Finally some decent fishing :D

After the heavy rain here in South Wales for a a good couple of months and jumping in and out of the rivers and streams when the levels drops a little bit myself and a friend Lee fished the river Taff today after it hadn't rained all night and the river level had dropped quite substantially.  I was using my 10ft 3# with a French leader with a team of nymphs and Lee was using a 11 ft 3# with a presentation leader on a klink&dink.  To start off with there wasn't a lot of fly life about only the odd olive but nothing rising freely but we managed a few to the dry and nymphs before we made our way up river as there was people practising for the internationals at the end of the month.  As we got to back onto the river the heavens opened and we were stuck under a tree for a while until it died down a little but the heavy rain had done the damage and brought the river up slightly and very coloured too which we were not very happy about and nearly called it a day.  Luckily we didn't as after half hour or so after the rain had stopped the river cleared up a little and a massive hatch of pale wateries and bwo's came off the water and the fish were feeding heavily on them from the start of the hatch so we both opted to the dry fly a size 14 olive klinkhammer. We managed to pick off a few nice ones averaging at around 14 inch fish with very very light rises which is a bit odd i thought as they normally tend to rise very splashy/violently most of the time.





Working through the runs picking up the odd trout or two we spotted a really nice fish rising up against a banking and Lee had first digs at the fish to see if he could catch it but it wasn't too interested for some reason but still it kept on rising.  So we both let it be for 10/15 minutes before i had a go myself.  By this time it was rising every couple of seconds and i just knew it was going to take the fly when it passes him if I present it correctly. Within 3 casts it supped the fly softly under the surface and it was hooked. To start off with i didn't think it was as big as i thought it was but then it started taking line and quickly too down river whilst jumping in the air. I think i done my best to keep it out of the fast water so that the fish couldn't keep its strength up while in the oxygenated water so i put a lot of side strain on it whilst it tried making runs for the fast water.  After a good old scrap Lee kindly netted the fish for me as the fish was down river from me  A really nicely spotted 21 inch WBT 


After that fish we made our way through some more runs picking off the odd fish or two with Lee catching some really nice fish around 15 inches as it was getting late and the hatch was quieting down a little. But a really good days fishing and i hope and pray that it is the last of the heavy rain 


The fly which done most of the damage through the day

A really late in the season brook dunn

Lee fishing a double run

one of Lee very nice catches

21 inch WBT :)


A few other trout pics

A few flies

Due to the heavy rain and winds lately myself  (id image yourself's too) have been stuck in doors itching to wet a line every time the river levels drop only to be accompanied by even more rain to prevent you from fishing.  So i decided to fill some empty spaces where the dry fly section ( aswell as a few little nymphs ) in my box is ready for when the river level drops enough for me to get out on the upland streams here in South Wales.

Hope you enjoy.
X-Caddis

CDC & ELK

My personal favourites Klinkammer / Emergers.  Olive, Tan & Black



PTN &Hares Ear nymphs.


Last but not least.  I don't know what these two are called but they look like as if they will catch fish ;)

Just a quick one

After finishing my chors  around the house today my better half kindly agreed that i could get out for a few hours on the river.  I ventured off with my 7ft 3# as i was heading for a little stream.  When i got onto the water the river level was really low and clear.  Whilst working up through the runs i only managed to pick off 2 fish but was very hard work, so i decided to fish the main river instead and marched down towards the main stem abround a 3 mile march down river.  I fished my way up river with klink&dink and Managed to pick off a few nice fish around 3/4lb as i fished through the runs.  By this time it was getting pretty late so fished a few more runs before i set off for home.  I put my fly line in a shallow but very fast bit of was.  As my flies were coming down river not a single nudge but i just knew that there had to be a fish there.  I placed it back up river one more time and my klinkhammer shot under and i struck...........  My line shot off down river and i thought to myself oh SH## what am i going to do as i didn't take my landing net with me  AAHHHHHHH.   So i let it run..............and run..................and run down into the next pool with me falling all over the place running trying to catch up with the fish ( quite funny actually even i was laughing at myself  hahahaha  )  and eventually the fish stayed in the 1 pool shaking its head prefusivly and taking sharp fast runs but it was getting tired.  After a good 10 minute battle i managed to bring the fish into the shallows and pick him out of the water  :D

20 inch +   3lb fish

next to my hardy featherweight 7ft 3#

safe returns and you can see how big it it as i am holding its tail whilst trying to revive the fish


And a few other fish ;)

smallest fish of the day

A Day Of Two Halfs

First Half.
Friday night saw me messaging a friend/Lee and he asked me how was the river and is it fish able after the recent rains which we have had over the past month.  It hadn't rained hard for a few days now so the river was dropping slowly so it shouldn't be a problem on the winter level.  I met up with Lee at around 09:30am, Lee had already been there for about 30 minutes before me and had managed to pick off a few small fish ( a good sign. )  We were both fishing with 10ft 3# rods and a team of nymphs.  I started by fishing the run which Lee had already fished as he wondered off down to the run below.  I fished the fast and slack water where you would expect the fish to be with heavy nymphs but not a single touch.  After Lee had finished fishing his run with just as much success as myself we headed off up river to venture for WBT.  The next run was a long fast run with a big boulder causing some breaks in the water at the top of the run which i knew hold fish so i gave the run to Lee.  Same as the run before he fished the fast and slack water at the sides with heavy nymphs but not a single touch, so I suggested that he switches from a 3ml tungsten to a lighter 2.5ml to see if the change in presentation will entice the fish to taking the nymph.  Within a few casts his sight indicator shot under the water like lightning but didn't hook up into the fish :-/  But unfortunately a few casts later he had his nymphs stuck in a tree hehehe :-p  Lee then insisted that I carry on fishing the run while his line is in the tree just in case he spooks the fish whilst getting his nymphs ( I was more than happy to oblige :) )  After a few casts and not taking much attention to my indicator whilst talking to Lee and onlookers I failed to notice my indicator slip away and only noticed i had a fish on when I felt the tip of my rod bounce.  I struck and the fish was on luckily, however a few head shakes and a leap later it soon set itself free ( DOH ) After hooking into that fish id thought id give Lee a hand in retrieving his flies.  What a mistake as after I did so and made my way back across river I stood on a loose rock and I was about to float down river but luckily Lee was there to grab my bag.  As you can imagine Lee was in stitches :-/  We then fished a few more runs but not a single fish to our names.  We were starting to wonder if all the fish had been taken down river from the recent flood :(

Second Half
After the disastrous mornings fishing i decided to take Lee to a spot which the fish usually  tend to stay after a good flood.  It was 12:00pm and we could see a good hatch of large dark olive and large brook dunns and the fish, sand martins and swifts were taking full advantage of them.  The fish were coming up to rise exposing their whole back fins and head slurping away at anything which passed them in the fast water.  We both approached the water carefully not to spook any rising fish.  In my section of the run I could see some really nice rising so I cast my team of nymphs around 5ft above the rising fish.  First cast and I was straight into a fish leaping and trying to run off but it was only a little fish around 1/2lb but done some damage as all the other fish which were rising were now not >:(  So i stood still and didn't make and casts at fish  for around 5 minutes and it payed off as the fish were rising again :)  I noticed a really nice fish rising around 10ft which looked to be around 3lb and gave it a go ;)  A few casts later and the fish just wasn't interested so I placed my fly a little further up river than i normally would and as the nymphs came down river my indicator softly slipped away and I struck.  The fish just shot off down river straight away as I held on for dear life as it stripped more and more line from my reel.  The fish finally slowed down so that i could put a little bit of pressure on it.  It leaped god knows how many times and gave some ferocious head shakes which I thought was going to snap me off for sure :-/  However around 5 minutes later the fish was safely in the net :)
A nice 2lb WBT.


After myself catching that fish id thought id sit back and watch Lee fish for 5 minutes.  I asked him to fish the fast water at the top of the run as previous visits to this spot has proven to me that the bigger fish hold up there.  He fished the run thourally for about 10 minutes without a nudge until he fished his nymphs tight up against a wall and he hooked up into a really good fish and when he hooked up into his fish he spooked a fish and it lept out of the water and must have been at least 4lb easily :-o and Lee's fish didn't hang around long after the big trout hit the water and sped off down river.  It was a repeat of me earlier when i hooked into my fish.  all you can do is hold on and let the fish take line ;)  It was giving Lee massive head shakes and when it couldn't get its own way it gave us some awesome aerobatic shows.  Lee done really well with the fish as he was using really light leader.  After a good fight an exhausted fish ( and angler hehe ) it was safely in the landing net and after a nice picture it was sent back to where it belongs in the wild :)
Lee with his 2lb+ fish


We carried on fishing then run out and a few above too for the next hour or so picking off another 3 2lb+ fish aswell as some smaller ones in between before we had to leave for the day.  However a really good days fishing and great company also :)

Here are a few more pics of the fish which we caught ;)

What I have been up to ???

Hi guys sorry that I haven't posted for a while but it has been a bit hectic here at SSA in the past few weeks.  However I have managed to get out on the odd occasion on various rivers with friends.  Aswell as taking my little boy out to catch his first ever trout/fish which was a special moment :)  But here are a few pics to show you what myself and angling friends have been up to in the mean while ;)

Another Good Days Fishing :D

I fished the local river today just to give me new hardy featherweight 7ft 3# a good going over :) &  fished with a klink & dink.  Started at around 11:00am and it was boiling hot.  There was a good hatch of flies on the water and even noticed a few fish rising next to some fast water and i thought to myself mmmm this could be a very good day :)  I flicked my flies very gently above the fish trying my best not to spook the fish away and first time around the fish attacked my klinkhammer but i didnt hook the fish :(  So i placed it above and past the fish several more times before the fish lunged at my klinkhammer once more time and i was determind not to miss the strike this time and i didnt :)  A  nice little WBT


As i moved up in the pool which i was fishing i managed to pick off a few more smaller fish but nothing to really test my new rod so i decided to move up river a little to a spot which normally produces a good number of decent fish.  I had to be quite with my footing as the bottom of the pool was slow calm water and i didnt want to spook any resedents away ;)  I placed my fly all over the calmer water but not a single touch so decided to move a bit higher in the pool to more faster water where i had seen a few fish attacking flies on the surface.  I flicked my flies up river and watched carefully incase a fish attacked my klinkhammer or takes my nymph underneath which then my klinkhammer would dissapear under water but not a single touch.  So i place it up river a few more times and eventually my klinkhammer slips under water and i strike into a nice WBT just under 1lb and my new rod was bent in two :)  and this fish was giving me one hell of a scrap shaking its head in the fast water and jumping several times giving onlookers one hell of a display.


Eventually the fish was landed for a quick pic and returned safely.  Afterwards i managed to pick off a few more fish on the dry and nymph in several different pools and i didnt want to go home but the better half give me orders so i had to march off home :(  But i cant wait to get back on the rivers and streams close to me to snatch up some WBT in the next month or two :D

Here are a few more pictures of the day.

A Good Days Fishing

I got invited by a friend ( Terry Bromwell/ Taff diaries ) to fish the lower River Taff and i was more than happy to say yes as i havnt been out in a while :)  we arrived on the water at around 08:00 am and the weather was very hot and the river was low as we havnt had any rain since the first week of March.  There was large dark olives, brook dunns and a few grannom flying about but nothing rising.  I was armoured with my 10ft 3# fishing a team of nymphs as was Terry but he also had his 8ft 3# just incase the fish started rising.  We started on a nice run underneath a fly over which usually holds some nice fish in the shallow fast water.  Terry started off whilst i just hanged back and watched to see if he could pick anything off but not a single nudge/touch.  As he was a little further up the run i decided to sneak in where he had fished and make my way up to see if i could intice any fish from thier hidding spots.  I placed my team on nymphs all over the end of the run but to no prevale so decided to move up a nudge to a bit more faster water.  As the water was very low and clear we had to tred carefully and try not to make any disturbance on the water so most of the time we were crawling on our knees trying not to spook any fish infront of us.  I placed my flies at the edge of the fast water waiting for my indicator to slip under the water but nothing.  I was determind that there must be a fish there or if not at least one so i placed my flies past it a few more times and eventually my indicator slipped away into the fast water and i was into a very nice WBT around one llb which fought really hard fighting me in the fast water and giving me and Terry a very good ariel display :)  After that wonderfull WBT myself and terry picked off a few smaller WBT and small grayling too.

we decided to move up river a little bit as it was obvious that the fish were in the really bouldery fast water with the river being so low.  We picked off more and more small grayling and Terry loosing a monsterous trout about 2lb.  All of a sudden trout started looking up to see what was on the water and they were feeding on the surface so Terry pulled his dry fly out :p  Near enough straight away he was into fish and another and another to his little olive patterns ( it was if they were only taking Terry's fly :p )

Terry then noticed some nice fish rising at the end of the next run.  He stalked the fish taking very slow steps stopping for a minute at tiems and even crawling on his knees so that he wouldnt spook the fish and it worked a treat as they were still rising above him :)  Terry then said to me that one of them was a monster.  He placed his small olive patterns above the fish and let the fly pass them a few times but they were not interested.  He stopped casting for a few minutes to leave the fish settle whilst staying still in the same spott untill they started rising again.  He placed his fly above the rising fish again and whilst the fly was coming down river the fish went to go for his fly but turned away at the last minute.  He places it past the fish again and one of the fish sipped at the fly and he was hooked.  But one head shake and a run down river and he was off.  Terry was gutted HAHAHAHA.

Anyways it was starting to get colder and later in the day so we both decided to to fish one last run but there wasnt a lot happening and we could only pick off one fish between us so we decided to call it a day from there which i caught :)

A brilliant days fishing and great company.  Shall derfinatly fish the lower river again soon ;)

me nymphing some fast water.

One of the nicer trout.which i caught

Terry with one of his catches

Terry in stalk mode