Latest news and prospects

There are reports of the odd fish being taken at Llangadog over the Bank Holiday period but not in any great numbers.

Now the river is falling I hope it will be ready for the fly by Friday night. With rising pressure and a settled spell in prospect lets hope that some of our migrant visitors have settled in the pools and that the night time temperatures hold up for some good sport with the fly!

All being well I will be on the river Friday night and will post a report of what I find here sometime on Saturday afternoon. Tight lines all!

19th and 20th May 2006

High water levels on the Friday 19th of May were compounded by heavy rain over night which brought the river up another 300-500 mm. Having slept in the car overnight I was quite despondant when I got up at 4.30 am to find the river so high.

Fishing was limited early Saturday morning due to the flow but I did manage to fish the worm for a few hours in a quiet back water! Later on in the afternoon things did start to improve with at least 2 fish being caught on the Llangadog beat that I know of. 1 fish of 6 lb I didn't see but a very fresh 10+ lb fish I got a picture of because, yes the story of my life, I finished up landing it for the guy. It had a tail like a shovel and it was as silver as can be. It was the perfect specimen. Both myself and 3 friends all blanked! Still thats fishing!

At the bottom of the Llangadog beat we were faced with 2 rivers and an island, a place where we normally fish in normal water levels but not today it was inaccessable! I didn't expect to stay so long on Saturday but increasingly the prospects looked better, however, I had no food left and no coffee. My life was saved by 2 good friends Chris and Cerith. Chris left some goodies for me under the car for when I returned whilst Cerith came down to meet me at the bottom end of the beat with some bacon sandies and coffee - nectar! Thanks both of you for being so kind and thoughtful. Well, at last from a fishing point of view things seem to be getting under way but I still have to open my own account this season!

River Towy - Friday 12th May

Due to Thurday night storms the river was running very coloured when I arived there at about 2.30 pm. Fished the worm in Cruel Pool for most of the afternoon. Had one or two knocks from brown trout and caught a fit looking brownie of about 1 lb but other than that I didn't see a single sewin. Walked back to the car spinning with toby's and mepps but not a touch!

The colour was fading away all afternoon and by 9.00 pm it had improved a great deal but even at 11.00 pm there was still a hint of colour in it. Pity because it was warm about 12 deg and overcast with just fleeting glimpses of the full moon as the clouds broke.

There was one other fisherman on the river who is as productive as any one that I know. He had been out 6 times so far this year but without success. If there were any fish about then there is no doubt that he would have had one!

Lets hope that next weekend settles down weatherwise and that some good fish start to show themselves.

Towy flood

Rain overnight brought the river up over 300mm. At noon today Monday 8th May it has fallen back 200mm. Let's hope that this fresh water is enough to move more fish up into the middle reaches and wash out some of the slime that has been holding on the rocks just out of the main flow.

The Torridge and more

The 15lb salmon that got away

Here Rodney is fighting a fresh run 15 Ib + salmon and boy don't they fight! It was released in the water although one has to question if catch and release is a good idea? It took ages to get these fish going again! All fish were caught at the Beam beat thanks to the Half Moon Inn at Sheepwash.

The Torridge trip

My good friend Rodney Byles with a fresh off the tide 10 Ib salmon.

Friday 5th May, Towy

River was at about 1.300 on the Guage. Soon after dark temperature dropped rapidly with a little mist hanging over the water. Cerith joined me and we were the only fishermen on the stretch. Fishing down from the ditch I had 1 good pull midway between the ditch and the hedge on a needle fly. Cerith fished the pools around the bend to no avail.

Later on about 12.00 or so I went up to a point about 50 m above the ditch because we thought we saw something move there early on. Fishing down towards the ditch I had 2 good pulls on a black and silver waddington. Maybe I should have changed from a floating line to a sinker.

Packed up about 1.45am. got back to the car and it was 3 deg! Bloody cold!