With the trout off-season well and truly halting all my normal fishing until March, it was nice to get back on the river yesterday for day fishing for grayling.
Myself and my friend Eldon travelled up to mid-Wales for a days fishing on the river Severn. Introduced to me by a friend, this river is truly a beauty, and one that offers a wide variety of situations ranging from shallow riffles perfect for spider fishing, slow deep pools, and a mixture of everything between.
Leaving home at the leisurely time of 7:00am, the drive over the Brecon Beacons and down the other side is a relaxing one. For once, I actually made the effort of an early night the night before in order to fully appreciate both the beauty of the trip up and the days fishing…with a lower amount of fishing at the moment, I’d like to remember everything!
So, after a near two hour drive, a beautiful journey through south/mid Wales, watching as the country slowly awakens, we arrived, parked, and purchased our permits for the day.
While tackling up beside the car, I noticed the weather was on our side; a nice blanket of thin cloud, dry conditions, and moderate temperatures. I was actually starting to worry about putting on the jacket!
I left Eldon on the lower beats where it seemed he was unable to control his urges, and got casting as soon as possible. Meanwhile, I took a short walk up river and chose to stop and survey the water at a location I’ve started at twice before.
Sitting at the bank watching the November water, I realised that 5 weeks away from fishing is much too long a time. And so, my day of piscatorial fulfilment started by targeting a rise underneath a hanging branch on the far bank, and as a result, a small brownie was brought to hand and released. The next cast saw a small but nevertheless beautiful grayling brought to hand, both to the trusty CDC & Elk.
With this run well and truly spooked due to the thrashing of the brownie and the powerful runs of the grayling, I stepped out of the water invigorated for the day still yet to come.
A short meet up with Eldon to discuss tactics and flies, and we both split up again for an hour or so.
By mid day, we had both landed a healthy amount of out of season brownies, as well as an even healthier amount of our chosen quarry of the day, the grayling. It seems the appetite of the brown trout also includes Czech nymphs!
With the rest of the day’s fishing primarily involving nymphing, the fishing was hard, but still enjoyable. Pockets of water that are known to hold fish (as previous visits have shown) were devoid of life. Areas behind rocks, under over hanging trees minus their foliage, held no fish. But the search continued into dusk.
And so, with darkness approaching, our day was coming to its end (and I was a little glad; muscles do not like being worked after five weeks off!).
A truly beautiful and enjoyable day, one which couldn’t have come sooner for us who are so addicted to casting bits of fluff.
