My last trip of the season beckons!

I'm going down on Monday for a few days as it's the only chance I'll get before the end of the season because of personal commitments! I may fish or I may not but one thing is for certain I'll get some peace! Having had my son and his wife staying with us for 4 days with their daughter Riya I'm ready to escape! With a dustbin full of nappies and a house that's been turned upside down I need space. By the way Riya is no trouble at all poor thing!!

I think she's hooked?

40 fish in 2 evenings! Beat that lads!

Sandy's report!

Managed to get hold of Sandy tonight. As you will know he hasn't been well. Anyway you will be pleased to know that he is feeling much better and his doctor is pleased with his progress too! He's talking about going fishing again soon!

One thing of particular interest that he told me about regarding his recent fishing trip is that on the last couple of nights he discovered the effectiveness of the Jambo! He got more offers and pulls on this than any other method - and some big fish too! So maybe he was fishing too deep even with a floating line? Interesting!

Tim's latest report

Tim Wilkinson has been fishing and sent me this report!

I had 2 nights this week - Wed on Crewil. I saw a few fish early doors, but nothing apart from a parr. One of the lads (Miguel's mate) had a 5 lb-er. Dai had one on, but lost it. Thurs I went down the bottom, but the strength of the wind was a problem. I had a take and fish on, then thrash at surface and fish off. This was in the pool above Andy's pool in the small slack on the opposite bank. I didn't see or hear any fish at all. Well the rain has come and hopefully, with the nets off and fresh water coming in, the sewin will start to run. Typical though, I'm off the Scotland tomorrow morning for a few days (not fishing unfortunately) so it'll have to wait until I come back. Maybe I'll see you down there before the end of the season. Please pass on my best wishes to Sandy, when you see him.

We need some decent rain I think. If we get some then I might venture out the week after next but without rain I think the prospects are poor!

Difficult fishing conditions?

This week I spent 3 nights on the river with Sandy and latterly John. I managed to get a fish on Tuesday and Wednesday but failed on Thursday! I had a 2 1/2 lb sewin on Tuesday and a 3 lb fish on Wednesday both of which were bars of silver and both were returned! Temperatures were generally high but the water levels extremely low with dam water fluctuations of 3 inches or more for no apparent reason. There were few anglers out but I must admit I enjoyed my fishing, expecting to get a monster at any moment. Daytime temperatures were very high so sleeping in the caravan in the morning was sometimes a little uncomfortable. Sandy failed to connect in Crewel on a number of occasions however he is fishing as I write this post so watch this space!

Same place, same time!

Well Rod left on Friday morning and I decided to have another night's fishing as the river was falling and clearing after a very wet 24 hours. Well it paid off! In the same pool and at about the same time I hooked a lovely 7 lb sewin. It was a hen fish and as fit as a butchers dog! Amazingly the river was desolate - not a single angler in sight! I gave up at 3pm as the thunderstorms began to fester. It was warm - in fact it was so hot to the extent that I walked the 2 1/2 miles back to the caravan in just a teeshirt! Before I started fishing mind you I spotted a monster fish heading and tailing in the fast water - it looked huge from quite a distance so I think it's fair to say that there are some big fish about!

Rod gets lucky with bar of silver!

Tuesday night Rod hit a cracking sewin at 11.20 pm! At 10 lb + it was to many a fish of a life time but to Rod it was just another nights fishing!!! Actually he caught it in a rare moment when he wasn't asleep!

Any news from the river?

Hi all

I'm thinking of going down for a few days near the end of the month and I wondered if anyone had heard of any catches? I'll be going down regardless anyway because I'll be heading over to Skomer for at least 1 day but it would be nice to know of any catches or fish seen.

The river has changed again this year!

Hi all, I spent 3 nights on the river last week and really enjoyed myself. The weather was lovely and the temperatures held up quite well. I got a 2lb sewin and I saw a couple of fish move but that was all. I didn't really expect to get anything so the fish I got was a bonus. I saw only 2 anglers on the river! One of them evaded me by shooting off quickly as i approached Crewel Pool and the other was Andrew from Merthyr. He said that he'd had a 9lb sewin on the Llandeilo water a couple of weeks ago.

I took a few pictures so that you could see what the river is like now. The big changes are down the bottom, especially my pool and below it too.

The concrete dump remains!

Looking upstream to Crewel Pool

A tree stuck just above the Cattle Drink on the lower beat

More concrete dumping!

What seems like a potential new pool for us just below Andy's Pool

The new pool?

Andy's Pool - better or worse than before? The jury's out on that one!

My first trip of the 2014 season looks as though it's about to start!

All being well I'm off to the Towy tomorrow for a few days. I know its early and I know there ain't much chance of catching anything but...........................! Its got to be done!

Our annual pilgrimage to the River Torridge ends fishless!

Rod and I have just returned from the Torridge very disappointed! The water was perfect, the weather was perfect and we cast our socks off for 4 whole days without so much as a pull or a knock! The Half Moon Inn have apparently only had 1 salmon so far this spring which is pretty unusual. I think we both still enjoyed the break despite not getting a fish however its very disappointing when you both work really hard for nothing! The HMI itself is sadly looking very tired but I guess that's the way many things have gone over the past few years. Needless to say most of the pictures I took are not of me! In fact Rod was developing a new casting technique so I have taken quite a few videos of him casting which might help him see how its coming along.

You will notice a picture of a certain creature which of course we love watching but I wonder if he had anything to do with our failure to catch?

The new season beckons!

Well its that time again when we need to start thinking about the new season, our tackle and our tactics.

I'm thinking about spending a few days on the Torridge again in the spring in the hope of picking up a hard fighting Spring Salmon. Having looked on the Half Moon Inn website I see that it hasn't been updated since July of last year so I'm not sure what's going on there as I know it was up for sale. No doubt Charles will still be around no matter what happens and I just hope that the pub has retained its excellent beats on the river, especially Beam! The Torridge is a magical place in the spring with lots of wildlife to admire when you are fishing, including that big dog Otter that loves to fish at Beam in broad daylight. Also the bird song is phenomenal! What I love best of all is chatting at breakfast and the excitement and anticipation of getting a hard fighting salmon that day. Often the sun shines in Devon in early April as the climate is much milder there than here in Worcestershire and with the wild flowers just starting to appear, especially the wild garlic which is everywhere on the river bank and gives off a delightful aroma as you walk under the trees alongside the river, crushing their stems with your boots. Often the kingfishers are busy building their nests and there is always a Heron or two to keep you company on the river. There is nothing lovelier on a sunny warm spring day on the Torridge to sit down on the bench at Beam and have lunch, some nice sandwiches and a cold beer - brilliant and hopefully with some good company too.

As far as the Towy is concerned then I guess my first trip won't be until the end of April or early May but nevertheless I'm looking forward to it immensely. It will be good to catch up with my fishing mates John, Rod and Sandy at some point. I know Sandy has been poorly of late so I wish him a speedy recovery and I'm looking forward to sitting with him at his bench in Crewel and sharing a story or two and having a good laugh! I've put a few pictures in just to get myself inspired for the new season so I hope you like them. Get well soon Sandy!

John eagerly casting across Beam

The Half Moon Inn, Sheepwash

A fine Spring Salmon to take home!

Rod with a belter of a Spring Salmon

Taking a break at Beam

The Weir Pool at Beam - the best pool on the river

A fine Sewin from the Towy

The Towy - looking up stream towards Crewel

A fine Sewin from the Towy quite a few years ago

AGM - so what's new?

I attended the AGM last night and have therefore listed a few of the discussions and one key decision taken. Not many anglers turned up - I guess about 15 or so? The proposals and voting arrangements need a considerable amount of attention in my view - they are certainly not very 'professional' lets put it like that! The club apparently lost £1500 last year although I can't see where that is stated in the accounts but perhaps I'm too dull to spot it? It strikes me that there are a number of items of expenditure in there that are completely unnecessary in my view. It probably wouldn't be difficult to strip out half the loss at least!

Most of the discussion was about catch and release and limits as Dai Watkins reckons that there will be mandatory catch and release on the whole river within 2 years. Only about 20% of anglers submitted returns however for the 2013 season and there were no proposals to deal with this! For this reason I haven't bothered listing any catch totals as they clearly aren't worth bothering with. Apparently canoeing is a big threat for the future so I'm off now to go and buy one - I must remember to buy an anchor though so that I can set myself up in the middle of Crewel!

Main points:-

• Crewel Pool rubbish dumping - this was done by the farmer but no action will be taken as the club believes that it was done naively. The snag at the bottom of the pool has been lost for good however the farmer says that he will put things right
• Facebook Page has been up and running for quite some time but few followers - I'm just about to log on!
• On-line day ticket sales have been a success
• Work Parties - all hands are apparently needed this year??
• Fees - stay as they are
• Vice President - position removed
• Fishing Limits for the 2014 Season are:- 4 fish per season can be taken comprising of Sewin up to 5lb and Salmon up to 10lb - all other fish are to be returned

I am not sure whether I will bother with the work parties because last year I travelled down for a 2 hour stint as everyone else cleared off by 12.00 noon! I think a proper structure for work parties is needed with everyone being given jobs to do and I believe it should be for a whole day not just a couple of hours! 

Otherwise I am looking forward to the new season as I am sure many of you are. I hope to see you all on the river at some point, preferably having just returned a monster. Fortunately for me there are no limits on the number of foxes, dogs or both that I am allowed to catch!

Tight lines - kingfisher

Well the Llangadog Fishing AGM looms!

This Friday is the Llangadog Fishing Club AGM and I wonder if at last the opportunity for change is a slight possibility?

The river has been in decline ever since I joined over 25 years ago and in recent years has been in danger of being lost forever! Despite many discussions by all stakeholders, loads of meetings, EA doing nothing, token gestures of sorting the river out yet nothing has been done and WE ARE ALL GUILTY of this - every one of us!

The fact remains that the River Towy is on the verge of being lost! Abandoned! Our children or grandchildren are unlikely to ever experience the pleasures that many of us have over the years - the thrill of catching a sewn on a fly at night! It may be that we are leaving the river to them, in the pathetic hope that they will eventually take the initiative to do something and rebuild or restock the river for the future, by protecting its environment and caring for what could be an amazing attribute of the area both financially and environmentally. Unfortunately no one seems to be able to do it alone and non of us are able or willing to join together to turn it around! No one seems to care enough!

Despite living 100 miles away from the river I do hold a fond passion for the river and its fish and have expressed my concern, like many others, for many years but sadly, from what I can see, the local population and anglers alike along the whole length of the river have allowed its decline to just flow them by without a care! I and my angling pals are just observers - visitors. We have no say really. We pay our dues, much more than locals, but thats as far as it goes. I personally have tried hard to help and assist in my small way to make the river better but I don't think that my simple and small efforts have in any way been replicated by the real owners of this river - the local anglers, most of whom appear to have no real love for the river or care about its future! Isn't this a very typical human trait - often people can't see what's obviously happening under there nose's - until its too late? I think it is very sad!

Again I intend to attend the AGM and I will be interested to see if there are any new initiatives on the table. I am prepared to support any initiatives that are proposed and to continue my support for the club. I will be there on the work party day even if the locals aren't but I think that the change of heart needed to turn this river around is immense and I fear that in reality the local anglers and the visitors will sadly fail to rise to the occasion as they have in the past! I sincerely hope that I am proved wrong!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Well, we are approaching the end of 2013. I am sat in my living room and all I can hear is a storm brewing outside. The rain is lashing down and the wind approaching gale force! For various reasons I didn't spend as much time on the river as I would have liked this season but I still managed a 9 lb and a 3 lb sewn, both on the fly and of course a fox and a Jack Russell! I don't think there were many fish about from what I saw but as I didn't spend much time on the river then maybe my perception was not quite as it really was. I haven't heard any reports from anywhere else so I'm in the dark a bit. So what about the future I wonder? With ever increasing fuel costs I know that I will have to choose my trips more carefully especially as I am now retired. I doubt whether I will be alone in this. Crewel Pool was a disappointment for me and from what I could see was continually hammered by a small number of anglers. I still think that there are better pools on the beat. I must say that Sandy's ladder is a god send and was used quite a few times by me and others over the season. His bench and rod rack seemed to be used frequently as well I think. So what will the 2014 season bring I wonder? Lets just hope and pray that we are all around to enjoy it, fish or no fish! Merry Christmas all and a Happy New Year - tight lines!

Nick gets a 3 lb sewin!

Nick has just returned from a 3 day fishing trip and reports having caught a 3 lb sewn. He also says that he saw a good 10 lb salmon which hew tried to catch but it wouldn't play ball. Clearly the river needs water now so I won't be making another trip until we get substantial rain and there is nothing forecast in the near future. Just a case of enjoying the wonderful summer we are having I guess!

1 good sewin in 3 nights fishing!

Rod and I went fishing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday was pretty much a right off because of heavy rain which started just as we about start fishing around 10.00 pm. We abandoned ship soon afterwards with Rod not having cast a line even!

Friday was a lovely night and I caught a 9lb sewin which fought like hell. I managed to return the fish successfully! There were however a number of fish on the move and Rod heard some really big lumps splashing in the runs. Saturday night was dead every where despite being a reasonable night weather wise. We gave up at about 3.00 am with not so much as a pull.

John loses a good fish before the heavens open!

John called me today to say that he fished on Thursday and Friday nights. Thursday night he had a good pull despite the water not being very clear. Then Friday night everything looked really good - warm with clear water! He lost a good fish early on but unfortunately the heavens then opened and the rain set in for the night. That is often the way things go. Bad luck John!

I hooked a fox in the river with a Jack Russell attached to its throat - CRAZY or what?

Warning!

Before you read this post please beware that it does not have a happy ending for the fox!

Rod and I strolled down to the river as usual on Tuesday evening from our caravan site. We passed the farm at Devanah and Patch, the farm terrier, came out and joined us on our 11/2 mile journey, something she has done many times before. We both crossed the river at the ladder above Crewel Pool but as usual Patch chose not to. We were optimistic of a good nights fishing as it was warm and dark - just the way we like it. We started fishing Crewel Pool as soon as it got dark and it wasn't long before I noticed Patch patrolling up and down the far bank, in and out of the water. Whilst I was fishing the tail of the pool Patch swam across to join us, although she never really interacts with us, she just seems to use us as an excuse to go for a wander!

Later in the night I was fishing about half way down the pool when I noticed a dog sized animal running very fast past me along the shingle in a downstream direction. The unidentified creature very quickly disappeared from view. Patch then appeared in pursuit of it! I had no idea what the animal was! Was it an otter or a fox? I had no idea. Within a minute or two the said animal came running back towards me along the shingle. As it approached me it seemed to panic a bit and in desperation dived into the river heading for the opposite bank. Unfortunately my fly line lay on the surface of the water between it and its apparent destination. I had to make a quick decision! Do I strip the line back, with the risk of hooking the animal or do I just leave the line where it is and hope that the animal just swims over it which is often the case with swans and otters. I chose the latter but I got it wrong!

The animal swam through the line, taking it with him and eventually hooked itself. As it desperately tried to clamber up the far bank to freedom my rod began to bend double! Patch then appeared on the scene and immediately started swimming across the river in pursuit of the distressed creature, and it soon caught it! All hell was soon let loose with both animals fighting viciously. Rod had by now joined me to see what was going on. The noise was horrendous! Barking, growling, yelping, screaming, splashing, screeching - you name it! Patch had the animal by the throat and seemed intent on killing it! Rod grabbed hold of my fly line, thereby taking the pressure away from my Sage fly rod and gently started to coax the swimming/fighting pair back towards our side of the river. Eventually it became clear as the pair came closer to our bank that Patch had caught a fox! Almost fully grown, the animal was disorientated and severely distressed with a terrier attached to its throat and my treble hook firmly embedded in its back leg. Once the pair were back on dry land we tried everything possible to separate them but Patch had other ideas! We cut the line in the hope that the fox would escape but Patch was determined to apprehend his quarry and was having a ball! The fox meanwhile was distressed and weak and despite giving a good account of itself it didn't have enough energy to make a run for it! At one point I chucked a big rock at Patch to get her off the animal. It hit her square between the eyes, she wobbled, got back on her feet and then reattached her jaw to the fox's throat! This was a killing machine the like of which I personally had never witnessed before! It wasn't pleasant! Patch continued with a relentless attack which was distressing to hear. We had no option but to put the fox out of its misery and a fellow angler performed the deed!

Patch had had her fun for the night and then curled up in the grass and went to sleep! Needless to say we didn't catch any fish in the pool that night. A sad end to an incredible story.

A fellow angler told me that I would stand more chance of winning the lottery than to have experienced this crazy event! I think I must agree!

Latest fishing report!

Rod and I fished Mon, Tues and Wed nights! There are fish about but the water is desperately low in my view. I got a a 3lb sewin and Rod had one similar on Monday night. Wednesday night was hard work from 11.00pm till 5.00am. Rod lost a big fish, I didn't even get a pull! Tuesday night was CRAZY and is the subject of my next post! You won't believe it!

Disappointing trip!

Spent 4 nights fishing last week with Rod and Sandy but failed to even get a pull let alone a fish! I tell a lie - I caught a 3lb brown trout on Monday night. Both Monday and Tuesday nights turned extremely cold however I did see the odd fish move. Friday night was perfect except for a tinge of colour in the water. I met a few other anglers along the way but I am not aware of any of them catching!

Nick catches!

Nick made contact with me today to let me know that he caught a 3 lb fish this morning and lost a fish of about 7lb at the net during the night. As he is fishing all week lets hope he gets some more sport! Here is his final report for his trip:-

A report of my week. Fished Sunday night but no fish. Monday night lost a fish of about 7 lbs at the net. Tuesday morning I had a fish of 7 lbs and on Tuesday night I lost one of about 4 lbs. Thursday morning I had one of 3 lbs. I fished again on Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday morning but no fish. Please find attached two photos of the fish, the last two nights were very quiet and very windy while last night and this morning the river was how I like it. I'm hoping to go again at the end of July! The picture with the rod is the 7 pounder! I hope you have some good sport when you go down

The State of Nature!

Rodney Byles has kindly alerted me to this speech by Iolo Williams. Listen to it and let me know what you think. I completely agree with what he is saying and I too would love to see CHANGE!

The State of Nature!

Latest HMI Report!

Half Moon fishing report Wednesday 29th May

After a dry six weeks, North Devon was deluged with almost two inches of rain a fortnight ago and the river came down in full spate.
This has encouraged good runs of salmon and sea trout which are now well distributed throughout the main river. Anglers at the Half Moon have enjoyed some of the best spring fishing for several years. 9 salmon have been caught in the last 10 days the largest fish of approx 14lb caught by Hutch Wright:his first salmon.Other successful anglers have included Martin Weeks,Ron Burton,Brian Lovering, Graham Henderson and Sheila Sykes.

Despite the cold, Martin Weeks and Ron Burton caught 6 sea trout in two nights fishing:all in the 2lb to 4lb range

In the last few days there have been good hatches of fly and the brown trout are feeding more readily on the surface.

With more settled and warmer weather forecast, the prospects for June are excellent

last update — 30 May 2013

Sandy gets 2!

Sandy caught 2 sewin over the weekend, 2 - 1/2 lb and 6 lb! Absolute bars of silver!

Rodney Byles has something to say about LAL Blog links?

Mr Wheatley. I have only just picked up this link to your ill informed comments about Andrew Holmes’s blog. If Andrew Holmes has not already blocked your entry to his blog and you are able to pick this up, I understand that Andrew Holmes is not responsible for controlling, moderating or amending the content of the LAL website. Perhaps if he was the website would be regularly updated, rather than lag a year behind and when you click on News etc it would be current rather than relate to seasons’ past. And of course it would not direct you or anyone else to his blog. So rather than making insulting remarks to Andrew Holmes I would recommend that you direct your ill advised and inappropriate comments to the LAL secretary or the website administrator, whoever that is, to remove the link to Andrew Holmes’s blog. I would also respectfully suggest that you seriously consider focusing your energy into casting a line, rather than casting disparaging, unhelpful and foolish remarks to fellow LAL anglers.

Rodney Byles

Nick gets a 7 lb sewin!

Nick tells me he caught a 7 lb bar of silver yesterday morning! Well done Nick - keep them coming.





And Sandy's ladder looks equally as good!

Mad drivers?

Rod alerted me to this idiot who nearly gets killed at a train crossing. Might be Llangadog?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iJmxNpo8VDQ

Please be aware from now on - anonymous comments, whilst often really interesting and informative, will under no circumstances be published! Regardless of who they are! All you need to do is register an email address and a password - its simple!

Chis Morris gets a fat 10lb sewin - what a way to start his season?

Chis has sent me this report

Out last night on the Llandeilo stretch.Rewarded with a lovely 10lb sewin not too long after full dark..
Chrome bright, looked as though it was straight off the sea follwing the small spate on Friday
Down to the backing twice but well hooked for once....
Can only assume there must be fish higher up now too.
Chris

Nick tries his luck too!

Nick has sent me this report which should precede Sandy's.

Spent 2 nights on the river Tuesday and Wednesday. The river is looking nice. Best night was Tuesday night as the moon was out and the river was calm. I had one good pull which was a sea trout or salmon and I am planning to go again in 3 weeks!