Feedback & Reports

A few hours here before home, parking at the bridge was ok . Lovely valley there for sure and peaceful beyond measure.
Some nice pools to start with but branches overhanging! There gone though now...
Up from there aways was pretty skinny water but flowing well . Crystal clear , clean river bed,no algae and wading was fine. Good assortment of bugs on the rocks too.
Didnt get that far up tbh , just the one to hand and the usual fluff ups. More fish seen too.
A large brew and Hobnobs back at the van watching the sky turn a deep rosy pink and contemplating how to get through the steep wall of wood downstream of the bridge! Its a monster ! Looking at the OS map I reckon there could be some nice pools further down.

1 Trout

A lot of trout just upstream from the bridge. I only fished the section up to the cut out. Biggest was 7 inches.

5 Trout

A really disjointed fishing session to be honest!!! Saw my local streams the Clywedog and Ithon were booked up so a road trip it was !!!
I do take that quick journey from Rhayader for granted, as I did an hour initially to get to the Upper Cilieni .... ohhhhh dear, what a sorry state this stream is in !!!! No wonder it hasn't been fished this season !! The booking office should take heed of why a certain beat isn't getting booked !!! Anglers know things !!! I wouldn't have gone here if this dam crayfish plague hadn't put all our good beats out of action .... sods law hey, couldn't be the over grown, jungle ones that NRW close hey .... the good ones ....gggrrrrrrrrrr never mind, hopefully Edw , Arrow etc will be back in play soon .....
Interestingly the Ithon water above the very top of the Llanddewi beat looks cracking WUF ...perhaps a phone call, I'm sure Steve the farmer on the Llanddewi stretch knows him ...... its going to be one of two answers isn't it !!!! Make a great wild stream addition.... if you don't, I'll make my own enquiries .... We seem to be loosing a lot, either overgrown and not fishsble or permission has gone !!! Like Middlemoor and Mowley Wood ....fab beats they were too ......
Anyway , with the Upper Cilieni not fishsble bar perhaps the odd bit , needs some serious work done here, another one bites the dust, like the Pinsley Brook and the Escley beats !!!!!
Anyway onwards to the Bran ..... lovely babbling pools, not a huge head of fish I feel here ....With Polaroids on,i didn't see many tbh !!! Very spooky, but managed seven ... lots and lots of leg work today, did nearly five hours slow wade upstream......and driving too !!!! Fish between the six to seven inch range, all caught fair and square on the 18 Para Adams tight at the top of pools......
Lots of low hanging trees here in fairness, but my bendy spine gets used to this by the end of the season ..... Not a bad little stream ..... think I came here years ago with my Uncle .....Would I fish it again .... errrmmmmmmm maybe, tis a two day camel ride to get there in fairness ..... And, when the crayfish are all partying again, plenty to go at on the Wye catchment really .....
A nice end to a frustrating start ..... Home, dekit, and I think a stroll into town and a cold pint of Inchs Cider in The Crown ........ sorted !!!!!

2 Salmon, 7 Trout

Single point of access at bridge with cattle then difficult and and under fallen tree trunk, difficult and dangerous exits over barbed wire fences with no stiles or marked path round non fishing area. I guess the owner of the excluded beat doing best to exclude anglers.

Limited access to water. Only at the point of parking. Massive tree across , and blocking access up the river upstream of the first access point
“Permissive” footpaths up stream, either side of the “no fishing fields not marked. Wouldn’t matter any way as the fields up stream are all fenced, so no river access. Couldn’t drive past top farm tower if access to the upper end was possible

Fished upper oxbow section only. A long walk from bridge parking on a hot bright day & then required careful surmounting of barbed wire to gain access. Three pools & skinny water, but a pleasant place for lunch. Occasional rises in deeper shaded spots & missed a couple of takes to dries.

Not accessible to fish due to conditions. Very high water levels

Not a peep. Wading restricted due to high fast water. Tried just above the bridge and then below. Walked up past the 3 field "no fish" zone, found a way in at a cattle drinker but again couldn't wade far. Well worth another go when the wading is easier. If you are going to try the interesting looking water at the head of the beat , allow plenty of time as it looks like a 2 mile walk from the recommended parking spot.

An enjoyable session on the Bran. The stream was in good order, plenty of water in it and a nice tannin stain. Fish from 8 inches to 13 inches, mix of 'duo' and Euro Nymph.

12 Trout

First time fishing on the Bran, after an hour on the Cilleni. The river was up and heavily stained from heavy rain the night before, it was perfect in fact for nymphing – just right, like weak builders’ tea. 10 fish in a couple of hours quickly prospecting with RM - there is a good stamp of fish here. The parking area is fine, with the water just above the bridge being easiest to access. Below the bridge barbed wire and overhanging trees hinder access. Wading on the lower section is tough with slippy bedrock and deep holes. The upper section where the river opens up with several meanders and deep corner pools is idyllic and a pleasure to fish, the middle section isn’t great water so best to push through that.

10 Trout