Usk 2021

[Alwyn]

Great fishing Spence!

 

[sewinfly]

Cheers mate, the curtains are closing fast on the season.

 

[haptonlad]

Well done sewinfly?

 

[sewinfly]

For me today was my last day of the season. Hoping to finish on a high.
I finished a night shift and went straight to the river after work.

Still dark at 6.30 so got the gear out of the car and waders on and walked up the beat.
Started fishing at first light and with river perfect conditions I fished the fly.

Several hours later and not a touch.My friend turned up so we wandered further down the beat.

Fishing a good pool the Snaelda /Francis went on and after several casts the line drawn tight a lift into the fish and with the rod bucking over several times all went slack,so ends the 2021 season for me on the Usk.

With 13 salmon and the biggest at just under 16 pounds and about 6-8 lost.

The most memorable was hooking into a submarine of a fish that did not jump but just kept swimming up river slowly and not being able to stop it.

So there ends 2021 and with more NRW restrictions looming we are on a hiding to nothing.

Sewinfly. ........

 

[Andy62]

Well done on your catches this year, it’s been a pleasure to hear about them ?

 

[sewinfly]

Well done on your catches this year, it’s been a pleasure to hear about them ?

Hope it was not to boring.
Cheers Andy
Spencer

 

[Alwyn]

That’s a very good tally for the season Spencer, especially given this year’s tough conditions. What new NRW restrictions are coming in?

 

[lewiswearfisher]

Love Reading you're detailed posts, congrats on a good season sewinfly ???

 

[sewinfly]

That’s a very good tally for the season Spencer, especially given this year’s tough conditions. What new NRW restrictions are coming in?

Hi Alwyn

The NRW only gave the anglers on the Usk to fish bait for 2 weeks, in my case prawn.
I submitted several letters from anglers that totalled probably a couple of hundred years experience between all of us stating that prawn was the most effective and the best form of c&r that was backed by the NRW PETER Gough agreeing with us but now there is a lobby to ban bait altogether .

Without fishing bait they will never know the true amount of fish in the Usk.
The Usk is the only river that has 2 weeks yet all other rivers 4 weeks or more and they cannot give me a reason why.

The Wye has had a bait ban for 20 years or close to that and year on the Wye figures just drop continually.

Could go on mate but I feel we are going to get steambrollered.

Speak soon

Spencer

 

[RichardGW]

Hi Alwyn

The NRW only gave the anglers on the Usk to fish bait for 2 weeks, in my case prawn.
I submitted several letters from anglers that totalled probably a couple of hundred years experience between all of us stating that prawn was the most effective and the best form of c&r that was backed by the NRW PETER Gough agreeing with us but now there is a lobby to ban bait altogether .

Without fishing bait they will never know the true amount of fish in the Usk.
The Usk is the only river that has 2 weeks yet all other rivers 4 weeks or more and they cannot give me a reason why.

The Wye has had a bait ban for 20 years or close to that and year on the Wye figures just drop continually.

Could go on mate but I feel we are going to get steambrollered.

Speak soon

Spencer

I totally agree with you.

Other than angling catches the authorities have little if anything else to go on to determine the level of stocks in the rivers. As every angler knows we have good and bad years often depending on the state of the rivers during the angling season – flood, drought, etc. The result is that it only takes one or two years of poor conditions and hence catches before the authorities say catches are down so we need to make further restrictions to reduce exploitation (for exploitation read catches). Then when exploitation (catches) decreases further because of these additional restrictions, they say we told you numbers were down. Ever decreasing circles.

On the other side of the coin your catch of a dozen or so of fish on prawn/shrimp in the two week window allowed for that method on the river shows that when conditions are poor for fly or spinner, there can be many more fish in the deep pools than we ever realise. Indeed your total lack of success on fly for the previous 6 months on the same beat shows this up.

And of all methods prawn/shrimp is probably the least likely to result in deep hooking allowing for easy C&R.

 

[haptonlad]

I’ve just seen a debate on the salmon forum, on the Border Esk about them wanting to ban all bait fishing.
2 anglers had 20 between them in a day…
in my experience most of the shrimping pools you fish aren’t any good for fly fishing or spinning. It’s a low water method, I know worming isn’t. I think the point their making is that bait fishers don’t move through the pools to let other anglers fish through but I know most will gladly step a side to let someone fly fish through a beat before going back into the pool.
I think a lot is their jealous that so many fish get caught shrimping & it probably jeopardises their chances of catching a salmon on the fly because the fish have probably already been caught previously…

 

[T7]

I’ve just seen a debate on the salmon forum, on the Border Esk about them wanting to ban all bait fishing.
2 anglers had 20 between them in a day…
in my experience most of the shrimping pools you fish aren’t any good for fly fishing or spinning. It’s a low water method, I know worming isn’t. I think the point their making is that bait fishers don’t move through the pools to let other anglers fish through but I know most will gladly step a side to let someone fly fish through a beat before going back into the pool.
I think a lot is their jealous that so many fish get caught shrimping & it probably jeopardises their chances of catching a salmon on the fly because the fish have probably already been caught previously…

cesspit that place

 

[sewinfly]

I always fish fly on our beats first before I fish prawn.

But I'm not going to flog a dead horse for 8-10hrs on a fly for no return .

Also the owner likes to see fish in the book makes his fishery more viable.

I'm a firm believer that the numbers of fish are not there now anymore which are interested in fly.
We need salmon numbers in the river to increase not more Draconian measures imposed on us as anglers.

Spencer

 

[T7]

I fish the fly wherever possible simply because I enjoy it. I grew up fishing small overgrown rivers with worm and spinner. I used to love bouncing a worm down a deep slow pool or flicking a Mepps under the trees. There is skill in most methods. As above, some pools just aren’t fly fishable and those pools are best fished with other methods where allowed. On the other hand fishing spinner through prime fast and shallow fly water is something of an crime in my opinion - leaving spinners and other tackle strewn across the bottom etc. If I was lucky enough to own a beat I’d reserve the slower deeper pools for any method and keep the classic fly water for just that. Good fly water can be very hard to come by whereas there is usually lots of water for other methods. That’s just my two penneth for what it’s worth!

 

[Teal Blue And Long John Silver]

The vast majority of anglers who slate prawn fishing and I have met more than my fair share of anglers who do, have little or no idea how much skill is involved in prawn fishing. All forms of angling have their place and I personally believe in live and let live. If you are able to go out and land 20 fish in a day then my hat is off to you. So many fish in a day regardless of how they are caught is a fantastic achievement and I doff my cap to anyone who can do it

 

[sewinfly]

I fish the fly wherever possible simply because I enjoy it. I grew up fishing small overgrown rivers with worm and spinner. I used to love bouncing a worm down a deep slow pool or flicking a Mepps under the trees. There is skill in most methods. As above, some pools just aren’t fly fishable and those pools are best fished with other methods where allowed. On the other hand fishing spinner through prime fast and shallow fly water is something of an crime in my opinion - leaving spinners and other tackle strewn across the bottom etc. If I was lucky enough to own a beat I’d reserve the slower deeper pools for any method and keep the classic fly water for just that. Good fly water can be very hard to come by whereas there is usually lots of water for other methods. That’s just my two penneth for what it’s worth!

There is some lovely pools on the beat I fish.
Here's an example

Fast run into the pool with the main flow over the far side.

Shingle ,pebbles on the inside with back flow if the river not up a foot or more.
The inside tapers off to deeper water in a Gulley, absolute classic against a run of willows with the fish always at the end of the willows for some reason with lovely flowing water for about 100 yds plus.

Just screams fly with a depth of 4- 6ft even when river low.

Fished it all day with other rods and not a touch I was just about to leave so floated a prawn through and bang.
5 fish later and several lost and missed the guys could nt believe it.
The best part they were mesmerised by the float, it's under,under they they shouted absolutely
loved it.

If we were to of kept this fly , then not one fish on the bank, they are good fly fisherman to.

 

[Teal Blue And Long John Silver]

cesspit that place

Surely not? The one oasis of human kindness and decency in an ocean of Internet trolling and complete lack of tolerance for anyone else's point of view. Are you mad Gooseman? Anyone might think that you had come to virtual blows with a bunch of racists, xenophobes and bigots

 

[T7]

Like I said I have no problem with any method at the right time and fished in the right way. The only reason for keeping fly water as I mentioned above is to make sure that the fly fishers have as much fishing as the bait and spin fishers.

I’m a member of a club where many waters are shared with coarse fishermen. there are lots of beats that have a lot of slower deeper sections and only 2 or 3 fly pools. I’ve turned up to fish the fly and there’s been coarse lads legdering in the fast runs when there’s a couple of miles of prime water elsewhere that I couldn’t fish effectively with fly. That’s the kind of thing where I’ve seen issues that could be easily solved with some simple rules. Unfortunately a cast and step rule isn’t in place for them. I have no wish to stop other people fishing at all and I also love watching a float trotting down the river! Common sense and courtesy should be enough but isn’t always the case…

 

[haptonlad]

I fish the fly wherever possible simply because I enjoy it. I grew up fishing small overgrown rivers with worm and spinner. I used to love bouncing a worm down a deep slow pool or flicking a Mepps under the trees. There is skill in most methods. As above, some pools just aren’t fly fishable and those pools are best fished with other methods where allowed. On the other hand fishing spinner through prime fast and shallow fly water is something of an crime in my opinion - leaving spinners and other tackle strewn across the bottom etc. If I was lucky enough to own a beat I’d reserve the slower deeper pools for any method and keep the classic fly water for just that. Good fly water can be very hard to come by whereas there is usually lots of water for other methods. That’s just my two penneth for what it’s worth!

 

[haptonlad]

Our club follows these rules Simon.
I have to admit that good percentage of salmon are caught on shrimp in one of our holding pools.
This season tally on the Ribble for our club so far is 3 salmon, 2 on the fly & 1 on shrimp…
Not the best of seasons so far?