WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MAY 17TH, 2019
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouthshire
Temperatures this week have ranged between 9° and 21° with water re-maining cool and clear. It was nice to welcome back the Hook, Line and Sinker fishing for disabled club and Roderick Kirton and Graham Cooper each caught 2 fish. Marco Siebeneichler, all the way from Brazil, came to try his hand at fly-fishing with regular Keith Fenton, and caught his first fish on a Bloodworm, as did Keith’s grandson Archie Harrison, who also caught his first fish on a Bloodworm. A very nice 4lb rainbow was caught by Garry Edwards on a Hothead Damsel on his catch, kill and release ticket. Garry went on to release 8. Also on catch, kill and release were T. Richards, A. Roberts, B. Taylor, I. Evans, D. Macintosh, Cori Hawke and Chris Williams. On catch and kill tickets were Pete Hughes with 2 fish, Pe-ter Morgan 1, Richard Morgan 3, Alan Brunt 2, F. Price 4, Marco Siebene-ichler 1, Archie Harrison 2, Rob Britten 3, Glyn Morgan 2, Harry Webb 2, Hugo Perks 2, David Griffiths 5, Gerald Mitchells 4, Glyn Edwards 6, Eric Jeffries 4 including a tiger trout which was released successfully. Heaviest fish caught this week by Adam Jones weighed in at 8lb 3oz and was taken on an Orange Fritz.
On catch and release this week were John Burton, George Dickman, To-ny Talbot, Adam Price-Hunt, Ashley Clarson, Hanna Buys, Kevin Wake-field, Lee Wakefield, Mick Smith, Phil Roe, Alan Jeavons, Martin Lloyd , Ethan Clarke and Colin Gooch.
Popular flies this week have been Blue Damsels, Alexander, Orange Fritz, Bloodworm, Klinkhamer, GRHE, Buzzers, Green Spiders and Egg Fly. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MAY 10TH, 2019
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouthshire
On Friday there was a nice start to the Bank Holiday weekend’s fishing with no wind, no rain and sunny spells. Steve Mogg caught his first fish of the day, which turned out to be a perch which had been tempted by Steve’s Bloodworm pattern, and he then went on to land 7 rainbows. One of Bigwell’s tagged fish was caught on Saturday by lucky angler Lee Ashcroft who collected the £200 pot. Harry Davies, aged 6, caught a nice 4lb trout. It’s great to see how many younger anglers are trying their hand at fly-fishing with parents and grandparents introducing them to the sport. Young Sienna Evans caught her first rainbow, with guidance being given by dad Iestyn.
On catch and kill tickets this week were John Lyall with 10 fish, Julian Ellis 4, Trevor Richards 2, Anthony Roberts 2, Hugh Edwards 3, Keith Fenton 4, R. Potter 1, L. Maddalena 1, J. Jones 1, H. Johnson 1, D. Thomas 5, Lewis Thomas 2, Chris Lewis 3 and Harry Davies 6. Hughie Wilson took 2 and released 8 on his catch, kill and release ticket. Tom Gibson 1, Jarred Hudd 1, Harry Webb 2, Mick Jarvis 6, Nathan Jones 4 including a blue at 6lb 5oz which was returned successfully and entered into this month’s Troutmasters competition. Popular flies this week have been Minkies, Montanas, GRHE, Wickham’s Fancy, Black and Peacock Spider, Klinkhamers, Black Buzzers, Bloodworm, small Black Gnats and Blue-flash Damsels. The pools remain cool and clear with a good flow of spring water running through. Open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MAY 3RD, 2019
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouthshire
This week’s weather has been varied, with some heavy rain and winds and temperatures also fluctuating with some lovely sunny days. The pools have been fishing exceptionally well with a good number of fish being caught on catch and kill helping to give a good turnover of stock. What a great start to one morning when 5-year-old Lottie Andrews caught her first-ever fish, with a little help from dad Ben Andrews. She is following in her big sister Lilly’s footsteps, who last week caught her first rainbow. Chris Laidlaw was seen having great sport, catching 4 from across all pools, 1 on a Diawl Bach, 2 on a Dunkeld wet fly and 1 on a Black Buzzer off the top. Chris was using his floating and interme-diate lines, depending on time of day and where the fish were. Barry Jenkins landed 6 fish on his catch and kill ticket. Also on catch and kill tickets were Lionel Davies with 4 fish, Keith Thorn 2, Gary Tucker 4, Peter Morgan 2, Howard James 2, Keith Fenton 9, Alan Brunt 2, Rob Britten 3, David Roberts 4, Ryan Williams 3, John Bradbury 8, Mick Saunders 4, Andy Stevenson 5, Peter Jones 3 and John Roberts 2. On catch and release this week and catching their bag limit of 10 fish were John Burton, Paul Elsworthy, Adam Price Hunt, Richard Tremain, Rob-in Vale, Glyn Morgan, Jason Williams and Martin Cox. Popular flies this week have been, Minkies, Montanas, small Black Buzzers, Green Damsels, Diawl Bachs and Klinkhamers.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING APRIL 26TH, 2019
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouthshire
A brilliant and a great Easter weekend with lots of regulars and new faces through the gates. Ryan Williams, on his first visit with his dad Andrew, caught 7 fish from across all pools, mostly on Black Damsels. Lilly Andrews, age 7, brought her dad Ben fishing and she caught her first trout on a Pink Egg fly. Lyndon Harris landed 7 fish on size 14 Diawl Bachs and Black Buzzers. Adam Price-Hunt also had great sport, stalking and landing 2 tiger trout from lodge pools and a wild brownie from the stream, all taken on a size 22 GRHE. He then went on to catch 5 more rainbows on his home-tied Deershucker fly. Richard Stephenson caught 3 fish on his catch and kill ticket using a small Buzzer, while Hugo Perks, using his split cane rod, caught 3 fish including a 3lb 4oz rainbow on a Sedge. All pools fished well this week and popular flies have been Olive Damsels, Klinkhamers, small Black Gnats, Bloodworm, Egg flies and Sedge. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING APRIL 19TH, 2019
Papermill Trout Fishery, Swansea
Papermill held their Troutmasters competition fish-off on Saturday April 13 and it was a great day. Fishing was steady all day with some nice fish coming out and the conditions weren't bad. There was a great ripple on the lake due to an easterly wind, but going into the afternoon it went warm with bright sunshine but this didn't stop most anglers catching their bag limit of 4 fish. The winner of the Troutmasters competition was John Turner who caught 4 fish with a total bag weight of 20lb 13oz. Second place went to David Rees who caught 4 fish with a total bag weight of 17lb 8oz and third place went to Ryan Perham who caught 4 fish with a total bag weight of 14lb 4oz. John Turner turned down his place in the final at Draycote and the fishery will be represented by second-placed David Rees. We would like to thank all the anglers that took part in this year’s Troutmasters competition fish-off.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 29TH, 2019
Edward Collier-Webb (5) and mum Sharon, with his first catch, taken on a Damsel at Bigwell fishery.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Good weather this week with temperatures averaging 11 degrees and the pools cool and clear. The fishing has been exceptional with quite a few catch and release anglers catching their bag of 10 fish and catch and kill anglers all taking their required fish. What a great weekend for the younger generation which began with young Alex Cotterill, age 8, visiting with his grandad Gary Tucke. Alex caught his first ever fish, taken on a Squirmy Worm and entered into Junior Troutmasters. Lewis Thomas also caught 2 rainbows which he took on Bloodworm. Lewis was with his grandad Dai Thomas. Five-year-old Edward Collier-Webb also recorded his first catch while fishing a Damsel under a sight indi-cator two feet down and with a slow retrieve. Edward’s catch has also been entered into the junior Troutmasters competition.
Our more senior anglers were also having a great week with John Bur-ton catching his bag limit on catch and release, his most popular pat-tern was a White Egg fly with a green spot. Jason Williams also caught his bag limit on catch and release. Also on catch and release were Keith Fenton, Bob Calder, John Burton, D. Thomas, Gary Tucker, Ad-am Price-Hunt, Ashley Clarion, Llwyd Johnson, Brent Johnson, Mike Batty, Lloyd Isgrove, Lyndon Harris, Carl Williams, Mick Smith, and Phil Roe.
On catch and kill tickets were Brent Johnson with 2 fish, Zach Williams 3, Terry Hill 3, R. Mackenzie 3, A. Mackenzie 2, Mick Fahy 1, Jean Fahy 1, Gary Whitlock 1, George Parfitt 4, Alan Brunt 2, Graham Jere-miah 2, Hugo Perks 4, and John Butterfield 5. Popular flies this week have been, Blue-flash Damsels, Cat’s Whiskers, Black Gnats, Apps’ Bloodworm, Buzzers, Klinkhamer, Peasant Tail Nymph and Egg Flies. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 22ND, 2019
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Despite the extreme windy conditions last week our anglers still came through the gates. On Saturday Steve Boyle and S. Finch took 5 fish each on their catch and kill tickets, under very windy and wet condi-tions. John Lyall fished on the same day with his sons Chris and Paul. John took 2 fish, Chris (fly-fishing for the first time) caught an impres-sive 4, and Paul took 5, catching mainly on Green Damsels and Pheasant Tail Nymphs. On Sunday George Dickman caught 5 fish and lost 4, 1 was taken on a Diawl Bach suspended 18 inches down under a sight indicator, the others on an Orange Blob and Yellow Buzzers. Dave Tapper landed 2, Chris Cowlson 3, Paul Sanders 3, Richard Morgan 4, and Dale Llewellyn 2. Tuesday this week saw one of our best fishing days for a while with rods bending over on all pools. Harry Webb caught his second fish on a Green Montana, and Hugo Perks caught a beautiful 3lb rainbow from the Lower Lodge Pool taken on a Red Klinkhamer and went on to catch 3 more using his Allcocks Marvel split cane rod that his father bought for him back in 1965. Veteran an-gler Basil Freeman, still fishing at the grand age of 89, caught his usual 2 for the table on a Green Damsel. Graham Jeremiah landed 2 fish on Squirmy Wormies and Phil Rees landed 3 mostly on Cat’s Whiskers and Chamois fly, Whilst retrieving one of his fish Phil’s leader became entangled with a previously snapped leader still attached to a fish, so he managed to land 2 fish using only one hook. On catch and release this week and catching their bag limits were John Burton, Richard Tre-main, Keith Fenton, David Lee, Mick Foster, Dennis Millward, Ian Childs, Lewis Jones and Chris Williams. Popular flies this week have been Klinkhamer, Pheasant Tail Nymph, White Cat’s Whiskers, Whick-am’s Fancy, Black Gnats, Apps’ Bloodworm, Green Damsel, Yellow Buzzers, Montana and Egg flies. Bigwell is open every day at 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 15TH, 2019
Adam Price-Hunt with the brown trout caught from Bigwell’s stream.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
The earlier part of the week saw the Lodge pools highly coloured with water from the stream. Oliver Birch and Chris Laidlaw successfully caught while trying their hand in the Gin Pool, but with cold winds and sunny intervals it was challenging. Lionel Davies caught his 3 fish on White Minkies and Cat’s Whiskers (2 from the Lodge Pool and 1 from the Gin Pool). Keith Fenton took 2 fish, Alan Brunt 2, Rob Boswell 1 and Sinead Collins 1. Adam Price-Hunt caught his bag limit including a beautiful brown trout from the stream on a Pheasant Tail Nymph.
Midweek the Lodge pools were still slightly coloured but clearing well. Keith Fenton landed 3 fish on his catch and kill ticket on Apps’ Bloodworms, John Burton caught his bag limit of 10 fish from across all pools. David Fletcher landed 8 including 2 blues on Egg flies and Black Tadpoles. Adam Morgan from Bristol caught 4 rainbows and 1 tiger trout taken on a Black Cruncher. This fish led Adam a merry dance around the Lower Lodge Pool. Phil Roe landed 6 trout on Egg flies, White Minkies and Tadpoles from the Lodge pools. David Schewitz tempted 3 from the Lodge pools. The blustery winds continued all week but if you could put up with this and the rain and hail, there was some excellent fishing on the cards.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 22ND, 2019
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
The week kicked off to a good start when one of Bigwell’s tiger trout was caught by David Lloyd on a small Black Buzzer. David couldn’t believe the fight this 2lb feisty fish put up, it took him a merry dance around the Lower Lodge Pool, and he then went on to catch his bag limit of 10 fish. Fishing the latter part of the week was extremely challenging with anglers working their way through their fly boxes trying to tempt the fish. John Burton eventually caught his first fish of the day on a Green Damsel then went on to land 5 more fish. Jamie Gough caught 3 on an Epoxy Buzzer with gold holo cheeks. When all around him were failing to catch George Dickman brought 7 fish to the net and lost 7. He caught 2 on dry fly and the rest on an Olive Spider. On catch and kill this week were Philip Rees with 2 fish, Graham Jeremiah 2, Glyn Morgan 2, Emile Etheridge 3, Kirton Gourdie 3, Ossian Gourdie 2, Jim Bladen 1, Nigel Thomas 2, Dave Reaney 2, G. Jones 3, George Parfitt 4, and Tim May 6. On catch and release Adam Wharton caught 1 on a black grub and 1 on a Bloodworm, Tom Gibson 4, Mick Paine 4, Scot Payne 3, Robin Vale 5, Mark Fletcher 1, and Steve Gray landed 4 all on Apps’ Bloodworms fished static under a sight indicator. The two most popular flies catching really well this week have been Apps’ Bloodworms and Olive Spiders. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 15TH, 2019
Chris Laidlaw's beautiful wild brown trout from the Gin Pool at Bigwell fishery.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Most days this week consisted of blue skies and a bit of sunshine accom-panied by colds winds, which has challenged anglers. Andrew Williams landed 3 fish and lost 4, all on a Cat’s Whisker from the Lower Lodge Pool. Hugo Perks had a good morning, catching 2 fish to take home for the freezer. Ricky Harrison landed 5 and Gary Harrison caught 3 on Squirmy Wormies and Cat’s Whiskers. On catch and release tickets were Colin Gooch who caught 5, Chris Laidlaw had his bag limit of 10 including a beautiful wild brown trout taken on a Bumble fly from the Gin Pool and 1 blue trout. Also catching their bag limit were Ben Andrews, John Burton, Lyndon Harris, Phil Roe and Mick Smith. Steve Gray caught his 10 fish limit, all on Apps’ Bloodworm, 4 from the Gin Pool with a fast retrieve and 6 from the Lower Lodge Pool fished static about 2 feet down. Steve tried a few other flies but was successful on just the Apps’ Bloodworm. On catch and kill Basil Freeman took his 3 fish, Harry Webb took 3, G. Rob-erts 3, Graham Jeremiah 3, S. Price 4, Alan Brunt 1, Gary Tucker 4, Ad-am Davis 1, Tom Johnson 3, D. Perrin 3, John Lyall 6. Popular flies this week have been Apps’ Bloodworm, Squirmy Wormies, Chamois fly, small Black Buzzers, Green Spiders and Klinkhamer. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 8TH, 2019
Dylan Thomas caught this 6lb rainbow at Bigwell fishery.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
A very cold week and some snow meant a quieter week with fewer anglers through the gates. But for those that ventured out there was much success as the fish were eager to take a variety of flies. Steve Gray fished only Bloodworms and landed 8 fish. Hughie Wilson caught 7 rainbows plus 1 blue trout on catch and release, mostly using Crunchers and small Black Buzzers. He found success with a very slow retrieve, allowing plenty of time for the flies to fish ‘on the drop’. Adam Price-Hunt caught his bag limit of 10 fish on catch and release at the weekend including a 5lb rainbow from the Lower Lodge pool with a floating line, 4lb leader and a Klinkhamer. The fish, which was released successfully, has been entered into Troutmasters. Dylan Daniels, Danny Pearce and Paul Legge all caught their bag limits of 10 fish on catch and release. Colin Gooch landed 7, Harry Webb 2, and Basil Freeman 2. Fishing with his home-tied Snake patterns with a figure-of-eight retrieve Graham Evans landed 6 fish from across all pools. Popular flies this week have been Boodworms, Buzzers, Crunchers, Green Spiders, Egg flies and Klinkhamers. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 1ST, 2019
Zach Williams had a successful day at Bigwell fishery.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
With cold winds at the start of the week, anglers were pleasantly surprised at how well the pools were fishing. The fish are still rising to the dry fly, always an exciting way to fish. For those who like fishing the float or dry fly on top with a dropper, Egg flies, Buzzers, Diawl Bachs etc were tempt-ing fish. For those of you who like to pull the lure, Damsels Montanas, Spiders, Chamois and Squirmy Wormies and Apps’ Bloodworm fished ei-ther fast, slow or static have been successful. Mike Bowen took 3 fish on his catch and kill ticket, while son Matt had 6 on his catch and release ticket. Andy Rawlings took 3 on catch and kill, Adam Meek 3 and Steve Meek 1. Lana Crump from Southampton, on her first fly-fishing trip, caught 3, Philip Drake 2, and George Parfitt 5. Catching their bag limits this week were Dave Glover, Fred Wood, Mike Shuttleworth, John Burton, Ricky Smith, Duane Shuttleworth 7, Tony Talbot landed 8 mostly using a Chamois fly, George Dickman caught 5, Graham Davies 3. Fish have been taking a variety of small flies all week including Crunchers, Black Gnats, Buzzers, dark Egg flies and Diawl Bachs. Adam Price Hunt landed 8 fish on catch and release including a 4lb 8oz rainbow which we have entered into Troutmasters. Zach Williams, aged 12, is new to fly-fishing and on his second trip to Bigwell caught and landed 2 beautiful rainbows. Fishery is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING JANUARY 25TH, 2019
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Despite the frosty starts this week there was a good turnout of early morning anglers and the pools have fished well. Lionel Davies caught 3 rainbows all putting up a good fight on small Black Buzzers and Green Damsels. Joe Meadows landed 4, Richard Morgan took home 3 rainbows all caught on a Black and Green Montana from the Gin Pool. Mick Paine took 3 fish, Ben Andrews 3, Hugo Picks 2, Chris Rogers from Newport landed 5 on his catch and kill ticket including a 6lb 4oz blue which he released. Chris had success on a variety of flies including a CDC Black Shipman’s Buzzer and a Black Gnat. David Brock landed a tiger trout on a Klinkhamer which put up an amazing fight then he went on to land 4 more rainbows from across all pools. Kas Leoviriyakit and son Wilbur caught their bag limit of 10 on their catch and release ticket from across all pools, and Lyndon Harris also caught his bag limit of 10. Heaviest fish this week was caught by Colin West from Bristol who landed a 13lb 9oz blue trout from the Gin Pool on a Blue-flash Damsel using a floating line and 6lb leader and released successfully. Popular flies this week have been Damsels, Buzzers, Black Gnats, Klinkhamer, Black Daddies, Green Spiders, CDC F-Fly and Squirmy Wormies. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING JANUARY 11TH, 2019
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Fishing has been challenging this week with very cold starts so the fish have been taking a while to kick into gear. But 2019 has started well with lots of regular anglers and plenty of newcomers coming through the gates. Neil Williams from Bristol caught one a blue trout of approximately 12lb from the Gin Pool on a Green and Black Montana. Paul Hickton kicked off the Troutmasters competition for 2019 with a beautiful 7lb 8oz rainbow caught on a Green Spider in the Middle Lodge Pool. Lloyd Jones caught 5 fish, Kevin Millard caught a 5lb 8oz rainbow from the Lower Lodge Pool on a Black Buzzer. This fish has been entered into the Troutmasters competition. James Harris had a good day when he caught 7 fish including a tiger trout from the Lower Lodge Pool on a Klinkhamer. Philip Evans from Cwmbran said the Lodge pools weren't interested in his flies, so he moved to the Gin Pool, where he caught 10 fish on Egg flies and Blue-flash Damsels. Three anglers from Bristol had a great day’s fishing: Mike Wright caught 5 rainbows and a blue from across all pools using small Black Buzzers on the drop; David Hemmings caught 3 rainbows from the Gin Pool on White Minkies; and Eddie Marshall caught his 4 rainbow trout from the Lower Lodge Pool on Egg flies and Bloodworms. Gary Tucker landed 3 rainbows, while father and son Kevin and Will Brooks had a good day catching 6 fish between them. John Burton caught 10 on his catch and release ticket. Popular flies this week have been Klinkhmmer, Black and Green Montana, Green Spider, Deer Hair Sedge, Egg flies, Black Buzzers and Squirmy Wormies. Fishery is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING JANUARY 4TH, 2019
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
The Friday before Christmas saw the removal of the willow tree from the Lodge Pool which came down in the winds a few weeks ago, allow-ing anglers once again to cast their lines along the hedgerows where the fish like to lie. While lures and strike indicators still have their place, top of the water action is still very prolific, with fish rising to Hoppers, Deer Hair Sedge and Klinkhamers. The weather has thrown all it can at us this week with a sharp frost that saw the top rings freezing on an-glers rods and torrential rain that coloured the water, and while it was a small window there was also a little bit of sunshine. Jon Evans caught a beautiful 8lb 2oz rainbow trout from the Lower Lodge Pool on a Brown Daddy using a floating line and 6lb leader. The fish, which was re-leased successfully, has been entered into this month’s Troutmasters competition. Fred Wood caught 7 fish, Phil Roe 5, Mick and Jean Fahy caught 2 each. Ron Baker from Buckingham caught 10 rainbows, mostly on his favourite small perch fry lure, releasing 8 and taking 2 home to make his tasty trout pate. Gareth Neale took 6 on catch and kill, Mick Williams landed 6 including 1 tiger trout.
The Boxing Day Competition was a great success, the weather was kind and everyone was on good form. John Burton was the first to catch a fish 10 minutes into the competition, followed closely by Rich-ard Tremain. Trophies and prizes were awarded to Robin Vale for heaviest individual fish at 3lb 8oz, John Burton fastest fish caught, Ron Baker heaviest bag 6lb 12oz. Many thanks to all anglers who took part, Andrew Williams, Richard Tremain, Nathan Blake, Mark Beacham, Dale Tomlinson, Sheila Maynard, Craig Williams, Ron Baker, Robin Vale, John Burton, and Tony Bladen.
A busy week since Christmas on catch and release: Ryan Davies, Ad-am Price-Hunt, Keith Fenton, Ben Thomas, Steve Thomas, Jon Thom-as , Annie Hurds, Dennis Millward, Gavin Hodgkinson, Chris Priest, John Burton, Steve Randall, Dylan Stokes, Aron Beck, Nigel Davies, Dean Stanton, Josh Bowcutt, Richard Wakelam, Ross Jones, Jamie Webb. Heaviest fish this week was caught by Chris Morgan at 9lb 4oz taken on a Klinkhamer from the Lower Lodge Pool and released suc-cessfully. We would like to wish all our anglers a very happy and healthy 2019 and a huge thank you for all your support throughout 2018.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING DECEMBER 14TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Numbers of anglers through the gate were low at the weekend, even though the sun was shining with a slight wind now and again, but the quality of fish that were caught was exceptional. Zach Williams, aged 12, caught 2 lovely rainbows, one on a Blue-flash Damsel and one on a Brown Daddy. His largest fish at 3lb 2oz has been entered into Junior Troutmasters. Ethan Clarke caught a nice rainbow from the gin pool on a Goldhead Hare’s Ear. David Blackely landed 4 with his dry fly tactics using mainly a Grey Duster, from the gin pool including a 5lb 4oz blue trout. Garry Tucker took 4 fish, Colin Gooch caught his bag limit of 10, John Burton 10, Harry Webb 2, Basil Freeman landed his usual 2 from the top pool, Ron Baker from Buckingham took one for the table then released 10 on his perch fry imitation.
Water quality is high and well oxygenated meaning healthy active trout and with Bigwell’s policy of high stocking levels the fishing is very good. Indeed the last couple of weeks it has been exceptional, with some sizeable blues and rainbows being brought to the net as well as a few feisty tiger trout. Mike James was on his first visit to Bigwell with his very accomplished fishing grandad Bill James who passed on some of his 50 years of experience, although on this occasion Mike outfished his grandad with a score of 5 to 3. Paul Evans From Newport joined us for the first time with his father Andrew Evans. Paul took 2 very nice trout from the top pool while Andrew took 2 in quick succession from the lower pool, then went on to catch 2 blue trout from the gin pool plus a 5lb 2oz rainbow on Blue-flash Damsels and small Suspender Buzzers using a floating line and 6lb leader. Peter Gray from Bristol landed 3 fish on Green Damsels, Geoff Poultney caught 3 trout in the lower lodge pool including a 6lb 9oz rainbow. Bob Ash took 3 on Brown Daddies.
Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING DECEMBER 7TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Lodge pools have been coloured most of this week with a lot of water flowing down the stream. Also very windy at times which brought down one of the big trees into the Lower Lodge pool so we have the huge task of removing the tree. Work will be ongoing for the next few weeks. The pool can still be fished and anglers have had a lot of success despite the tree restricting part of the pool. Ron Thomas from Bristol had his 10 fish limit on catch and release from across all pools using a variety of flies. Most successful were size 12 Holographic Red Cruncher, size 12 Black Buzzer, and size 12 Bob’s Bits, retrieved slow or static. Oliver Birch also landed his bag limit, mostly from the Gin Pool using Pheasant Tail Nymphs and a Grey Duster fly off the top of the water. John Burton also caught his bag limit. Colin Gooch landed 7 fish including a 7lb 2oz blue trout from the Gin Pool on a small Black Buzzer. Bow Hurford from Brecon landed 4 fish on his catch and kill ticket using his old-time favourite Pink Minkie fly. Gary Tucker caught 6 rainbows on catch and kill. Basil Free-man took his usual 2, Harry Webb 2, David Hill 4, Alan Brunt 2, Graham Davies 5, and Lionel Davies 3. Mark Webster and son Luke Webster landed 3 each on Klinkhamers and Blue-flash Damsels. Bigwell will be holding their annual Boxing Day competition and if you would like to put your name down for this please call 01600 772904 for details. Fishery open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING NOVEMBER 30TH, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouthshire
Some frosty starts this week followed by lovely blues skies, low autumn sunshine, and a cold nip in the breeze which freshened things up. For the last 12 weeks or so the fish have given a constant performance of slow and steady in the mornings and a lot of top of the water action in the af-ternoon. However, the latest weather report suggests that storm Diana is going to change this with a bit of a bang, so the new larger fish just stocked will have quite a baptism! A great day’s fishing for Steve Taylor when he caught a beautiful brown trout from the middle lodge pool on an Invicta fly. The fish led Steve a merry dance around the pool before com-ing to the net, and was released successfully. Lionel Davies landed 3 trout using his home-tied fly. Paul Mason also had a great day’s fishing, catch-ing several fish including a beautiful 4lb rainbow trout on a Green Damsel, also from the middle lodge pool. Ron Baker caught 3 fish from across all pools with a total weight of 8lb 4oz. Largest fish reported this week was 7lb 10oz rainbow caught in the gin pool by Gary Welling from Bristol using a small Black Buzzer on the drop. The fish was released successfully. Popular flies this week have been Blue-flash Damsels, Green Spiders, Hoppers, Sedge, small Black Gnats, and Chamois Worms. Some larger trout between 3lb to 7lb have been stocked this week as well as the usual 2lb rainbow and blues. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING NOVEMBER 23RD, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouthshire
Mixed weather this week with some overnight rain but mostly clearing for the daytime fishing, with a few frosty mornings thrown in. The Gin pool is looking and fishing really well and staying crystal clear with a good strong flow of spring-fed water. The Nursery pool, which is catch and kill only, is clear and well stocked. Ron Baker from Buckinghamshire was here at the start of the week and had a great day’s fishing using a Goldhead Daddy, Diawl Bach and a Squirmy Wormy fly. He caught 4 lovely rainbows to take home and 7 more on catch and release. Daniel Morgan caught a beautiful 7lb 10oz rainbow trout from the Lower Lodge pool on a Montana with a roly-poly retrieve. Friends Dave Pritchard caught 8, Nigel Baker 5, and Robert Williams 10. All had an excellent day on their catch and release tickets, moving around all pools, and having great success with Green Damsels, Orange Fritz, White Zonkers and Black Daddies. Paul Jones caught a beautiful blue trout from the Lower Lodge pool on a Black Dad-dy. Nigel Griffiths caught his bag limit of 10 fish including a 5lb 8oz rain-bow which took a Yellow Egg fly on a floating line and 6lb leader. The catch has been entered into Troutmasters. Basil Freeman, one of Big-well’s regular anglers, took his 3 rainbows from the top pool on a Blue-flash Damsel. Richard Williams landed 4, Ray Bradfield 2, George Parfitt 5, Alan Brunt 1, Mick Fahy 5, L. Priest 6, Les Young 3 including 1 tiger trout, Louis Millward 3, Hugo Perks 2, Mick Paine 2, and Gareth Neal 9. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING NOVEMBER 16TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouthshire
Lodge pools have been slightly coloured all week from the fast moving stream but this has not affected the fishing. Top pool and Gin pool remain crystal clear as they are spring-fed only and have fished well. Ben and Shell Andrews were amazed when they caught simultaneously, both on Red Spiders from the Lower Lodge pool. Lionel Davies was delighted to catch a tag fish that won him £200. Hughie Wilson landed a beautiful 6lb 8oz rainbow taken on a White Minkie, also from the Lower Lodge pool. Mick Fahy took 4 and returned 6 from across all pools, mostly on Blue-flash Damsels and small Black Gnats. Rob Britten arrived at 7.15am ready for gates open at 7.30am and bagged up his 4 fish by 8.30am, all taken on a small black nymph. Phil Rees and Graham Jeremiah took 3 fish each on catch and kill, Andrew Williams took 3, Phil Roe landed 3, Basil Freeman 2, Hugo Evans 2, Andy Rawlings 4, David Payne caught 7 including a 10lb blue trout which he caught on a F-Fly which has been entered into Troutmasters competition. There is still some good dry fly activity at some point throughout the day with anglers catching on Sedge, Klinkhamer, Diawl Bachs and Hoppers. Other popular flies this week have been White Minkies, Red Spiders, Black Daddies, Squirmy Wormies, Blue-flash Damsels, small Black Gnats and Egg flies.