Feedback & Reports

6 x trout 10-15 inches, on a Dogsbody plus 1 x out of season chub. Not a bad result, but quite hard work on a hot bright afternoon, with very few fish rising and those always seemed to be oncers (except the chub). Still, if you managed to mark the spot, you usually got a take. We will pass over the ones I missed, pricked, and especially the big one which pounced like a tiger on a fly which I inadvertently allowed to drag on a tight line through a crease in the current. It broke the 4lb leader like rotten cotton – a shameful affair. By early evening, with the sun gone down, things began to liven up a bit. Some more mayfly were around and a few more fish began to rise. I would have liked to stay but I was already at risk of missing an important family occasion: to be precise, visiting hospital to meet a new grandchild. (Sorry I was late, Jasper, you will understand when you are older).
Incidentally, I note the access situation at Monnow Valley has been criticised lately in reports. This is an old chestnut. Of course the winter floods have rearranged the banks a bit at Monnow Valley, just like everywhere else, but it doesn’t seem to me to be any better or worse than before. Ladders and posts put in by the management a few years ago have survived. The broken stile hasn’t been mended so, sadly but inevitably, the farmer’s fence has been trampled down. The best way to describe Monnow Valley is the fishing equivalent of rough shooting and it may not be everybody’s cup of tea. It is a bit of a jungle and in fact it’s quite a bit rougher than many of the wild streams. There is a lot of tramping up and down on the edges of ploughed fields to be done. On the other hand it is a challenging and very interesting water to fish, superb with the dry fly and while it doesn’t seem to have a huge head of trout, there are some very fine specimens. It repays a bit of study. When fish are sulky it can be quite difficult but it can also provide a red-letter day. There are areas you can’t reach (which is no bad thing in a wild trout fishery) but a lot which can be covered. A winter grayling ticket is available and this is a good way to get to know the banks when the nettles and weeds have died back.

6 Trout, 1 Chub

It was a nice day, 5 trouts all of them catch and release.
The river was a little bit coloured.

5 Trout

River looked good but not too much hatching through the morning and consequently very few trout rising. Best fish was 15" so I'm not complaining. All on a size 12 Greenwell's.

3 Trout

Landed two trout and hooked another three. Black spider with UV Thorax most effective and Olive body nymph. The water was not particularly clear. Very few fish moving. Not an easy beat to access due to heavy undergrowth which limits significantly the amount of the beat which is fishable. However, enjoyed my day. Some ephemerids hatching but very sporadic.

2 Trout

2 trout of about 3/4 pound.

2 Trout

Heavy rain over previous days had coloured the water, however it improved throughout the day. Caught one very small (5") brown trout on a wet Greenwells Glory. Beat itself was very pretty but found that a lot of it couldn't actually be fished due to steep banks and undergrowth. Booking office were very helpful. I was on holiday so couldn't print out the details to leave on windscreen as required, so they contacted the owners of the beat to let them know. Great system for booking fishing - I hope I will be back in the area in the future to use it again.

1 Trout

Water cloudy. Tried nymphs and wets to no avail. Lots of beat was un-fishable due to steep banks and undergrowth. Only small section capable of wading.

Glorious day to be on the river. First time on this beat and I'll confess I was disappointed. While there were a few accessible runs and riffles, in general the access down to the river was very poor. While this is mentioned in the beat description, it is not adequately described. I grew up fishing the Monnow further upstream so am familiar with the river and type of fishing. Many sections here are slow and canal-like. The stile at the first hedge upstream from parking is also in very poor repair. If I was a coarse fisherman, I'd be happier with this beat. No surface activity and only a light hatch. The Skenfrith beat upstream is much better.

Fished between 10.30 am and 3pm. River in great condition. No fish rising to dry fly. One pull on Olive nymph. No fish landed.

2 x grayling, 13 inches, 2 x chub around 3.5 pounds, 2 x out of season trout 12 inches and 15 inches, long trotting. The river was rather more boisterous and rather more coloured than I had hoped, but a few bites came as it fined down after lunch. Every winter I get this idea that it would be nice to take a bag of grayling close to home. Living where I do, this means trying to locate them among other species on lower Wye beats, or on the Monnow. But on the Monnow, where they clearly have lived happily ever since Canon Eagles introduced them (there were some 6 inch grayling parr today), in recent years they have only turned up for me in ones and twos. Other species seem to dominate, even during the winter. Still, it was a good day out in a most beautiful valley.

2 Grayling, 2 Chub