Oct 12 2006
Season Ends at Usk Reservoir
WOOHOO Day off!!!
With the end of the season upon us, I needed a full day off work to take advantage of Usk reservoir before it’s too late.
“Why don’t you go on the weekend” I hear you ask! Well, normally, I’m out all day on Saturday’s (yes, in the pub), and as you can imagine, on Sunday’s I’m somewhat “delicate”.
So, today I was up on Usk reservoir again, and more than likely it was my last visit until March next year as fishing ends on Usk on October 17th.
Arrived at the reservoir car park at 8am this morning, I did want to be there a little earlier, however, a tired mind makes Gareth make wrong turns….
…so it was then, that I was in the water at 8:30 (yes, it takes that long to walk to the water!) and made my first cast….and the second…and the thirtieth!
Dead all day. Not a rise to be seen. And to make matters worse, then the heavens opened! Great Welsh Weather!
Ah well, it was my last chance to fish Usk reservoir and I wasn’t going to let anything spoil it! So on I persevered!
Managed one small brownie at the end of the morning which put up a brilliant fight for its size. It the jumped out of my hand as soon as I unhooked it.
One great bit of fun for I had through the day was the six bloody perch I caught! The little buggers wouldn’t leave my Montana’s and olive weighted nymphs alone!
Now, I ‘ve never caught perch before (not really a species I target when fly fishing) so I was unaware that their gill covers and dorsal fins are lined with spikes…the first one I hand landed managed to stab it’s dorsal fin right into the area between my thumb and forefinger allowing the fish to escape with a splash and making one Gareth swear! Beautiful fish, and a lot of fun!
Managed to get my leader smashed on a whopping take from a rainbow around 3pm…nearly pulled my arm off…and again, it happened when I wasn’t paying full attention! I was enjoying the scenery when my rod was nearly taken from my hands! Struck too late, leader broke, DOH!
Around 5pm-ish, I managed to catch (at last!) a rainbow! And fair play, it was the best conditioned rainbow I’ve caught all season! What an end to the season! Fin perfect, and a HELL of a fighter! And at the end of it, it only weighed 1lb5oz! The Usk rainbows (and every other species I’ve caught for that matter) are some of the highest quality fish I’ve ever caught.
After that rainbow, and a couple of last casts, I decided to call it a day. Found a nice bench to admire the reservoir for the last time this year, and then started the 15 minute walk back to the car.
An amazing end to an amazing season. Thank you to all those who have taken part! 
Now, where can I fish out of season…
Although I aim to stay strong!
