Feedback & Reports

7 chub with 4 over 4lbs and a couple up near 5lbs but my new electronic scales decided to go wrong so I can't be more precise than that.

Just a quick message to say a big thank you for the fishing today. I am nearly there now and one more trip will hopefully be enough to get a few more scenic photos and possibly a bigger grayling.

We had a lot of fish today, mainly on the large sweeping bend above the chalet. We did have some wonderful sport in the mouth of the stream for about 20 minutes but the bites dried up fairly quick once we started hooking
them.

In all I probably had 30 or more grayling with 10 over 1lb with the best at 1lb 10oz and 1lb 13oz. Magnificent fishing in the most wonderful of surroundings.

I would like to get a trip in over christmas if that is ok with you.

Thanks once again

Finally getting round to writing my catch report for todays visit to your stretch at Cefnllysgwynne after a very long day!

Hope you see the see the funny side too (as I am having to...!)

A friend showed up early this morning with the offer of his car and half a tank of fuel in return for feeding his cats while he is on holiday for a couple of days and made it clear that he doesn't expect it back with petrol in it. So I decided to treat myself, rang W&UF at 9.00am and booked the Irfon at Cefnllysgwynne, Hendre for today, ?15 (ouch!) but a bit of a one off Christmas Treat. By 10.00 I was in the car. By 11.00 I was in Wales driving round tiny single track B roads having been led up the garden path by the sat nav and with no standard map to get me unstuck.

Arrived at Cefnllysgwynne at 12.00 with only four hours to fish before dusk and 2 miles of water to suss out. Fishing by 12.30 but despite the guess by the very friendly chap I spoke to, Seth, at W&UF that the river would be fishable and also the comments on their web page about most of it being easily wadeable, the extra 2ft (according to the
"keeper" there Charles Picton - google him - rodmaker) of water coming through made most of the near bank gravels too deep to get onto and therefore Charles' recommended deep runs on the far bank too far to reach properly with float tackle and the wind coming direct across the river.

By 4.30 it was dark, I had blanked and decided enough was enough so headed back to the car. I put my gear and rod on top of the car and started getting out of my chesties into shoes on the driver's side. At this point it was blowing a gale, peeing down and I badly wanted to go. Big gust of wind blows my rod off the roof so that it is propped
up across the open passenger entrance. I quickly hop round the front of the car with chesties around my knees and just as I am about to reach my float rod, stumble, fall to my knees and gently tap the passenger door so that it swings in slow motion shut on the rod butt. End of rod. Yes, the brand new 13ft Hardy Greys G-Tec Float rod that my daughter won for her big Teme chub in the Angling Times
photo competition a couple of months ago...

Now, thoroughly p'ed off I throw the stuff in the boot and leave. After 45 mins I realise that the sat nav has stitched me up again and I am on the same B road back to Dolfor. Remembering I had seen a road atlas in the boot I pull over and open the back of the car. In my haste to leave Hendre I had left the top off the bait box and now
there are the best part of 2 pints of maggots swilling around in the boot. It's too dark to see what's what so I brush out as many as I can, turn the car in the right direction and head for home arriving a 7.30pm. When I open the boot the maggots I have missed have by now made good their escape and are nowhere to be seen.

I'm going to get my friend a Venus Fly Trap for Christmas...

That's the 2nd grayling blank on the W&UF waters I've had now and the 3rd blank in total, a barbel-less barbel fiasco at Backney. 5 rod days +?75 fees + lots of petrol and bait = "nil poisson"!

Cold frosty morning and line frozen in rod rings, the Irfon settling after high flash flood but water clear. Fantastic scenery.

D., tried nymphs in morning, few touches but non hooked, trotting in afternoon half way down beat by pond in deeper water. 5 Grayling one nearly 3lb and dark cloured, one two pound plus shaped like a torpedo and very silver, rest about 6oz to 8oz all on single maggot on 16 hook.

A well spent and damaged cock salmon that must have been close on 20lbs kept coming in under the bank of this swim.

R., one 4inch grayling in shallow glide on double maggot on 14 hook, 4 small others hooked and lost, about time D. caught more than I!

In two visits we have taken 3 grayling over 2lb 4oz on trotted maggot in the deeper swims and I wonder if upstream touch slow rolling ledger in the deeper swims would produce more of these large grayling.

Thanks to all at The Foundation and Charles Picton for a beat in excellent condition and The Bridge Inn at Llyswen for that leg of Lamb that no trip to Wales is complete without!!

One rod... 11 Grayling 8" to 12"

Four grayling 3 x 8" to 9" and 1 x 12" from myself and Nil from my companion! Lots more missed!

River about 6" above natural marginal plant level but clear.
A most enjoyable cold sunny day!

4 fish from the lower part of the beat on the flat glides. Missed another four/five all to the duo. All bar one took the nymph. Either red collar GHPTN or hot spot olive shrimp. One took the Klink I was hanging the nymph off but did not stay on. Cheers

With the Lugg running clear & cold at 1'6" on gauge it looked perfect and indeed I had a great 6 hours fishing catching some beautiful Grayling all taken on tungsten head

WUF comments: 14 Grayling to 15" & 3 B/Trout to 13"

First time on the Monnow. Temperature never got much above freezing all day but still had a good day. I caught 8 grayling with M catching 3 Grayling plus a Chub around the pound mark. Not suprisingly nothing rising,caught all fish on leaded shrimp patterns. Pleased to find Grayling still well spread all down the river. Most of the Grayling 12" with a couple around 15".

Directions were excellent. Very cold day with hard overnight frost and a bitterly cold and brisk downstream wind. River was still carrying plenty of water although it was clear and pacey. Fished only from the hut downstream to where the woods began. The hut was very useful to put on/ take off waders in those cold conditions!

One rod - 13 grayling. One rod 8 grayling. One rod blank.

Fish were, as expected, hard on the bottom. Fish concentrated towards the top of the beat in the glides and successful methods were deep sunk weighted shrimp patterns fished Czech nymph style. Very nice stretch although access to the lower parts was not so easy due to undergrowth.

All in all a lovely although very cold day. Would recommend it strongly.