Saturday 2 April 2016

Yesterdays fish from Whitney was taken by day ticket holder Joe Sinclair on a copper toby.
Fish was 36" long estimated at 16lbs from beat 5. Another lost.
Good start to April which I suggest might be a pretty good month  in relation to recent yearly catches.

Some rain in the hills overnight may delay any further drop in levels for a time at least.
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Below;
Matt Taylor with a fine 17lb springer today,  His first fish from Sheepwash,   Flying C.


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TODAY   18lb fish for Christopher Morley from Glanwye on fly.
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Below the latest newsletter from WUF and yes, it's that fish again!!!  Slightly cropped photograph though.
Seems however your are 'less likeable' if you have an opinion contrary to the Wuf's Director as seemingly most on the internet forums have.    It was ever thus.

March 2016
March arrived like a rather wet and bedraggled lion. There was snow on the Black Mountains and many places held the scars of a very wet winter. On St David's Day (March 1st ), the prospect of an opening day (March 3rd ) fish looked possible but down came the rain and again on the 6th putting back the actual starting date on both rivers. By the 12th , the Wye had started to settle and the first fish was taken on the upper Wye from Llangoed Pool, Llanstephan. The fish was just over 47" with girth of 27" and took a deeply spun single hooked Flying C. It had been in the river for a few weeks. Those (self) appointed to tell the world it was or wasn't a particular weight or even whether it was clean fish have shown perhaps the less likeable side of the fraternity. Luckily, the vast majority are generous in understanding how difficult it is to secure a good photograph when fishing solo in a boat.
The 47inch salmon caught from Llangoed Pool on the 12th March.
This was quickly followed by a brace from Aramstone and then five on the 16th including one of 25lbs from Holme Lacy 3 and another over 20lbs from Courtfield. The Usk got off the mark on the 17th with an 8lbs fish from the Isca water at Newbridge caught by Peter Austin and there have been a handful from beats downstream of Abergavenny, the largest at 38" (mid 20s) and all on fly. From that point up to the 27th , when once again rain stopped fishing, the Wye yielded a fish every single day and several fish on many days, with a peak of 7 on the 22nd . However, it's the size and quality for which the Wye is known and this year has been no exception. 21% have been over 20lbs but if you look at those over 15lbs, the proportion rises to an encouraging 79% for the month. So in writing this report today (30th March), a brief glance out of the window shows the Wye to be holding its height, aided by some additional water over toping the Elan dams and well above fishable level. A review of the Usk gauges shows a very steady rate of fall and this is where fishing is most likely to start again.
Ross James with his two 20lb Wye salmon in March, from Courtfield and Wyebank.(below)
Ross James with a 20lb Wye salmon from Wyebank
It's been an encouraging start on the Wye. Its detractors will say the month's catch has been below average (and inevitably point out that it was much better half a century ago) but we lost 14 days out of a possible 28 to high water and the March 5-year average will rise yet again. So March will exit still with snow on the Black Mountains, occasional frosts and plenty of water lying about in fields, ditches and ponds. April promises to be very interesting for spring salmon fishers. As always it's a question of being at the right place, at the right water height at the right time and that remains largely in the hands of the weathermen.
Finally, a special mention to 10-year old Henry Sayer who caught his first salmon from Ingestone on 20th March - well done Henry!
Adapted graph showing the amount of water coming out of the Elan. Look how much longer it took for the dams to discharge following the rain on the 27th March.

February 2016

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