Hi Mos,

I think it was recently in March's Trout and salmon, in an article by Louis Noble. It was first published in Fly Fishing and Flytying in (I think) May 2009. The only change I make is once tied I take a permanent marker to the back of the fly to darken it, and improve its likeness to the natural. You could use a strip of raffene to do this but Permanent marker is the easy option!
The natural is about a size 16, so I tie it on a Tiemco 103BL size 14 so it is a bit bigger and stands out.

Yesterday was a great seeing day and I sat and watched a couple of good fish feeding just before I left. It confirmed what I was suspecting about fishing a grannom emergence. Unlike normal hatches when a fish takes a position and rises from its lie to take the fly, during grannom hatches the fish are high in the water column and move both erratically left to right, (as much as 4 or 5ft) and steadily upstream for as much as 30ft, picking of emerging pupae, in or just below the surface, before swinging round and back to their start position and doing it again. The lesson in this, is that the one way of not catching a fish is to assume he was where he last rose as you can be assured he will not be there anymore! It might take several casts before you get fish and fly to coincide and this explains why so often they 'refuse' the fly.

I find it helps to use a very long leader (18ft+) when you are giving a lead this long and prospecting to the left and right just to avoid accidentally lining the fish shoudl you guess wrong, especially as you are usually casting pretty much straight upstream, with the fish on the creases of the current.

Yesterday had the perfect gentle upstream wind. Enough to put a ripple on the surface, allowing you to both get quite close to them and to turn the 20ft leader, but not so much it put the hatch down. Lovely!

In the really heavy emergences, the fish gorge on the pupae and I think reach ‘Mr Creosote’ stage pretty quickly. I think this is why the fishing is best in the medium-heavy hatches rather than the biblical hatches such as that which Lewis experienced on Glan Usk.

Just my thoughts, hope they are useful.

Best of luck

Thanks Simon,

all information is useful; and your info on Grannom fishing, will be useful to many on this forum! I always use quite a lengthy leader, especially on the Usk river! How long do you think these Grannom hatches will continue? a few more days or a week or so? Oh are there any other fly patterns that you would recommend? I've found a parachute Adams goes well, or a small Hares ears klink, and of course the baby sun fly!

Mostyn

Not sure I said that or was it what I was getting at Mostyn.
Simon knows though.

Sorry Seeker! hadn't realised that you were close friends!

Knowledgeable guy though "Simon" and very helpful!!

[QUOTE=seeker;696069][QUOTE=Simon Evans;696052]Glad you liked the water Lewis and sorry the fish weren't playing. I had a slightly different experience a few miles below you.



No surprise there then!!!!![/QUOTE

i think you're just stirring up the Red River again!...

Same old forum!
Gentlemen, please feel free to continue wrangling on the Wye thread.
Folk just want to talk about the Usk here, in a civil manner.

Diolch yn fawr
Lewis

__________________
'Afon Wysg it is then boys'

Hi Guy's,

I'm having a day on the Ysbytty tomorrow! Has anyone been on the river today? how's it looking, I hear mention of it being a little low! We could probably do with a few light showers to liven the water and re,oxygenate it! Although, I was hoping for a fine and sunny day tomorrow.

Mostyn,

Low and clear at Usk town, Grannom below the town bridge between 10-30 and 3 (when I left). Tough fishing, lot of searching, but got 4 reasonable fish to hand and LDR's on a couple more. Fished a size 16 hare and olive beadhead below a size 14 Cdc caddis. All but one fish took the nymph in the riffles.

Cheers

Taff

Had a hard day today with my brother not as good as last weekend, we had 2 each rose and lost 5or 6 others to the dry but didnt connect up. Day nice and warm but that wind was a bit awkward...my fish this and last week all caught on a size 16 adams..last week rose a fish I am glad didnt hook up too..phew.
cheers Glyn

Hi Guys,

I fished the Ysbytty Stretch today; and it was very similar to the type of day you mentioned! I had 4, fish, all small, missed a few on the dry! And all fish were caught on a size 16, Elk-hair Grannom pattern! Blo-ody wind got up in the afternoon, it was quite chilly! But I must say, I did enjoy the day spent with the ole girl!!