Yet another busy time for myself, out on both stillwaters and wild streams, over the past week and a half or so . To be honest it’s been full on, but, I revel in the fast pace of life truth be told. Organising clients, and arranging days, to coincide with good weather, for that particular fishing venue for the day. If it’s windy on the first day of their three day piscatorial break in glorious mid Wales, then I’ll normally plumb for a wild reservoir, or mountain Llyn day, as the fish are confident to come up in the wave, and sport, even in mid summer can, and has been fabulous. This season in particular, has been awesome, with bibio and cochybonddu hatches, really causing the fish to look up most of the time. Dry fly sport on the big waters of the Elan Valley and Nantymoch is great fun, and sport can be manic, literally all afternoon ……..
Two clients in particular have become “new stream anglers. They’ve loved the concept of being creepy sneaky, to get close to a small ten inch, wild rising fish. It encompasses all those natural hunting instincts, along with your added skill, presenting the fly in the right place, and then hoping that fish will take your offering !!!! They immersed themselves totally, and one client was so hooked on the experience, he’s already emailed me for round two, on the wild streams …… Now, I take that as a real honour in fairness, on my approach to the guiding I lay on ….. Tis just nice, and I look forward to seeing these gents again, they are so welcome on the secretive streams I take them on ……………
Tis a huge buzz, watching a client doing everything right, all the pieces fall into place, and a feisty brownie nails his well presented dry fly, on a river that’s ten inches deep, and as clear as gin. They get a huge handshake from me. A lots gone into that, effort, excitement, focus, adrenalin, and timing, all rolled in to one huge piscatorial sandwich ….. love it !!!!!
So, another week nearly dawns, and another busy one for me. Well, in fact I’m on the river with two clients, one for one day, and the other gent wanting three guided days, if he can arrange it, to have that “extra” third day up in mid Wales. There’s so much fishing in fairness, two different wild streams, then a mountain Llyn hopefully on that third and final day. !!!!!
Twas nice getting a bit of rain last night, and in fact on Friday night as well. I’m not sure as it was sufficient to give the rivers a good flush through, but, we should be grateful for anything these days I say !!! More of a freshen up i’d call it ………
Looks like we are all in for yet another heat wave, particularly South East of the country, disseminating upwards . It may just be slightly cooler in mid Wales though, lookin at the predicted maps. Only time will tell …. I tend to choose well sheltered brooks with a lovely tree canopy , they can stay lovely and cool throughout the rigours of a sweltering hot summers day. On that subject, as cuddly and fantastic, a natural engineer these angelic beavers are, what will happen when they deforest all these streams, leaving the brook bed open to blazing hot summer sun ?????? And, further to that, these fabulous beaver ponds that they manufacture, will they become havens for slimy, stagnant algae growth, and thick beds of Canadian pondweed ???? im edging on the side of caution, I’ll smile lovingly at them, but I tell you something, I don’t want any of our tributaries both in the Wye and Usk catchment rearranged by beavers thankyou very much !!!! I’ll enjoy there activities from a distance …… Why not release a few on the River Test, they’d love it down there !!!!! A constant river flow, huge benefits, the list goes on blah, blah, blah ….. But, this callsign is quite happy without them. I do river maintenance for the Wye and Usk during the winter time. A few select branches are loped, some sawing here and there, but every time, cut brash, and woody material is placed well above the flood plane. That’s what takes all the effort to be honest, it isn’t the cutting, or sawing low boughs, it’s then ensuring they are placed well out of the rivers flood levels ….. Now, a huge wintery deluge would dislodge a beavers dam, and possibly their lodge, and then, all that material would end up jamming a wee bridge that was built in Victorian times !!!! So, logistically, our small, busy,bridge laden rivers and streams aren’t exactly likened to the expansive wilderness of the Americas ….. We shall see …. The clocks ticking !!!!!! Logistically, if I were a farmer I don’t think I’d be tooooooooo impressed if a whole line of alders was gnawed down overnight and dragged over to a beavers dam….. Biodiversity will be turned upside down, literally overnight. And, if I had expensive river gates in situ, which, incidentally are crossing rivers and streams in most of the Welsh rivers I fish, I’d be pretty miffed if those wooden slates had been robbed by beavers !!!! So, my sketch on it is a little dampened and I’m afraid the long term effects on salmonids, both everyday life, and migrating upstream are looking a bit grim I’d say. I’m sure our “ology” riddled, chunky knit wearing, beaver fanatics will think different !!!! Yes they’re cute mammmals, yes they’re great natural engineers, yes they clean water ways, yes they’ll improve your river, but will fish life suffer drastically because of them ??????? How will migratory fish migrate ???? I think they belong in the vast spaces of America and Canada, where huge beaver ponds, and diverted stream beds matters not ……. Here endeth the lesson on that subject !!!!
It’s a Sunday, as I’m writing this, and, it’s been really busy in the bustling town of Rhayader. Lots of the cafes and pubs are bursting with chatting folk. Some are visitors, some are locals, but all are enjoying the Sunday karma …..
Well, that’s me for a couple of weeks. A busy fortnight too …. A real mix of anglers are coming through the proverbial door, and from all areas of Britain too. I have clients from London, Surrey and Chester visiting our glorious part of Wales. They always go away relaxed, jovial, and usually wanting to book another couple of days on either a river, Llyn, reservoir or stream. Blessed I’d call it….. Some people call it just dam lucky !!!! A bit of both I suppose it is …… LOL !!! 😉😉🎣🎣🐟🐟🏴
