Rodney Byles casts off for the 2010 season!

Rod has reported about his first trip to the river this year.

Called into Llangadog on the way back and fished all night till 4am. Tony, Dan and Dave were also out and river very low. Despite that quite a lot of good fish moving nearly all night from 9ish to 2am. Dan had a pull and so did I, but nothing on the bank. They weren't having it. Maybe the full moon, but great to be back on the river. Turned a bit cooler later on with a light breeze (10 degrees when I got back to the car) but I stuck it out and really enjoyed it. The others all went at 12.30. I think I'll wait for water now before trying again, unless Tony starts catching!

Contemplating my first cast of the season?

Weather prospects next week are looking up so I am contemplating a trip down to the River Towy with the hope of getting some night fishing in without freezing to death! I hope to fish next Wednesday night subject to things warming up as forecast?

It will be a short trip though because I am taking my two lads for a long weekend at the Ty'n y Cornel Hotel to fish the Tal-y-Llyn Lake for brown trout. Should be exciting as I haven't done any lake fishing for many years and my lads haven't ever fished before very much! My brother-in-law John is coming too so we should have some fun in an area of what looks like 'outstanding natural beauty'.

I will report on what happens on both trips on my return for those who may be interested!

Tight lines!

The 2010 season has started!

If you are like me you have just spent the last 6 months longing to get back on the river! Well now you can. The 2010 season is here at last. Get those waders out of the garage and check them out for leaks, tidy up that tackle bag and sort out your flies cos the time has come to put them to good use!

I probably won't bother going down the river for a few weeks yet, maybe the first week of May if the weather improves but I can't wait to cast my fly and I can't wait to catch my first sewin of the season too. This year will be very busy for me because not only will I be fishing all night but I will probably be hiding away with my camera in hand in search of that amazing wildlife shot during the day! This winter has been very productive for me in terms of wildlife photography and I have learnt so much. Now that I am equipped with some decent gear I am sure I will get some amazing pictures. In particular I will be stalking kingfishers and otters so look out - if you see a portable hide on the river bank and a big lens sticking out of it and no sign of Simon King then it will probably be me, but don't disturb me - I could be just about to snap that once in a lifetime picture!

Beware of this little bugger though - they are everywhere!




Keep up to date with my achievements by logging on to www.kingfisherimages.co.uk

Tight lines everyone but stay out of the frame!!

3 months to go!

I usually take my first trip to the river during early May so I calculate that it is only 3 months or thereabouts to go! I have to say this winter has been long and hard and I cannot wait to cast that fly over my favourite pool on a warm still evening, dressed only in shirt sleeves (and my waders obviously) while I watch the odd monster sewin jumping and splashing further downstream! It can in my book only be described as 'majical'!

I must start thinking about getting all my fishing gear out and giving it a good clean and a drop of oil where required. Also I need to get all my camping gear out, give it a good washing and a scrub and put it back in its containers in some sort of order rather than how it is currently which is thrown in all together!

I wonder what sort of season we will have? I have to say, if last July had been a normal July instead of the relentless downpours that we had then I think the 2009 season as a whole would probably have been exceptional!

Anyway, lets just hope that those sewin decide to visit us in great numbers this season, that the weather is moderate and that the river and its wildlife inhabitants are as prolific as ever! This season will see me concentrating on both sewin fishing and wildlife photography so my nights will be taken with the fly and my days, after sleeping that is, will be spent lurking around in the bushes trying to capture that illusive wildlife shot to beat all others! I have already made a bit of a start with my photography as many of you will have seen on my new website at:-

http://www.kingfisherimages.co.uk

Another year ends!

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!

Tight lines for 2010!

My catch summary for the 2009 season

6th June 2009 - 2 No sewin - 6lb and 3 lb - 8 oz
27th June 2009 - 1 No sewin - 7lb
6th Aug 2009 - 2 No sewin - 3 1/2 lb and 1 1/2 lb
29th Aug 2009 - 1 No sewin - 9 1/2 lb

John breaks his 'duck' on the last day of the season!

John stayed down the river on Saturday and managed to entice a good fish of 3lb from the fast water in the neck of the Car Park Pool. Well done John!

That's the end of the season now. I think its been pretty good other than the fact that July was a complete wash out. Still - must look forward to the 2010 season now - God willing!

15th October 2009 - last minute sport?

Had a night on the river Thursday! Caught 1 sewin of 3lb and lost a much bigger fish. There were lots of fish about. Just shows the extent of the Towy sewin run!

Rodder's takes to the sea!

Rod has sent me this report about his salt water fly fishing exploits!

It’s been difficult for me recently trying to coordinate a trip to the Towy at Llangadog when the river's been okay for the night fly, so decided instead to try my hand at sea bass fishing, something I’ve wanted to do for quite along time, and the sea is nearer to my home.

As I’ve never been bassing before I thought it best I book my very first trip with ghillie Justin Anwyl, who runs a sea bass guiding service from Chichester Harbour and the surrounding area.

See his website http://www.bass-fishing.co.uk/.

On this occasion we were drifting over kelp beds from a small boat, another first for me. Thanks to Justin’s guidance, advice and tackle, I managed to catch my first ever sea bass and on a fly. Estimated weight was 5lb and put up a very strong fight and maybe more so than a similar weight sewin, but without the acrobatics!! I was very pleased with myself (see photo) and as this is a bass conservation area unfortunately it went back instead of on my plate!



I was rewarded again later with another hard fighting fish of about 2.5lb. My fellow angler Duncan also had two fish of very similar size. And to cap it all I also caught my first ever mackerel, also on a fly. This was a memorable and very enjoyable day, which wouldn’t have been possible without Justin’s guidance. I will definitely go again and maybe try it from the beach next time, when all the kids are back at school!!

Rod

Well done Rod! I think I will have a go too sometime!

Best catch ever!!!!

My gorgeous granddaughter Sofia!

Saturday 29th August success!

Friday was a horrible day and the water was up to a good level. After a day of very mixed weather and no success this morning proved to be a different thing all together!

I woke at 6.00 am in the car and immediately got up and cooked my breakfast. It was a lovely start to the day, blue sky, white fluffy clouds and lovely sunshine. The river had dropped about 300mm and was almost clear at the car park so it was bound to be better down the bottom. I made my way down to the bottom of the beat, through the woods and up and over heart attack hill. I remember a very similar day like this last year. The water level and weather were identical and I caught a good sewin last year so I was looking forward to repeating it again! In fact when I arrived at my pool I looked in my fly box to see if I could find the very same fly and there it was all bedraggled and scruffy! Even so I still put it on! I worked my way down the pool and got closer to the 'hot' spot. Would history repeat itself? I cast perfectly to the place that I caught a fish last season. The fly came round and there was a swirl at it! Might have been a trout perhaps I thought? I cast again - nothing. One more cast and the fly came round and wallop! A 9 1/2 lb sewin in bright sunshine at 8.00am on 12 lb breaking strain nylon! Amazing!

Where have all the sewin gone?

Went fishing Wednesday and Thursday nights down the bottom of our beat, touched one fish in my favourite pool, otherwise saw nothing! They have either gone upstream or are sulking! Maybe they are in hiding because of our 'black cat'? One good thing it seems about this 'killer' cat is is many anglers are staying at home and leaving the fishing to me! I fished all night Thursday and didn't see another angler!

What a beautiful place?

Thursday 6th August - a good nights sport!

Went fishing last week for a couple of nights and had some good sport on the fly!

Thursday night was warm and the water completely clear. I landed 2 fish, one 1 1/2 lb and one 3 1/2 lb but I lost many more! If I had landed every fish that I had felt the weight of then I would have had the best night of my whole career. Every other cast it seemed produced a pull or better. It was amazing!

Even more amazing was the big black cat that I saw! Must put this story in my book!

July is a 'washout'!

This has to be one of the wettest July's on record? Downpour after downpour is all we are getting making the river largely unfishable most of the time. Certainly fly fishing at night has been pretty much out of the question. Lets hope August is drier but with 75mm of rain forecast tonight and tomorrow then I fear the worst!

2nd and 3rd July 2009 - my latest report!

I fished both nights with no success! The night of Thursday 2nd July was torrential rain all night and the river rose at least 300mm! By the time Friday night came around I had just about dried out all my clothes but the river was still a bit coloured. There were many anglers on the river though but the only report of a fish was a young angler fishing the Railway Bridge Pool who reportedly lost a good sewin! Subject to weather and water I will be fishing this week.

Tight lines

Perserverance pays off!

Went fishing Saturday 27th June on a fine, warm night with the river low but clear and with the knowledge that their are plenty of fish about.

Met up with Dylan earlier and decided to fish the cattle drink for a change. Their was the odd fish moving but nothing seemed interested in our flies despite trying every pattern in our boxes! It soon became obvious that we not going to get lucky so Dylan and I walked back to our cars foe a coffee. He decided to quit but I thought I would try my luck at the Car Park Pool. At about 2.45 am I saw a fish move in the tail of the pool. I moved on down quickly and started to cover it. After 3 casts it took very gently, in fact I thought I had snagged on the bottom. It turned out to be a good 7 lb fish, caught on of course a Rodder's Special yet again! Rod - your fly is a revolution and for me has been very successful particularly for the big fish and those that are travelling I think!

Very rewarding!

Tight lines all.

Where have all the sewin gone, gone gone everyone!

I went fishing with John on Friday night. It was the most perfect night. Dark, still, warm and the water was pretty clear. After last Thurs and Friday nights fishing I thought we were bound to catch fish in these conditions. How silly of me! We didn't really see or hear any fish of any consequence throughout the night having started fishing at about 10.30 pm and packed up at 3.00 am! We fished really hard all night but the fish were not to be found and there were 'no new kids on block' turn up at 2 am either! It was very disappointing but I guess that is sewin fishing!

Tight lines!

Is the main sewin run underway?

Well, if the last 2 nights are anything to go by then I would definitely say that it is!

I spent 2 nights on the river (Thurs - Fri) and managed to land 2 fish (one 3 1/2 lb on Thurs and one 6 lb on Friday). Both were fresh, silver and in prime condition.

Thursday night's fishing started with me showing a visiting angler around the beat. Shane is interested in joining LAL and therefore took out a day ticket so that he could take a look at the beat. I offered to show him around so we both finished up fishing together all night down the bottom end of the LAL water. Hopefully Shane will be convinced of the quality of fishing that we have as he finished up with 2 sewin, one of 2 lb and the other about 3 lb - the first sewin that he has ever caught on the fly at night! Well done Shane! He was very pleased with himself and we both sat together having a cup of tea back at my base at 4.30 am talking about the nights fishing.

Shane with his 2 sewin, both caught on the fly!


I also caught a my first sewin of 2009 at 2.00 am which weighed exactly 3 1/2 lb so I was happy too!

Friday night was even more exciting!

John, my brother-in-law came down to fish with me and we both met up with Dave and Tim on the river before dark. As soon as darkness arived I started fishing the pool opposite the log where we sit. I had at least 2 good pulls but John, who was following down behind me, hooked a good fish but unfortunately it didn't hold. Bad luck mate! Tim, meanwhile managed a 1 lb sewin further upstream which opened his account for the season!

Things went quiet for awhile until about 2 am when I hooked and landed my 6 lb sewin. It was a beauty! Soon after Tim hooked and landed a good 6 1/2 lb fish which fought like hell! Around about 3 am I hooked a monster! I played it for quite awhile and it appeared to be well hooked. It fought deep down most of the time and I am convinced it was a double figure fish! It was not to be though and soon it released itself much to my frustration. Still, it was an exciting few hours that I can honestly say was some of the best fishing I have experienced for many years!

My 6 lb sewin awaiting the knife!

Lets hope this season will be a good one!

Tight lines

kingfisher

The Towy is so beautiful at this time of year with loads of wildlife to see and hear.

Looking down on the Railway Bridge Pool and the Car Park Pool

There is the odd fish about!

I spent Thursday and Friday on the river this week and enjoyed it immensely! The river is falling and is pretty much in fine fettle now. Thursday night Rodney Byles and I fished the bottom beat. We didn't see any fish at all except for the 4 lb sewin that Rod caught at about 10.30 pm and a fine specimen it was too!

My first trip of the 2009 season!

Went down to the river on Saturday night to try my luck. The river is low and the bed is covered in algae which frequently attaches itself to your fly hooks. There is no doubt that the river needs a complete flush out!

I fished first down the bottom of our beat. There are some changes there but nothing too drastic. The night was warm and overcast but I failed to spot any sewin at all. At about 12.00 midnight I went up to the car park pool and tried my luck there but to no avail. So my first night was blank but this was not too unexpected I have to say as the season is still very young!

Like my pictures? Why not view my complete portfolio?

If you like my fishing pictures then why not visit my Redbubble website and look at all my photographic work? There is something there for everyone and you can buy it too! From a greetings card to a full size, mounted and framed picture - its all there and I get a commission!!!! Pretty good actually as I am currently unemployed!

Go to the Links section and click on:

See more kingfisher photography


Tight lines all

The 2009 season is approaching rapidly!

Yes, the new season will soon be here! Time to send off for our permits and licenses. Lets hope that the 2009 season is better than last year (well it can't be much worse for me anyway). Make sure you follow the Llangadog Angling Web Site for the latest news and this one of course. Just to remind you of how beautiful the River Towy is and to bring back some happy memories I have uploaded a few pictures for you to enjoy.






Tight lines everyone.

The Annual 2008 luncheon!

The annual fishing do went well this year with everyone enjoying themselves!

Held at The Swan at Bibury on Sunday 16th November 2008 we all agreed that we should visit this beautiful village more frequently, preferably in the summer months. We all took turns to feed the rainbow trout and the ducks once we were fully fed and watered and I guess the urge to go fishing certainly crossed my mind as we fed some fish that must be in the 4lb class!

The ability to catch fish is something we all need to work on ready for the 2009 season having all had a pretty poor season this year on the Towy.

Fully fed and watered

The ladies relax with a coffee while we go in search of a rainbow!

The dynamic team (with John asleep as usual!)

Rodney Byles posts his 2008 report!

'I've been fishing the Llangadog AL water for well over 20 years and this was my worst season for fish caught. As I prefer to fish the fly at night and being a 400 mile round trip for me, conditions need to be reasonably settled. Unfortunately the river has been up and down like a fiddler's elbow this summer and I only managed three nights with the fly and not even a touch. I fished the spinner on a couple of other visits and on the penultimate day of the season on falling water and using Cerith's 12ft rod, I managed a nice fresh 9lb cock sewin on a silver toby. I would have released this fish but spinner well down and bleeding badly after quite a long fight.

Hopefully conditions will be more settled next season to fish the night fly, otherwise it will be a change of tactics to fish the "garden fly" during the day.'

50 miles for the BHF - DONE!

Just to let all of you who sponsored me know the Coventry Bike Ride was cancelled at the last minute due to adverse weather conditions! That didn't stop me however! I went out on my own around Stourport, Kidderminster, Bewdley and almost Worcester and completed the 50 miles despite the cold and rain! It was a horrible day and when I got back home my feet were numb! It took me about 5 hours, I didn't time it perfectly but the important thing was that I didn't let any of you down!

On line sponsorship amounted to £460.00 just £40 short of my target (that excludes the tax benefit that the BHF will get!)

In particular I would like to thank Gilda for her continued support together with a big donation and Llangadog Angling Limited for their £50 sponsorship!

Thanks everyone for supporting me and please keep supporting the British Heart Foundation - one day they may help save your life or someone you love too!

My 2008 catch report!

2008 was my worst season for many years!

This was mainly due to the water levels being up and down so frequently.

3 fish was the best I could do!

28th June 1 sewin 4lb (night)
3rd July 1 sewin 4lb (night)
13th Sept 1 sewin 7lb (fly by day)

Lets hope 2009 is better!

Tight lines

Llangadog Angling Limited launch their own News Blog!

Great News!

Llangadog Angling Limited have launched their own up-to-date News Blog which will keep members informed of fishing prospects, notable catches, Committee Meeting Minutes, a gallery of fishy images and a whole lot more including members comments!

Why not check it out? Go to the link at the right hand side of the page!

Tight lines!

No salmon today!

Well my trip to Golden Grove failed to produce me that elusive salmon!

On this trip I fished the beat directly below Llandeilo bridge. The river level was holding up about 2 or 3 ft above normal conditions which was ideal for spinning but not quite suitable for the fly!

There were plenty of coloured sewin about but no sign of any salmon. I caught a 2lb fresh, silver sewin which I returned but otherwise had no other offers all day.

The beat has a great deal of potential for summer fly fishing with plenty of holding water and some fast runs!

Well done Rod - a lovely 9lb fresh run sewin!

Rodney Byles called me yesterday to inform me that he had caught his first fish of this season! Yes, a 9lb sewin! Well done Rod!

Like most of us Rod has had little opportunity this season to get some concentrated quality fishing on the Towy! The river has been up and down like a yo yo! Living 150 miles away from the river he can only get down fishing every now and then and hitting it right is more luck than judgement! At last he has been lucky and well deserved too!

The fish was hooked on a toby whilst spinning! Not ideal for Rod as he is a fly fishing purist similar to myself but under the circumstances this season I would imagine that he is quietly relieved!




As I am fishing GG on Friday then I just hope that the river holds up till then!

Tight lines!

Fishing prospects for the last 2 weeks!

Having looked at the BBC Weather it looks as though we might get some rain!

This weekend (4th/5th October) should get heavy rain in Wales which makes me excited as I am fishing Golden Grove again on Friday 10th! It would be nice to see some water for the last week of the season! Despite being catch and release I can't wait to have a last bash before hanging my wader boots up for the winter!

Lets just pray for rain! Watch this space!

Tight lines!