No Pressure - Spring 2015

Hiraeth - longing, yearning, nostalgia 

I miss the trout season already. Strangely, it’s not the eagerly anticipated dawn ‘til dusk sessions on new beats that I miss the most, but those stolen hours on the Usk by my house. I must be getting old. 

I feel the need to relate an entire season’s worth of thoughts and experiences but, for now, I'll restrict myself to the Spring and on this unseasonably warm October evening I hold high hopes that the fish overwinter as well as they did last year.

A fat Usk trout, March 2015

Spring low

Following the mild winter, the cold dry spell in March and April resulted in some of the lowest early season Usk levels on record. At the lowest point, I noted half a dozen dead trout and a dead salmon on the Bryn Derwen beat. I also observed a fish go belly up on the Eden, momentarily concluding it was the strangest rise form I’d ever seen! I suspect that these mortalities were a result of the harsh conditions, a combination of low levels and diffuse pollution. 

Dead salmon 

Grannom

The grannom hatch proper commenced in early April and as one of the most eagerly anticipated periods on the Usk it attracts anglers from far and wide. This year was no different and ‘hatch chaser’ Paul Procter enjoyed a long weekend fishing the Bryn Derwen beat and Gwent Angling Society water.

Unfortunately (for me) I had to work on the Friday and had other obligations on the Saturday. It was a torturous test of will and commitment as a husband as I knew the grannom were hatching in force and had this confirmed by Paul over a pint or two each evening. At least someone was making the most of it.

I had pinned all my hopes on the Sunday as Paul, Dave Smith and I were due to fish Bryn Derwen. Sod’s law dictated that we awoke to a howling gale and, as I lay in bed listening to the windows rattling, I anticipated a difficult day ahead. Thankfully, my guests caught a few fish including Paul’s 19 inch adult grannom feeder. 

Paul's adult grannom feeder

A trip north

In the latter half of April Dave, Morgan and I ventured north. I had never fished the Rivers Eden and Ure and, despite a busy schedule, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do so with two good friends. We stayed in Hawes, fishing by day and consuming beer and whisky by night. The rivers were low and clear and the fishing was challenging, but a good number of fish were returned to grannom emergers and nymphs. 

Appleby  trout

Eden Grannom

As the grannom hatch occurs later up north, we coincided with the back end. Hatches were usually over by 10am and we took a few fish in the slower water on emergers and adults. However, most of the well-marked, beautifully coloured fish were taken on small UV backed quill nymphs.

UV backed quill nymphs

On the last day we were fortunate to be hosted by Matt Eastham on a superb Eden beat. We very much enjoyed the variations in the beat and the fantastic quality of the fish, and I can’t thank Matt enough for hosting the day. 

Well marked Eden trout

Matt with a lovely trout to the dry fly

The Monnow Social

Yet again, the Social lived up to expectations - both the company and the fishing. I took a bit of flack for staying in a B&B rather than camping, but it was well worth it. On the first day I fished with Neil on one of the Monnow beats above Pandy. The beat is lightly fished and this was reflected in the stamp of the trout. 

Neil on the bank of the Monnow

Monnow Trout - image courtesy of Neil Hotchin

On the Sunday I fished with Kris Kent on a private beat further down river. Kris concentrated on the few fish that were rising while I followed employing a more pragmatic approach... We caught no monsters, but returned many trout and grayling to around 15 inches. The middle section of the beat is special - braided and heavily wooded - and as I peered through the trees it seemed as though some channels were flowing in opposing directions. During another surreal moment Kris and I were confronted by a startled roe deer crossing the river within feet of us.

Woody debris

Thanks (again) to the hard work of Rob, Patrick, Neil M and others, this event was one of the highlights of my season and long may it continue. 

Pink holo DHEs - a great fly on the early season Monnow

No pressure

Experiences on the Monnow and Usk this year have yet again confirmed that the less pressure a beat receives, the more likely it is to produce large fish. Further evidence was gathered when I managed to gain access to a short unfished beat of the lower middle Usk.

The way down

The route to the river plunged fifty metres over a cliff-like bank and I trembled as I slid on my backside until I came upon an old rope buried in the leaf litter. Clearly the beat hadn’t always been unfished… 

Hot and sweaty after the ten minute scrambled descent, I realised the beat was only fishable along a twenty metre section. Slightly disappointed, I sat and watched the head of a fast run.

After a few minutes of observing hatching yellow may duns and noting no discernible rise forms, I elected to fish two size 16 light coloured jig nymphs on a french leader rig. On the first cast, as I deliberately lifted my flies through the water column, I pricked a large fish close to the surface that made a huge commotion. I cursed, but my concern proved to be misplaced as, over the next twenty minutes, the same spot yielded four fish of over 16 inches (including one of the biggest I landed all season). The mouths of all of these wild brown trout were coated with YMD emerging nymphs. I made the slightly more strenuous journey home in no doubt that I’d just made the ten most productive casts of my life.

Usk favourites

Usk YMD emerging nymph feeder

Tempus fugit

The older and busier I become, the faster time passes. I suppose the only advantage to this worrying trend is that next March will be upon me before I know it. 

The birth of my daughter has prompted me to re-evaluate and, after an honest discussion with Matt on the banks of the Eden (while my wife was at home caring for a teething infant), we concluded that being a time poor fishing enthusiast makes me a selfish bugger. As the weeks flash by, and with another season gone, I can probably live with this. 

Out of Time, Winter 2014/15

Inactivity

I’ve not posted a blog entry since August and it’s been nagging at me. Since then I have started a demanding new job and my wife has given birth to our daughter. Changing priorities and less spare time have resulted in fewer hours on the river.

During the colder months I only managed to get out a handful of times; to the Frome, a southern chalk stream (that will remain unnamed), the Irfon, the Upper Wye and (of course) the Taff.

Beasts of the Southern Chalk

The first grayling outing of the new season saw me fishing the Frome near Dorchester where Ian Stirling had kindly organised a day for a few us. As trout were still in season we were pleased to land plenty of brownies and quite a few grayling, with a few nudging the two pound mark (including one weighed by Nicholas - not pictured).

One of the larger fish 

Frome grayling

I was in great company. As this was a social occasion we had a memorable lunch, cooked mainly on John Aplin’s well used barbecue with a few additions, including what can only be described as 'Ian's Italian Quiche'.

Beasts of the southern chalk

John - pike spotting with the keeper (courtesy of John Grindle)

The Frome

Staying low with Nicholas (courtesy of John Grindle)

One for Dave (courtesy of Dave Smith)

It was a lovely day in superb surroundings and I am very grateful to Ian for organising it. 

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On the second grayling outing I was the guest of Nicholas on a 'southern chalk stream'. We met at 8.00 am and by 8.30 am (and please don't misunderstand me here) it was clear that he had taken me to a special place; I was amazed by the number of fish and, being relatively new to chalk stream fishing, I struggled to spot some of them in the low light. But when I did... 

By mid-morning I was transfixed with a particular fish and managed to shuffle (on my knees) off a three foot bank and into the river. As good as the fishing was, I think that was the highlight of the day for my companion. 

Average size

Nicholas with a slim fish

The sport was frantic and we caught many hard-fighting blue-hued fish, no monsters but a few just over two pounds. 

The fight

2lb 2oz

These fish were very special, almost irridescent. Certainly the prettiest grayling I've seen.

Irridescence 

The flies that I used on both days were similar to those I employ on the Taff, except for a killer pink, orange and brown shrimp pattern that Nicholas gave me (that rarely left my tippet). The pink butted hare's mask nymph (below) caught my largest fish on each trip.

Taff grayling flies

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Principles

This year I will mainly fish the Bryn Derwen Sporting Syndicate (near my house) and shall retain my Gwent Angling Society (GAS) membership. I am now a bailiff on the GAS Baker’s Beat near Chainbridge (a few hundred metres below Bryn Derwen) and hope to find the time to take advantage of some of the other GAS beats.

Chainbridge and Baker's

I have been an on-off member of Merthyr Tydfil Angling Association (MTAA) for over twenty five years. As a schoolboy I took the bus into town to purchase a ticket from Tony Rees' butcher shop. Tony is long retired, but I recall him enthusiastically filling out my ticket and giving me encouragement. It was on MTAA's Taff and Usk beats that I developed my love for river fishing. 

With this in mind, it saddens me that I will not be rejoining this year. Members of the club have requested that competitions be held on the Usk; while I do not fish competitions, I have no strong feelings regarding the catch and release events in which many of my friends compete. However, this year's MTAA competitions will encourage any legal method (fly and worm) and, as there will be no controllers (as I understand it), the competitors will have to weigh in up to four dead brown trout at the end. I suspect I will make no friends in the club writing this but I do not believe that a modern angling club should be organising catch and kill competitions on a wild trout fishery.

To put this into context, if twenty competitors took eighty fish on the Mardy beat, then I estimate that they may be removing ~10% of the trout population (of takeable size). The fact that this success rate is highly unlikely, makes no difference to the principle and I would be a hypocrite if I retained my membership.


Signs of Spring 
This time of year I can often be found walking the River Usk in expectation. (Usually between midday and 2.00 pm), I seek signs of spring and hope to spot hatching flies and rising trout. As yet, I've seen none. Although last week I thought I spotted a couple of rising fish but it turned out to be two cormorant crapping in the river!

Pesky piscivores 

This year I've seen more signs of fish eaters than fish. Over the last few months I've been finding (with a bit of help from my lurcher Nel) trout tails up to over fifty meters from the river. 

Otter 

Expectation also drives industry and I tie most of my flies for the Usk in February and March. The first important hatches on the Usk are the Large Dark Olives (LDO) and March Browns and I imitate various life stages with tried and tested patterns, a few of which are shown below.  

UV backed olive emergers

Hook: Size 14 - Kamasan B100
Tail: Coq de Leon
Body: Olive or natural quill
Back: UV blobs tail fixed with a very thin coat of UV cure
Thorax: Hare's mask / pine squirrel / musk rat - mix of natural and olive
Plume: Natural CDC

March Brown emergers

Hook: Size 12 - TMC 200R

Tail: Coq de Leon

Body: Ginger quill

Thorax: Hare's mask / pine squirrel / musk rat

Plume: Natural CDC

Bromwell's big boys

Signs of spring

Thoughts of Summer

Over the long and busy winter months I have been comforted by thoughts of the Usk in summer. As described in my previous entry, spending the last few hours of daylight on the river brought peace of mind. 

Last summer (courtesy of Jon Poutney)

Ken's field 

2014 - a good year for swans

That time in my life will stay with me and, as the end of summer proper coincided with the birth of my daughter, it seemed only fitting that we name her Hâf (summer in Welsh).

My PB (courtesy of Jon Poutney)

Brand New Beat - March Browns and Grannom, River Usk, March 2014

Death, Taxes and Leaky Waders - Ty Mawr (GAS), 14th March

American author John Gierach called it right; there are three certainties in life, namely 'Death, Taxes and Leaky Waders'. The inevitable came to mind, yet again, on a windy Friday afternoon the day before the Ides of March. It was my first session of the year on the Usk and I could feel cold patches spreading beneath my Simms G3s. This, and the strong northerly wind, was making me irritable but the stunning scenery set against a blue sky, the sight of long tailed tits and  the occasional Large Dark Olive (LDO) eased my troubled mind.

Trout were hard to come by, especially rising trout. Nymph tactics brought two to a size 12 hare and squirrel fur jig nymph that I copied from Terry Bromwell. This early season fly has served me well as a loose imitation of a March Brown (rithrogena germanica) nymph (I think).

Between gusts - Ty Mawr, March 2014

Becoming Acquainted - Bryn Derwen, 15th &16th March

On Saturday and Sunday (11.00am until 3.00pm), with crudely glued waders, I enjoyed (slightly) less windy conditions. I recently joined the Bryn Derwen Sporting syndicate and I am yet to get to know the beat, but as the fishing starts a couple of hundred metres from my house, I hope to do so over the coming season.

I caught three on Saturday and seven or eight on Sunday, nothing over 13 inches and all on the same nymph. I spotted only three oncers rising to the sparse hatches of March Browns and Large Dark Olives.

It was pleasing to see the Usk March Browns and I think that a report from Dave Collins the previous week may have been the earliest recorded UK sighting for 2014. These flies look similar to Large Brook Duns (LBDs) but I wouldn't usually expect to see LBDs until well into April. Upon close inspection, the March Browns I collected were identifiable by the presence of black areas on all femurs (upper legs), the absence of a yellow leading edge to wing and dark brown bodies with distinct gold(ish) banding.

Image courtesy of Dave Collins

Warming Up - Bryn Derwen, 22nd & 23rd March

The following weekend there were small hatches of LDOs and a few good flurries of March Browns. Despite the wind the fish began to look up; the occasional rising fish that would oblige when flies were hatching. I caught three on the Saturday (two to a CDC LDO dun pattern and another to a March Brown emerger) and three on the Sunday (all to the March Brown emerger).

The first top of the water trout of the season

On the first day, I managed to fall down when a badly undercut bank gave way. I jarred my left shoulder but luckily I cast right handed.

Falling down

The next day I came across a frightened looking lamb and returned it to its ewe. She had fallen down the same section of bank and I smiled as my shoulder reminded me when I lifted her to field level.

In spite of my good deed the wader Gods frowned upon me once more and my left leg was soaking by the end of the session.

River bank emergency

Grannom - Bryn Derwen, 31st March

Last Monday Dave Smith visited to help me 'get know the new beat'. I hadn't seen Dave for a few months and was looking forward to putting the world to rights and, hopefully, catching a few on the surface.  

After breakfast we tackled up and walked to the river where we noticed clouds of flies drifting up stream - unmistakably grannom. The previous day, Mark Roberts had informed me that they'd begun to hatch further up. Dave and I scanned the water and almost immediately observed a number of kidney shaped rise forms towards the far bank. A sure sign! We knew then were in for a good day and my hands trembled slightly and I talked too much as I tied on a GH grannom/sedge emerger.

Gwilym Hughes and Dave Collins Grannom emergers

We expect grannom to start hatching from the second week of April, but I couldn't recall whether I'd seen them earlier than this year, and so consulted a very experienced fly fisherman, Dave Collins (see the emerger above). He remembers (and so do I now) that about five years ago, after a very warm February and a winter of low water levels, they were present from the third week of March. He also informed me that we saw Yellow Mays in the fourth week in April that year (when we usually expect to see them the first week in May).

In Deep

To allow more control and drag free drift, I try to carefully wade within about ten metres of a rising fish, but this is not always possible on the wide, deep lower Usk. As the water levels were high and the majority of fish feeding tight to the opposite bank, Dave and I had to wade deep and cast long. This was made more difficult by a limited back cast in many areas. 

I was using an 11ft #3 loaded with a 4 weight line. The longer rod offers more control at distance and the 4 weight line allows me to work the rod with less line in the air (I normally fish 'one up' when sewin fishing).

Fish rising on the opposite bank...

Timing our casts correctly, we caught fish. The targets would not respond immediately after rising with the most enthusiastic feeding at around thirty second intervals. We took it in turns to spot and cast to fish, both losing large trout that had appeared highly efficient feeders in their bankside lies.

Bryn Derwen beauty

Average stamp

We were impressed by the stamp of the fish (and the numbers in evidence) and, by lunch time, were at the top of our waders targeting what were very challenging trout.

Dave - and for my next trick...

The fish, again tight to the opposite bank, were stationed just off the cover of tree roots and submerged branches. They required a long slack line but (thankfully) were feeding confidently and we successfully hooked many of them.

Gill plate blues

Root and branch

We worked our way slowly upstream picking fish off as we went. On one of my 'turns' we noticed a very small kidney shaped indentation just off a clump of roots over deep water. Suspecting a large fish I concentrated. After a few nervous passes it took the CDC emerger and proved us correct.

Retreating to land the fish

Three or four minutes, a few heart stopping jumps and plenty of side strain later and the fish was in the net. Dave and I marvelled at the perfectly conditioned eighteen inch March beauty.

Grannom feeding Usk brown trout

Dave soon spotted what looked like another good fish, where the water was even deeper and the back cast more limited. Single minded in his approach, he overflowed his waders resulting in a slightly early bath for both of us (not that I minded as it had started raining and my waders were leaking again).

Certainties

Back at the house, we discussed our day over a warming cup of tea and, upon our goodbyes, Dave left me in no doubt that he would like to return to 'the new beat' in the near future.

I've all but given up on my year old Simms waders and, in a desperate attempt to keep dry, I have chanced my arm, ordering a reconditioned pair of Vision waders from Diver Dave. At £120, considering the places I fish and (I'm told) my odd shape, one other thing is certain: I'll be very happy if I can laugh in the face of Gierach and stay waterproof until the end of the season.

*Thanks to Dave Smith for some of the above images