Feedback & Reports

A glorious spring day, but not for fishing. Nil return

One of the better days on the usk that we’ve had. Arrived with plenty of fish rising but they were still clever enough to avoid our flies.

Managed to catch a couple out of the faster water at the top of the first pool as well as losing another two. About 1 o clock the rising stopped and fishing slowed down. By mid afternoon things picked up again and another three were caught including a nice 22/23 inch fish which, after a bit of fight in the faster water, took a while to recover but after 15 minutes or so happily swam back off.

5 Trout

4 Trout

Lightish rain overnight and a damp start. We commenced our operations at about 10.30 and soon had a good fish on a size 12 nymph. There were no fly visible and just a few gentle, sipping rises in the pools so fished a red spinner pattern resulting in a cracking fish of about 2 pounds and full of fight! Quite the handsomest Usk fish I have ever had the pleasure to meet! Full of vigour too - a splendid scrap. She had already regained condition on the olives and March Browns - this has been an early season judging by the reports! (I am a great believer in the red spinner/red quill - 'the dry fly fisherman's sheet anchor on a strange river' - its amazing how often it saves me a lot of head scratching. There seem to almost always be a few red or reddish spinners on the water. Piscatorial peanuts... you see a bowl of peanuts and what do you do? When just the odd fish is rising lazily for no obvious reason it scores much more than it fails for me.) No fly to speak of until about 1.30 when a (very) few large olives put in an appearance. Tempted another fish but he let go. Some grannom were flying upstream during the afternoon. Saw plenty of kingfishers streaking around, electric blue, and had the pleasure of watching an otter fishing for a while - big chap too! I, for one, am happy to let this majestic creature share our fishing. I don't think all of my 'brothers of the angle' would necessarily share this sentiment, but his need is greater than ours! Apologies for a rather self-indulgent report.

2 Trout

Disappointed that a large section of the river was difficult to access, due to trees and shrubs.

Didn’t fish, too windy and hailing

Horrible conditions with 45 mph cold winds. Still managed to catch 1 on a dry in brief 10 minute hatch.

1 Trout

2 Trout

8 Trout

A very cold windy day. A good hatch of LDOs in the fast water in the middle of the beat and a few fish coming up for them. They were very picky but I managed one take which was a cracking fish that was getting on for 2lbs. There was a flurry of March Browns that lasted all of 30 seconds and that was it for the day. A tough day but great to be out.

1 Trout