Wow, what a start to my season, a varied and hectic three weeks, on some of the wild streams and big reservoirs….. And I managed to squeeeeeeeeeeze in a lovely session up at the Teifi lakes too, Fantastic !!! Just total wild Wales at its best …… Tis always nice venturing out to these wild places after the long drawn out, colder days of winter. I’m truly spoilt to be honest, March and April can be pretty inconsistent months as far as the weather is concerned, so it’s nice to then pick a mountain Llyn or one of the big wild reservoirs and go and search the shoreline in search of stunning Welsh Gold !!!
Rhaeadr Gwy is fortunately slap bang in the middle of some of the best wild brown trout fishing in the country, as far as diversity goes…. There’s the upper Wye, the big reservoirs of the Elan Valley, that huge sea in the middle of Wales, Claerwen Reservoir, the secretive mountain llyns, such as Gynon, Carw, the Cerriglywdion lakes and, just a stones throw away, over the next set of mountains, Llyns Teifi, Egnant and Hir….. pheeeeeew, nearly finished …. Ohhhhhhhh, and last but certainly not least, the superb wild streams we have locally, like the Marteg, Elan, Edw, Llynfi, Cammarch and Clywedog to name but a few !!!!! The list does go on …. In fact there are loads of smaller feeder streams that I love to mooch up with the five foot seven inch s- glass rod, casting a size twenty two Para dry …… just total fun…. I’ve said it before, a huge fish for these mountain streams may be ten inches ….. and that’s a whale !!!!!! lol ….
The wild streams are always up and down like a yo-yo in the early season, and this season hasn’t been an exception, heavy rainfall averaging two or three times a week, turns the streams into raging coloured monsters…. And dangerous too!!! I did manage a couple of sessions on the lovely River Edw, and over into the next mountain range too, on the Usk watershed, the secretive River Honddu, great fun, and I managed to winkle some good brownies from there on tight line nymphimg tactics….. It’s not my favourite method if I’m honest … I favour the proper finesse of precise dry fly work ….. That stalk of a fish in twelve inches of water, supping olives lazily, getting in position, you only have one attempt, don’t flump it or he’ll be off in a shot !!! ! It’s the buzz of being part of that Lilliputian world… immersing yourself back to simple things … leaving all the modern sterile world behind ……. Just bliss!!! Ohhhh, and great for your mental health and just feeling upbeat too ……. Highly recommended!!!!
Catching up with like minded anglers is also fun, and there’s nothing better than a day out to clear the cobwebs than fishing a wild windswept Llyn with another buddy …. A recent expedition up to Llyn Egnant with Mac, proved to be a very wild day …. Wales at her best, hoofing winds, driving rain and numb fingers ….. ohhhhh, and a few bars of Welsh Gold too !! So worth it … the landscape up there is incredible !!!!
I do love it when the big wild reservoirs and the mountain llyns open for the season on the twentieth of March …. Fantastic, ohhh and my first day on Claerwen, I caught a clonker, possibly my best fish from here in twenty five years of fishing this water …. A stunning cock fish of about two and a half pounds, quickly admired, then slipped back in to his nine hundred acre home !!! A huge bar of gold …. A real leviathan, I sat for a moment after he was released, went back to my truck, and contemplated how a superb fish made it to such a size, from an egg, high up in a babbling feeder stream, to this old timer, he may be ten, twelve or even sixteen years old …… And what a place to call home, deep in the wildest part of Wales……
So, as I write these memories of a busy, fun, dynamic start to the wild trout season, it’s nice to dwell on warmer, drier days, when the dry fly will reign and and wading will be a pleasant task on a warm, humid, sultry day in June ….. And of course, there is the Heather fly, Bibio Pomonae, and the Cochybonddu or Bracken Clock hatches up in the hills ….. those big fish just appear from know where on Claerwen, Gynon and the Cerriglwydion lakes….. just a fantastic spectacle !!!!!
So, with more rain imminent over the next few days, looks like it’s on and off till Good Friday ….. Some more settled weather would be fab, although takes in a good wave on Craig Goch reservoir only yesterday, and the day before, were fantastic….. savage feisty fish too …. No messing on my favoured wet flies for this fantastic wild water …. And those brownies, just stunning, each one different from the last !!! Just buttery yellow, and those spots !!!! It won’t be till next month that I’m back out on the wild streams in ernest , my beloved Edw, Arrow, Lugg and Cammarch will be my home from home, weather depending that is !!!! As I did mention, the Honddu was a nice change, a varied fun tributary of the Usk. This wild stream does have some lovely fish in it, it’s hardly fished too. Nothing quite beats a slow mooch upstream in better, more settled weather. That warm, glowing, smug feeling ….. you have all afternoon to yourself, and a mile and a half of perfect river in front of you ….. bliss !!!!! 😉😉😉🎣🎣🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🏴
