flows...a true upland welsh river originating from the Cambrian Mountains.

The fishing was again a case of an extremely stealthy approach to get the best out of it and fishing was much tougher than the previous day.

All in all it felt like a good weekend to be out fishing and as I posted on this blog last year...I just love Autumn fishing...especially the back end of the trout season.

Upper Wye

Back up to a very pretty part of the Upper Wye just below Rhayader which again did not disappoint.

The upstream breeze which is a rare occurrence on this part of the river made casting and fly presentation so much easier and although there were no fish rising I soon found some quality fish willing to take my nymph.

There was very few upwing flies coming off the water but as usual for this time of year there was quite a few small sedges skimming just above the surface, my nymph of choice was a #16 GRHE with a 2mm tungsten bead attached to help get it down in some of the fast turbulent water often found on these boulder strewn sections of the Upper Wye system. I find the Hares Ear nymph a good choice when there are sedge flies hatching and is my usual 'go to' fly in these situations.

Much Chewed #16 Tungsten Head Gold Ribbed Hares Ear Nymph

As I have mentioned before..what this part of the river lacks in quantity it certainly makes up in quality, many of the resident fish here will put a hefty bend in the rod and give you some heart stopping fights amongst the boulders.

The weather, location and the abundance of wildlife seen pretty much made for a perfect days fishing and to have near enough a mile of river all to myself I returned home feeling more than spoilt.

Rain Stops Play

Well it's sods law...I head down to one of my favourite rivers and find it looking in excellent condition and the fish in the mood for a bit of a play then after an hour or so of some hectic fishing the heavens open and duly empties it's water reservoirs right on my little patch!

The grayling and trout were readily taking both nymph and dry but an hour or so of relentless heavy rain soon filled up the little feeder streams and gushed chocolate coloured water into the river (a familiar consequence of lowland rivers) totally wiping out any chance of continuing fishing.

 

Then the rains come and 'game over'.



One of many of the feeder streams pouring in its coloured water.

With the majority of the river trout season well behind us lots of new waters I'd planned to fish this year will likely be 'put on the shelf' until next season unless things settle down well before 30th September.

Back In The Land Of The Grayling

It's been a while since my last post and the last couple of months must rate as one of the most frustrating periods I can remember. I rely mostly on the weekend to get out fishing and for most of that couple of months the rain seems to  have always arrived at exactly the wrong time to flood the rivers for the weekend.

Well as I write this the sun is blazing and temperatures are well up to mid twenties so I'm hoping we are into a settled spell which will allow rivers to run a bit closer to normal for this time of year.

I took full advantage on Sunday when the rivers began to fall and myself and fishing buddy Nick headed off to the River Ithon (major upper tributary to the Wye). It was still running quite high and carrying a fair bit of colour but looked fishable when we got to the river.

Due to the adverse weather of late the water temperatures have remained low and as a result seeing any fish rising is a rare occurrence...such was today and the plan of action was an out and out nymph attack, something on par to what we would normally be doing in the depths of winter!

We soon located some nice Grayling and were both getting some pretty hefty bends in the rods, they were definitely favouring the faster/streamer water of around 2-3 foot deep and seemed to be well anchored to the bottom.


Nick's 10' #2 almost bend double with a large Grayling!

47cm hard fighting Grayling for Nick.

Although we had connected with a few trout it was a day for Grayling and plenty of them, the water level and colour had obviously instilled them with a feeling of safety and a willingness to feed.

One of a few brown trout caught on the day

I switched flies a few times during the day but I found that heavily weighted (tungsten beadhead) nymphs in the #12-#14 sizes worked best.

This current spell of warmer weather should now bring the water temperatures back up and induce more surface activity and the dry fly box may soon be re-opened!

The Wettest Draught On Record!

At the back end of March I was posting about how many of the rivers I fish were in desperate need of some rain to bring the levels back up...well all I can say is - be careful what you wish for!!!

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!!!

Getting Wild In North Wales

This trip had been booked for a few weeks and one I was eager to experience, myself and a couple of mates had planned a weekend fishing some of the lakes in the wilds of North Wales.

Erw Fawr cottage...base for the weekend.

Arriving at our base situated in Garreg...a small village close to the foothills of Mount Snowdon on Friday we unpacked and headed straight out to inspect a couple of nearby lakes as possible venues for Sunday as we had set aside Saturday to travel a little further south to spend a day at Tall-y-llyn.

Talyllyn is a natural 220-acre, shallow, Brown Trout Lake nestling in the southwest corner of the Snowdonia National Park and below the peak of Cader Idris. It has a most spectacular setting and is very well equip to accommodate the many visiting anglers it receives each year with boats and tackle available to hire.

Steve and Martin assessing the conditions on our arrival at Tal-y-llyn

Conditions on this weekend would have been a holidaymakers dream with wall to wall sunshine and temperatures well into the high twenties but for fishing it was not what was wanted at all, we also had to content with some very high winds.

This  'loch' style of fishing is not something I have had a go at before and although getting used to the pace of the boat drifts with the strong winds took some getting used to I soon felt comfortable with the techniques but there was no doubt today was going to be tough and so it proved with me ending the day with a blank and my boat partners catching half a dozen between them (their loch style experience showing through).

'Whitewater' showing as the wind sweeps westward down the valley

View from the Pe-y-bont Hotel where we retreated for lunchtime refreshments!

A rapid retreat to a local pub followed where we deliberating the day and what might be the venue for the following day, Steve had come armed with a portfolio of local waters so we had plenty to choose from. In light of the kind of day we had and the weather forecast for Sunday we thought best not to hire boats and opted to try out a remote lake which is also the source of the Afon Artro.

Turning off the main road we winded our way five miles up to Llyn Cwm Bychan which could not have been more appealing to the eye with its crystal clear blue water and its mountain surrounds.

First sight of Llyn Cwm Bychan

There is no supplementary stocking carried out here and the trout are all totally wild, fishing charge is three pounds which is worth paying just to admire the scenery!

View looking from the eastside car park

We fished from the banks on the north shore and had to contend with similar conditions as experienced on Tal-y-llyn. The day proved to run a similar course with very little fish action due mostly to the extremely bright conditions, Steve and Martin again proved to be one step ahead of me and both caught a couple of these wild beauties but I was left licking my wounds again and had nothing to show for the weekends fishing other than a few lost fish and a good sun tan...but more importantly I had visited what must be some of the most prettiest lakes in one of the wildest parts of the UK and now have the taste for this unique style of fly fishing.