Feedback & Reports

2 Chub

7 x OOS Trout and 2 x Grayling

7 Trout, 2 Grayling

A great day on the river. A perfect end to the brown trout season. Got there at first light (7am) and fished through till lunch, a pint and some food then back out until it was dark, 7pm. Unfortunately my friend could only make it for a few hours towards the end of the day, he had multiple takes but only landed one brown trout.
I fished with a nymph at about 18" on a Klinkhammer indicator, which was a perfect set up for the day. Four Brown Trout, three Grayling and one Dace made my day but I also lost 10-15 hooked fish that slipped the hook (barbless). All fish were caught on the nymph except for the biggest trout (12-14") that was taken on the Klinkhammer in one of the slower moving sections of the river. All safely returned.
The river had a decent amount of water in it and felt 'fresh', especially after a early morning downpour. The weather for the rest of the day was a mixture of bright and sometimes a bit overcast. A great day on the Monnow.

5 Trout, 3 Grayling, 1 Other

First time booking this beat, nice stretch of river good wading. Many small takes not got to the net. Couple good fish lost as always! A good day in the water. 1 trout 3 grayling to net and a pint in the pub, we will be back.

1 Trout, 3 Grayling

Water quite low and difficult to navigate in parts. Used a mixture of dry fly and nymphs for several hours. As well as those caught lost three others around 8 Ozs. Not too many rising and did not spot many others. I anticipate it may be livelier in May or June but I found it hard work overall.
Bell inn at Skenfrith a great venue to stay or have an evening meal.

1 Trout, 2 Grayling

First visit to the Monnow, Lovely beat. No fish showing. 2 Grayling on nymph. Lots of bird life. Including Cormorant.

2 Grayling

Lovely day on the river, but water a bit low. The egret is still around - spotted above the bridge. Lots of birds including Kingfisher and Ravens, but no fish caught. Managed several rises to various flies but no takes. I suspect the rising fish were mainly small and not trout.

Arrived at 2pm, weather overcast to start but the sun did make an appearance later in the afternoon, very warm and humid. The river was very low with a green brown tint and lacked any real flow resulting in a covering of silt and algae on the river bed, when wading I left a cloudy brown trail behind me, I'm no expert but the river looks like it needs a good flush through.
The fishing was very tough going, no hatch and very little fly life about but I persevered with dry flies, at one point I was standing in shallow water and could see trout all around me but they stubbornly refused dries, nymphs and spiders!
Perseverance finally resulted in a take or two which I missed before finally hitting one that stayed on just as I was about to give up and go home. A far cry from the last time I fished here when the trout were almost suicidal.
A lovely beat, full of fish but difficult today.

1 Trout

A little bit of extra water in the morning, which was gone by the evening. All fish taken on small north country spiders. Best trout 10". Very enjoyable day but a little more water would help.

4 Trout, 1 Chub

I fished this delightful beat between 4 and 6.30 pm. The river level was a bit lower than when I last visited, but otherwise in excellent condition. I fished dry, mainly Adams and Sedge. As with my experience at Chainbridge the previous week, the anticipated rise never really materialised. This remains one of my favourite stretches of river anywhere however and the consoling pint at the Bell is the perfect way to round off a day spent fishing rather than catching.