Feedback & Reports

Difficult fishing - very little insect activity today other than those tiny yellowish midges again in the afternoon, as at Llanwysg on Friday. The two caught were on nymphs, but did lose another four off the hook. Once again a pale size 20 IOBO was the only fly that would get a few bites from the occasional fish rising to the midges, but hard to hook well on size 20s and they were all terrific jumpers - all in fine fettle at the end of the year! Happily the biggest one stuck today though - a good 17 incher in beautiful condition, nice way to finish the trout season.

Thanks to the new owner for keeping this beat on the WUF scheme, and great to see a bit of the Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam jungle has been cut back recently to get to the riverbanks. I habitually kill some of that horrible stuff too while passing on the banksides, if we all do this we can put a dent in it and help the river with more natives (just don't spread any material of course)!

2 Trout

1 rod fished . Windy with heavy showers & cooler than of late, river risen since Tuesday & still rising. V little surface activity & nothing caught. Saving grace was close quarter otter sighting at 5.30pm ! Watched it transiting up river & playing in shallow tail of a pool for about a minute.

Only one rod fished, or rather walked to the riverbank for the last hour of daylight then got caught in a continual downpour until the light failed. No fly cast or fish caught !

Having fished this beat for weeks at a time for every year that it has been available via the Wye & Usk foundation, it has been very clear to me this week that something has fundamentally changed here since May of this year when I fished it last.
I fully appreciate that there has been a drought since then which will have been tough on the trout population but am afraid that there is more to it than that. The fish are extremely wary this week and have barely been feeding on the surface even in decent fly hatches. The answer, to my mind at least, has presented itself on a number of occasions when big fat cormorants have surfaced nearby, so full of fish that they have sometimes been barely able to take off.
I have never before seen even one cormorant on this beat, let alone at least 4 of them, and when you add them to the normal host of goosanders, heron, egret, otter, mink & osprey feeding 2 adults & a chick, all over a period of exceptionally low river levels with high water temperatures, it is hardly surprising that trout stocks seem to have declined dramatically in recent months.
I understand that the beat has recently had a change of owner, who I hope will be copied in on this feedback. I suspect that he or she should consider making an application to the EA for a licence in respect of the cormorants in the not too distant, if the stretch is not to emptied of its usually thriving wild brown trout population, which would be a great shame.

1 Trout

1 Trout

River in perfect condition having risen over the past week following rain. Surprisingly little surface activity though. Handful of blue duns seen & 3 fish caught on imitations.

3 Trout

Typically moody day on the Usk - almost dead for most of the day other than one take on a Klink, but they switched on for one short olive hatch when I caught all eight within about about 90 minutes! All off the top on small dries, and had a couple more come off the hook. All released as usual. Weather much milder today - indeed had to wear a jumper and casting was tricky into a stiff downstream wind. Lots of bird life - sand martin, kingfisher, dipper, grey wagtail, sandpiper, oystercatcher, red kite... and also a cormorant fishing in one pool! River quite low again, getting to summer low levels.

8 Trout

A hatch very late, maybe 10-10.30pm, though hard to match - a small olive and medium sedge worked a bit. Lost a big fish in the flats (on the sedge in near-dark), which went like a rocket for the far bank for a minute or two. Darn.

2 Trout

A variety of small olives, pale wateries and a few yellow mays hatching in the afternoon - sparse but enough for the fish to get going. 11 browns up to 15", all but one caught on dry mayfly patterns. Heard a cuckoo up calling for a long time up near the top end. On the way back found the farmer had released a bull and large herd of cows with some very young calfs into the field that neighbours all of this beat - would have been dangerous to walk through as they were near the gate, had to bushwhack through a steep and overgrown bank to get back on the other side of the hedge. Others beware, access is tricky at the moment and not really suitable for anyone who can't negotiate a steep and overgrown bank. Lovely day on the river though, thanks again!

11 Trout

V hot day, river low & stale with little surface activity.

1 Trout