Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The fishing season is only 3 months away! Have you sent off your NIL returns for last season? Very good!

My baby sitting commitments are likely to be greater this season, having just had a baby grandson delivered today but I still intend to fit in plenty of fishing!

Now my plan for this season is this:-

• First trip - 20th April for 3 days
• Second trip - 11th May for 3 days
• Third trip - 25th May for 3 days
• June, July, Aug and Sept every other Thursday

My 2017 season is going to be intense and I want to achieve a total catch 20 sewin and 1 salmon! What do you think of my chances?

I've tied loads of flies and I've got 2 new fly boxes which John bought me for Christmas so I'm well armed!

See you on the river!

Tight lines!

Water arrives but it's too late!

Guess what? Yes yesterday was the last day of the season and the water level today is 2ft - 6in on the gauge!

A late salmon trip fails to connect!

Rod and I made a late trip last week for 2 days salmon fishing but neither of us managed to tempt one! The weather was perfect although bright and the water initially was perfect but fell away fast while we were there. Whilst fishing the deep end of Crewel Pool I saw a huge salmon which looked more like a dolphin! We both threw everything we had at it but to no avail! Nevertheless we both enjoyed the trip as it was good to have company on the river and in the caravan in the evenings. Can't wait till May next year now to start the process all over again!

My last sewin trip and the biggest fish of my season!

As the weather promised to be fine and the water level 9 inches and falling I decided to go down the river just for the night!

As the water was a little high I had to walk down over Heart Attack Hill. I got to the the bottom beat by about 8.30 pm and tackled up. By just after 9.00 pm I deemed it dark enough to make a start. It was warm with a full moon and so there was little need for a torch. I fished the flats first without a sniff! By 12.00ish I was getting a little bit despondent as I hadn't seen any fish and had no pulls. I thought I would give the bush and below a try as it often produces a fish. Half way down below the bush I had a silver 3lb sewin which fought like hell! Things were looking up!

After a break I walked down to my pool full of optimism! First time down nothing! Second and third time still nothing! Decided to change my fly for a snake fly about 50mm long and black and silver. In the usual spot wallop! A big sewin this time! Before I knew what was happening it ran fast to my bank very nearly ripping my fingers off on the reel handle (they're still sore now). I drove the hook home as soon as it calmed down a bit and walked it up to the bend so as not to disturb the pool. It seemed well hooked! Then it ran over the other side into the fast water and started thumping about and jumping! It must have been a double figure fish! I tried to pressure it to get it out of the fast water and to get it above me but then the hook pulled!!! The story of my life this season!

I carried on fishing till 2.30 am but to no avail. An enjoyable night but an equally disappointing one!

My latest fishing trip is the last one for sewin!

Just spent 2 nights on the river on my own! Wednesday night I was late arriving at the caravan site so by the time I had set up it was dark. I decided to give the Car Park Pool a go but found it very difficult to wade. I then fished the Railway Bridge but to no avail! Thursday night was much better as I went down the bottom however it was windy which made things a bit difficult at times. First I hooked a bright silver sewin on the flats weighing about a lb or so. Then later I went around to my pool to get out of the wind and hooked a 4lb fish equally as silver! The wind increased and then the rain came so I packed up about 1am.

Rod ventures out alone for the first time since his operation and is rewarded with a 3lb sewin and some very good offers!

Well while I was wining and dining on an enjoyable weekend break in Devon, Rod made a last minute decision to spend three nights on the Towy for the first time on his own after his operation he said to help boost his self confidence. He said Friday night was perfect and the night sky was amazing with the Milky Way clearly visible. He parked at the pump house and only just managed to wade across in the deep water to the bottom beat. He fished till after 5 am and had two good pulls and had a heavy fish on for a while before practicing long-range catch and release! He didn’t see or hear any other fish. Saturday was extremely windy with horizontal heavy drizzle so he gave it a miss. Instead he fished Crewil Sunday morning for a couple of hours, but nothing and again didn’t see or hear any fish move. He returned later for the night, as Crewil was slightly sheltered from the strong gusty wind. First run down he had a 3lb sewin, which took a lot of line and felt and fought like a much heavier fish. Didn't see or hear another fish all night and with the wind still strong packed up at about 2am. All fish were attracted to his adapted steelhead pattern flies.

Sewin galore?

Well, the sewin aren't particularly easy to find but once you locate some then sport can be very good! Rod and I spent 3 nights on the river and got 7 fish between us. The largest was one that Rod caught which was about 6 or 7lb! The weather and water were both perfect but strangely I didn't spot any fish running! Andy's pool didn't produce a single fish which is rare as I kept going back to it every hour! We fished hard all night every night from 10.30pm till 4.30am! My biggest was about 4lb and the smallest 2lb! In addition to the fish caught I lost a big fish on the 3rd cast of the first night and then Rod lost at least 2 very good fish later on! A very enjoyable trip!

Lost 2 big fish again! The story of my life?

Spent Thursday and Friday nights on the river. Thursday was PERFECT. Warm and overcast but dry. Between 1.30 and 2.30 I lost 2 huge fish in my favourite pool. Don't know why but ....! Friday I lost a smaller fish around the corner in the bottom pool early on. Friday night turned out to be a washout but there you go! To add insult to injury the guy at the caravan site charged me 14 pound a night for a one man tent and no electric!!! West Sussex prices in Wales?

Last week's exploits!

I went down the river last Thursday full of expectation! Having parked the caravan up and had a chat with Derek, the new owner, I took a walk to see what the river was like. Rain a few days earlier had lifted the river level but it was still a bit cloudy. I decided to give that night a miss and went for a walk instead. The next day wasn't too bad so on the evening I made my way down to my favourite beat. On my way it started raining. The wind increased and the rain got heavier! At dark I cast a few lines and gave up because of the gusty wind and torrential rain! Rained off you could say! The rain lasted for at least 24 hours! No fishing for me then!

My first trip of 2016

Spent 3 nights on the river last week and really enjoyed it. On the Thursday night I fished alone and lost a big fish around midnight. I also saw a good fish move 3 or 4 times. Rod came down on Friday and we fished together both Friday and Saturday nights but had no sport! We were the only anglers on Llangadog water but we did see a guy on the Llandeilo water. Disappointing but still a great feeling to be out on the river again!

First trip of the season?

I'm looking forward to my first fishing trip of the 2016 season! I'm fishing from the 5th May for 3 or 4 nights (or days if its too cold). Can't wait!

The new season will soon be here!

It's been a long wet wait but winter is saying goodbye and spring is almost here together with the 2016 fishing season! With the river in spate (6 ft - 4" on the gauge yesterday) the river should be in pristine condition when the season starts on the 1st April.

Lets hope that we have a productive season and that we are all fit and well enough to enjoy it!

Tight lines!

AGM for the 2016 Season!

The AGM will be on Friday 12th February 2016. We should all attend really but it's such a long way to go for f..k all don't you think?