As I parked my truck up yesterday on the approach road to the Pont Ar Elan , at the very top of Craig Goch reservoir, I looked up and had a visual view of the Monks Trod, an age old track, worn by centuries of monks making various tracks across the moorland for travelling and moving on foot to their settlements and Abbeys etc etc …… today it is used for more modern means of getting about, by 4×4 , although with recent awareness of major erosion and damage, this has been curtailed in a lot of areas in the Elenydd …. It’s a double edged sword I guess ….. on my walk up yesterday, deep ruts containing water were homes to masses of tadpoles and Chironomids, so nature always enjoys the spoils of man’s intervention !!!!!!
Good boots, plenty of drink and a decent packed lunch are much needed on these more way out moorland sorties …. The moor is energy zapping and full concentration is need when walking, looking continually just ahead of where you’re going, peat has the habit in places of eroding very easily and deep holes full of water are present, if you’re not concentrating the moor will swallow you up, quite literally !!!!!
The best part of two hours it took me to get to the Upper lake first ….. what a view !!! Llyn Cerrigllwydion Uchaf …. Shimmering in the sun, with a lovely trouty ripple too …. She wasn’t my first port of call …. Onward some three hundred yards to the lower lake, apparently more productive, Llyn Cerrigllwydion Isaf. So as I finally walked down the awkward tump grass to the shore, immediately it kind of shocks you, no gradual progression of land gently sloping into the water, this is moorland, and straight down into peaty blackness, wowser !!!!! This must be a deep lake I thought as I staired at the inky deepness, which abruptly was broken by a splashy rise mid lake, in fact two, three, four ….. yes I thought, the party has started and Joe, you have a front seat ticket old chap !!!!!! I couldn’t assemble my Orvis rod quick enough …. Excited delirium nearly winning the battle . I opted for the standard floating line setup and a slow hover polyleader initially . But watched the water for some time to see what the resident trout were rising too ! Tricky stuff, I opted for a small sedge pattern, as I saw two walking down to the lake !
Bang !!!!! Success, and my fist little, beautifully marked brownie of eight inches came to the net, bronze and spotted like a leopard, the barbless hook dropping out in the net once the line tension was off …. Lovely job ! I had another five on the sedge patterns, sometimes just moved slightly, as it settled on the lake surface, to induce a reaction to it …..but interestingly, once the breeze got over a certain speed, the ripple got bigger and the rises stopped…… as soon as it dipped to a gentle hush, up came the tigers again !!!! Great fun, all on dries, I did fish an olive emerger too, which brought up some explosive savage takes and another three beauties from the lower lake . Time was ticking on, as it does and I wanted a couple of hours on the top Lake , so at quarter to four, I mooched over to the top one, same applied here, rising fish , nice !!!!!! I managed two from Uchaf both on quite a large olive emerger, none of the fish today were huge, best about ten inches, but perfect fish in every way, all had a beautiful blood red adipose fin …. These fish, just because of their diminutive size, doesn’t mean they are not adult fish, they may be some years old, such is the variety of our native Salmo Trutta ….
SO as I kept a close eye on my watch, I knew I had a two hour tab across the moors back to my truck …. Alas at six bells it was time to call things a day. It had been an absolute ball…. Eleven gorgeous fish to hand , loads missed on takes that were faster than your average puff adder, and two lakes to myself , what more could an adventurous wild brown trout angler wish for. As I packed up I thanked the two Llyns for their kindness and a most excellent party …….. I shall return end of June !
I must admit, as I was making my way back across the moorland, thoughts of a pint of Rev James in The Crown were winning the battle !!! It’s a magnificent view of Craig Goch reservoir walking back…. But I tell you something, boy was I glad to sit in the seat of my truck, just a minute of contemplation before ignition on and home James !!!! A fabulous day deep in the desert of Wales …..