Feedback & Reports

Not a thing! River blown out by rain.

0 fish. Rain stopped play.

The Monnow is nearly always kind to me but today she was off form. Not a fish showing, careful searching of the likely spots, all to no avail. Oh well, thats my trouting on the Wye system done for this year. Back for a salmon trip next sunday. Hope she is kinder.

1 x 8 inch Grayling on home made black dry fly and 1 x 6 inch brown trout on Grey Wulf. Access to water still difficult due to bankside vegetation and fallen trees in river. Fishable area getting smaller each time we visit,a great pity as this was always a favourite location.

What a gorgeous bit of water. Secluded, diverse with some deep pools, shallow glides and riffles. I fished the morning of one of the hottest days of the year with bright sunlight. I was not going to catch in a month of sundays in those conditions. A lovely day wading nevertheless

One of those hard-work days - nothing hatching, nothing rising. Managed to coax out four trout, all small, to dry fly. Lost two.

Nil catch water still very cloudy but clearing.

9 x trout 10 - 16 inches, on various mayfly patterns. That might seem like a rather slow day for two rods, but doesn't take account of the number of fish, some of them of good size, we rose, missed, turned over or otherwise pulled out of during play! For some reason, it was one of those days when they tended not to stick. It was a grey, murky day, warm and close, and ended with a sharp shower of rain which soaked us. And of course Monnow Valley, overgrown as it is, is always "rough fishing." But what fun it was, and full of incidents. Consider this example: While I'm stood changing my fly on a pool tail, a trout of about a pound and a half suddenly leaps up about a foot from the surface and not more than five yards upstream and neatly takes a mayfly on the wing. Noting that we have just fished and waded through that shallow place, with somewhat trembling hands I tie on the largest Mohican Mayfly I can find in my box and flick it up there. On the third run down, a silver shape comes shimmying up through the slightly coloured water and sucks it down. I set the hook and, as often the case with trout hooked in shallowish water, this one begins a series of high leaps. After the second leap the fish comes off. I am left fishless, but chuckling with sheer delight at the whole game. Monnow magic!

River fined down a bit from last week. Overcast day. A few mayfly and yellow mays started to hatch sporadically from mid day. Had 17 trout through the day, best fish 15". All taken on a dry Greenwells.

THE GOOD: Fished sections upstream of house and caught 6 good trout up to 14in in first 1 1/2 hours.
THE BAD: Tried to find the next wade-able section upstream of this section. No paths, no markers, broken stile. Expensive waders at risk of tearing. Very hot day so got very sweaty hacking through the undergrowth. Couldn't find the next section and after 1/2 hour gave up and had lunch.
Decided I wouldn't bother with the upstream section and left.
One day with a brush-cutter and a few coloured sticks as markers would transform this fishery into the state it deserves. I will not be returning to this beat when there are so many better beats available.