It's official!

My luck seems to be changing or is it Rodder's fly?

Got to the river last night by about 9.00 pm. The conditions were perfect! That's happened to me twice this year so far! It was warm, slightly overcast and still. A real pleasure to fish the river - pure enjoyment!



I started fishing the pool between the ditch and the bush opposite where we tackle up. Half way down I had a confident and solid take and got into my first fish, a 4 1/2 lb sewin that fought like hell, taking yards of line off my real and causing a right commotion in the pool. I was fishing Rodder's Special tube and when I say the take was confident I mean that the fish took the fly in a perfectly relaxed, normal kind of way. It wasn't a savage take but I could tell that the fish felt comfortable in taking it and that it would be well and truly hooked!



As I approached the bush I had a gentle pluck, a bit like a brownie. I continued fishing down the pool and as I got to the bush on the far side another take happened. Again it was confident, again it was going to stay hooked! It was a bigger fish this time that started cartwheeling down towards the fast water, stripping 10 metres of line on it's first run. I tried to get below the fish but it took more line and was getting dangerously close to the fast current. Eventually I managed to get below it and beached it about 10 metres below the bush. It weighed 6 1/2 lb.



I then went around the corner and fished all the way down to the bend. I did this twice to no avail. I then thought I would try the pool opposite our base again and hooked a 2lb fish right by the bush which I believed was the same fish that had had plucked me earlier. I returned this fish to fight another day.




I fished on until 1.00 am, had no more takes, saw no more fish, didn't see a fish move all night but enjoyed every minute of it! Except the bullocks in the field between the river and the car! When I came back through the field last night, as quietly as I could possibly be, you would have thought that the 30 or so bullocks in there would have hardly noticed me wouldn't you? Like hell! They were chasing around me like maniacs, I was chucking rocks at them, shouting, waving my arms, running, everything! When I got to the gate I flung myself over it, heart thumping rapidly. As I picked myself up the other side and looked back at the 30 staring pairs of eyes I thought ' I'm too old for this'! Swines!

Catch to date (2007 Season)

2 No Seatrout - up to 2 lb (Torridge)
7 No Sewin - up to 7lb (6.5 lb, 4.5 lb) (Towy)
2 No Brown trout - up 1.5 lb (Torridge)(Towy)

Happy Birthday to me!

Guess what - it's my birthday today! I'm sat at home trying to work on the PC but I can't help thinking about the Towy and the fact that I am now 56!

I've heard it is raining heavilly down there this morning. Just hope it clears up for the bank Holiday weekend as I am hoping to sneak off down there at some stage.

John took some pictures of me in action on the car park pool the last time we were down there.

The expert at work!

Our patio on the Towy!

I have been meaning to put this picture up on my blog for ages. It's not me, I don't even know the guy but it has to be the picture and fish of this season on the Towy!

Amazing!

Cerith does it again!

Cerith has been at it again! A casual walk down to the river last night armed with his rod and a bucket of worms and bingo! This is his report.

After some rain monday night the Tywi was up 6-8 inches Tuesday. Not enough water to fish the bottom even though I couldn't see the marker below Crewil Pool. don't think there's one there. Fished the worm tail end of the pool between the hut and the snag. Caught a 7.5 bs grilse at 6.30 a couple of casts later lost another of similar weight. Went quiet for a while then with no bites. At 7.30 returned a 3lb sea trout, caught a 2lb sea trout and lost a good sea trout of about 5lbs. During this half hour i was having knocks on every cast nearly. Then it all went quiet again. Rained heavy tuesday night wednesday morning and the Tywi must be up 12+ inches and very coloured. If we don't have any more rain the river should start clearing tonight and tomorrow but i don't think shell take the fly tomorrow night. But there should be a few grilse and salmon about given the rain of the past month and you could well pick one up on the worm or the fly in the clearing water. Cerith

Well done again Cerith.

Best nights fishing for many years!

Last night was perfect. Cloudy, warm and the water was crystal clear and a fair height!

We knew it was going to be good from the start. Ok, no massive fish like the double figure sewin caught the night before, which Rod witnessed, but a good run of fish after about 12 o'clock. Running fish and Rodders Special fly - well that's a magical combination!

4 fish were caught by myself and John. John kicked things off with a 5lb sewin early on caught on the bottom beat between the ditch and the hedge, opposite where we set up shop! This is the biggest sewin he has ever caught on a fly! Well done John.

I followed with 3 fish - 2lb, 4lb and 7 lb - all on Rodders Special. They faught like stink and I lost one other big fish too! All of my fish were caught around the bend near the rubbish on the far side. The bigger fish certainly tested my new Sage Z Axis rod and Hardy Angel reel!

A good 7lb sewin - what a fighter too!

3 fish, 7lb, 4lb and 2 lb - good sport!

The HOT SPOT for me anyway!

Chris had a small brownie but wasn't lucky on this occasion!

I fished until about 3.30 am by which time the skies had cleared and the temperature had dropped a little. What a night! This is what sewin fishing is all about! Can't wait to go back.

I am cycling 50 miles for the British Heart Foundation!

On 25th August I am cycling 50 miles to raise money for the BHF.

I want to raise in excess of £500! Will you please sponsor me?

You can donate on line and securely, just go to:-

www.bhf.org.uk/sponsor/ajholmes

Here you can read my full story about why I want to raise funds for the BHF.

Go on, get your credit card out now!

July is a complete wash out!

The whole month of July has been a complete washout. With up to 15 inches of rain across the country it has been the wettest July since records began!

The river has been up and down like a whores draws! I haven't even bothered going down there since the 11th July. Poor old Rod is on the river this week for his annual weeks holiday but doesn't seem to be doing much good! He's had 4 small sewin, 2 on a spinner and 2 on the worm! WORM? Rod, that's not like you - fishing a WORM! All I can say is that things must be getting desperate for Rod to start worming.

Having spoken to Rod this morning he tells me that he is sat in his car and hasn't even attempted to start fishing yet! It's pissing down!

Oh well, lets hope that August is our saviour!

Wednesday 11th July 2007 - water too high for the fly!

Would you believe it - my rod tip has come from Sage! Naturally I couldn't wait to get down the river to try my new rod out again. This time it remained in it's case for the whole journey and will do so for as long as I can be bothered to excercise some degree of caution! Not long probably!

Went down to the river in the hope that the fly would be on! Parked at Pumping Station and walked across the fields to the river. Got 3/4 the way across the river and had 75mm to spare below the top of my chest waders so I had to turn back. The water was pretty clear, not pres tine but probably OK. Drove up to the road bridge but there was no chance of fishing there! At least 6 cars were parked on our side of the river! The only other place I could go was the Car Park Pool so off I went. (Cerith went down the bottom so we could meet up but our rendezvous never materialised!

The Car Park Pool was running fast. I would say that the river was about 300mm to 400mm above normal. I fished until about 12.00. Didn't see a single fish, no knocks, nothing! To make things worse it was raining again, quite heavy!

A total wasted journey I suppose! Still, lets hope the river settles down now and that we have some dry weather for a few weeks. Enough is enough!

PS:- Cerith - I finally got your other fishy pictures and have incorporated some of them into my previous piece about your monster catch! Thanks mate!

Tight lines everyone!

Cerith gets a specimen sewin!

Well done Cerith for catching this monster hen sewin! For most it is the fish of a lifetime. It is also very pleasing that he donated it to the hatchery. A fish of this age must be either very clever and resilient or just plain lucky! Which ever the case hopefully her eggs will provide equally resilient fish for us to catch in the future. This was 1 of 10 fish that Cerith caught last week, many of which were returned to fight another day. Very commendable Cerith!

A fish of a lifetime - a 15 1/4 lb Sewin about to leave for the hatchery!

And some more!

This is Ceriths own account of what happened!

I had some holidays booked this week, and have managed a few fish on worm and spinner through the week.I fished Llangadog AA monday evening down by Bethlehem. The river was very high and dirty so I fished the worm along the edges and back eddies. I hooked and caught a 4lb sea trout within the first hour and had a few other decent knocks. But the real fun happened aroud 6.30 when a cracking fish took my single worm and shot off down stream. I knew i had a good fish on, and was pretty sure that it would be a double figure fish. After about 20 min I landed a cracking sea trout.luckily the fish was hooked in the scisors and I had a tether handy in my pocket. I quickly tethered the fish and released it back into some quiet back water. I phoned Viv at the hatchery and explained that i had a good sized hen sea trout, and sugested that he came down to have a look and see if he wanted it for the hatchery.To cut a long story short Viv and Olwen took the fish back to the hatchery and after the fish had settled down in the tank agreed to weigh the fish.Olwen e-mailed me today and confirmed that the fish weighed 15.25 lbs.After 25 years fishing I finally have a Tywi double figure sea trout.Im sure that if my grandfather can see me now he would be very happy indeed. He was a great teacher.

DiolchDwrgi

A lovely brace of sewin!

Well done mate, you deserve it!

Anyway, enough of this excitement, here are some pictures that I took when I was down in Llangadog the week before last!

My camp site right next to the river

Farmer Ken's old tractor - 1960 ish I think!

That's about the best that I can do - amateur photographer and Blog Manager!

Water coloured and up about 100mm

Went down to the river yesterday evening knowing that the water was coloured but thought it could be worth a go with the worm or even the fly in daylight hours!

Fished the top end of Crewel with the worm but failed to get any knocks. What a great place for worming now that the tree stump is there? The stump has created a lovely run that you can fish progressively for a good 25 - 30 m. You could even fly fish it too! Anyway, I saw 2 or 3 good fish move in the pool, 1 small fish kept jumping by the log stump and interestingly 2 or 3 good fish jumped about 100m above the pool on the far bank in their usual places. I will definitely try for these this next week while on holiday! I fished until about 9.00pm and then went back to the car at the car park to change the worming rod for the fly rod and got chased by the bullocks which raised my heart beat substantially as I hurled myself over the style! Sometimes I think I may be too old for being chased around fields by young jumped up bullocks! Load of 'bullocks' really isn't it!

So not much to report. I am on leave now for 2 weeks so I am hoping that the river clears up and that the weather settles so that I can get some night fishing in before I go back to work on the 9th July.

Tight lines.

I then fished the Car Park pool with various flies until about 11.00 pm but with no success. I didn't see any fish at all up the top of the beat!

Nice fish but not mine!

The sea trout forum seems to be getting some good reports coming through. Like this sewin caught this week. Rod, Cerith, John and Chris - pull your fingers out please, I want some pictures and reports to fill these pages!

3 nights on the Torridge

A solid and fresh Torridge seatrout with a lovely brown trout

Had some fun on the River Torridge this week. I have been working at Paignton where the CIWM show was so I thought I might as well take advantage of the fact that I'm in Devon and do some fishing in the evening! The weather has been OK up around Sheepwash but wet down at the show on Wednesday and Thursday. Anyway, I fished Brightley on Tuesday night and took a lovely fresh seatrout that weighed 2lb and fought like a salmon! Then on Wednesday I fished Madiera and blanked! Didn't see a thing. Thursday I fished Junction, Charles Inness's water and had some fun. I lost a good fish of about 3lb and killed a 2lb seatrout, fresh as a daisy and a 1.5lb brown trout. I also saw a good fish move in the junction pool. All were taken in day light on a size 10 stoats tail double and 10lb leader, 9 ft long! Good fun!

The Half Moon Inn is up for sale, Hotel only for £990,000! Lets hope we get a dedicated angler or anglers to buy it and build it back up to its former glory, although I can't see anyone buying the hotel without the fishing can you? Without the fishing the hotel will be nothing in my view!

This size of sea trout are the best to eat

So far this season I have taken:-

1 sewin - 2lb

2 sea trout - 1.5lb - 2lb

1 brown trout - 1.5lb

And lost:-

1 double figure sewin!

Tight lines everyone.

Double figure sewin lost at Llangadog!

In case you were wondering if the season is properly underway yet then I've got news for you all! Take it from me - it is!

Last night was magical for me! I now remember how I got hooked on sewin fishing in the first place. Although I have little to show for it the excitement was incredible. It only really lasted about 45 secs but I cannot think of any other sport or pastime that can possibly give me that kind of kick! None! You know what I mean don't you.

John started off at about 10.45 pm with a fine 2lb sewin on a 'rodders' special I believe, the last one that he has Rod! My first cast caught the fence opposite so I had to break it off. I then lost my fly box on the shingle (the second time I've done that!). I then caught a lovely 1.5lb brown trout, fat and firm, fought well for a little bugger!

We both fished hard but with no further success. We didn't see or hear any fish move at all. It went cool, not cold and at about 2.00 am John said that he was going back to the car because he was tired. So I bid him farewell and said I would be back soon myself!

I decided to go around the bend and fish the bottom pool so I put on a 40 mm black and silver waddington so as to get down in the water as the current is a bit lively around there. It wasn't long before I heard a fish move. Then I hooked and lost a good fish of about 3lb - 4lb. That got me interested I can tell you. All the time I thought I would get lucky.

I concentrated on the pool for quite awhile and at one point was joined by mum otter and at least 2 cubs! The tail seemed to be where I was getting pulls. I didn't think they were trout - not on a waddington of that size. It was now about 3.00 am I think. The next cast re-hooked me into sewin fishing with the fly! This is what it's all about - I remember now! 3 or 4 crap seasons had taken their toll on me but now, suddenly, that was to change! Believe me - it did!

A good cast, long and gentle as it landed on the water. I could see it land near the far bank and imagined it swing around to the tail of the pool. Half way across the pool - wallop! 2 yards of line were snatched from my grasp as I felt the weight of a big, seriously big fish! This was no 6lb-er, this was a double figure fish without doubt! My first reaction, once I felt the weight and heard and saw the fish cartwheel on the surface, was to drive the hook home. Just one sharp upward movement in the hope that it may stay on! Then, without warning, the fish took off downstream. The reel screamed! This is the first time I have heard my Hardy Angel do this since I bought it 2 years ago! There was absolutely nothing that I could have done to impede this run! Nothing at all. The fish piled off down river and took all of my line down to the backing. I ran down the shingle to get closer to it! I reeled the line back on to the reel, felt the weight of this monster again. Thump - thump - thump - as it rolled about! Then, then - the fish released itself. The fly came free! F.....g hell! Ba....d! I don't believe it! Yeh - I remember reacting like this before, maybe 4 or 5 years ago at least! I was gutted! Gobsmacked! Distraught! You know what I mean. What more can I say?

I carried on till dawn with no offers. I went to find my flybox that I had lost earlier but to no avail! Oh well, I thought I would look next week in broad daylight.

Back at the car John was flat out! As I started off loading my gear he woke and I related the story to him, concluding that I had given up on finding my flybox! He opened his bag and handed it to me. He had looked for it on his way back along the river and stumbled on it first time! This is the second time I have lost this box and the second time that John has found it for me! Thanks mate!

I can't say anymore about this other than that I am hooked again on sewin fishing - hooked again BIG TIME!

On walking back to my crossing point, as I was about to climb down the bank I disturbed a big fish that sent a bow wave across the river as it turned and moved across to the other side slightly below me! There are big fish about lads, there is no doubt about it!

Tight lines all.

Is this years season underway at last?

What a perfect night?

Arrived on the river about 9.00 pm. The sky was overcast and it was very warm. As darkness fell I expected to see a fish or two move but nothing! I had company, 3 guys in fact! Nevermind, I was here first so I was going down the pool first! Everything looked perfect. The water was clear as crystal, the air muggy and the sky dark! Perfect! But where are the fish? By the 2nd June they should be here! There are reports of fish lower down but have they got this far yet?

3/4 the way down the pool a nice fish took me and cascaded down the pool back to sea! Not a big fish, 2lb or so but a solid bar of silver. At last I have opened my account for 2007!

Later on I lost a bigger fish halfway down the same pool and my partners in crime each lost fish during the night. The one guy got his prize however! A cracking 6lb sewin, rock hard and silver. What a fish? I am convinced that these fish were running!

6lb bar of silver

(crap picture though!)

Lets hope that this is the start of a productive season. We shall see!

Get down there lads and get your prize! Let battle commence. Come on Boyo's!

Rain at last!

This may be perfect timing! For the past few days the Towy has been up and down, probably reaching +250 mm which is not a great deal but enough to encourage a run I think. Today, Sunday it is absolutely chucking it down at home, all day, relentless! Looking forward to next weekend when we could be in for some good sewin fishing? Cant wait for my first sewin on my new Sage rod!

Tight lines all.

Not a sewin but a handsome fish all the same!

Rod kindly sent me this picture that he took recently when walking along the river. It's a fantastic picture and the original is even better but too big to upload!

Thanks Rod!

8lb - 13oz barbel from the River Colne

Winter on the Towy

The Llangadog AA AGM was held last Friday in the village. Unfortunately I was unable to attend due to another visit to hospital but Rod and John did and came back with some useful literature on the CFF (Carmarthenshire Fishermans Federation) and Llyn-y-Fan Hatchery.

LAA have agreed to let guests assist with winter maintenance and have promised to inform us of the work day dates when we receive our permit renewal letters! I will certainly make myself available to help now that I am fit and able!

It is also good to see a healthy set of Financial Accounts for the Association.

I am pleased to learn that the restocking policy for 2007 may now include sewin as well as salmon! Its been a long time coming but lets hope that it helps to turn around the rivers fortunes in perhaps 3 or 4 years time, who knows? Amazingly one thing that I have learnt from the hatchery literature is the survival rate of adult salmon v the number of eggs propagated! In the wild it is reported that from 10,000 salmon eggs only 3 adult salmon will result (and one of those Cerith will probably hook out) whereas the hatchery claims that from 10,000 eggs it can produce between 60 and 90 adult salmon returning to the river! If these figures are anywhere near true then the hatchery appears to be far more effective than nature!

My own view is that nature can probably cope, the problem is man! Get rid of the high sea's fishing pirates, the estuary netters and improve the spawning areas up river and once again the River Towy could not only become one of the finest game rivers in the UK but could boost the economic prosperity of the area no end (and by heck it needs it!)

Anyway, back to the river! Recent floods have taken their toll on Cruel Pool, eroding the footpath away and uprooting the tree from the foot of the steps. The following pictures were kindly taken by John and Rod whist walking off their hangovers from the night before! Considering the time of year the river looks good and the quality of the pictures are excellent (even after me reducing their size by 60% in order to be able to load them on to the blog). Well done both of you. I am disappointed though to see that you failed to climb By-Pass Hill (formally Heart Attack Hill) and get some pictures of the lower river!

I like this picture of Cruel Pool - very creative!

Rod showing off with his new camera!

Some people are always on the phone - he's probably talking to me actually!

Looking up towards the railway bridge. Good to see the island still remains (left)

Cruel Pool - in all it's glory

The Cattle Drink on the left looking upstream

Let's hope the tree survives the remaining winter floods - it should make a great worming spot!

It makes me very jealous to look at these pictures but I know it's not long now before I will be on the river and I should be much fitter than ever before! You will all be pleased to know that my second trip into hospital seems to have been worthwhile (but time will tell) and that the Ablation Therapy I received should prevent any further episodes of palpitations that I have suffered from recently. It worked on Tony Blair so hopefully it will work on me!

Roll on the 2007 season!

Worcester's flood water brings added value for visitors?

Lewis and I took Gilda to Worcester on Saturday to do some shopping. The river looks as though it's rising and there are parts of the town that are beginning to suffer from flood water as you can see below. Also there are loads of swans!

Looking down stream from the main bridge towards the Cathedral

Browns Restaurant may be open but not doing much business!

It's very tiring being the centre of attention!

River Severn about to flood

I walked to Bewdley today and took some pictures of the Severn about to break it's banks. The EA are erecting the barrier at Severnside North in anticipation and in view of the weather forecast this week end I would think it will be well over the banks by next week.

Out of season activities and other nonsense!

Now that I am off work and walking a lot I have put together a few pictures from my favourite walks. I also get a bit lonely like this chap above!

Trimpley reservoir and Eyemore Wood is my favourite walk - there's so much to see and it's only a 10 minute drive away!

Severn Valley railway near Trimpley reservoir - a good place to get killed by a steam train!

The tree colours are absolutely stunning at the moment. The walk takes me through the woods, over the railway line and then around 2 reservoirs. It is very quiet and I am almost guaranteed to see 3 or 4 herons, often within 10 metres or so and grebes, coots, loads of mallards and the odd buzard! It's about 2 miles in total but I can easily extend it to 4 miles if I wish.

My heron friend who I see every time without fail stood on his rubber ring?

The Bell at Skenfrith where Gilda and I took a short break prior to my operation. Expensive but highly recommended with lovely walks, fantastic cuisine and very comfortable bedrooms plus fishing on the River Monnow!

And yes I was here! Not my kind of music but the show was amazing! Good old Robbie!





RW in concert Milton Keynes - spelt K E Y N E S just to show my age! Get it?

2006 - End of Season Report

Another poor season has passed!

I'm not sure how long I can continue driving the 100 miles every week to the river and fishing on average 4 hours through the night with very little if any reward!

After my recent heart by-pass operation I am hoping to be full of life next season so I will be looking for a fishing venue that is similarly blessed I think! There comes a time when one has to just admit that the river is finished and it is just not viable for the likes of me, living so far away, to fish it any more. It's sad but the 2007 season will have to improve significantly for me before July if I am to continue fishing the Towy! I am already looking elsewhere and intend to take out another permit on a different river next season in case my fears come true!

So what did the season bring to our little merry band of sewin fishers? Very little would be a true description I think despite many hours on the river (other than Rod and Cerith who apparantly had other things that prevented them from wasting their time fishing for non existent sewin!)

Both myself, Gadget Man and latterly John all put in a lot of hours and all more or less finished up with a similar result!

This was the conclusion.

Me - 4 No sewin to 3Ib, average 1.5 - 2.0 Ib all on the fly at night
John - 5 No sewin to 3Ib - 6oz, 4 on fly, 1 (the largest) on spinner at the back end of the season
Chris - 4 No sewin to 3Ib
Rod - 1 No sewin weighing in at 6.5 Ib caught spinning at the back end
Cerith - 1 No salmon weighing in at 8Ib caught worming at the back end (jammy bastard)

I think these statistics are correct but as I am suffering from short term memeory loss they may not be absolutely spot on so please let me know it they are wrong!

John's sewin 3lb 6 ozs

I have to say that I have enjoyed everyone's company through the season and greatly valued alof your support through my illness. It was nice to know that you care! Thanks lads!

Fisher of the Year - 2006

Overall I think John did very well under difficult circumstances, what with his own health problems etc and almost deserved the Fisher of the Year Award, however, considering the very little amount of time that he spent on the water and the intense distractions that he was subjected to away from the water I think Cerith has to be the Fisher of the Year 2006. To catch a salmon on the Towy is something that has eluded me for many years. I know John caught one on the Llandovery AA water during the Foot and Mouth crisis but as far as I am aware no other member of our team has ever suceeded on this river! Correct me If i'm wrong! Cerith - thats just pure skill and nothing else can describe it. Well done Cerith it's your round next time we meet up in the Telegraph!

Here are just a few pictures to remind you of the back end fishing that I could'nt attend but which kept me going in hospital and afterwards by recieving your regular reports!

Rod with his 6.50 lb sewin

Lets make the 2007 season something special shall we? Have a nice Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year.

Tight lines!

23rd September 2006 - a day out on the Towy!

What a gorgeous day it was!

John very kindly offered to take me down to the river just for a break and a nice day out. We left home a 6.30 am and got down to Llangadog bridge by 8.30 am. We didn't expect to catch anything it was just a case of being there and enjoying it! The water was low but it was a sunny day, quite breezy but very pleasant!

Guess what, I had 3 visitors. Firstly Chris (Gadget Man) called in to see me which was nice and we had a bit of a laugh. Then Cerith and his girlfriend (forgive me Cerith I can't pronounce her name) but she was very nice and the 2 of them look a good combination. Cerith I hope things work out for you both! Thanks all of you for calling in to see me I really appreciated it.

John as ever was determined to catch and went on to catch about 10 or more small trout, I caught a couple but I wasn't there for that reason. The river looked lovely with its autumn colours starting to show and the red kites were enjoying the day as much as I was.

The best brother-in-law anyone could wish for - although he did try to kill me on the way back home!