Feedback & Reports

I brought zero fish to the net - did not even hook & loose any. The first hour or so I saw no evidence of trout at all. No rises, no sighted fish, no spooked fish despite a reasonable hatch happening. Eventually I saw a few tiddlers (2-4 inch brownies) and then a few in the 5-6" range but nothing connected. I am not sure why - I was using the same setup from the previous day (Parachute Adams as an indicator with a nymph dropper - Bead head PT #16, Hare's Ear bead head jig #18, etc..) which saw me catch 9 fish to the net and about twice that many hooked & lost on the lower Escley. I eventually sighted a 2-3 pound brown but he was a foot off the bank in 6 inches of water in no current. Watched him for 5 minutes as there was no way to actually cast to him & then he buggered off. After 5+ hours I was, to say the least, disappointed in the day's catch but the weather & scenery was glorious. It seems that much of the Wye/Usk Foundation water can be a bit of potluck where some good inside knowledge is a big help - that insight I got from a serious salmon fisherman on the Wye who ran me through each of the beats & gave them a thumbs up or down as to fishiness.

The fish weren't hungry today. We fished from the lowest part of the beat from just above the camp site, avoiding the campers. We saw a few risers around midday but after that until 5 when we left we didn't see any more trout. Insect life was limited to a few isolated small hatches with no fish activity.
The water was crystal clear. I nearly trod on a lamprey at the top of the beat near the bridge which was a bit surprising, more for the lamprey than me. Just a bit unlucky today I think as it is a very beautiful and varied beat.

Great beat few fish rising. 2 small trout caught on goldhead nymph.

2 Trout

Largest fish 2lbs. Very enjoyable day good conditions.

4 Trout

One trout, about 1.5 lb, on a bibio. Abundant fly life but few fish rising.

1 Trout

River conditions: Low. Dry, Dark Olive and March Brown. 2 small trout (6"). Great beat. Good access. Will be back.

2 Trout

Cold downstream wind made things quite tricky at times however we had a good time. Ten trout to 38cm most on dries.

10 Trout

A very windy day made for difficult conditions with little fly life showing. Having said that only 1 came to a nymph, the most successful fly - a size 14 black Klink. Best fish 18in with 2 at 16in.
The one that got away, a very big fish, after giving a right old run around dissapeared under the road bridge into the next beat, sorry about that.

9 Trout

All in all a good day's fishing. Conditions were a bit challenging with fairly constant rain/drizzle and the temperature not getting much above 12 degrees. There were a trickle of olives and other flies hatching through the day but nothing significant. That said, from 1-3pm the trout were rising enthusiastically to those that were there. Caught 6 trout to 1.5 lb, equally split between the middle section around the Salmon pool and above Penpont bridge. Really plump fresh spring trout. Great sport. One caught on a goldhead PTN at lunchtime, the rest on a small Adams through the afternoon. The rain finally drove me off the river at 6pm. A wonderful day and a lovely beat.

6 Trout

Very good conditions on this lovely stretch of water. We fished from midday until aroung 19:45 with a total catch of 9 trout to 14", all on Grey Wulff. For us this was one of our best days and we came away pleased with oursleves despite one broken rod and a lost wading staff. Will go back and will maybe find the wading staff somewhere.

9 Trout