Having finished my river trout season on the Lugg just on the outskirts of Leominster , it was time to hit one of the mountain lakes , but which one , we are so spoilt for choice to be honest …. eventually i plumbed for Craigypistyll , as i new it would be as wild and as serene, as i remember it all those years ago , when i used to fish it with a buddy from Oswestry way back before my Army days …..

When i parked up at half nine , i got out of my truck , total silence , almost spooky , theres only another place thats similar to this , and thats Llyn Bugeilyn …. that ambience , peace and tranquility ….. total bliss !! Tackled up my old Orvis lake rod , decent long leader , a bibio sedgehog on the point , Katie Mac and zulu on the droppers .

First fish took me by surprise a bit , very savage hit to the sedgehog tweaked back in the wave …. a lovely fish of perhaps eleven inches made it to the net , beautiful markings too . Second fish of the morning again hit the well greased sedgehog , great stuff , and another fit hill trout quickly admired then slipped back in . Third fish swiled short of the dry sedgehog , i left it static , then a quick retrieve , and he hammered the Katie Mac. Im guessing his position in the water and turning on the fly lead him to taking the wet , as opposed to his original snack idea !!!!!

Last fish from this beautiful Llyn again went for the dry surface fly , oddly , they wanted some movement in it to induce a savage take , and yet no other terrestrial or water Bourne insects could be see ….. most weird ! still , a fabulous if not tricky morning ….. back to my truck quick bite to eat , and onward to Llyn Syfydrin , which is basically in the next valley . i did that duck style drive in my waders …. The track down to Syfydrin is pretty rough folks , a truck or high clearance vehicle is most definately required ….

The same set up as the morning , revitalised after my pastie and Double Decker , i made a surreptitious approach into the water , as its so peaty …. no takers at the bottom of the lake …. mmmmmmmm , got out went back to the truck , reboot and a large cup of coffee from the flask. Scanning the water , ahh one rise close in to the reed mace , then another , little devils , on sedge i should imagine . All along the dirt track side of the lake , the odd splashy rise …. flask away , time to do battle !!!!! Slowly worked the bank , and bang !!!! eight inch brownie nailed my dry sedgehog , only a yard out from the reeds , happy days . Next one the same , ditto in size , and my last chunky little fish , i did change the now pretty chewed up dry sedgehog for an Elk Hair caddis …. again a nice violent take … not big fish but great fun …. especially if you can work out the Enigma code of what they are taking !!!!!So all in all a superb day , seven beautiful mountain trout to the net , the views , the ambience , the tight lines , the anticipation , but most of all just being there …. takes some beating folks !

A lovely day in the wilds of Wales … you can see why George Barrow wrote so passionately about his Wild Wales . The rock of the spout is a spectacular piece of geology , second photo down on this article , hence the Llyns namesake …. A Slow bimble back to The Ponderosa , fire on stun and a large port to toast a very special day , and a great season ….