Llangadog Angling Association Newsletter for 2007 Season

Llangadog Angling Limited – Supporting Llyn Y Fan Hatchery.

The club has always supported the efforts of Llyn Y Fan Hatchery, and the 15lb 5oz hen sea trout that local angler Cerith Booth caught in July was donated to the Hatchery. The sea trout was stripped this winter and produced approximately 11,500 eggs. The sea trout is to be kept at the hatchery until next winter when hopefully she will produce more eggs, after which she will be released back to the Tywi. On the 26th January seven local and guests of the club visited the hatchery for a look around. It was a fascinating morning and all were encouraged and thankful for the work of the owners, Viv and Olwen.

Information

Anglers are reminded that the fly only rule still applies, with fly fishing only below Crewil pool from the 1st May through too and including 31st August when the white marker at the tail end of Crewil Pool is showing.

Anglers are also reminded to take their litter home, especially fishing nylon, and to leave the fishing bank in the order they found it.

Please report any suspicious activity to a committee member or contact the Environment Agency direct on free phone 0800807060. Any member who holds a Llangadog Angling Limited permit has the right to ask any other fisherman/woman fishing club waters to see their permit.

Llangadog Angling Limited Contact Details -

President Eric Jones Contact Details
Vice President Dylan Roberts
Chairman Roger Howell
Secretary Eifion Jones 01550777296
Treasurer Eric Jones 01550777645
Club Bailiff Cerith Booth 017891817204
Committee Tony Byard
Jeff Davies
B Gracie
Sub - Committee Andrew Holmes





If you would like to contribute to the next issue of the news letter or have any information regarding catches etc, please contact Cerith Booth on 017891817204, or alternatively at cerithbooth@hotmail.co.uk



Introduction

We the committee of Llangadog Angling Limited would like to welcome you all to the first club news letter, spring 2008. We hope you find this news letter of interest and wish you all tight lines for the coming season.

Llangadog Angling Limited was formed in 1963 as Llangadog Angling Association. The inaugural meeting was held on the 14th October 1963 at the Castle Hotel. Six local parishioners attended the first meeting with the objective of providing recreation in the form of angling to the residents of the Llangadog County Council Ward. Mr Owen Jenkins was nominated as the first Chairman and Mr W Butler Jenkins as the first secretary. The first president was Mr Leslie Thomas. Also present at the first meeting were Mr Dewi Hall, Mr J Rees and Mr D T Evans. At the first meeting it was proposed by Mr Leslie Thomas that all present at the inaugural meeting be made founder members of Llangadog Angling Association. The fee for Llangadog parishioners for the coming season was priced at a £1.

During its time Llangadog Angling Limited has mainly relied on leasing its fishing waters from various sources. In the early years the club leased not only fishing rights on the Tywi, but also on the River Bran, Sawdde and Dulais. In more recent years the club strengthened its cause with the purchase of two exclusive fishing rights on the river Tywi. On the 18th February 1987 the club purchased the fishing rights from the Car Park Pool down to the Cattle Drink Pool below the railway Bridge. And on the 23rd June 1992 the club purchased the fishing rights at the Road Bridge. There are also records showing that the club made enquires regarding buying and leasing fishing on the Teifi at Lampeter and on the Lake at Talley.

A more recent change was the renaming of the club to Llangadog Angling Limited from Llangadog Angling Assosiation in 2007.

Catch Statistics 2000 - 2007

Season Salmon Total Sea Trout Total
2007 7 145
2006 2 155
2005 6 256
2004 5 106
2003 7 346
2002 2 345
2001 Foot and Mouth Year - No Fishing
2000 18 529

These figures are not accurate, because not all catch returns are returned to the club. Anglers are kindly asked to report all catches at the end of the season so a true reflection of the numbers of fish caught on Llangadog Angling Limited waters can be obtained.


Llangadog Angling Limited

Founded 1963

News Letter - Spring 2008

A look back at the 2007 season.

April – Opening day was Sunday the 1st, and although not many anglers fish the Tywi at Llangadog this early, one local angler was rewarded for his early activity with a salmon on the opening day at the Road Bridge Pool. April on the whole was a dry month with settled conditions and although there were a few fish seen in Crewil Pool and down the Groins during the month, I have no reports of catches.

May – This weather for May was very unsettled, with fluctuating river levels making night time fly fishing difficult. There were reports of fish being caught on all methods, with the worm in particular proving its worth during the small spates.

June – This is the month that usually produces sea trout in good numbers, but because of the unsettled weather, catching the sea trout proved to be difficult on all methods especially at night on the fly. There were reports of fish showing at the Car Park Pool, Crewil Pool and down the Groins, and I also have a report of a double figure sea trout lost on the 9th down the Groins.

July – The month started as June ended with the river in flood and this pattern continued throughout the month with the river not settling to summer level due to all the rain. July turned out to be a complete washout for night time fly fishing, with the best chances of catching a fish on a spinner or on a worm. The rain at the beginning of the month did bring a lot of fish up river from the lower beats, unfortunately due to the continued high water the fish moved through as quickly as they arrived. However there were reports of a number of fish caught during the month including a 15lb 5oz sea trout for local angler Cerith Booth on the 2nd to the worm, one of ten he caught during the week. Guest member Wyn Richards also reported good catches on a spinner during the first week.

August – The month of August was much more settled with the river running at summer level or just above for most of the month. The night time fly fisherman welcomed this settled period at good catches were reported throughout the month. Guest member Andrew Holmes and his brother in law John caught 4 sea trout of 2lb, 4lb, 5lb and 7lb between them on the 11th down the Groins, and Andrew followed this up with another 2 sea trout of 4lb 8oz and 6lb 8oz the following week. There was also a report of a run of grilse during a small spate on the 15th with local angler Cerith Booth catching one of 7lb 8oz on the worm at the tail end of Crewil Pool.

September – As the summer came to a close and the river Tywi welcomed in the autumn, reports of fish being caught slowly dried up. There were still sea trout around, and in between the coloured fish the odd nice fish was caught. Guest member Chris Morris catching a 5lb sea trout on the 21st on a spinner at the Churns.

October – With the season ending on the 7th,October gives you little time to try and catch a salmon, and with no floods during the last week of September to push the salmon up-river it did indeed prove to be a disappointing end to the season. The season was extended to the 17th of October strictly catch and release, but I do not know how many anglers used this extension period and I have no reports of fish caught.

Llyn-Y-Fan Hatchery, Towy News Letter, January 2008

Llangadog Angling Association AGM

The AGM was held at the village hall and about 15 adults and 2 juniors attended.

A full report of proceedings can be obtained from the club secretary.

It was decided to hold guest permit fees fixed for the 2008 season without increase. I am pleased to announce that I have been voted on to the committee as the first ever guest member! I will endeavour to assist the committee members to the best of my ability!

Presentations took place at the Goose and Cuckoo.

Llyn-Y-Fan Hatchery visit - January 2008

What a fantastic morning we had! Me, Rod, Chris, Cerith and Gwenan!

These are young salmon only weeks old!

Sewin eggs are lighter in colour than those of salmon!

We were very privileged to be allowed to visit the Llyn-Y-Fan Hatchery! Thank you Cerith for arranging this for us. It was a memorable morning and one that I am sure we all enjoyed without exception!



Most of these trays contain salmon eggs but the lighter coloured ones are sewin! What ever the case they must not be disturbed or they may die!

When we finally arrived at the hatchery (its somewhere up in the mountains miles from anywhere and the closer we got to it the worse the condition of the road was!). Anyway, when we arrived at Llyn-Y-Fan we were welcomed by Viv and Olwen and invited into their farmhouse for a cup of tea and a chat first before the tour began. As soon as they started to tell the story of how they came to get involved in this project one could see the passion that they both had for the preservation of migratory fish. Their knowledge of the subject was without doubt exceptional and their enthusiasm was amazing!



They showed us around the egg trays and the various tanks that contained parr and of course their brood stock. They showed us Cerith's 15 1/2 lb hen sewin who had already donated her eggs to the hatchery. They hope to get her to feed so that she can be released maybe in the future! I have to say that if any of you reading this blog get the chance to go and see this for yourselves you will not be disappointed, it is fascinating.



Just in case Viv and Olwen ever see this blog then I would like to thank them for being such excellent hosts and an inspiration to us all! May their work continue for many years to come!

Why was 1994 such a lucky year for me?

I know Rod has caught one much bigger but this fish will stay in my memory for ever. It was magnificent and fought like hell I think - can't remember to be honest! I definitely caught at night on the fly on the River Towy, that is for sure!



Not only did I catch my biggest salmon but also my biggest sewin!

11lb - 4 oz Sewin caught on the River Towy in 1994

I suppose this fish has to my best catch! Sewin are difficult to catch at the best of times so I am particularly proud of this one! Thank you Rod for taking such a good picture in the early hours of the morning and with an old type SLR camera too! I don't think digital had been invented then? I scanned this to get it up on my blog and it does'nt look bad does it?

Rod - have you got a picture of your 14lb sewin?

Llangadog Angling Association - AGM

The AGM is being held at the Llangadog Community Centre (Green Room) on Friday 25th January 2008 at 7.00pm. I urge all members to attend. I will be attending and intend to upload a report soon afterwards with details of any points of interest so watch this space!

Tight Lines!

A true Winter Story!

You will be pleased to know that I have started scanning some of my old fishing pictures (as Father Christmas brought me an 'all singing and dancing' Scanner/ Printer / tea maker etc) and intend to put them on my blog in due course!

This is one that I found in my album the other day! It brought back fond memories to me so I thought I might share them with you!

Proud of my catch 15th April 1994

A 14lb Torridge salmon, me stood outside the entrance of the Half Moon Inn at Sheepwash in Devon!

This is the salmon that I refer to in my Catch To Date report for 1994. It weighed 14lb and is my largest salmon to date. I caught it on the Holsdon Beat of the River Torridge, the Half Moon Inn used to rent it from the National Trust but as far as I know no fishing is allowed there any more! I remember the circumstances very well!

It was a lovely spring day, sunny and quite hot. Access to the river was down a very steep, long bank and through some woods! It was dead easy going down the bank, the thought of returning back up though was far from my thoughts. I was on a mission!

The beat was split into 2 sections and you had to fish one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, sharing the beat with the syndicate who fished the opposite bank. The change over had to be a 12.00 noon!. The bottom beat had a weir on it at the far end and I had just started fishing the weir pool at about 11.30 am so I had 1/2 hour before I had to pack up! The water conditions were good for spinning, as there had been rain earlier in the week and the water was at a good height but falling (this was before the Fly Only rule came into force at the HMI after April 1st or whenever it is!)

I was fishing a silver toby and had just started chucking right over to the far side into the fast water below the weir. It swung round quite quickly in the fast current. I did this 2 or 3 times and then felt a knock! Must have been a rock or something I thought! Just at this moment a Range Rover came down the field on the far side and an elderly guy got out with his rods and gear ready to start fishing at 12.00 noon! 'Morning' I shouted. 'Morning' he replied, 'had any luck'? 'Not a touch' I replied. 'I've been fishing all morning and haven't even seen a fish'!

I continued fishing as time was running out and this pool looked like my last chance of the morning! Another cast landed right in the white water just below the weir. It swung round again. 2 knocks this time! Weird, must be a snag in the river! I cast again, this time, to my complete surprise, the knock turned into a savage and solid pull, the line tightened and I was in to what seemed like a decent salmon!

The fish fought like hell! It must be double figures, I was thinking! All the time I was being watched by the guy on the far side who kept looking at his watch! It was a powerful fish and this combined with the fast current at this point made the job of playing the fish that much harder! Then I realised that I had left my landing net further upstream! Bollocks! Now what shall I do?

There was no choice but to dive in after the fish or even, dare I say, tail it? I had seen it done but had never tried it myself! The trouble was I had trees all around me so I couldn't raise the rod high in order to control the fish and the current seemed too fast to tail the fish very easily! I decided that there was only one thing for it! I must get in the river and try to get the fish between me and the bank, however, this wasn't easy as the flow was strong and the water deep (about up to my thighs). My plan was this! As soon as I could get the fish close in and holding position in the stream, between me and the bank, I would chuck my rod as far as I could up the bank and then lunge at the fish with both arms and heave it out of the water and up the bank as far as I could manage! This was a cracking fish and I had no intention of losing it, especially with the opposition guy over the other side watching every move I was making!

When the time was right I put my plan into action! It was all over in a few seconds but it seemed like a life time! My plan worked perfectly and the salmon landed safely half way up the bank with me safely lead on top of it! It was an absolute cracker of a salmon!

I had by now overrun my time on the beat so I had to walk back along the river for about a mile so that I could start fishing the next beat. This fish was hell of a weight and at some point I would have to carry it back up the hill to the car! Not a pleasant prospect I thought!

I fished for a couple of hours more to no avail and decided to call it a day and go back to the Half Moon for a pint! Now then, how am I going to carry this fish up that steep long bank back to the car with all my other gear I thought? It didn't look easy at all. Ah, I know! I took the sling from my landing net and threaded it through the gills of the salmon. I then heaved the fish on to my back and secured the sling over my shoulder! Job done! I would have to carry the net in my hand with my rod but so what! God was it hot! Spring? It was more like high summer! The bank got steeper and steeper and I was sweating like a pig! The climb was murder! Will I ever reach the top I wondered. I kept stopping and wiping my brow and looking back down into the beautiful valley with the river meandering through it. What a sight!

I was puffing, panting, sweating and other things when I came out of the trees at the very top of the hill (mountain more like). In front of me was the style and beyond that I could see my car. To my surprise though a young, quite attractive girl was standing on the step of the style with a camera admiring the 'breathtaking' view (literally). 'High' I said. 'High, have you been fishing' she asked. I was not looking my best after this epic journey and didn't have much breath left so I just turned around to show her the salmon hanging down my back. All I heard was a loud scream! Then another! And another! When I turned around she had run off! Christ I thought, has she never seen a fish before?

I lit a cigarette and looked back at the amazing view while I leant against the style. Then I looked down at the salmon lying on the grass. It was a magnificent prize! What a fantastic day? It was certainly one that I have never forgot!

The Great Trout Escape!

Rod alerted me to this picture and story in the Telegraph newspaper recently. These brown trout worked out how to escape from their fish pond into the river and gain freedom! Remarkable? Well not really to us fishermen but a miracle no doubt to the non fishing public!

Freedom is the River Itchen in Hampshire!

The owners of a trout farm were left baffled when fish were going missing. But then a wildlife photographer caught their extraordinary escape route on camera.

He pictured the trout making giant leaps out of their pond straight into the metal feed pipe three feet above the water level.

They then fought against the current for 30 feet until they reached the end of the eight inch wide pipe, which emerges underwater in a tributary of the River Itchen near Alresford, Hants.
The wildlife photographer Dennis Bright, 59, captured the amazing aerobatic fish earlier this week at the trout farm.

He said: "It was an incredible sight. Swimming against the current is instinctive for trout as they head up stream to spawn but they are doing a remarkable job getting through that pipe.
"They are jumping for freedom in large volumes but sadly I think their fate will be less than happy - there are otter, herons and many other predators feeding from the stream.
"I imagine the trout are quite stressed in the ponds because it is a free-for-all for predators. When birds come along the fish don't stand a chance."
David Riley, owner of Hampshire Trout Farms, said he would be extremely surprised if more than one or two fish were making it through.
He said: "I have been a farmer here for about 30 years and have never seen a fish make it to the other side but I know Dennis and if he says he has seen it I believe him."
"November and December is the mating season in the river and it is natural for them to jump at waterflows. It is not entirely impossible that they are getting through the pipe but if they do it would just be one or two.
"The pipe leads to the watercress fields which are only 150 yards long. If they were getting there in large quantities we would certainly see them.
"We already lose quite a lot of our fish to natural predators and I wouldn't like to think we are losing any more through the pipe.
"We do have a grill and deflectors that we can put on the pipe. Those that are not taken by otter or birds are used to restock rivers for sport."
The Brown Trout belongs to the same family as the Atlantic salmon. It is a medium sized fish, growing to 20 kg or more in some localities although in many smaller rivers a mature weight of 1 kg (2 lb) or less is common.
They prefer cold (15.5-18.3ºC), well-oxygenated upland waters, especially large streams in mountainous areas. Their diet includes invertebrates from the streambed, small fish, frogs, and insects flying near the water's surface.

Driven by instinct

It is instinct rather than cunning that drives the brown trout to make their leap for freedom.
The fish will be trying to get upstream to spawn.
David Bassett, of the British Trout Association, said: "They will be thinking that water falling from the pipe is a waterfall leading upstream. Then they will follow their natural life cycle to get upstream."
Paul Knight, of the Salmon and Trout Association, said the fish would also be attracted to the pipe because it would be bringing in water full of oxygen.
Mr Knight said: "They will follow instinct. I don't think they would be looking up at the pipe and thinking, 'Come on lads, let's go for it.'"

The Great 2007 get together!

Well we all met up this year at the Swan Hotel, Bibury and we all enjoyed it. The girls got on very well together and us blokes just carried on as normal taking the p..s out of each other! It was great! Lovely Hotel and surroundings.

Rod really enjoyed the meal and absolutely stuffed himself!

Cerith tells us his story for 2007 and a bit about the past!

Here is a summary of my catch statistics for 2007.

Total sewin caught is 21 all between 1lb and 4.5lb and of course the 15.5oz sewin that was donated to the hatchery. Of these I returned 12 to fight another day. I also caught one grilse at 7.5lb. Kept. All fish were caught on either worm or spinner, none on the fly this year.

Since I began fishing I have kept records of all sewin and salmon caught, that's more than 20 years worth, which includes methods, dates and where. I also have a number of records of the fish my grandfather caught. This winter I will log them all on the computer and send you a copy. My best year on the Tywi was 1999 (the year I left university and had nothing to do but fish), that year I caught over 50, the worst year was 1991 with only one sewin. 50 fish in a year isn't bad but my grandfather once caught 24 in a day in the 60's.

Hopefully i'll see you all in the AGM in January.

Rodney Byles Reports on his 2007 Season and a bit more!

Andy

Your catch return is interesting so enclose my little contribution in response.

Would have been interesting for you to include the flies you used to catch this lot!! My best season was about 12 if my memory is correct as don’t keep a diary like you. This season not that good as only managed 5 small sewin up to 2lb and only one of those on the fly. Very disappointing, although with Cerith’s advice I did manage a couple on the worm. The running worm is a difficult technique to master properly and depending on water conditions etc I will give it a try again next year.

Although the season has only just finished I’m already suffering from withdrawal symptoms. As a substitute I thought I'd try a bit of grayling fishing yesterday (Thursday) on a 1.5 mile double bank stretch of the Itchen near Winchester. Lovely sunny day and was quite expectant of a lot of grayling as had the stretch all to myself and river was perfect - gin clear and a good depth and flow. Started at 10.30 and finished about 3.30 in the afternoon and sad to say I only had one very small grayling and none rising either. Very disappointing as this stretch has produced big catches of grayling for me in the past with fish up to 1.5lb. The river keeper reckons the cormorants are to blame and take at lot of grayling during the winter months, however, my grayling disappointment was made up for with one of the best days I have had in years for trout!

I actually lost count of the number I caught. I think it was about 10 Rainbows and a couple of Brownies all between about 3lb and 6lb and fought like hell on 4lb line with my small 8ft rod that I made over 20 years ago. Plenty of long runs with the reel screaming!! Very enjoyable. Took me ages to get them out in the fast current and lost quite a few more. All were in cracking condition and of course all returned. I also saw an Eagret and a couple of Roe deer so it was quite a good nature day all in all. Wouldn't it be great to catch that number of sewin in a night!!! Now that would be special. We live in hope!!

Rod

My Catch Record - 1986 to date (with gaps)

Date River Fish Wt (lb-oz) Comments

Notable catch in red

1986

18/07/1986 Glaslyn Sewin 3-12 Andy’s Pool
22/07/1986 Glaslyn Sewin 4-2
01/09/1986 Glaslyn Sewin 3-0

1987

09/08/1987 Glaslyn Sewin 2-8 1 of 3 fish
17/08/1987 Towy Sewin 1-8
19/08/1987 Towy Sewin 1-0
24/08/1987 Glaslyn Sewin 1-8

1988

26/07/1988 Glaslyn Sewin 1-0
26/07/1988 Glaslyn BT 1-0 Brown Trout
08/09/1988 Glaslyn Sewin 2-8 Sinking line, flats
04/09/1988 Glaslyn Sewin 1.00
10/10/1988 Swan Inlet Sea Trout 1.00 Falklands
11/10/1988 Swan Inlet Sea Trout 5.00 5@1.00 lb each av

1989

07/03/1989 Dever Springs RT 5-2 Fishing with Tony
07/03/1989 Dever Springs RT 4-0
07/03/1989 Dever Springs RT 3-8
26/04/1989 Torridge Salmon 8.00
27/04/1989 Torridge Salmon 7.00
13/08/1989 Towy Sewin 2-2
20/08/1989 Towy Sewin 3-8 sea liced
03/09/1989 Towy Sewin 5-0
06/09/1989 Nith Salmon 7.0 George Htl, Thnhl
18/09/1989 Shatterf’d RT 10-0 8 fish in total

1990

22/04/1990 Torridge Salmon 7-8 Junction
13/07/1990 Towy Sewin 1-8 Churns
13/07/1990 Towy Sewin 2-0
07/08/1990 Shatterf’d RT 1-9 Lewis landed this!
08/10/1990 Glaslyn Sewin 10-0 Below Gorad pool

1991

16/04/1991 Torridge Salmon 7-0 Madeira
29/06/1991 Towy Sewin 3-12 Flats
04/07/1991 Towy Sewin 5-4 Churns
27/08/1991 Towy Sewin 4-0

1992

11/04/1992 Torridge Sea Trout 3-8 Beam
14/04/1992 Torridge Salmon 8-0 Beam – Sunken T
26/05/1992 Towy Sewin 3-0 Lost in Churns
21/06/1992 Towy Sewin 1-0
16/07/1992 Towy Sewin 3-0 Fishing with Rod
26/07/1992 Towy Sewin 2-0 Flats
31/07/1992 Towy Sewin 5-0 Flats

1993

18/07/1993 Towy Sewin 3-8
06/08/1993 Towy Sewin 6-0
21/08/1993 Towy Sewin 6-8 Road Bridge
21/08/1993 Towy Sewin 0-12
21/08/1993 Towy Sewin 1-8

1994 My best season ever for both sewin and salmon

15/04/1994 Torridge Salmon 14-0 Wr Pool, Holsdon. My biggest ever salmon.
2 fish lost!
12/05/1994 Towy Sewin Lost in Groins
29/05/1994 Towy Sewin 7-0 Flats
12/06/1994 Towy Sewin 11-4 Big! My biggest ever sewin!
24/06/1994 Towy Sewin 4-8 Flats
24/06/1994 Towy Sewin 1-0 Returned
23/07/1994 Towy Sewin 3-0 Rd Brdge with RB
28/07/1994 Towy Sewin 2-0 Flats
28/07/1994 Towy Sewin 1-8
04/09/1994 Towy Sewin 6-8
09/10/1994 Towy BT 1-4

1995

15/06/1995 Nith Sea Trout 1-8 Lost 2 fish
16/07/1995 Towy Sewin 1-4
13/10/1995 Towy Sewin 5-0 Car Park pool

No records for 6 years (probably because the fishing was poor and I was even more poorly?)

2002

28/06/2002 Towy Sewin 2-8
13/07/2002 Towy Sewin 3-8
19/07/2002 Towy Sewin 6-0
25/07/2002 Towy Sewin 1-8
26/07/2002 Towy Sewin 1-8
26/07/2002 Towy Sewin 1-8

Another gap!

2007

03/06/2007 Towy Sewin 2-0
15/06/2007 Torridge Sea Trout 1-8
15/06/2007 Torridge Sea Trout 2-0
15/06/2007 Torridge BT 1-8
11/08/2007 Towy Sewin 2-0
11/08/2007 Towy Sewin 4-0
11/08/2007 Towy Sewin 7-0
25/08/2007 Towy Sewin 4-8
25/08/2007 Towy Sewin 6-8
25/08/2007 Towy Sewin 2-0 returned
01/09/2007 Towy Sewin 4-8
24/09/2007 Towy BT 1-8

Last chance of the season on the Towy!

Rod, John and I spent the weekend on the river in the hope that one of us might get a salmon! With the water so low we knew the odds were stacked against us.

On Friday evening we thought we would try for a sewin in the Cattle Drink Pool and started fishing about 6pm. I was the first to go down the pool having fished the Churns first so it was natural to stay in the water and 'follow through' so to speak. At about 6.45pm when it was half light I had a good pull just above the actual cattle drink itself. Then another and the third connected with a good fish which both Rod and John heard but it didn't stay on! After that there was nothing and it went very cold so we packed up at about 7.30pm and went back to the B & B.

Saturday was bright and sunny and useless for fishing but we all went through the motions. Sunday was cloudy but no good!

So the last chance is over and we must wait for next season to catch that elusive Towy salmon! My next report will review the season so if my mates can let me know the number and weights I will include a summary for all to see.

The highlight of the weekend was probably me having to go to Ammanford on Saturday morning, buying some new waders which turn out to be too small! That's £120 down the pan! But best of all was Rod trying to knock himself out back at the B & B when he headbutted a low beam on Sunday morning! He was staggering about for most of the morning and was too afraid to get in the water in case he keeled over! Fortunately he has recovered but now walks slumped over where ever he goes!

Got some nice pictures though!

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?

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.