Feedback & Reports

Aberbwtran is a beautiful and secluded beat. I fished it last year, thought it worth another try. There is a great variety of pools, runs, glides - enough to require a varied fly box, and realistically a 9ft 3 to 4wt rod. This beat has good access, but much of the wading is over jagged bedrock, which is no problem in low clear water but I would be hesitant in coloured water with a bit of flow.
Managed 2 energetic browns of around 1lb each. Last year I had a grayling, and again this year. Stealth and patience always pay off on rivers and another day fishing this beat would allow greater exploration.
Trundling tung head nymphs in the deeper gutters did the job.
It would be nice if more usable access for the less sprightly could be arranged on the path down to the river; this applies to virtually every WUF beat I've fished. Solid stiles would be quick and inexpensive?

2 Trout, 1 Grayling

Overcast with some small/med olives & mayfly hatching but only a couple of rises seen. River seemed fairly high and was pushing through very fast.
I caught two fish in the first hour on tungsten bead nymphs and then persevered for the remaining four hours with dry flies catching 3 more. 3 of the fish were about 9-10 inches and 2 were about 6 inches.
I hadn't noticed Himalayan Balsam on this beat before but there seems to be quite a few plants starting to appear in the second field and onwards upstream. There is also a large tree that has fallen across the river in the second field.

5 Trout

10 x trout 6-9 inches on a size 12 Monnow Gosling. This brook is still running fast, still with some colour, and not too much rising on the surface despite a warm evening after a hot day. However, little trout were surprisingly ready to come up to a mayfly pattern.

10 Trout

3 trout up to 12 inches, a few mayfly about but not many fish rising. Caught 2 on a nymph and 1 on a dry mayfly and also missed a few takes to the mayfly.

3 Trout

Very bright day and crystal clear water. Not a single bite but such a lovely looking beat. Looks like dry flies could work well but nothing showing on the surface. Only fished up until lunchtime.

Conditions good. Slight colouring of water. A few mayfly. Lots of kingfishers. Only 4 small trout caught. All returned.

4 Trout

My first time on the Clettwr and having read the catch returns it felt like I was about to embark on an expedition into some unexplored rainforest.
I initially struggled to find the start of the beat as I could only find one of the white posts that were meant to lead down to it. This was right by the car so from there had to rely on the maps provided, an OS map and the footpath to get down to where I assumed I could start fishing. Even then it took a while to find somewhere with a gentle enough slope to safely climb down to reach the water. This I eventually achieved but I am sure I missed out a good chunk of the beat.
Once I was down in the gorge I was in my element. To me this really is the epitome of wild stream fishing. Down there you feel like you are miles away from civilization, the only footprints seen belonged to Otters and the challenge of making your way upstream, sometimes past quite daunting obstacles makes it even more satisfying. To top it off the fish were feeding and over the course of four and a bit hours landed 12 fish. The first and biggest fish was a cracker at 16 inches which absolutely smashed into my Parachute Adams. It was taken from a deep pool which I shortly afterwards very nearly slipped into as I tried to get past it. I also had a 13" fish further up and lost another of a similar size. The rest were mostly between 6 and 8 inches. Most were taken on the Klinkhammer and a few of the smaller fish were taken on a spider fished New Zealand style. Takes were really aggressive and I missed goodness knows how many and lost even more.
It was a warm, still and humid day and as a result the place was teeming with insects, many of which I have never seen before. There was also a small but steady trickle of Mayflies throughout the whole time I was there.
All in all an amazing day. Unfortunately a limited amount of time and the challenging terrain resulted in me only covering about half the beat. For this reason I will definitely be back but as I have now experienced first hand why so many other anglers have reported getting wet. I will next time bring along a waterproof bag for my phone, wallet etc.

12 Trout

River in perfect order with a couple of salmon showing and one big swirl at the fly but unfortunately nothing biting.

A fun stretch to fish and a challenge to wade and negotiate the banks but worth it. Sadly very few fish on show and those that I found were too wily for me but why should the fish lose every time? Great drive over the hills from Hay on Wye during the festival there.

I used 4 different dry flies and only action was on Daddy Long Legs. Unfortunately I didn't catch anything. It was my first experience of wild streams and only the second time I'd fished with flies. I loved it. Nature up close and at its best. The first day was at Lower Grywne Fawr, the second day was at Pontithel. The first was more remote, the second had more water and more fish. Both excellent.
Stayed at the Wye Knot Stop Cafe - good room, very friendly and good breakfast. Across the road was the Griffin Inn - great pub, good food and even better beer.