Thirteen of us enjoyed an excellent beat walk yesterday in the sun. Both the Elwy and Clwyd were looking very inviting with a decent hatch of flies and a few fish rising. Well done and "thank you" to John Davidson our river keeper for all his work in preparing for this, which we hope will be an annual series of beat walks. After meeting at Tweedmill Textiles we took all the vehicles to our parking area at Maes Elwy. From there we went in three cars to Gypsy Lane (R.Elwy). We walked from the railway bridge at the bottom of the beat up to the town bridge in St Asaph. Apart from the small VCAC section by the Gypsy Lane car park we have a continuous stretch of fishing from lower Gypsy Lane all the way up to the top of the town water (above Foxons). Plenty of this is double bank fishing some of which we own. Those of us who fish this water regularly were able to point out good areas to try as well as times and methods. Don't under-estimate this beat. Although dog walkers can be frustrating at some times, they are not around when we are fishing for sea trout at night! And remember that apart from Bodrhyddan Estates, RASAAA's Clwyd and Elwy beats are the first that migratory fish reach after leaving the tidal water.
After a lunch break at Dol Afon Meadow, we went to Pont Dafydd (R.Clwyd) using our gated parking area. I hadn't fished this beat last season, although it's where I caught my best (4lb) Elwy sea trout in 2015. The beat walk reminded me of the excellent runs and pools here, and it's clearly a favourite beat for some of our members.
We then covered the Bryn Polyn beat (R.Elwy) which looked (and smelled) lovely swathed in wild garlic. This beat is now joined with Maes Elwy when you book to fish.
John intends to hold another beat walk next Sunday (May 13th), covering different beats. Look out for an email from Dave R and an online posting for further details.
Comments