Feedback & Reports

Very difficult today, bright, hot, sunny and a low river.
Managed just one trout on a nymph and missed a couple of takes on a dry but there were virtually no fish rising at all. There was a steady precession of upwings from the smallest to the largest Mayfly, Black gnats and the banks were strewn with stone fly shucks in places but the trout just weren’t having it today.
Stunning beat, one of my favourites so I’ll definitely be back.

1 Trout

Nice sunny day on this pleasant beat.No real fly hatch, probably down to the gusting downstream wind (a bit more than the slight breeze forecast) hence no sign of any surface activity, only saw one decent rise all day, so all fish taken on nymphs.
Thanks to W&U and fishery owner.

2 Trout, 2 Grayling

Sunny all day, although quite shaded on this beat which is helpful given the crystal clear water. Many flies of all sorts hatching all day, but not many rising fish. Still persevered with small grey hued dries, landed 5 from 7 to 12" and missed a lot- mainly my fault as I saw the fish coming and tightened too soon. 4 that I landed (and 2 I missed) came from just one run - elsewhere it was one rise or nothing. No idea why!!

5 Trout

The lower Wye valley on a warm, sunny evening in May is magnificent. The downside is that salmon are very hard to catch in this weather. 1 shad caught.

1 Other

I've never seen this stretch quite as low and it was no surprise not to catch anything. Did see the shad spawning which was a very memorable sight , there must have been over 200 on the gravel beds.

Beautiful day, perfect river conditions and big Mayfly hatch later in the afternoon but very little interest and hardly any fish rising, which was disappointing. Still a great day and my companion hooked a 3" brown trout on his very first river fly fishing experience, so that made the day :0)

1 Trout

This is a beautiful beat with good parking and easy access. In the first hour we both had fish. One Brown Trout and one Grayling, both to heavy nymphs and from deeper, swifter water. However, that early promise wasn’t sustained. The river was surprisingly low and running clear. The day was bright and warm. Plenty of insect life but very few fish were seen feeding. Between us we tried dries big and small, nymphs at various depths and teams of wets. During the rest of the day two more Trout were winkled out. One large Grayling and two further Trout wriggled off before being netted. A tough and rather frustrating day - but that’s fishing.

2 Trout, 1 Grayling

Hot and bright. This is a really lovely stretch of the Monnow that I fished and waded carefully for a couple of hours or so in the morning, trying to keep out of the sun, sheep sheltering by the water with the same motivation. I shall certainly return before the season is through.
Not very much fly life, occasional Mayfly, sedges , the bright yellow mayfly (heptagenidae) .
But then I saw a small rise at the head of a pool - not the one where the brook enters but further downstream. I chucked my Mayfly pattern and waited and was taken by a monster! Fully 2+ pounds - it was longer than the opening in my wooden net! It was one of the best wild brown trout I have seen, beautifully marked, deep and wide, quite the best fish I have caught on the Monnow. And I must say it gave a real test to my 6ft split cane 3wt rod! A great morning .

1 Trout

Unfortunately nothing caught or seen. water level has dropped significantly in the last few weeks & there was a lot of disturbance by visitors eg. stone throwing & dogs, this will increase next week during half term.