Another hectic week is coming to a close, as I write this in a much cooler Rhayader this morning. In fact the last two days have been eight or nine degrees cooler than the beginning of the week. I recall a slow wade up the Afon Claerwen, only five or six days ago, and to be honest it was cooking !!!! That said, plenty of insect life and a few pretty wild brown trout from this tricky, technical stream, that’s strewn with boulders, deep gorges, and really arduous wading…… If you fish this , give yourself a big pat on the back, when you winkle out half a dozen brownies from this wild headwater !!!!! Anyway, I’m digressing, the weather today in Rhaeadr Gwy is a cool 14 degrees, very different from this time last week, with temperatures in the mid twenties….. I do get into the habit of dip testing streams and rivers, with my trustee Hardy thermometer, just to see how things are…. The shaded tributaries can stay pretty cool, with alder trees and the like over the stream, and of course quite a few I fish are in deep valleys, so tend not to catch much sun at all…… Keep an eye on rising water temps folks, and I’m sure I don’t have to teach you, “how to suck eggs”, but it’s time to do stream and river maintenance when the water gets to that dreaded 19 degrees. Fishing stops, full stop, no ifs, no buts, that’s it ………. Fish welfare is of paramount importance, and to be fair, in weather like that, just some bankside clipping back with secateurs and my trustee Silky saw just ensure that new growth is halted, and pools are kept relatively free of over hanging branches …..
With the warmer days, setting off and fishing the wild streams between midday and four has been excellent, with frantic sport and fish certainly still keen to nail my dry fly offerings even in the heat of the day !!!! So satisfying, to see a rise, creep upstream, get into position, then get your cast away…. Blissful, but sometimes, that lone grass stem just can’t help itself can it ….. It’s as if it reaches out, and ambushes your fly… Tis the only one, and yet success, I have your fly !!!! Ggggrrrrrrrr…. Or, the tiniest twig hanging down from that tree, which you’ve seen, but alas, you didn’t see the dead twig, hanging there, just a tree trout in the making…… boom, and your successful cast comes to a grinding halt …. Dam it, you curse…. A slow wade back down stream, and as if by magic, the innocent little twig has mamanged to totally “birds nest” your single, impatient little dry fly. Carefully, but with some haste, another tippet is added, we’re back in the game. The offending article is snapped off with a defiant smugness !!!! Take two !!!! The cast is away, this time it’s straight and true…. It’s where you want it to be, and you just know it’s going to get nailed…SPLASH !!!!! There he is, fish on !!!!!
Four very different streams I’ve fished this week, all a total joy to behold….. I’ve watched everything from kingfishers on their perches, literally yards away, to bullheads between the stones, to a flighty muntjac deer coming to the bankside for a long drink. Wildlife that doesn’t really expect us to be in the stream. I’m sure sometimes it totally bemuses animals. I’ve had roe deer look at me, as if to say what kind of amphibian are you !!!!!! The ever rolling stream masks your movement, and the fact that your human form is kind of distorted in the water ….. Tis a great place to see wildlife close up…. Including a few beautiful brown trout … caught, admired briefly, then awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ………..
A lot of the streams could do with a top up….. Some also need that flush through, just to keep them healthy. We have some up this neck of the woods, that do get an algae build up on the pebbles and gravels in this muggy, hot weather we’ve been experiencing. It seems to appear all of a sudden too !! As if there is a bloom temperature for this specific river algae …. Most odd. Three good nights of rain would be a blessing, but I can’t really complain at the quality of the dry fly sport over the last seven or eight days, just superb, to say the least !!!! Careful wading and just an overall air of stealth, combined with excellent presentation, gets you your trout ….
As always folks, keep safe out there in the wilds of our beautiful countryside….. and dare I say it, let’s hope for a tad bit of the old precipitation!!!! Just a few days would be most welcome…. Keeps things fresh. Enjoy our most graceful of sports, and if you’re heading out, keep ya powder dry and cast the tightest of loops !!!! Enjoy !!!! Finally, before I depart, remember folks, what it is today…” ARMED FORCES DAY “…. please take a minute out of your busy day to thank a Veteran for his or her Service, it will mean a lot more than you think ……..…A veteran is a complex soul, they’ve been through a lot , enough said…. Till next time….. “ Ciao Ciao” !!!
