Has anyone fished the Wye and Usk founds water on the Honddu?It looks a nice little river,what times,flies etc?Also is it suitable to try my new little one wt Orvis on?All info greatfully received,cheers all,
Ade.

Cranefly is the main man on this beat but I have fished it and am familiar with the river.

It is a belting little stream but you will have to work hard for your fish. Few trad riffle/pool sections but lots of pocket water which you will need to search out ruthlessly Early season will be best. Good hawthorn hatch. Fish it with a single dry, single nymph or the duo. 7ft 3/4 wt would be best.

Stealth is an absolute must on this beat. There are certain stretches, I wont spoil it by telling you which ones - hold some fish that you would not expect to see in a river that size (ask Sewinman). Start at the bottom and work up but stay well away from the bank on the way down. Patterns? Parachute Adams, Griffiths Gnat, Double Badger, CDC/Elk - nymphs: usual suspects. Basically you are dealing with a river that does not have huge hatches of flies and where any kind of food is snapped up quickly and greedily, so think about you triggers and visibility (to yourself) in quick bubbling water.

You will rarely fish a more stunning valley and the farmer, Mr Powell, is a gem. If you go, please post your findings on the Monnow thread if you wouldn't mind - we need some fresh blood in there!

Have a great day.

__________________
"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

Which one. The WUF have two rivers called the Honddu one is a tributary of the Usk and beat no. 11 in the passport book. The other in no.15 and is a tributary of the Monnow.

FFC

Thanks Tigermoth-sounds perfect,now where are my stalking realtrees?
FFC-its,the one that runs into the Monnow,not sure what beat number it is,my W&U passport is in work!!Think i'll give it a go early April,anyone interested?

Yep it's the Monnow trib version. Up there, you are in the wilds, just shy of the wonderful priory at Llanthony. Look out for "Observatory Pool" - when Sewinman and I fished it back in late June last year he lost a fish that was 2lb if it was an ounce - and wild as f*ck. Perfect trout fishing.

I remember Cranefly showing me around the beat and telling me that when the GCT electro fished the beat, it had a higher density of trout than the lowland chalkstream comparator Yet you'll look at the water and say to yourself "where are they?"... they are there, they are...

Stalker: Interested? Moi? Always

__________________
"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

Stalker,

Tigermoth has summed it up rather well. It is a beat that I have fished many times and, at the same time not enough. It is a river that will you leave with nothing and wanting more. Whatever I or anybody else may say you will find a different quality to it. All I know is that it is full of fish, lots of 9"ers and few surprises (2lb trout frequent it), they will take like greased lightning down a church spire and you will miss far more than you hook. On the other hand you may hardly see a trout all day. Fickle, yes, addictive, definitely. Most success with a Klink as a search pattern unless the hawthorns are about.

A 1 weight, I have never fishedwith one but would like to try and if i was to then the Honddu would be a good place to start.

Basically, if the river does not deliver first time you will return. Feel free to add your thoughts on your new found mistress to the "Fishing the Monnow" thread so that we can all enjoy.

__________________
"The sun was so delightfully warm, and the stone, which had been sitting in it for a long time, was so warm, too, that Pooh had almost decided to go on being Pooh in the middle of the stream for the rest of the morning."

www.monnow.org

Thanks guys,sounds like a small river I learned to flyfish on many years ago,Tigermoth i'll sort out a date in early April and pm you,thanks again.