Sunday 23rd September 2007

With the news of Gadget Man's 5lb sewin on Friday I decided to go down for the day to try my luck!

John and I stayed at the White Hart Inn at Llandeilo and found it to be quite good. We had a good laugh in the bar and a good hearty breakfast in the morning. When we got to the river the water was virtually clear but still a few inches higher than normal. My first few casts in the Car Park Pool resulted in a solid take and at first I thought it was a grilse. The water was fast flowing and the fish went down and stripped line off my reel! Would you believe it when it turned out to be 1.5lb brownie! Incredible! Anyway it was in fine fettle so it ended up in my bag!

We then moved on down to the bottom beat where it was quite blustery and it soon started to drizzle on and off. We both fished hard all day but had no luck! Still it was an enjoyable day and I continue to be amazed at the power of my Sage Z Axis rod! Even in a strong wind I was managing to punch out a good line of 15 m and more!

I am hoping to get one more trip in before the close of play. The 5th, 6th and 7th October look favourite. Hope some of you can join me?

Tight Lines

Gadget man bear hugs a sewin and stinks all the way home!

Well done Chris for landing a 5lb sewin on Friday 21st September 2007, reported to be a 'bar of silver'.

Actually that is not quite true by all accounts! The story goes that Chris hooked this fish on a mepps at the Cattle Drink. The river had risen by about 300mm and was probably just starting to fall and clear a little. The fish fought hard and then proceeded to nose dive the bank and bury itself in the vegetation. It was John who saved the day! By risking life and limb he managed to immerse most of his arm and upper body under the water and into the roots to recover the prize but that wasn't quite all! John was feeling around in the roots and felt the fish's tail. He grabbed the tail but the hold didn't stay and the fish jumped up clear of the water, into his face and thereby started fight No 2! Chris handed John his rod and charged after the fish along the bank and literally dived on it in desperation, grasping it with both arms tightly against his chest. The problem was that the line was caught up in the roots and there was not enough slack to allow Chris to climb out of the water with his fish! Answer - "bite the f.....g line through John so that I can get out" cried Chris to John. Which is exactly what John did! Chris then proudly climbed up the bank with the fish clamped firmly to his chest with both hands!

There is a moral to this story though. 'Don't bear hug a sewin that closely to one's chest - it makes your coat stink right under your nose all day and you can't get away from it!

Oh well! No doubt it will be only a matter of time before Gadget Man finds some amazing gadget on the internet that eliminates fish smell from one's clothing after close encounters such as this! I bet he's surfing the net as I'm typing this report!

A perfect night for sewin fishing?

Spent a few hours on the river last night. The night was perfect! Warm, overcast with no wind to speak of. I fished the bottom beat from about 8.30 pm until 12.30 am. I didn't see any fish at all and I didn't have any offers either! A complete blank and a complete contrast to the last 3 fishing trips. Maybe if I had stayed later I might have picked up a travelling fish who knows? I didn't even see any otters. The trouble with this time of year you can start fishing by 8.30 ish and by 12.00 I'm knackered! Anyway, nothing ventured nothing gained! I think I will wait now till the rain comes and spend a couple of days down there spinning or fly fishing in the day for that elusive salmon! That would end my season perfectly! Only 4 weeks to go lads!

Another productive night!

Fished last night on the LAA bottom beat. Conditions were good but not quite as warm as last week. Took this 4.5 lb fish at about 12.30 am. There were one or two small fish showing but no other pulls.

It's very strange but I was able to pick this fish up easily by the neck of the tail?