A personal plea

To any who may be thinking of doing it, please don't.

We have the finest trout river in the principality and IMHO the best in the UK. Don't mess with its ecology just for a bit of winter fishing.

If you want winter grayling fishing there are plenty of rivers a short trip away that have them: Wye, Lugg, Taff, Rhymney, Irfon...many say the Irfon is one of the very best grayling streams in the UK.

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If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken,Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools...

Although I don't agree with any kind of stocking of fish where they are not indigenous and so support Simon on this, I wonder just how broken the Usk's ecology is with the illegal stocking of Barbel.

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The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'

Just back from a little jaunt along the riverbank.
Spent a while watching a big pod of fish midgeing and some good fish too, long live this mild weather.
TM you might be in for a treat yet !

G

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" Life isnt about waiting for the storm to pass, Its all about learning to dance in the rain"

Environment Agency - Mr Chris Blake

Hydro application for the Usk catchment, a long drive to Cardiff for residents to inspect the plans, why these aren't in an electronic format is beyond me.

Check the link above to see similar applications down your way and to comment on the proposed dam.

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Musha rig um du rum da

Can't wait Griz... it's been a long time coming. The Monnow was alive with fish the other day... textbook hatch of small dark olives at 11:30am did the trick.

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"A homeward tramp thro' mist wrapped night,
With heart and creel in common light,
Complete content, the day has brought it,
They fished for pleasure - and they caught it"

P F Morgan
taken from the catch record book at Llanthony Hotel, Honddu Valley, Aug 1942

www.monnowlogue.com
www.monnow.org.uk

Quite a few fish feeding on Choronomids along the river last Friday. It looks like the mild weather is having the expected effect.

I wonder when the grannom hatch will start this year? Early, I'll bet. Tied a few parachute and f-fly emerger patterns up yesterday in anticipation...

Slightly of subject, but does anyone else use this?

Home - Angling Diary

I've not used it yet, but I think I like it.

Always found that keeping records of any kind, a waste of time; as things change quite frequently; and I've never experienced two seasons the same! Photographic records maybe, but no other records of catches flies used etc. I like the trial and error method, keeps the excitement alive.

Each to his own I suppose Mostyn. Whatever you enjoy. I like them and I know some very good fishermen that have years of diaries that they find useful and enjoy revisiting.

What I like about this approach is that the data can be used by other fishermen and put to scientific use (a significant data set would be of interest to fisheries biologists, entomologists etc). This is a data gathering approach I have suggested to EA Wales staff in the past. The main obstacle they foresaw was that fishermen can be secretive. I'll be interested to see what the uptake for this is like.

Does anyone know the dates trout fishing starts on the Usk and Taff rivers please?