As I finally relax for a few days, after a mega hectic week, guiding, sorting out my website, and looking at merchandise for my growing business. Caps, quality sweat tops and polo shirts have been on the agenda over the last week, with the designing of my logo, and a catchy fishy sentence to accompany my website “casting angler” !!!! I’m nearly there, and I’ll soon be contacting Lauren, of Seren Handmade, who has a fantastic business locally, with quality being uppermost in her embroidered garments and items……
Guiding has been fun, but some seriously weird weather has made finding fish, particularly on the big wild waters, very very tricky indeed !!!! Pulling out all the stops has been top of the tree. Fishing very light,tiny midge emergers, a team of black buzzers and cdc dries, has also been in my tool box, along with the usual traditional wets, when the very “rare,” south westerly wind shows its self !!!
Thankfully, that was the case with another trip to Nantymoch Reservoir. The one day, last week, sport was superb. As always, I only fish a team of two, Tis all that’s needed !!! We normally get swirling winds in the Cambrian mountains, so a team of three can create nasty snarl ups !!!! Small dark wets, black and red normally as my point fly, seems to attract the most attention, certainly early season. A hectic day with some two dozen brownies to the net !!!! Was a totally different story the week before that, four degrees and just seriously cold !!!!! My client, Ken from Ohio had a good day up in the Elan Valley on the Tuesday, but the Wednesday was cold, and low mist hung over a dank Nantymoch Reservoir ….. A tough day was an under statement !!!!
The streams have been just total fun too over the last two weeks …. I favour the technical streams. Babbling mountain brooks are testing, and really test your angling prowess !! You have to think about your dry fly presentation. Technical water means that basically you have to cast on a six pence !!! You have seconds of effective fly presentation and generally brownies will nail your offering if it’s presented correctly. I love using Luke Bannisters furled leaders for small stream work. They can be treated with a light application of Mucilin, or if I’m fishing light baetis nymphs, just leave them as they are. They seem to be “best friends” with my small streams rods, and I do enjoy using a couple of short glass rods. They’re superb fun fishing tiny size 22 dries on these streams with the correct furled leader. A ten inch fish really brings them alive …… Twelve inches of wild brownie feels like you’ve hooked a great white shark !!!!!!!
A lot of the local streams were getting very low in fairness, but they certainly had a good flush through mid week. As I drove past the Severn Arms pub in Penybont, I always have a brief glimpse at the Ithon….. She was in full spate on the Wednesday . Great, much needed on these rivers. A couple of days, and she’ll have fined down to a perfect river ….. just how we like it !!!!
It’s been incredible that the wild streams have woken up so early. That’s only down to that warm sultry back end of March that we had, which “mooched” into April too …. Olives, Grannom by their hundreds, and Large brook duns were partying early , and salmo trutta was soon switching on to these, on the Edw, Irfon, Arrow, and two cracking feeder streams up in the Elenydd. The upper Wye has also been fun, although she was looking a tad tired last week, with algae and low water …… That nights heavy rain last week was much needed. Truth be told, another good twelve hours of the wet stuff wouldn’t go a miss.
I’m on several of the streams this week. Both going solo, and with clients. I have another private beat to add to my portfolio. Yaaaaaayyyyy !!!!! …..They’re always good for client days, with no pressure what so ever during the week, and mass bookings by anglers over weekends and bank holidays !!! Sometimes, being a shooter as your other hobby and passion has its perks. When Charlie and rabbit populations become a nuisance for farmers and landowners, stepping in and helping out, in returning for fishing their local brook is a nice reward for one’s efforts……………
So, looking ahead, another stream week dawns, with hot weather imminent again !!! Listening to Radio 2, sounds like we’re in for temperatures of twenty plus degrees for three or four days !!! That’ll mean adjusting one’s tactics to suit the small streams. I’m actually on three different wild streams next week !!! Two being quite fast flowing mountain brooks, with the other one more serene, and slower flowing, with some lovely dry fly water.
As I’m compiling this in Ty Morgan’s bistro in Rhayader, stopping regularly and chatting with towns folk that I know, Tis always such a bustling atmosphere here during a weekend. I’m more than likely going to go up a local stream later on…. We had a tiny bit of drizzle early bells here in glorious mid Wales, but nothing other than to keep the slugs and snails happy !!!! Tis another week I’m looking forward too, Clients out and about, and two beats I haven’t fished for a while . Ohhh, and of course my new private beat, which, I’m really looking forward too !!!!
Have a cracking weekend folks, stay safe if you’re out on the water, and may the tightest of lines be had amongst my piscatorial friends ……… Cheerio for now guys and gals !!! 🎣🎣🐟🐟🏴