Feedback & Reports

River starting to show its bones on this warm and windy day. Forecast was 6mph sw but felt three times that. All grayling were in the 6" - 8" bracket and took a size 14 klinkhammer as well as a size 18 ptn. Did manage to hook a brownie but it ended up as a long release.
The bank vegetation is head high in places so you need to carefully consider your position before casting.
Still, it was a good day out considering I booked the beat at 10:30 on the day.
Many thanks to the Wye and Usk.

15 Grayling

This was my first visit to this beat. The parking was simple to the left of the farmyard, close to the entrance. The walk is a short 200 metres down through the farm and the fields beyond following the instructions given with the ticket.
I walked the full length of the beat straight off. The beat, set in lovely quiet and for the main, open pasture countryside is basically around 600m long, bookended with woodland and weirs at either end. Both weirs looked fabulous with nice runs and weirpools which seemed as though they would be productive. However, the lower weir is pretty much totally unfishable with no easy, safe access to the water due to high banks, bank growth and fencing on both sides. In fact I found the lower 80% of the beat either fenced off and where it was accessable, having a silted bottom and devoid of any sighted fish (but teeming with what I presume are thousands of Salmon or Trout fry).
The upper 20% does run over gravel beds with nice runs either fast and shallow or deep and slow. The former were ideal for czech nymphing, the latter for dry or deep indicator nymphing. The top weir pool sadly was occupied by some locals swimming so that final area was missed also. I left the beat with mixed feelings. Four trout with the larger two around 3/4lb caught on nymph. The wooded areas, as the W&U description says are indeed very difficult to access and fish so after further exploration I left these alone.

4 Trout

not much happening at surface so opted to nymph. wind was very strong and played havoc with tip of fly line. so with utter disgust stuck on a bite indicator. this helped no end keeping the flies moving through the feeding lanes. water up a little and slightly coloured all trout between 7-16 inches and the grayling between 6-14 inches. all taking size 16 3mm tungsten bead baetis nymph. nice few hours on the lugg

16 Trout, 6 Grayling

Weather overcast but dry. River slightly coloured after the recent rain. Good hatches of flies of varying types but only the occasional fish rise. Caught 4 beautifully marked small trout. Two on a Gold Head Pheasant Tail and two on an Parachute Adams - all fish safely returned. Lost the biggest trout (1lb?) on an Olive Klinkhammer, after it jumped clear of the water and dislodged the fly. It looked like a fine specimen! The new styles and gates make for easy access to the beat, but it is very difficult to get access to the river at the top end through the wood. Overall a great day out.

4 Trout

2 x trout 6-10 inches, Monnow Gosling. Fishing in a great gale of wind and rain. Not many mayfly, not many rising fish, and most of those we missed. Plenty of fresh air at least.

2 Trout

Arrived around 6.30 to find the river rather turbid – bullocks in the leat may have had something to do with it. There were many mayfly spinners dancing – olive spinners too – don’t think I have seen so many for years. Also a fantastic number of damsel flies …
An evening isn’t enough to cover this beat especially when the number of fish rising is as many as there were tonight…they were largely taking the mayfly spinners and we hadn’t got a decent representation, a size 12 olive was accepted by at least half of the 12 trout we tempted and safely released. The fish were without exception colourful tubby barrels that put up fantastic scraps – a 14 incher was the best followed by a 12 incher, most of the rest were around the 6 inch mark. When there is a hatch/fall of these proportions you realise how many fish there are in the river.
It wasn’t just the insect life that was spectacular – there was a woodpecker and on the way home we dodged a couple of recent badger casualties by Hampton Court Castle only to be buzzed by a barn owl and then encounter a large deer nibbling the roadside hedge – from the road side – as we drove past 10 feet away.
A wonderful evening, thanks so much for the fishing.

12 Trout

Dry mayfly, best fish 10".

6 Trout

Dry mayfly, lost two. 29%C !

1 Trout