Feedback & Reports

Fished for 2 hours with RM on some of the better pools. A fair amount of rises seen, some large fish. They were however incredibly wary and simply moved away before you could even get into casting range. 2 however slipped up - 10 inch and 13 inch. Dark fish typical of the Crai.

2 Trout

My first time on this beat. A balmy temperature for the time of year, combined with (unusually) no wind.
The water was very clear and fish spooked easily. I only saw rising fish under the tree canopy and they proved frustratingly difficult to cast to. It was impossible to target them with a roll cast as the canopy was just above the water and the unfurling leader simply hit the trees. A side cast was also tricky due to the confined space restricting one's back cast. I am an intermediate caster at best and I think this beat was just too technically demanding for me. Not even a take for my efforts.
It's certainly a lovely looking beat and I saw one sizeable fish just below the bridge, so there are fish in there. If the catch returns are to be believed, the Upper Crai is incredibly lightly fished - mine was only the third visit this season.
Note that the field system on the left bank is in a poor state with bad drainage and standing water. If you try to follow the fence line back to the bottom of the beat, you find yourself stuck in a corner. The field entrances are quagmires, so you are better off striking off directly up the side of the valley until you hit the road and then walk down back to your car.

After hooking into a lovely 12" fish on my third cast of the day I was hopeful of a action packed afternoon. However, a strong, blustery wind coming over the top into the Crai valley made the going really tough. The wind was straight in my face and I just couldn't get a decent presentation. I was only successful in spooking every pool! So, that fish would prove to be the only one. Still a lovely day on the river and took the opportunity for a snooze in the sun too ;-)

1 Trout

Cloudy and cold day. After the feast of fish on the Usk's Dinas Beat the day before, this was definitely a famine. A friend was fishing the Lower Crai on the same day and both of us had the same result.....no fish and, apart from one solitary March Brown, no fly life seen.

Methods used: wet & dry fly. River conditions: river mid level. Some trout moving but only one take.

Showers and blustery winds made for tough going today. However, a very slow start gave way to 6 very nice WBT (the seventh being a very small fish which should hardly count) all risen up to a size 14 olive klinkhammer.
About half way up the beat I was stood very still in three feet of water dealing with a wind knot, when three Otters playfully swam right up to me. When they realised what they were just about to bump into, off they sped, scattering in three directions. They didn't go far and it seemed to my untrained eye that it was a Mum and two youngsters that watched me carefully from the other side of the river occasionally squeaking at me. What a privilege to see such a sight. Another great day on the WUF.

7 Trout

Water very low with a stiff downstream wind. I fished over the shoulder of two quality fish in no more than a foot of water without spooking them. After fifteen years of this type of fishing I should have more faith in my casting, always something to learn. A perfect day in a perfect stream, two ten inch trout returned.

2 Trout

Water extremely low. 1 little trout to the fly and I disturbed a number of good sized trout. Another 6 inches of water would have made all the difference. The upper section is very beautiful.

1 Trout