Feedback & Reports

Advice from the booking office to keep an eye on falling levels at Llansteffan prompted me to cash in a washed-off day from earlier in the season in an attempt to catch Abernant at its best. Usually, provisions for the day comprise a doorstep sandwich and a flask of tea. On this occasion, however, an en-route visit to a supermarket had to suffice and which produced a tortilla wrap, a bag of crisps and a worryingly named bottle of sugar free pop. Despite falling a few inches overnight, Lady Alexander's Catch remained eminently fishable with the fly coming round in a very satisfying manner and I set about experimenting at various depths. A shallow presentation proved fruitless, as did searching the depths with a short tube. Although not heavily coloured I concluded that visibility might be the key to success and attached a lurid yellow and orange creation, name unknown, on a size 8 double to the end of a sinking leader. A dozen casts later and my heart was set racing as the line went tight and then thump-thump-thumped as a well hooked salmon expressed its dissatisfaction with the situation. The fish gave a good account of itself but was duly netted and then returned without leaving the water. The bottle of Fanta Zero with which I toasted my success turned out not to be the omen I had feared.
Picture and estimate sent by return to admin@wyeuskfoundation.org. The bottom seam of the net is 33" but no way was the fish as heavy as the calculator suggests. It still had several lice but was a tad on the lean side and didn't look fresh run. Adipose fin intact! 8-9lbs was my estimate.
Blydi grêt!
As ever, Wye, oh Wye!

1 Salmon

An enjoyable day on Abernant. The fish did not fall on the hook, but steadily caught most of the day. Caught on nymphs at a variety of depths. Spiders and emergers. Nothing seems on work for long, but changing tac kept me in the fish. No monsters, a pound and a half grayling and a trout just over a pound were the best of the lot. All returned. One of the easier Upper Wye Beats, wading is mostly Gravel, access is good. I fish this area a lot and each beat has it's own unique character. A special Place.

8 Trout, 11 Grayling

Trout to 10 inches and grayling to 14 inches.

3 Trout, 14 Grayling

Spent most of the morning poncing around with a team of spiders on a coloured river - which, while still on the low side, was pushing through a bit - without issue. Switching to a tungsten, and moving up to the quieter water above the Abernant Stream, resulted in a run of quality Grayling in the afternoon.

2 Trout, 10 Grayling

Sunny day, river high but running clear. 18 brown trout to 14". 4 grayling to 14" and 1 chub about 3lb.

18 Trout, 4 Grayling, 1 Chub

Biggest grayling 13, 14 and 15 inches. All trout small.

5 Trout, 9 Grayling

Dry & wet flies, all very small fish, river low, some fish had lice.

4 Trout, 4 Grayling, 3 Other

Low water levels at the moment but did not affect the fishing with some quality grayling (about a pound) and one good fish at 1.5lb. Had to change the fly several times but majority caught on ptn and grhe in fast oxygenated water or shallower glides - not much of a rise although left the water before evening set in.

2 Trout, 12 Grayling

During a heatwave it was no surprise that the river was so low. Very little showing all day and those rises seen were mainly parr. We didn't persevere with the dry. Expecting the worse we were very happy to open the account with a reasonable grayling each in the 1.25lb to 1.5lb range and a feisty 1lb brown. Things became very difficult thereafter until we located an obliging shoal of middle sized grayling. A dozen fish to hand between us and many more on and offs., mostly fish about the 1lb mark - and very welcome they were too. All fish to nymphs, smaller than usual due to water conditions.

3 Trout, 17 Grayling

So, having discussed bullocks with the wonderful Alyson from WUF, I was booked on to Abernant for the rest of the day. I got down to the water at about 11.30am and was into my first trout very soon afterwards. It was a terrific afternoon netting a total of 14 trout and 5 grayling before I had to head home just before 6pm. Most of the trout were quite small in the 6-8 inch bracket, but the best was just under a pound and a really lovely fish. With only a few fish showing on the surface, I fished nymphs and spiders. At one point I had two cracking grayling on the same cast which always makes for something of a problem when landing them. Thankfully, they both went back safely even if they did take a while to revive. The best grayling of the afternoon was around a pound and a half. This is a terrific beat. Thanks again to Alyson for sorting it for me.

14 Trout, 5 Grayling