WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MAY 18TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
Stocked again this week with some lovely healthy-looking fish from Exmoor Fisheries including some more 3-6lb blue trout. Roger Howells caught his 4 fish on catch and kill on a Blue Miller and a Blob. Carl Williams once again hooked the big blue trout in the gin pool but again it spat out the hook! Nigel Farraday and his long-time fishing buddy David Garner from Ledbury had a good day’s fishing taking 4 fish each on their catch and kill ticket from across all pools. This included a tiger trout for Nigel and a 6lb blue trout for David taken on a CDC F-Fly, a floating line and 4lb leader. Louise Grainger landed 10 fish on catch and release, successfully releasing an 8lb 2oz rainbow trout which she caught on a Blue-flash Damsel. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MAY 11TH, 2018
Ynysyfro Reservoirs, Gwent
With the bottom pond fishing well, most of the notable returns have been recorded from the areas around the Car Park/Bush and Pipe Bay, with boat anglers also doing well. Around the banks, limits were recorded by Mark Roberts, Ken Bowring and Craig Bowles. Wynne Jones landed 8 fish from two visits, Roy Mealing netting 11 fish from his two sessions. Martin Williams and Paul Jennings both landed 6 fish, while 4-fish catches were made by Steve Curtis, Phil Morgan and Roy Porteous. Ian Wooton, Shaun Cotterell, Andrew Bann, Lee Ashcroft, Graham Ingram Evans, Bernard Stephens, Bryn Burgess and Dave Smith all netted 3 rainbows, while a brace of trout were caught by Alun Paul, Roy Jones, Howell Woods, Dean Walker, Phil Morgan, and Mike Porteous. Amongst boat catches, Ken Bowring moved from the bank to the boat to net a limit plus 7 trout from 2 sessions, Shaun Cotterell and Ken Pascoe both took limits with Howard Davies and John Eynon landing a brace of trout from their boat outings. NRFFA are pleased to note the much-improved fishing for the bottom pond. with a number of methods being successful. Cat’s Whisker and Damsel patterns plus Shipman’s Buzzers and goldhead nymphs have all caught fish, while late afternoon/evening anglers have reported some good rises around the Car Park Bank and fish responding well to dry flies. The top pond continues to provide good returns, with Kevin Pinkney and Gwyn Davies both netting a catch and release limit. Kevin took his fish on a goldhead nymph while Gwyn varied his flies between a Hoglouse imitation, Baby Sun fly and following a rise of olives some good fish on an Olive nymph. Gwyn's catch included a rainbow trout in the region of 4lb plus a good brown trout. Luke Thomas landed 7 rainbows. Other good top pond catches were made by Roy Jones and day ticket visitor Huw Davies with 4 trout each, while a 3-fish return went to Bernard Stephens, Peter Dent and Paul Jennings. Colin Jones and John James each took a brace of fish, with Colin using a combination of Shipman’s Buzzers and Damsel patterns for his return. Both ponds have been restocked and returns indicate that fishing is definitely improving. With a very attractive day ticket price of £12 for a 16-fish catch and release limit split between both ponds Ynysyfro is well worth a visit.
The weekend so far has seen a continuation of the excellent fishing on the bottom pond, with most, if not all, anglers recording good returns. Bank anglers taking good catches included Mark Roberts with 7 fish, Colin Poole, Paul Ellsworthy and Paul Jennings all netting 4 rainbows while three-fish catches were recorded by Alan Rees, Wynne Jones and Steve Curtis. A brace of good trout were netted by Dave Woods and by the president and chairman of the Cardiff Flyfishing Club Fred Davies and Keith Higgins respectively. Regular boat angler Ken Pascoe, John Eynon and Martin Rees all enjoyed good sport, with Ken taking a limit, John Eynon netting 6 trout and Martin Rees catching a brace. On the top pond, Kevin Pinkney continued his good week with another 7 fish, Keith Higgins and Colin Poole added 3 and 2 fish respectively to their bottom pond returns, while Howell Woods netted 2 rainbows. Most successful flies again included Shipman's Buzzers, Damsel patterns and Diawl Bach nymphs. Evidence of more fish feeding just below the surface continues to be the case on the bottom pond, especially around the Car Park Bank as far as the Bush, and also in front of Pipe Bay.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MAY 4TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
An interesting week with the input of some large rainbow trout of 10lb-plus proving a huge success. A drizzly morning on Friday saw Keith Fenton hooked into one of the larger rainbows in the gin pool but he lost it when it snapped the line. Keith reckons he was well over 10lb, more like 12lb, and with adrenaline pumping, Keith spent the next few hours stalking his fish which eventually obliged and came to the net. John Burton caught a 13lb 9oz rainbow on a Blue-flash Damsel with a 6lb leader on the lower lodge pool. Paul Barnfield caught a 3lb 8oz tiger trout from the lower lodge pool on a Green Spider. Hughie Wilson landed a beautiful 6lb 7oz rainbow on a White Fritz in the lower lodge pool. Terry Hill landed 4 rainbows while Brian Beck took 7 on his catch and kill ticket. G Moore took 4 and released 6 on his catch kill and release ticket. On catch and release and catching their bag limit of 10 fish were Mark Chapman, Charles Pilkington, Bryan Gibson, Steve Mogg, Carl Williams, Dave Glover, Derek Parker, Michael Brunt, Paul Barnfield, Hughie Wilson, Jason Fields and Mandy Fields. Popular flies this week have been Klinkhamers, Grey Dusters, Sedge, Blue-flash Damsels, White Fritz, small Black Buzzers and Green Spiders. Open every day from 7.30am.
Ynysyfro Reservoirs, Gwent
On the top pond Gwyn Davies was able to enjoy a good week with 7 and 8 fish from two visits including an excellent brown trout in the region of 2lb 4oz. Terry O'Connor also landed 7 rainbows, while Peter Dent returned a 3-fish catch. A brace of trout were caught by Dave Howells, Colin Jones and Mark Roberts. The bottom pond saw a number of limits recorded, including those by Adrian Moyse, Ken Bowring and Colin Poole. Roy Jones and Terry O'Connor each netted 6 trout with Phil Morgan and Alan Rees catching 5 rainbows. Colin Jones, Dave Woods and Martin Williams each netted 4 good trout. Boat anglers on the bottom pond were able to reach catch and release limits with Colin Poole, Ken Pascoe and Keith Higgins finding fish. Keith also landed 5 fish from a second boat session with Shaun Cotterell netting 4 trout on his boat ticket. Various fly patterns have been prominent during the week, including a Black Pennell, Duck Fly patterns, Baby Sun Fly, Damsel lures and Shipman's Buzzers. Top pond returns indicate that olives were beginning to show, which will be an encouragement for dry fly fishermen.
The weekend saw some good returns from the bottom pond from both the bank and the boats. Boat anglers Martin Rees and John Eynon netted 7 and 2 fish respectively from a morning session, while around the banks Ken Bowring landed 5 rainbows, 4 fish were recorded by Paul Ellsworthy, 3 by Cardiff member, Alan Rees and 2 good trout for Alun Paul. Reports from bottom pond anglers have suggested that more fish are taking flies either on or just below the surface, particularly in the area from Pipe Bay to the bush. On the top pond most anglers recorded a brace of trout, inlcuding Kevin Pinkney, Bernard Stephens, Dave Woods and brother Howell Woods, with Paul Ellsworthy adding 2 fish to an earlier return from the bottom pond.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING APRIL 27TH, 2018
Wilbur Leoviriyakit (7) and Will Brooks (11) with their Bigwell fish.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
Great start to our fishing week when newcomer to fly-fishing Gary Tucker caught his first-ever fish on the fly, using a floating line and Red Squirmy Worm fly, from the gin pool. On Friday, there was a hatch of alder fly which really stirred the fish up and also gave anglers the opportunity to ‘match the hatch’. Alan Davis was successful with this method and landed 3 beautiful rainbow trout all while the hatch was going on. On Saturday, the Troutmasters fish-off competition was won by Kasidit Leoviriyakit with his bag of 4 fish weighing 10lb 8oz. His son Wilbur Leoviriyakit, aged 7, won the junior section with 2 fish for 4lb 8oz, closely followed by Will Brooks who weighed in 4lb 7oz, a very close contest. Others fishing this week on catch and kill were Brent Johnson 3 fish, Alan Brunt 2, Martin Davies 4, Adam Grinch 2, Bill Rees 3, Graham Jeremiah 3, Loyciett Nosten 2, Paul Barnfield 4, Mike Ducket 3, Robert Boutflower 3, Ian Lengor 2, Patrick Plumber 4, Maddy Gail 2. On catch and release were brothers Steve and Andrew Palmer, John Howell, John Felligan, Dennis Millard, John Willsend, and Lloyd Johnson.
Popular flies this week have been Yellow Egg flies, Black Buzzers, Blue-flash Damsels, Daddy Longlegs and on top of the water Klinkhamer, Deer Hair Sedge and small Grey Dusters. Bigwell is open from 7.30am every day.
Ynysyfro Reservoirs, Gwent
While regular anglers are very familiar with the quality of sport on offer, NRFFA are still endeavouring to encourage visitors to Ynysyfro with some of the best-value day tickets available in the local area. A number of day ticket visitors have certainly had good value for their £12 investment, with Oliver Hydes taking a bottom pond limit followed by Mark Gunter with 5 fish, and Gareth West, Gino Alonzi and Richard Shaw each netting 4 trout. Tony Hull caught 3 rainbows and J. Caton and Alan Judd landed a brace each. Amongst permit holders, the top pond results included a regular limit for Ken Bowring, 5 fish for Dave Woods alongside brother Howell with 4 trout, and a good fish for Dave Howells to add to a later bottom pond total of 10 fish from two visits. Steve Snape also had a good session on the top pond with 4 fish. Back on the bottom pond, Ken Bowring totalled 21 fish from 3 sessions and Roy Jones continued his good season with a further 13 rainbows from 2 outings, Other notable bank returns from the bottom pond included a 7-fish return for Alan Rees and 6 trout landed by Sally Ann Iles. Phil Morgan and Colin Jones each recorded a 7-fish catch from 2 visits. Steve Curtis caught 5 rainbows, as did Granville Thomas. Ivor Thomas and Phil Harper both added 4 trout to their season's account. Long serving committeeman Brian Wareham and regular permit visitor Mark Roberts each netted 3 rainbows. A good brace of bottom pond trout went to Dan Morton and Terry O'Connor. The bottom pond has also supplied some excellent boat fishing demonstrated by 2 limits for Keith Higgins, a 6-fish return for Mark Southwood, with Ken Pascoe netting a limit plus 3 fish from his 2 boat outings. Bridgend members Craig Bowles and Dave Smith used their joint boat session to land 7 and 2 trout respectively. The return to lower temperatures has seen more fish being caught on Damsel patterns, Cat’s Whiskers etc, although good fish are still being landed on Buzzers and various nymphs such as Diawl Bachs.
At the weekend both boat and bank anglers enjoyed some good sport on the bottom pond, with Dave Howells heading the boat return list with a catch and release limit. Fellow Cardiff member Keith Higgins and boat partner Shaun Cotterell both netted 7 fish, as did the boat pairing of Martin Rees and John Eynon. Around the banks day ticket holder Luke Thomas and Paul Ellsworthy both took limits, while Alan Rees recorded a 4-trout return. Three trout were caught by Gethin Bowes and Mark Roberts, while Brian Tantum and Phil Morgan each took a brace of rainbows. On the top pond, Luke Thomas added a second limit to match his earlier success on the bottom pond, while Ken Bowring, Mark Cox and Colin Jones all recorded 4 rainbows on the return sheets. John Mcindo, Steve Snape and Graham Ingram Evans landed 3 trout, while a brace of rainbows were netted by Phil Harper, Phil Morgan, Terry O'Connor and Paul Ellsworthy. Successful flies on the top pond included Shipman's Buzzers and Damsel Nymphs.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING APRIL 20TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
A great start to the week with clear pools and an abundance of cool clear water flowing through from the well. The fish were in a feeding mood and regular Rob Britten quickly had 3 for the table. Exmoor Fisheries delivered 135 pristine rainbows including fish over 4lb and spread throughout all pools in readiness for the Troutmasters fish-off on Saturday. Please be aware there will be restricted fishing on Saturday between 8am and 12noon for the fish-off, then normal fishing will resume. George Dickman and Tony Talbot had great sport, both landing 2 fish, Tony fishing on a Buzzer down deep with a slow figure-of-eight, while George caught his on a GRHE. Carl Williams was on form when he caught his first fish in the lower lodge pool on a Grey Duster fished off a dropper and a Black Buzzer on the point, then went on to catch his bag limit. Husband wife team Mick and Jean Fahy had their usual competitive day, Mick caught 4 rainbows his largest fish at 6lb 8oz has been entered into Troutmasters competition, and Jean caught a small perch. Popular flies this week have been Blue-flash Damsels, Klinkhamers, Buzzers, Daddies, Sedge and Grey Dusters. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
Ynysyfro Reservoirs, Gwent
The onset of more spring-like weather has seen far more fish taken on dries and nymphs on both ponds, with boat anglers on the bottom pond finding good fish to duck flies, an Irish description of buzzers. Regular boat user Ken Pascoe caught 2 limits plus a further 7 fish from 3 boat sessions, with Howard Davies and Roy Mealing also taking limits from their boat ticket, again with duck flies. For bank fishermen on the bottom pond, Ken Bowring added 11 trout to his season's total, Phil Harper totalled 6 fish from 2 evening visits using Damsels and Shipman's Buzzers, while Adrian Moyse netted a 5-fish bag. Association president Martin Williams recorded a 4-fish return, with a brace of rainbows being landed by Ken Pascoe, Craig Bowles, Bob Bradley, day ticket visitor Mark Gunter, John Mcindo and Gareth Neale, while Ian Oxley's bottom pond return included a specimen rainbow of 3lb 4oz. On the top pond, catches continue to be very good. Keith Higgins totalled 13 fish from 3 sessions, with Terry O'Connor netting 10 trout, again from 3 visits. John landed 6 trout from 2 evening sessions, with Colin Jones netting 5 fish alongside John. Shipman's Buzzers proved the effective fly. Rob Evans recorded a 5-fish return with 4 fish being landed by Steve Curtis, Mark Roberts, Ken Bowring, Phil Harper, Paul Jennings and Dave Wood. Howell Woods netted 3 good rainbows, with 2 trout being landed by Graham Ingram Evans, Shaun Cotterell, Dean Morgan and Chris Daniels who included a 4lb rainbow in his return.
Pride of place at the weekend was taken by the Troutmasters Fish-off on the top pond and was won by Adrian Moyse with a 2-fish kill result of 5lb 10oz. In second place came Colin Poole of Monmouth with a total weight of 4lb 4oz, followed by Colin Jones with a 2-fish total of 4lbs 2oz. Others taking part included Terry O'Connor, Phil Harper and Gary Wharton. Many thanks are due to Ann and Steve Kean for their work in arranging the competition, and also to those anglers who forsake the attractions of the top pond to allow competitors the freedom of the banks. Preceding the competition, some good returns were made on both ponds, with day ticket visitor Ben Jailler taking a limit from the bottom pond alongside Gethin Bowes and Wynne J. Jones. Alun Paul and Phil Morgan both landed 2 fish. On the top pond Keith Higgins, Dave Woods and Ken Bowring all netted 5 fish, with Dave's brother Howell Woods, recording a 4-fish return. Early season returns have seen Keith Higgins and Paul Gould successfully submit claims for Troutmaster's badges with Daniel Jones being awarded a Junior badge when fishing under the guidance of Adrian Moyse. Both ponds are well stocked with fish being caught on Buzzers, Diawl Bachs and some goldhead lures.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING APRIL 13TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
A good week at Bigwell and the number of anglers through the gates has increased which was needed after the long, wet winter. The lodge pools have coloured up a few times over the last week with the heavy overnight rain gushing from the stream, but the flow of excellent spring water clears them quickly. The colour does not affect the fishing, with the trout ready to take flies that are presented to them. The gin pool and top pool remain clear at all times. Brian Sissons did well this week catching 4 good-sized rainbows from the lodge pools on black fritz flies, while Paul Barnfield took his bag limit of 10 on catch and release. Peter Morgan and father Richard Morgan caught 6 between them from across all pools. Graham Clifford landed 2 fish, Ashley Howard 2, Mike Ducket 5, Pip Ducket 5, Rob Hall 2, Ron Baker 4, Rob Britten 2, Phil Rees 2, and Bob Peak 2. Colin Gooch brought Steve Isherwood for his first attempt at fly-fishing, Steve is a coarse fisherman so it was a very different experience for him, but with Colin’s guidance he quickly got the hang of casting and landed 1 fish. Harry Webb caught his 2 to take home. Andy Griffiths, on a visit from Aberdeen, caught 1 blue trout and 3 rainbow trout from the gin pool all on a Klinkhamer dry, a floating line and 5lb leader, plus 1 tiger trout from the lower lodge pool on a Chamois fly. Popular flies this week have been Black Fritz, Chamois, Green Spider, Black Minkies, White Minkies, Black Buzzers and White Cat’s Whiskers. Bigwell is open from 7.30am every day.
Ynysyfro Reservoirs, Gwent
Statistics given out at the latest committee meeting for NRFFA were certainly borne out in the catch returns for the last week, with both ponds fishing extremely well. Again, the top pond produced the better catch returns with limits and brown trout being regularly included. On the top pond, day ticket visitor Luke Thomas recorded limits on successive days while Keith Higgins and Dave Howells also had 8-fish catches during the week. Bob Bradley landed 7 rainbows, with a 6-fish catch netted by Bernard Stephens. Mark Southwood, Ken Bowring, Terry O’Connor and Dave Reynolds all netted 5 fish, while Jeff Evans, Roy Jones, Graham Ingram Evans and Chris Daniels each landed 3 rainbows. A brace of top pond trout were recorded by Martin Lewis, Gareth Neale, Andrew Brann, Dave Hiscocks and Colin Jones. In most cases, fish were caught on Buzzer variations although a spell of warmer weather resulted in a few fish being landed on Baby Sun Fly patterns, mainly from the Hedge Bank. On the bottom pond, Ken Pascoe registered two 8-fish limits from the bank and the boat, while Luke Thomas added a second limit to his top pond returns on both of his tickets. Roy Jones added another limit to his season's total catch while Ken Bowring landed 4 to match his earlier top pond return. Martin Rees landed 3 good bottom pond rainbows, as did Lee Ashcroft, Brian Christopher, and Phil Morgan. A brace of trout were netted by Shaun Cotterell, Phil Morgan and Mark Cox. All of these returns were demonstrated in the monthly catch returns for March which saw 450 fish caught on the top pond and over a thousand from the bottom pond. With over 400 visits by permit holders and day tickets respectively, a very good early season rod average of 3.5 fish per rod was achieved. In addition, well over three dozen brown trout, all in excess of 1lb have been caught and released back into the top pond. Well over 60 season permits have been sold and with membership totals nearing 200, the committee of NRFFA are looking forward to a very good season. with both ponds having been well restocked.
The annual Troutmasters fish-off is scheduled for Saturday April 21 on the top pond, between 8.30am and 12pm. The pond will be restricted to competitors only for that time, but outside of the morning the pond will be open to all. There are no restrictions on the bottom pond for permit holders or day tickets alike.
Over the weekend catch and release limits were recorded for the bottom pond by Ken Bowring and Adrian Moyse, with the latter favouring the use of an indicator-style approach to fish Buzzers. Both added their limits to an earlier catch of 4 fish and 7 fish respectively, with the indicator style again proving worthwhile for Adrian Moyse. Phil Morgan also landed a brace of fish from the bottom pond on two successive days. Alan Voisey landed two trout from his regular Friday evening visit. Regular fishermen on the top pond, Keith Higgins and Gwyn Davies both recorded good catches, with Keith using Buzzers to land 6 rainbows, whilst a Baby Sunfly pattern fished from the Hedge Bank provided Gwyn with his day's enjoyment of 4 well-conditioned rainbows. Dave Woods netted an excellent 7 fish return when he fished the top pond. Day ticket visitor Gethin Bowes recorded a 5-fish catch, whilst Bernard Stephens and Dave Howells both caught 4 rainbows using small black flies. Another regular top pond angler, Cardiff member Ivor Thomas, caught a good brace of trout.
NRFFA are pleased to note that well over 40 brown trout have been listed as being caught and released from the top pond, with the majority of fish being identified as part of a stock of small fingerlings added to the pond at the beginning of the 2017 season.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING APRIL 6TH, 2018
Kaiden Rogers, Bigwell Fishery.
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
Excellent fishing this week, a few of anglers have even caught well on dry flies. Andy Hickman caught a beautiful blue trout in the Gin Pool and moved onto the lower Lodge Pool where he caught 3 rainbows and a tiger all on a Klinkhamer. Young Kaiden Rogers, visiting with his grandad Colin Gibbons, had a great day, landing 4 rainbows between them mostly on White Cat’s Whiskers. Kaiden’s best fish was a 3lb rainbow. Paul Barnfield had his bag limit of 10 fish from across all pools mostly on his favourite Green Spider. John Burton landed 7 on catch and release, Kevin Wright 8, Lloyd Isgrove 7, Jake Drew 5, Mike Greaves 2, Colin Gibbons 4, Robin Vale 7, Hughie Wilson 10, Keith Fenton 2, Steve Boyle 4, Sam Finch 2, Ben Taylor 2, Dylan Davies 10, Jason Smith 5, Mike Smith 5, Glyn Morgan and Mike Higgs 2 each. Popular flies this week have been Green Damsels, Cat’s Whiskers, Egg Flies, Black Gnats, Spiders and Klinkhamers. Fishery is open every day from 7.30am.
Ynysyfro Reservoirs, Gwent
A boat session on the bottom pond saw Ken Pascoe register a limit, while boat partner Howard Davies landed a brace of rainbows. Around the banks, day ticket visitor Ray Tucker and permit holder Alan Rees both netted 6 fish, while Richard Bateman and Gethin Bowes each caught 5 trout. Shaun Cotterell netted 4 fish with the same total being achieved by Keith Higgins over two sessions. Brian Green caught 3 fish on one of his first visits to Ynys y fro, while Ken Bowring and Sally Ann Iles both had a brace of trout. On the top pond, visitors Luke Thomas and Nigel Ward both recorded limits with Dave Howells netting 10 fish from two visits. Bernard Stephens and Gethin Bowes caught 4 fish, with Mark Roberts adding a further 2 trout to his 4-fish catch. Steven Snape maintained his good fishing record with a further 6 fish from the top pond, while Keith Higgins and Ivor Thomas netted 3 rainbows each. With water temperatures beginning to rise, more fish are being caught on Buzzers, Diawl Bach patterns and Pheasant Tail Nymphs. Blobs have also accounted for some catches, mainly on the bottom pond. All the usual fishing spots are producing good catches, with the Railings Bank and the outlet on the top pond, plus Pipe Bay and the banks either side of the bay on the bottom pond, producing fish.
The end of the week up to Friday April 6 saw some good returns, especially from the top pond. Some 46 fish were caught, including an excellent brown trout, landed and returned by Dave Woods. The fish was estimated to be well in excess of 4lb and in very good condition. The fish was extra to the 14 rainbows landed by Dave over two visits. Other good catches included a limit by Gwyn Davies, 6 of which were caught on a dry Baby Sun Fly pattern from the Hedge Bank. John Edwards also netted 6 trout, thanks to a loaned Sun Fly pattern from Gwyn Davies, whileNick Jenkins landed 5 fish. Terry O'Connor recorded 4 fish, with Bernard Stephens also catching 5 fish over 2 days. A brace of trout were caught by Richard Halloran and Mick Roberts. The bottom pond saw fewer fish landed with Adrian Moyse netting 7 trout. Four other anglers returned with a brace of rainbows, including Ken Bowring, Steve Mitchell, Andrew Brann and Brian Wareham. Pipe Bay and the banks either side saw most fish caught, with Buzzers, Diawl Bach nymphs and Blobs the most effective flies.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 30TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
Much improved weather this week reminding us that spring really is just around the corner. A couple of lovely sunny days livened up the fish. Daniel Davis caught his 4 fish on his home-tied Blob, Rob Britten took 3 on catch and kill on his home-tied small Yellow Damsel. Brian Fisher caught his 4 fish on a Chamois fly, while Philip Jarvis had 6 on his small Yellow Buzzer. Father and son James and Kevin Williams from Cwmbran took 6 mostly on Egg flies and Cat’s Whiskers. Brothers Mathew and Martin Small took 4 fish on their catch and kill tickets mainly on Green Damsels. Andrew Jones took 6 from the gin pool also on catch and kill. Tim Harris from Bristol took 4 rainbows and released 1 brown trout all from the gin pool on Egg flies and Blue-flash Damsel. Because of the changeable weather conditions Tony Jones was able to fish in a number of different ways, including a small Black Gnat fished on the surface which encouraged numerous fish to rise. He hooked 2 but lost them. Changing tactics and fishing at mid-level on a sight bob and a small Black Buzzer he was very successful catching 3 fish in the lower lodge pool, while a White Egg fly also produced a number of takes. George Rickman caught 4 fish on Egg flies, small Buzzers and Green Damsels. Mark Grayson from Cardiff had a great day catching his bag limit including a tiger on Cat’s Whiskers and Green Damsels from across all pools. Dai Thomas from Crickhowell caught 3 rainbows on his Yellow Egg fly in the lower lodge pool. A visitor from Perth, John Johnson caught 12 fish over 2 days including 1 brown trout 1 blue trout and 2 tiger trout. Popular flies this week have been Cat’s Whisker, Green Damsels, Yellow Egg flies, Blobs, Buzzers, Chamois, small Gnats and Orange Blobs. Open every day from 7.30am.
Ynys y fro Reservoirs, Gwent
Both ponds continue to fish well with returns from the bottom pond slightly better than those for the top pond. For the top pond Steve Snape and Ken Bowring both took limits while the majority of other anglers recorded a 3-fish catch. These included Shaun Cotterell, Dave Howells, Bernard Stephens, Steve Curtis, Ivor Thomas, Stewart Gordon and Huw Johns. Norman Curtis, Bryn Burgess, Barry Jones and Dave Scott all netted a brace of fish, with Richard Bateman including a specimen rainbow of 4lb 2oz in his return. Most catches came from the Railings Bank, although the Wood Bank and the Tump are seeing fish caught. A number of the above then continued to the bottom pond to add to their returns. Stewart Gordon led the way with a catch and release limit, with Shaun Cotterell and Ken Bowring each netting 7 rainbows. Alan Rees caught 8 fish from 2 visits, with fisheries treasurer Colin Jones adding another 6 fish to his season's catch. Bryn Burgess landed 5 bottom pond rainbows including a fish of 3lb 8oz, with day ticket holder Andy Hofrock also netting 5 trout. Martyn Williams landed 4 fish, matched by day ticket visitor Gethin Jones. Another day ticket visitor Gerald Davies landed 3 fish, as did permit holder Bernard Stephens. Dave Howells, Roy Jones, Dave Woods, Keith Higgins, Phil Morgan, Ivor Thomas and Barry Powell each caught 2 fish, while a boat session resulted in Ken Pascoe catching 5 trout and Roy Mealing returning with 4 fish. Green/Black Buzzers and plain Black Buzzers provided the majority of catches.
Following a midweek stocking, the quality of fishing improved even more, with numerous limits being recorded for both ponds. Six limits were landed from the bottom pond including those of Adrian Moyse, Ken Pascoe, Ken Bowring, Dave Slocombe, Paul Elsworthy and Dave Reynolds. Day ticket visitor Derek Hiscock landed 7 trout, while 2-fish returns went to Martin Lewis, Ian Hewitt and Martin Rees. Lures including Damsel Nymphs and Blobs plus occasional Buzzers proved most effective on the bottom pond. On the top pond, Adrian Moyse added a further limit to his day's return with day ticket holder Jeff Wilson also netting 8 fish. General treasurer Gwyn Davies enjoyed a good morning on the top pond reaching a limit for rainbow trout when he fished around the outlet with weighted Buzzers, and also landed 3 brown trout, all in excess of 1lb and representing the development of fingerling browns from the beginning of the previous season. Regular permit holder Keith Higgins also recorded a limit, with Paul Ellsworthy and Dave Reynolds each landing 5 trout to add to their bottom pond catch. Head bailiff John Mcindo and long serving committee member Brian Wareham caught 4 and 2 fish respectively when they fished the Railings Bank.
At the weekend, the top pond results include Keith Higgins and Roy Jones both landing 12 fish from 2 visits with a limit for Roy. Ken Bowring added another 6 fish to his top pond total with day ticket member Gareth Williams landing 7 trout. Stewart Gordon netted 6 fish, alongside day ticket visitors Dean Morgan and Gethin Bowes catching 5 fish each. Martin Rees fished the pond to land 4 fish, with 3 rainbows being caught by Bob Bradley. Adrian Moyse, Ivor Thomas and visitor B. Taylor all landed 2 trout. Buzzers again accounted for most fish caught, with the Railings Bank, particularly the outlet end, producing most good returns. On the bottom pond, Ken Bowring's persistence brought yet another limit, while Stewart Gordon added 7 trout to his top pond return. Ken Pascoe, Sally Ann Iles and visitor Luke Thomas all caught 6 fish, while Alan Rees and Andy Hofrock, fishing on a members' day ticket, both netted 5 rainbows. Day ticket visitor Lloyd Johns caught 4 trout with Phil Morgan also landing 4 fish over two sessions. Bernard Stephens used his permit to catch 3 trout, as did Alan Brann, while Keith Higgins, Dave Slocombe, Bob Bradley and Colin Jones all recorded 2-fish returns. Having caught 7 fish via the top pond, Gareth Williams added the same total from a bottom pond boat session. The banks either side of Pipe Bay, and the bay itself saw most fish caught, with Buzzers again being the most effective flies.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORT FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 23RD, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
More snow forced us to close for 2 days on Sunday and Monday, but back to usual opening on Tuesday. Anglers saw their rod rings freezing up whilst fishing, but despite this fish still came to the top and took small gnats off the surface. Anglers fishing lures and intermediate lines at mid water depth had great success in landing their fish. Paul Barnfield caught 9 rainbow trout and 2 tiger trout using only a Green Spider, and Colin Gooch adopted stalking tactics and was rewarded with a beautiful 5lb 8oz blue trout. Alan Brunt caught 2 fish, Pete Griffiths took 3, all on Cat’s Whiskers, Peter Atkinson landed 2 on a Black Tadpole, Michael Paine caught 4, Dave Mountford 8 on Black Gnats and Bloodworm. Bigwell is open from 7.30am every day.
Ynys y fro Reservoirs, Gwent
The bottom pond continues to be the more productive of the two reservoirs, although catch returns are still very good for the top pond. Limits for the bottom pond include 3 for Ken Bowring, plus Adrian Moyse, Craig Bowles, Dave Howells and Bob Bradley. A 7-fish return went to Keith Higgins, with Dave Woods and Roger Harry netting 6 trout. Other good returns were made by Alan Rees and Dave Slocombe with 4 fish each. John Eynon netted 3 trout, as did Barry Powell with day ticket visitor Alan Clark including an excellent specimen rainbow of 4lb 3oz in his 3-fish return. Dave Smith, Ivor Thomas and Brian Wareham all landed a brace of fish. A boat session saw Ken Pascoe and Howard Davies record 5 and 4 fish respectively. On the top pond Jeff Wilson used his day ticket to take a limit, with Dave Howells and Keith Higgins each recording a 7-fish catch over two sessions. Steve Mitchell, on his first visit to the ponds, landed 4 fish, while Dean Connelly, Barry Powell, and Bob Bradley all recorded 3 fish. Bernard Stephens, Norman Curtis, Paul Morgan and Brian Wareham each netted a brace of rainbows with head bailiff John Mcindo also catching from the top pond. Best catches continue to come from the Railings and Wood/Forest Bank on the top pond. Pipe Bay, Pear Tree Bank and the Car Park to Bush Bank best on the bottom pond. With slightly higher water temperatures more fish are being taken on Buzzers, Diawl Bachs, weighted PTNs, and also on more lures such as Damsels and Cat’s Whiskers.
Over the weekend, the top pond saw fish moving around the outlet/ Horses Bank side of the reservoir, which resulted in Richard Bateman netting a 7-fish catch on Black Buzzers and Paul Ellsworthy landing 3 rainbows. An earlier visit by Gwyn Davies saw 4 trout landed from the Tump mainly to a size 14 Diawl Bach nymph fished as a dropper, with a fifth fish being added from near the Horses Bank. John Edwards also found fish from the top pond with a good brace, while Adrian Connor landed his rainbow from the outlet/Railings Bank using a Goldhead Buzzer. On the bottom pond, fishing has continued to be very good. The majority of catches have been made along Pear Tree Bank, with limits taken by Adrian Moyse and Ken Bowring with Ken adding a further limit when he fished from in front of the house with a Damsel lure fished deep. Roy Jones fished in and around Pipe Bay for seven fish with Martin Rees netting 4 trout either side of the bay using a Bloodworm pattern. Terry O'Connor and Alan Vaisey fished Pear Tree Bank with each recording 3 fish, while a brace of rainbows were landed by Bernard Hartland, Chris Daniels, Colin Jones, Alan Rees, John Eynon and Dave Slocombe. Buzzers accounted for most catches indicating perhaps that water temperatures are rising, giving more chance of fish being caught just below the surface.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 16TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
Last Thursday gave fishing a boost when there was a sunny day at Bigwell and although there was still a constant westerly wind the fish were biting well. The weekly stock was also delivered which livened up the pools. Hughie Wilson caught 7 fish on catch and release on his Squirmy Wormy and Bloodworm, while Colin Gooch had his bag limit of 10 fish on a variety of Buzzers. Harry Webb caught 2 to take home from the clear gin pool on a Black Damsel and a Bloodworm. Paul Barnfield caught his bag limit over the day, changing tactics to suit the conditions but caught mostly on a Green Spider. Nigel Thomas, from London, brought along his friend Michael Dene for his first go at fly-fishing. Michael battled on through the wind and rain to catch his first rainbow trout on a Green Damsel, while Nigel took 2 rainbows and one blue trout from the gin pool using an Olive Growler fly. Father and son Richard and Peter Williams caught 7 beautiful rainbows between them on their catch and kill ticket from the gin pool and top pool on Bloodworm and Green Damsels. Basil Freeman took his 2, Peter Atkinson also took home his 2, Ian Cooper 1, P. Bicknell 9, Gary Wharton caught 9 on catch and release, John Riggs landed 6 on Chamois flies and Cat’s Whisker, Jeff Roberts took 4, Steve Moore 2, Terry Feest caught 9 on catch and release using White Minkies, Bloodworm and dark Buzzers. Rob Britten caught 3 on the gin pool and 2 on the middle lodge pool on a Blue-flash Damsel and Montana.
Rhys James from Monmouth took 3 and Alan Evans from Cwymbran took 2 after trying a variety of flies from the lower lodge pool. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
Ynys y fro Reservoirs, Gwent
A rise in temperatures during the week has seen far more fish being caught on nymphs and Buzzers on both ponds. Lures such as Damsels, Cat’s Whisker and Blobs accounted for some returns but the opportunity to fish a floating line, long leader and weighted Buzzers and nymphs has not been missed. On the top pond, the Railings Bank and Forest/Wood Bank have seen most fish caught, with Keith Higgins and Adrian Moyse each taking a limit to add to earlier catches. A 6-fish return went to John Evans, while 4 rainbows were netted by Dave Scott and Dean Connelly. New member John Belcher caught 4 trout when he fished the top pond including fish over 2lb. Ken Bowring added a further 3 fish to his season's total with Dave Scott, Kevin Pinkney, Dave Howells, Steve Snape, Dave Slocombe and Brian Wareham each recording a brace. Bob Bradley included a brown trout in excess of 1lb when he fished alongside Keith Higgins.
The bottom pond continues to fish well, especially either side of Pipe Bay and down Pear Tree Bank. Ken Bowring fished Pear Tree for a limit plus 9 fish from two further sessions, with Adrian Moyse fishing the Bush Bank for his 8 fish. Another regular permit holder Keith Higgins recorded 13 trout from 3 bottom pond visits with Adrian Connor landing 6 trout from the Bush Bank. Bob Bradley netted 5 trout, with a 4-fish return being made by Alan Rees, Alan Clark, and Phil Harper. Late afternoon sessions saw Colin Jones net 3 fish from the Car Park Bank alongside John Mcindo with a brace of rainbows. Also landing 2 trout were Martin Rees, Martin Williams and John Evans. The majority of fish caught came to Black Buzzers and Diawl Bachs. Both ponds have received extra fish.
Friday and Saturday saw the top pond record fewer catches with Ken Bowring taking another of his season's limits so far, while a 4-fish return went to Dave Howells and Gwyn Davies, the latter using a variety of weighted nymphs for his catch. Paul Ellsworthy also fished the Wood Bank for a good brace of fish. The bottom pond proved far more productive with 2 limits being recorded by Ken Bowring plus a further limit for John Eynon. Wynne Jones, Colin Jones and Alan Rees all netted 5 rainbows, with a 4-fish return being made by Ken Pascoe, Terry O'Connor and Shaun Cotterell. Dave Howells added a further 3 trout to his top pond 4-fish bag, while a brace of rainbows was netted by Keith Higgins, Alan Vaisey, Bernard Hartland and Brian Wareham. The most successful flies for the bottom pond included Damsel Nymphs, Cat’s Whiskers and weighted Diawl Bachs.
Ynys y fro gives very good value for money, with a full day's fishing priced at £12 for visitors and £8 for members. Juniors fishing with a responsible adult can fish for free. Catch and release limits of 8 fish per pond excluding any brown trout caught compare very favourably with other fisheries in the locality. Quality of fish caught so far this season has been excellent, and at the present time, both reservoirs are fishing extremely well, with numerous limits being recorded. Both reservoirs will be restocked prior to the Easter weekend. As a registered Troutmasters water members and visitors have the opportunity to enter catches for Troutmasters' badges. The car park has been enlarged and provides security for all visitors/members, whilst committee members are regularly present to provide help and guidance for all. The tea room is available for all.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 9TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
The heavy snow brought the fishery to a close last week, which is unheard off. The lodge pools began to ice over, again very unusual for Bigwell, so the gates were closed on Thursday lunchtime and remained closed until Tuesday. Hughie Wilson managed to beat the snow last Wednesday to catch 4 fish, mostly on his small Black Buzzer and Cat’s Whiskers. The heavy snow followed by rain brought down a flood of coloured water into the lower lodge pools which put the fish down deep. Basil Freeman and Peter Atkinson both made it out on Tuesday and took 2 fish each on their catch and kill tickets using Blue-flash Damsels and Egg flies. All their fish were caught on the top pool which has remained clear despite snow. The gin pool has also remained crystal clear and the lodge pools are clearing. Bigwell is open 7 days a week from 7.30am to dusk.
Ynys y fro Reservoirs, Gwent
A very good opening few days to the new season in which over 400 fish were caught from the top pond plus 550 from the bottom pond giving a rod average of approximately 4 fish per rod for the 240 visits recorded. A return to some better weather, plus both ponds being restocked, has resulted in some excellent fishing with most fish being caught from the bottom pond around Pipe Bay and the Bush/Car Park Bank. Catch and release limits went to Keith Higgins, Shaun Cotterell, Terry O'Connor, Bob Bradley and Alan Rees all fishing on season permits. Day ticket members Bryn Burgess, Stewart Woodfield and Craig Bowles also landed 8 fish. Other returns worth mentioning include Dave Howells with 10 fish over two visits, Association president Martin Williams with 12 fish from two sessions and Brian Wareham with 7 fish from his two visits. Bernard Stephens and day ticket holder Richard Harry both netted 7 trout. Another day ticket member, Barry Jones caught 5 fish while 4 fish were landed by Roy Mealing, Colin Jones and Ken Bowring. Dean Connelly, Howard Davies, Dave Kane and Lindsey Kirkwood each netted a 3-fish catch with head bailiff John Mcindo adding a brace of trout to his earlier 3 fish record. On the top pond Cardiff Reservoirs secretary Jeff Wilson had two limits, Keith Higgins added a further 5 fish to his bottom pond catch, while Dean Connelly and day ticket members Paul Gould and Barry Jones also recorded a 5-fish catch. Ivor Thomas caught 3 fish when he fished the top pond with Norman Curtis registering a brace of rainbows, as did Dave Slocombe. Dave Lonergan also caught 2 trout when he fished the top pond on his visitor ticket. The Road/Railings Bank again proved the most successful area of the top pond, and on both ponds Damsel patterns, Montanas and Cat’s Whiskers caught most fish.
The latter part of the week saw some very good fishing, particularly from the bottom pond with numerous limits being achieved. These include Adrian Moyse, Ken Bowring, Colin Jones, Dave Slocombe, Richard Bateman, Gareth Neale, day ticket member Steve Docherty and day ticket visitors Dan Morton, A. Cross and Luke Thomas. Other returns worth noting include 5-fish catches for Keith Higgins, Roy Jones, Wynne Jones and visitor A. Ball. Chris Daniels landed 4 fish while a 3-fish catch was recorded by Martin Rees, Ken Pascoe and Alan Rees, alongside a brace of trout netted by Ivor Thomas, John Mcindo, Phil Harper, Andrew Bann, Shaun Cotterell and junior day ticket visitor, Daniel Jones. Both sides of the pond provided good sport with fish being regularly caught from the Bush, Car Park Bank, Pipe Bay and Pear Tree Bank. Successful flies included Damsel Nymphs, Cat’s Whiskers and Orange Blobs. On the top pond Gwyn Davies landed a catch and release limit from the Railings Bank when he fished a combination of weighted Buzzers and Diawl Bach nymphs with Dave Howells also landing 8 fish to add to his season's total. Three visits to the top pond saw Keith Higgins land a total of 10 trout whilst Dean Connelly netted three fish. Huw Johns fishing on a members' day ticket caught a brace of good fish with Luke Thomas, again fishing on a day ticket, adding a further 2 fish to his bottom pond return. In addition to the regular catches of rainbow trout, good early season returns of brown trout are being recorded. These include stocked fish plus trout from the previous season.
On Sunday, the bottom pond again produced some good fishing, with Ken Pascoe recording a limit, Shaun Cotterell landing 6 rainbows and Roy Jones netting 5 trout. In addition, Keith Higgins added a brace of fish to add to his top pond return, while Paul Gould used his member's day ticket for 2 rainbows. The area around Pipe Bay in particular, Pear Tree Bank and the Car Park Bank produced most catches. Lures including Cat’s Whiskers and Montana patterns landed fish. On the top pond in addition to Keith Higgins, Steve Curtis caught 5 trout with Bob Bradley fishing Buzzers for his 2 trout. The Road/Railings Bank again provided most catch returns.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING MARCH 2ND, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
A very ‘up and down’ week weather-wise, frosty mornings brightening to blue skies with wind chill factors, rain and snow, sending the fish down deep. John Burton landed 4 trout on Shrimps and Damsels, while Keith Fenton caught 9 on Cat’s Whiskers and Bloodworms. Chris Laidlaw caught a beautiful 5lb 2oz rainbow from the gin pool on a GRHE and the fish was entered into the Troutmasters competition. Robin Vale landed 4 fish on Buzzers, Mathew Wren caught 4 on his catch and kill ticket, all on Orange Fritz. Mick Fahy and wife Jean caught 5 between them, Rhys Wilson, Huw Johns and Phil Evans had a challenging day, with fish following Cat’s Whiskers and orange patterns but not taking. But as the day wore on the fish switched on and were aggressively taking. Popular flies this week have been Flash Damsels, Bloodworms, Buzzers, Shrimps, Egg Flies and Orange Fritz. Fishery open every day from 7.30am till dusk.
Ynys y fro Reservoirs, Gwent
Despite the problems caused by the "beast from the east" plus storm Emma, a number of anglers have braved the conditions, and fishing from the more sheltered banks of both ponds, have registered some good returns. On the top pond Keith Higgins landed at least 24 fish including one limit over the week, with fellow Cardiff club member Dave Howells netting 10 fish from two visits. Adrian Moyse added another limit to his season's total, while Ken Bowring caught 5 from his first session and followed with a second catch, which included 3 brown trout averaging 1lb. Chris Daniels netted a 6-fish return, with Shaun Cotterell and Dean Connolly both landing 3 trout while Dean's guest Dai Roberts caught 4 rainbows. A brace of fish was caught by Bob Bradley, Colin Jones, Dave Clayton, Gareth Hawker plus day ticket visitor Richard Walters. On the bottom pond, limits were recorded by Sally Ann Iles and Ken Bowring, with Phil Harper netting 4 fish. Colin Jones added a further 3 trout to his top pond return, while P. Davies, Shaun Cotterell and John Mcindo all landed a brace of fish. Ken Pascoe began his season's boat sessions with a good catch of 5 trout. Both ponds have received an extra stocking which should provide some more good sport, as and when the weather improves.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 23RD, 2018
Bigwell Flyfishery, Monmouth
The weather has continued to be mixed with wind, rain, frost and sun and it was quite cold when the wind was up. While the Middle and Lodge Pools are slightly coloured from the stream, the catch and kill pools are crystal clear with a large volume of spring water entering both. Fishing has been pretty good with some great bags taken especially on catch and release tickets. Catch and kill often sees anglers limiting themselves to 2 or 3 trout.
Tuesday afternoon saw a batch of 40 tiger trout put into the Middle and Lodge pools while a further 50 rainbows were delivered on Thursday and split between the catch and kill only pool and the Gin Pool. A variety of flies were successful in taking trout including Damsels, nymphs, various Boobies, Egg Flies under a sight indicator, Squirmy Wormy and Chamois Worm. Also under a sight indicator green or red headed Buzzers have done very well. A total of 31 anglers caught 121 trout giving a rod average of 4.
On Monday J. Fulgoni took 5 trout on catch and release, Pete Smith 3 catch and kill, Richard Waldren 1 at 4lb C&K. Richard Biggs 3 C&K, Richard van der Westhuyzen 3 C&K. Tuesday saw a single angler, Basil Freeman, take his usual 2 trout on C&K, while Wednesday also saw a single angler, John Burton who took a full bag of 10 on C&R. Thursday doubled the number of anglers to 2, Chris Laidlaw and Hughie Wilson who took 10 and 8 trout respectively on C&R while Hughie also took one for the table on request. Friday saw 6 anglers including the return of John Burton for another full bag of 10 on C&R, while husband and wife team M. and V. Wrenn, on a first visit to Bigwell and dusting off long unused kit managed to take 1 very nice trout between them on C&K. Pals Alan Brunt and Paul James took 2 and 4 respectively on C&K. Young Louis Sawkins had 5 on C&R.
Saturday also produced 6 anglers with Graham Aston taking 2 on C&K, friends Mick and Bayan also on C&K took 2 each, Andrew C. had 5 on C&R while buddies R. Williams and C. Felland had 4 each on C&K. Sunday brought in 4 anglers with Andy Rawlings having 3 on C&K, Hughie Johnson on C&R took 3, (2 on a Klinkhamer dry) and young Louis Sawkins on his second visit this week took a personal best bag limit of 10 from the Gin pool, C&R.
Monday the 19th saw Rob Britten quickly kill 3 trout including a blue to retire triumphant! Jeff Roberts on his first ever trout fishing trip with pre-used kit took 4 nice trout, while Felipe Perez took 5, both on C&K. Kim Boland also took home 5 while Trevor and Thomas Howell each had 1 before being called away.
Ynysy fro Reservoirs, Gwent
Following the excellent opening day of the season, in which the majority of members had many tight lines, Sunday saw a continuation, with good catches on both reservoirs. On the top pond fish were again plentiful around the inlet with the adjacent road bank and wood bank, fishing well. Permit holders and members taking limits included Ken Bowring, Keith Higgins, Steve Snape, Adrian Connor, Dave Howells and Adrian Moyse. Other fishermen recording catches on the top pond were Bob Bradley, Chris Daniels and Colin Jones who each netted 4 trout, with a brace being landed by Ken Pascoe, Ian Oxley and Steve Curtis. Dean Connolly and new member Bob Ford also included top pond rainbows in the final returns. On the bottom pond, Keith Higgins, Steve Snape, Martin Rees, Shaun Cotterell, Ken Pascoe, Dave Howells, Colin Jones and Ian Oxley all reached catch and release limits, with Rob Ford, Dean Connolly and Martin Williams each landing 7 fish. A. Brann landed 6 fish while Roy Jones, Bob Bradley and Steve Curtis caught 5 fish each. Adrian Connor with 2 fish plus Ken Bowring and Chris Daniels, also added to their top pond catches. Most fish were again caught around Pipe Bay, and the Car Park Bank, with Cat’s Whiskers, Damsel nymphs, Montanas and Black Buzzers being the most effective flies. A feature of the weekend included a catch of brown trout by Keith Higgins and Bob Bradley with each netting and releasing fish estimated in excess of 2lb.
Follow up report: Following an excellent opening weekend, the first full week of the 2018 season has seen some good returns from both ponds. So far this week on the top pond most fish have been caught from the Railings Bank and the Wood Bank, both areas being adjacent to the inlet. Limits have been caught by Adrian Moyse, Paul Ellsworthy and day ticket visitor T. Collins. Other catches recorded include 9 fish for Ken Bowring over 3 visits, while day ticket holder Bob Cook registered a 7-fish return. Gwyn Davies fished the Railings Bank to land 5 good rainbows on Buzzers and Diawl Bach patterns. Four fish each were landed by day ticket holders Ray Tucker, R. Collins and permit angler Dave Howells, while Ivor Thomas caught 5 fish over 2 sessions. Norman Curtis landed 2 good rainbows, with Steve Snape and Lee Ashcroft also finding fish. Ken Bowring landed a good brown trout in the region of 1lb 8oz, with a second brown trout estimated at 2lb 8oz being returned to the water.
On the bottom pond, fishing has been consistently good throughout the week. Steve Snape added 2 limits to his top pond catch, with Paul Ellsworthy and Ken Bowring also catching 8 trout. Cardiff permit holder, Alan Rees recorded a catch of 10 fish over 2 sessions, while another 2 sessions gave Colin Jones a total of 6 fish. Day ticket visitor Colin Poole recorded a 7 trout catch, with other day ticket holders, Howard Davies and John Edwards landing 5 rainbows. Four-fish returns were listed by Phil Harper, Ivor Thomas and Brian Wareham, while 3 rainbows were landed by John Eynon with Martin Rees, Bernard Hartland, Ken Pascoe, Terry O'Connor, Kevin Pinkney, Lee Ashcroft, Martin Williams, Dave Howells and day ticket visitor Barry Powell each catching a brace of trout. Pipe Bay, the Car Park Bank and Pear Tree Bank have again provided most of the returns. The predominant fly/lure for both ponds has again been the Damsel Nymph plus Buzzers, Diawl Bach nymphs and Cat’s Whiskers.
NRFFA members joined with anglers from Cardiff and the Valleys, to enjoy a very good evening at the annual Gary Evans ‘Shop night’ with plenty of bargains available, plus a free buffet. Many thanks to Gary and his staff for their attention, and also to the Cardiff Reservoirs Fly Fishing Club for their kind hospitality following the event.
Despite bitterly cold east winds at the weekend, anglers continued to enjoy relatively good fishing from both ponds. On the top pond the more sheltered banks alongside the Railings and the Wood provided a number of limits, including those for Chris Daniels, Keith Higgins and James Rice. Regular Ken Bowring and day ticket visitor Stewart Smith both landed 6 rainbows, while a 5-fish return was achieved by Martin Williams. Day ticket holder Richard Bowles netted a good brace of trout, with Wynne Jones and Adrian Connor also landing top pond fish. On the bottom pond, the sheltered Bush Bank provided limits on consecutive days for Ken Bowring with James Rice adding another limit to his top pond return. Day ticket holder Sally Ann Iles also reached the 8-fish limit and followed up with 7 fish from a second visit. John Eynon fished from the Bush for a 5-fish return. Day ticket members Gareth and Richard Williams, plus Jeff Wilson all caught 4 rainbows. Wynne Jones added another 3 trout to his top pond return, while a brace of fish was caught by Steve Snape and Alan Rees. Both reservoirs are expected to receive further stockings during the week.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 16TH, 2018
Bigwell Flyfishery, Monmouth
This past week has seen a mixed bag of weather including wind, rain, sleet snow and hard frost, though interspersed with bright sunshine. Impact on fishing has also been mixed with fish in dour mood then suddenly switching on to feeding. Fishing had been a bit hit and miss up until Thursday when Exmoor Fisheries delivered a batch of 100 quality rainbows which soon livened things up! Anglers through the gate have been relatively low and indeed not a single angler on Saturday... we blame the Rugby and the Winter Olympics! However, for those anglers who braved the weather all in all the returns have been good: A total of 34 anglers caught 136 trout giving a rod average of 4. Husband and wife team Mike and Jean Fahy took 5 trout in a short visit on Thursday, with Jean Taking 3 to hubbies 2. On Friday Tobias Foster brought along his 4-year-old son Myles for a second visit after catching a trout on his first trip. Myles is obviously an up and coming star as he took a beautiful trout on this occasion also.
Regular Paul James Barnfield and friend Brian Sissons took 14 trout (10-4 split) with biggest fish around 4lb but most in range of 2lb 8oz to 3lb 8oz. Paul Legge took 5 trout while Dave Glover managed 8 and Fred Wood 3. Friday saw John Burton take 7 trout while friends Paul Harris and John Lyall visiting from Berkshire took 7, with John's heaviest fish being entered into the Troutmasters. Paul and John enjoyed themselves so much that they returned on Sunday for a rematch, which turned out a tie with 4 fish each. Also on Sunday long time regular Hughie Wilson took a nice 5lb 8oz (estimated) rainbow along with 7 others on catch and release. Pals Mathew Tiley, Martyn Precious and Alex Mellish found the going a bit hard for them on Sunday though after taking advice from the regulars they managed to take 4 fish. Also on Sunday good friends George Dickman and Tony Talbot took 8 trout, Tony had 7 while poor George only managed 1.
Monday morning saw Pete Smith take 3 nice trout on a catch and kill ticket with a 2 hour flying visit! Meanwhile an afternoon visit by Gerard van der Westhuyzen from Harpenden saw him take 3 nice trout also on catch and kill. A variety of flies were successful in taking trout including Green Flash Damsel, Hoppers, Orange and Red Blob, Buzzers (various), Diawl Bach Nymph, Gold bead Hare’s Ear Nymph, Goldhead White Minkie, Egg Flies (pink) under strike indicator.
Ynysy fro Reservoirs, Gwent
Anglers enjoyed one of the best opening days for many seasons. Numerous limits were taken from both ponds with some members registering a 16 fish total. These included Ken Bowring, John Eynon, Adrian Moyse, Roy Jones, Colin Jones, Keith Higgins, Craig Bowles, Steve Curtis and Paul Ellsworthy. Bernard Stephens and Dave Howells both had top pond limits, while bottom limits were achieved by Steve Woodfield, Sally Iles, Ian Oxley, Richard Kelly and Colin Poole. Other notable returns came from Terry O'Connor, Fred Davies, Bob Bradley and Barry Jones each with 7 fish from the bottom pond. Dave Howells, Dave Slocombe and Gareth Neale all caught 6 rainbows. Wynne Jones landed 5 fish from the top pond with Bob Bradley catching 4. A 4-fish return was also made by Bernard Hartland. Numerous other returns of 2 and 3 fish were also recorded. Most fish from the top pond were caught around the inlet via the road and wood bank, while Pipe Bay, the car park bank as far as the bush and area of Pear Tree Bank nearest to Pipe Bay were the most productive areas on the bottom pond. Most catches were made on Cat’s Whisker patterns, plus Tadpole lures and Blue-flash Damsels.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 9TH, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
The weather has been mixed this past week including a fair amount of sudden rain and north-easterly winds with some spells of bright sunshine and some snow flurries. The winds occasionally put the trout down. On catch and release this week were Keith Fenton, John Burton, Tony Moore, Steve Clark, Scot Smith, Mick Smith, Will Brooks, Paul Legge, Paul Barnfield, Brian Sisson, Fred Wood, David Glover and Lyndon Harris.
Young Myles Foster caught his rainbow trout on an orange and yellow Blob on a floating line from the top pool, assisted by his dad Tobias. Jack Wilson caught very successfully on his Green Damsel, landing 4 beautiful rainbows. Colin Smith caught 6, while friend Dave Hawkins had his 3 rainbows on a Black Daddy. Basil Freeman had his usual 2 trout to take home, Russel Edwards had a great mornings fishing despite the wind and rain, landing himself 4 rainbows and 2 blues. G. Wilson from Caerphilly took 5 fish on his catch and kill ticket. Brothers Mike and Harry Saunders took 15 on catch and kill tickets, mostly on Goldhead Green Damsels, Bloodworm and Green Spiders. Adrian Wilson from Bath visited for the first time and was pleased to catch 1 tiger trout,1 blue trout and a beautiful 6lb 9oz rainbow from the gin pool. The fish, released successfully, was entered into Troutmasters. Also on catch and kill tickets were M. Thomas 2, J. Bladen 2, Alan Brunt 2, Bill Bradley 5, Ron Stevens 6, Basil Freeman 2, Glynn Jones 3, Bryan Holland 4, Chris Stuart 6, Daniel Melton 5, Darren Lewis 3, Gary Webb 2. There are 3 tagged fish in the pools, pay £1 to win £200 if you catch one. The evenings are getting a bit lighter every day and anglers are still fishing at 5.15pm. Open every day at 7.30am.
Ynys y Fro Reservoirs, Gwent
Following a successful social evening, attended by some 50 members, who were able to enjoy a free raffle and buffet, plus the opportunity to renew memberships and purchase season permits, a good number braved bad weather to attend the pre-season work party morning. Many thanks from the committee. All is now in place for the opening weekend (Saturday/Sunday February 17-18) for members plus the availability of fishing for day ticket visitors from Monday February 19. With day tickets held at £12 for visitors and £8 for members, NRFFA would claim to provide very good value for money with an 8 fish catch and release per pond, plus a two fish kill limit. Both reservoirs have been fully stocked with rainbow trout with an average weight between 1lb 8oz and 2lb, plus a small number of brown trout for the top pond. These fish, plus the existing brown trout in the pond, must always be carefully released back to the water, but do not count within the catch and release limit.
With the Association carrying out landlord-approved methods of discouraging cormorants, particularly on the bottom pond, plus endeavouring to reduce the population of small perch, again on the bottom pond, it is hoped that both members and day ticket visitors will enjoy many tight lines in 2018.
Membership applications are warmly invited from new fishermen (see website for joining procedures) while existing members must renew by March 1. Season permits at £235 for a full season are always available to both new and existing members. Permits allow unrestricted access to the reservoirs on a daily basis plus a 100 fish kill limit. Regular weekly reports covering all aspects of fishing at Ynys y fro will be available on the Association website www.nrffa.co.uk and in the local press.
Finally, all NRFFA members are warmly invited to attend the "all clubs" annual shop evening at the Gary Evans Cardiff shop on Thursday February 22 from 6pm onwards. A free buffet will be provided plus the opportunity to purchase many discounted fishing items. The Cardiff Reservoirs Fly Fishing Club also extend an invitation to those attending the shop night to join them for their ‘Thursday evening get together’ at the nearby St Joseph's Sports and Social Club following the shop event.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING FEBRUARY 2ND, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
Weeding of the pools has started a little earlier this year. The weed is slow growing at the moment but we want to keep on top of it for our anglers, so two days of weeding have made a good impression. It has also highlighted how much natural food is in abundance for the fish and is probably why some days they are just not interested in taking a fly. Paul Ellesworthy had another great day, catching his bag limit on catch and release including a 6lb rainbow which he caught on a Blue-flash Damsel and released successfully. Hughie Wilson also caught a beautiful 5lb 7oz rainbow on a small Black Buzzer from the lower lodge pool and went on to catch 5 more on his catch and release ticket including a tiger trout. Newcomers this week were Mike Evans, Paul Williams and Gary Meeks who travelled from Birmingham to give Bigwell a try. They were fishing on our catch, kill and release ticket so they could take a fish home. Each then went on to release several more fish from across all pools. Popular flies this week have been small Black Buzzers, Green Spiders, Egg flies, Green-flash Damsels, Hoppers, Klinkhamers and Black Gnats. The fishery is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING JANUARY 26TH, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
Great fishing to start the weekend off. On Saturday anglers were catching on Green Spiders, Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Gold Ribbed Hare’s Ear, Diawl Bachs and Damsels. Some rain but very little wind. Paul Ellesworthy caught 9 fish including a blue and a nice 4lb 8oz rainbow, all on small and dark flies, going right down to a size 16. Sunday was wind and rain all day, but still a few anglers turned out to battle the elements. Monday and the rain had stopped, the lodge pools were coloured first thing but cleared nicely as the morning wore on. Early birds Fred Wood and David Glover headed for the gin pool, armed with lots of different flies. Dave went on to catch 8 including a nice blue, mostly on a Green Spider, which seems to work very well at the moment. Fred Wood caught 7 and landed 2. Glenn Thomas brought along his brother Arnold who has never fly-fished before but under Glenn’s tuition managed to land 2 rainbows. Glenn took home 4. Harry Webb was on great form on his catch and kill ticket landing 3 rainbows on Green Spiders and a Yellow Blob. Colin using his stalking method in the gin pool by dropping a White Minkie just in front of the fish, then allowing the fly to sink slowly, which the fish then took aggressively. He caught 3 using this method, then went on to catch 6 more from the lodge pools. Mick Fahy landed 3 and his wife Jean landed 1, Basil Freeman 2, Steve Moss 2, Andy Rawlings 4, Dilwyn Thomas 3. On catch and release this week were Andy Merton, Rob Lewis, Mark Blackham, Steve Webb, Hywel Lawrence, Aron Beck, Craig Williams, Sheila Maynard, Adrian and Angus Whitehead, Daniel Watson, Marcus Bates, Robin Vale. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am till dusk.
Ynys y fro reservoirs, Gwent
The 2018 season for Ynys y fro is scheduled to commence from 7am on Saturday February 17. As is the usual practice, the first two days of the season will be reserved for members only, with the reservoirs being open to day ticket visitors from Monday February 19. Boats will also be available from the same date. Prior to opening day, the Annual Social Evening will be held at Risca Rugby Club on Friday February 9, from 7pm. Members will have the opportunity to renew their Association membership and purchase season permits. All prices have been maintained as for 2017, again demonstrating the intention of the Association to provide good fishing at prices which are both reasonable and competitive. Season permits are set at £235 for members and day tickets priced at £8 for members and £12 for visitors. The evening will include the usual free raffle and buffet. The following day (Saturday February 10) will be set aside as the pre-season work party day with as many members as possible requested to attend from 10am onwards. Both ponds will be fully stocked prior to the new season. It is the intention of the Association to stock rainbow trout across both reservoirs, to an average size of between 1lb 8oz and 2lb. A small stocking of brown trout is also planned for the top pond. Catch and release limits will remain at 8 fish per pond with a two-fish kill limit, after which fishing must cease. Brown trout must again be carefully returned to the water, but will not count in the catch and release limits. Ynys y fro will again be a Troutmasters water with the fish-off for any/all of last season's badge winners scheduled for early April.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING JANUARY 19TH, 2018
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
Lots of top of the water sport this week with Hoppers and Klinkhamers. Mike Holdsworthy even tied a piece of white wool onto his fly which the fish readily devoured from the top. Dave Glover and Fred Wood landed their bag limits of 10 fish each using Green Spiders and Damsels, Pheasant Tail Nymphs and Black Buzzers. Paul Barnfield had a great day catching his bag limit including a 6lb rainbow caught on a Green Damsel. The fish was successfully released. Jeff Black from Abergavenny caught a lovely blue trout in the gin pool on a small Black Buzzer then went on to catch a tiger trout taken on an Egg fly. The wind has not been kind to our anglers this week but they battled on against the odds to land some great bags. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING JANUARY 12TH, 2018
Bigwell Trout Fishery, Monmouth
With very cold starts the fish have been taking a while to kick into gear but 2018 has begun well with lots of regular anglers coming through the gates, all determined to start the New Year off with a fishing ‘Bang’. David Pearce from Bristol caught a tagged fish to win himself £200, a great start to Daniel’s fishing year. Paul Barnfield kicked off the Troutmasters competition for 2018 with a beautiful 7lb 8oz rainbow caught on a Green Spider in the middle lodge pool. Lloyd Isgrove caught 5 fish, Kevin Brookes caught and released a beautiful 7lb 8oz rainbow from the lower lodge pool on a Black Buzzer. Lyndon Harris had a good day on Thursday, landing 7 fish and missing 2. Lyndon said the lodge pool fish weren't interested in his flies, so he moved to the gin pool, where he caught all his fish on Egg flies and Blue-flash Damsels. Tuesday saw regulars Basil Freeman and Harry Webb having to work hard for their 2 fish on their catch and kill tickets, the only flies working for them were Bloodworms. Wednesday saw 3 anglers from Bristol have a great day’s fishing Mike Wright caught 5 rainbows and 1 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. Bigwell is open every day from 7.30am.
WALES TROUTMASTERS REPORTS FOR WEEK-ENDING DECEMBER 29TH, 2017
Bigwell Fly Fishery, Monmouth
The week was off to a good start with Shane Marshall who caught 4 rainbow trout on a Squirmy Wormy. One of his fish weighed in at 4lb and has been entered into the Troutmasters competition. Also on catch and kill tickets were Tim Morgan who landed 2 fish, Keith Draisley took 2, Tony Evans 4, Keith Fenton 3, James Livingston 5, Basil Freeman 3, Harry Webb 2. Our Boxing Day competition was a great success, with Ron Baker from Buckingham winning a prize for first fish caught which he managed to do in the first 5 minutes of the competition. David Machin won the heaviest individual fish which weighed in at 3lb 2oz and John Burton won heaviest 3 fish bag at 7lb 3oz. Popular flies this week have been Bloodworm, goldhead black nymphs, Blue-flash Damsel, Squirmy Wormies, Green Spiders and Klinkhamer. We would like to wish all our anglers a very happy and healthy New Year.