THE FIELD FROM THE ARCHIVES
Spring fishing in Wales by BA 5 May 1934
MAY IS THE best of the spring months for the trout angler. In Wales, it is true, trout are caught in March and the avidity with which they will come at a fly in that hungry month may well appeal to an angler equally starved for sport; but for real enjoyment of the finer shades of fly-fishing practice one must wait for the good feed of May and the discrimination which it brings to the trout. For the man who aspires to salmon, it is different.
The heavy rains in January brought up the salmon on the Wye much earlier than usual, and they were able to pass up to the higher reaches about Hereford and Hay, and even beyond.
I get many enquiries as to the possibility of getting a few days’ fishing at holiday times, away from the crowds, with a prospect of catching fish at a moderate cost. Such a place I have found in the upper Usk at Sennybridge, which lies between Aberdovey and Brecon. It has a railway station and a bus service, a small village with a couple of inns, not too up-to-date but fairly comfortable as a fisherman likes it, at a moderate cost indeed.
There is a local angling association at Sennybridge whose secretary is Mr WJ Davies, a chemist, purveyor of tackle and flies suitable for the water and, above all, a keen angler who is anxious to help the visitor in any way he can. There is about half a mile of the Usk and three miles of the Senny brook, which is better for brown trout than salmon or sewin (sea-trout) and is in parts a little difficult to fish.
This part of the water is not crowded as it is at Brecon; there are only 16 members all told and it is rare that two of them find themselves on the water on the same day. Visitors are welcomed and the association issues tickets for salmon, sewin and brown
trout at decent rates: salmon at 30 shillings for the Season, 10 shillings for 14 days or three shillings and sixpence per day. There is, of course, the conservators’ licence of £1 for salmon or five shillings for trout. This is not expensive when the salmon and trout are up, and one can get information on this point from the secretary.
Isaw a bag of 18 trout caught one morning just below the association’s water which were all nine- or 10-inch fish in good condition and caught in spite of a sparse hatch of fly and a keen easterly wind. It seemed to indicate that under suitable conditions one might take quite a lot of fish. Waders are necessary but the wading is not too difficult and the whole river may be covered from either bank.
If, for a change, the angler wants to visit the Brecon waters of the Usk, tickets may be had from Mr PS Winstone at three shillings and sixpence per day or 10 shillings per week. There is a mile or two of the Usk and nearly two miles of the Cilieni brook over which this association has control but it is much more fished than Senny brook and lacks its character. At neither place is Sunday fishing barred and this is so remarkable in Wales, where one cannot get an alcoholic drink even at one’s hotel on a Sunday, that I feel bound to make a note of it.
Another Welsh stream which I believe to be much better known to anglers by repute than in practice is the Dee. Rising near Aran Mawddwy in Merionethshire, it traverses some of the loveliest scenery North Wales can furnish on its way to the sea beyond Chester. It is quite excellent as a salmon and trout river but, alas, only available to the public in parts. Coming from north or south on the main lines, Ruabon is the railway change for the valley of the Dee. It is only a little way to Llangollen, where salmon and trout fishing may both be obtained at moderate cost and the angler can make his first experience of the coracle but only in the care of a licensed fisherman. The water is preserved from Carrog to Llangollen, and trout and salmon licences are issued by the Glyndwr Society. The line runs parallel with the river all the way, and ideal rising spots may be discerned from the carriage window and noted for future reference.
If my stay on the Dee had to be brief, I should prefer Corwen as a centre for trout fishing. The local angling association, whose secretary is Mr WJ Stansfield of Merion House, claims to have preserved 12 miles of bank fishing for half a century. The subscription for trout and grayling is £2 for the Season, £1 per month, nine shillings per week or two shillings and sixpence per day, tickets being obtainable from Stansfield or the stationmaster at Carrog, the latter being preferable, as you then fish upstream.