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Tight lines all

The 2009 season is approaching rapidly!

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






Tight lines everyone.

The Annual 2008 luncheon!

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

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

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

Fully fed and watered

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

The dynamic team (with John asleep as usual!)

Rodney Byles posts his 2008 report!

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

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

50 miles for the BHF - DONE!

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

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

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

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

My 2008 catch report!

2008 was my worst season for many years!

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

3 fish was the best I could do!

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

Lets hope 2009 is better!

Tight lines

Llangadog Angling Limited launch their own News Blog!

Great News!

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

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

Tight lines!

No salmon today!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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

Tight lines!

Fishing prospects for the last 2 weeks!

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

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

Lets just pray for rain! Watch this space!

Tight lines!

If you enjoy this blog then please support me and be generous to the BHF!

I am cycling 50 miles for the British Heart Foundation on Sunday 2nd November! Please support me by giving generously!

WHY?

I am doing this event for a number of reasons!

I want to raise money for the BHF because without their support Mr Graham, my consultant, would not have been able to save my life the way he did, with the technology that he had at his disposal and when he did!

I was lucky - 2 weeks from diagnosis to CABAGE x 4! Mr Graham told me that my Aorta was almost blocked and that if it did block up I would be history! Fortunately I did not have a heart attack - if I had then I probably wouldn't be here now! Good enough wake up call, hey?

Yes it was a big big shock to me and my family! I owe my life to the forethought of Dr Horton my GP, to Mr Graham my Consultant, to the BHF for all their good work over the years and their part funding of the Cardiac Rehab Clinic at Kidderminster Hospital and finally to my wife and children without whom I wouldn't have survived the trauma of the operation let alone come out the other side wanting to live! I believe passionately that the BHF can and do make a difference to peoples lives! All the support from their publications, research, PR etc is vital to reducing the impact of this 'silent killer'!

At least two people who I have been close to have died unexpectedly from Cardiac Arrest! A long time friend of mine from work, who was about my age, had a fatal heart attack without any notice as such! He was unlucky! I was lucky!

I have a beautiful granddaughter called Sofia who I love dearly and who I want to be healthy and live a full life! I don't want her to go through what I've been through! I want her, like millions others to eat sensibly, exercise and be healthy without the threat of this evil killer hanging over them and I know that the BHF can help turn things around in time!

Has it affected my life? Before my diagnosis I was tired, worn out, lifeless, useless, knackered and more!

Now I am fighting fit, full of life, enthusiastic about my new job, mad on fishing, mad on photography, mad about Sofia, mad about taking my wife away for holidays and long weekends, mad about cycling, mad about my kids and their wives, mad about my allotment!!! MAD, MAD, MAD MAD!!!

Thank you BHF for letting me live, giving my kids their father back, giving my wife her husband back and most of all - giving my granddaughter Sofia a GRANDAD who would do ANYTHING for her no matter what the consequences!!

Sorry - gone a bit 'over the top but can't help it'!

By the way - a heart by-pass gives you back your heart a million times over!

4hrs - 36 mins to beat!!!

YOU CAN DONATE SECURELY AT

www.justgiving.com/andrewholmes1


PLEASE DO IT NOW!

Cerith cracks it again!

Cerith had a 'cracking' salmon last week! Here is his brief report!

'Had an 8.5lb salmon on the worm earlier down the bottom, lovely clean fish which gave a good fight on 8lb line. Had a few good knocks as well before three otters disturbed the pool completely for about 20 mins'.

Cerith

Let me have a picture Cerith!

My report from the Golden Grove Fishery!

I have just returned from a days fishing at the Cilsane Beat at Golden Grove and thought I would report on the fishery for the benefit of any of you who may be considering fishing there.

I met the Ghillie on the bridge at Llandeilo at 8.00 am and he showed me the beat, car parking places and an outline of the river and pools. The water had fallen to about 300mm above summer norm so I was not overly optimistic of catching especially as it looked like it was going to be a sunny day!



This section of the river is slightly wider than the Llangadog water but has a nice mix of water with fast flowing runs and glides that looked very good. There is some canal type water that I would imagine would hold sewin well in the season especially under the trees or alongside occasional obstacles. There is a car park at both ends of the 2 mile beat and one in the middle and fishing is from both sides where appropriate. Fishing alternates from side to side so some river crossing is necessary which would be a restriction to the angler in high water I think. The canal like water represents probably about 40% of the whole and looks extremely good for holding big fish and for night fishing!

I fished all day in bright sunlight and didn't see any fish at all! There were Red Kites about though so there was plenty to entertain me. All in all I can see why GG has such a good reputation and I am looking forward to fishing again in early October.

Tight lines.

Day time fly fishing success at last!

John and I fished Saturday 13th September. The water looked good! A little bit of colour and about 2ft on the gauge and falling.

It was quite misty when we first started fishing. I kicked off at about 8.30 am with a 7lb sewin on a teal, blue and silver double size 8! John followed suit at about lunch time with a bar of silver 5lb grilse caught in bright sun light on the very same fly pattern! I lost another fish of similar size!

I can't seem to raise a fish so I've decided to raise some more money for the BHF!

I'm riding 50 miles for the British Heart Foundation in Coventry on the 5th October and I need loads of money!

Please be generous and donate safely and securely on line.

www.justgiving.com/andrewholmes1

Tight lines

My 100th Post on this BLOG!

Because I had a business appointment in Bridgend today I thought I would pop over to the river and do a spot of fishing!

I got to the river by about 4.00pm. The water level was up about 600mm - 1000mm from normal which was hardly surprising since it hasn't stopped raining now for weeks! I was pleased to see that the colour was what I would call 'cloudy'! It wasn't muddy but had started clearing and you could see a Toby lure quite easily when retrieving near the bank! There wasn't any rubbish floating down either! I would say that the conditions were good for spinning and worming!

I was spinning for about 3 hrs from the Car Park Pool down to below Crewel but with no success! It was windy and rained on and off. I have never seen such sodden fields in all my 20 odd years fishing on the river! Even the cows were struggling up to their knees some times in the field - not the river! Muddy on the river bank? Not half - the worst I have ever seen! I parked my car up the lane halfway between the river and Colin's farm in an effort to avoid the mud which consisted of mud, cow shit and cow piss all nicely mixed together - lovely!

There were no other fishermen to be seen!

Tight lines!

Rod sends me his latest 'bleak' report!

Rod says

"Went down the river on Wednesday for a couple of days equipped with worming and spinning gear knowing I wouldn’t be able to use the fly as water up quite a bit. Had to wait about half an hour before I could get out of the car to tackle up Wednesday afternoon as it was p*****g down. Water a good height and nice colour for spinning and tried under the railway bridge and above Crewil using different spinners, but saw nothing.

Went out again Thursday and water up a bit from day before but looked okay for spinning. Tried above and below Crewil with different spinners but saw nothing. Then went down where the cattle cross and then by the tin hut, which I used for shelter during some heavy showers and strong wind. Saw one nice fish 5-6lb move along the opposite bank but couldn’t say if it was a sewin or small salmon. Joined Cerith further down who was fishing the worm and thought he was bound to have a fish as looked ideal for the worm as beginning to colour up and also rising slowly. Cerith saw a couple of fish move in the quieter water on the opposite bank but couldn’t tempt them with spinners. Packed up about 7pm and back to the pub.

Friday was horrendous. Went to Road Bridge and water rising and colouring all the time. P*****g down again and river rose about a foot in the 3 hours I was there and got very coloured.

I left the river about 1 o’clock and a good job too as the other side of Llandovery the rain started to get much heavier and the A40 from Sennybridge to Brecon was horrendous and worst driving conditions I've ever been in. Lots of local flooding and one point I almost stopped on high ground to let the rain stop. However I decided to press on and good job I did as I later learned the A40 was closed between Sennybridge and Brecon. Rain eased a little the further east I went. Despite the bad weather an enjoyable coupler of days. I will try and get down again before the end of the season as need to break my duck!"

River still rushing through!

Went down to the river last night.

It was a gorgeous night, warm, still and overcast! I looked at the road bridge first and found that it was far too coloured to take the fly at night. I then went down to the Car Park Pool where the river was rushing through at one hell of a pace but appeared to be fairly clear. I fished for an hour and came back home! I am glad that I didn't attempt to cross the river down the bottom because I am fairly certain I wouldn't have been able to. A wasted journey I guess!

Latest news!

Dylan has kindly sent me this report!

We had more torrential rain here last night and I’ve just been over the Tywi at Llangadog where she is full to the banks, probably the highest water this season so I would imagine fishing is a waste of time today. The upper river may fish for the more adventurous anglers with spinners tomorrow but I would have thought it will be Thursday before she is in any state for spinning particularly on the lower river. Fly fishing will be out of it for some time I fear. There is more rain forecast also!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salmon on the Towy?

Just to prove that salmon can be caught on the Towy!

Wednesday 13th August - latest river conditon!

Just recieved this report from Dylan Roberts.

More heavy rain last night the Tywi is bank high today, probably the highest its been this season and on the verge of bursting its banks. I’d hold off coming down for a couple of days but should be good spinning water Friday onwards if there is no more rain.

Dylan Roberts

Thanks Dylan!

This sort of firsthand information is invaluable to many of us who live so far away.

Huge sewin caught!

20 lb sewin - what a catch?

Big pike caught!

A 23 lb pike caught on the Towy!

Tim picks up 2 good sewin!

This is Tim's latest report! An enjoyable weeks fishing and judging by most of us a very productive one! Well done Tim!

'Got there Saturday and the river was high. Tried spinning on the evening but no luck. Sunday evening the river had dropped somewhat and was getting towards clear so I tried a few hours night fly down at the cattle drink. Had one pluck first pass through and that was all. River was too high and probably too coloured in reality.

Monday night the river was in better order, running clear but about 12 inches up. I fished down at the bottom end and had one at 6lb at 10.15pm and another at 4.5lb at 10.45pm. Both of these on a 2 inch silver and black tube. Had another couple on briefly while fishing the jambo but I think that the speed of the current was making the fly move so fast across the surface that the fish were misjudging their attacks and hence they were only very lightly hooked.

Tuesday it rained hard all day and the river shot up. I didn't fish. Wednesday was another day of heavy showers. I tried spinning and even had a go at worming in the evening but again no luck. The river rose another 6-12 inches while I was there. Didn't bother Thursday at all. Tried Friday night on the fly but was being a bit optimistic really as it was the last day of my trip. The river was up 12-18 inches and the colour was the wrong side of clear (it actually got worse during the night and started to cloud up). Needless to say, I didn't do any good.

Overall an enjoyable time spent in Carmarthenshire but the weather gods had not been kind to me at all. It really didn't feel like the first week of August.
Just waiting for it to stop raining now and I'll be trying again.'

Tight lines all!

Latest news Tuesday 5th August 2008!

Cerith says:-

'River been up and down lately, until today, when she must have risen around 30 inches or more after it rained heavy all morning and afternoon. Went down after work and wormed some of the quieter back eddies and managed a small sewin around 1.5lb. As I left, the river was starting to fall, but the forecast is not so good for tomorrow. Might try again tomorrow night and Thursday before heading North'.

Tim strikes lucky again!

Tim sent me his latest report.

'I took a flyer on Tuesday night and drove over to Llangadog hoping that the showers on Monday hadn't done too much to the river. As it was, the river was up about 2 inches at most and still running clear. It was a dark, wet and at times extremely windy night. I saw fish jump as early as 8pm up in Crewil pool tail.
I fished at the bottom end and saw one or two small sewin jump. The river continued to rise while I fished (up about 5 inches by the time I left). The rise seemed to have shaken the fish, because around 1am I saw one bigger fish jump and heard an almighty splash from downstream - I really did think that a cow had fallen in - the splash was enormous. That must have been one heck of a sewin - pity I didn't connect with that one!

In the end I managed to get a 3lb 12oz fish on a Jambo - it took it like a demon and charged around the pool cartwheeling all the way. I have to say this was the best fight so far, even though I've had bigger fish - I really thought I'd hooked a double figure fish. I ran through the pool again with no luck, so had a coffee and a rest for 15 mins. During this time another big fish crashed in the pool. I tried fishing for it, but the wind became that strong that it became impossible to cast - as soon as I cast forward, the wind blew the line back at me. At this point I thought I'd call it a day - I'd been rained on all night, the temperature had dropped and I was a bit concerned about getting back over the river to the pumphouse. Would you believe it, as soon as I got back to the car, the rain stopped and the wind died away totally.

Anyway, it seems the extra water has got the fish on the move again and I'm looking forward to next week - I'm over near Manordeilo for a week starting Saturday and am hoping that the rain stops falling now, which gives me a chance of night fly. If not, I'll be packing the spinning and worming gear'.

Thanks Tim and well done! With the prospect of a whole week on the river I will expect some good reports and some fish caught!

Tight lines!

Friday 25th July 2008

John has reported back on his visit!

He said that he fished the lower beat first without seeing or hearing a thing. Then road bridge and again nothing! Very disappointing!

The river appears to have gone very quiet! Maybe its because of the recent rise in water level which encouraged a lot of fish to move up stream. Hopefully new shoals of sewin will be moving into the system over the next week or two!

Tight lines!

Latest report from Tim Wilkinson - Thursday 24th July 2008

I fished down at the cattle drink last night. Saw a few smaller fish jumping and one or two bigger ones. They seemed to be moving at dusk, before it got dark. After dark I didn't see or hear anything. The wind got up about 12.30 am and fishing became difficult.

The good news is that I managed to winkle out a sholie of about 1.5lb in the run in to the cattle drink. This was early in the night at around 22.45 pm. Had one or two nips after that but nothing at all after the wind got up.

Cheers

Tim

Wednesday 23rd July 2008!

Popped down to the river in the hope that there might be some sport!

It was a lovely warm night, half moon though with a scattering of clouds! Not too bad! Had one decent pull and a few knocks but that was all. Saw one fish of about 3 lb jump early on, well before dark, opposite the bush, jumped clean out of the water about 1.5m at least! Fished from 10.15 pm to 2.30 am in my shirt sleeves! Fantastic night to be out doors but a distinct absence of any fish in numbers! Disappointing for July!

Tight lines!

kingfisher

Friday 18th July 2008

Well I have to say that this was a very disappointing night for all three of us, that is John, Chris and I! Conditions were pretty good! Warm, cloudy and fairly dark and the water was crystal. One thing that did hinder us though was a stiff breeze!

We all fished hard from 10.30 pm to 4.00 am! I blanked completely without any decent pulls; Chris lost a good fish early on; John had a few pulls and finished up with a lovely silver 2 lb sewin!

Worming in Crewel pool was also a complete let down! Not a fish to be seen or heard! I caught a small sewin of 1 lb and that was that!

Positive thoughts: Otters were around? Saw 2 kingfishers!
Negative thoughts: Bullocks and, dare I say a BULL!!!!!! F..k..g hell!!! The things that we fishermen put ourselves through! We must be MENTAL!