07/04/2026 - Change of plans

Popped down for a few days over Easter with the in-laws in Pembrokeshire so took enough tackle to cover a range of eventualities, but with the main target being my first bass of the year. 

However, whilst I knew that the tides were going to be less than ideal, I hadn't reckoned upon the added influence of Storm Dave. Saturday was grim as a result, but by Sunday morning the worst of the weather had blown through and I was down on the estuary at dawn, albeit still with a stiff breeze at my back. Only had about an hour and a half before high tide so planned to fish creature baits as the water came flooding across the mud, hoping to intercept a feeding bass. Worked a Megabass sleeper craw around the clumps of bladderwrack whilst keeping an eye out for any fish movement. However, by the time I'd been pushed back against the sea wall I'd not had a sniff. 

The water had become progressively murkier as the tide came in and a trip to Lawrenny Quay for lunch later in the day confirmed my worst fears. There were white horses being driven by the wind up the main estuary and the water was now the colour of mud due to the wave action on the shore. That knocked any further ideas of lure fishing on the head, so the following day I scratched around in the father-in-law's garden for some worms instead, having brought the ultra-lite gear as back up. Tuesday I was up early again and headed over towards Haverfordwest to my little, urban trout stream. Parked up in the layby on the bypass, got quickly togged up in the waders and then sneaked down the bank into the water when there was a suitable gap in the morning traffic - more to avoid bringing unwanted attention to "my spot". 

Flicked a worm on a 0.5 gram jig-head up to the head of the first run and let it drift back towards me. Was immediately met by un-hittable  jabs and rattles on the rod tip, the worm coming back mangled by tiny teeth. Eventually hooked one of the critters responsible, but it turned out to be a perfect little silver tourist rather than the expected brownie. Later confirmed as a salmon rather than a sea trout smolt by a friend who works for the Wild Trout Trust, I carefully popped him/her back to continue their perilous journey downstream and out into the Atlantic. Salmon stocks have declined in the catchment to the extent that National Resources Wales have categorised them as "depleted and at risk".

When I had two more in the next few casts I was therefore seriously contemplating cutting the session short to avoid unduly disturbing them. However, the next spot yielded my first wild brownie of the morning so I carried on upstream after that, picking the odd one off here and there from amongst the assorted urban debris. Had another surprise when I spotted some movement in the outflow from a sluice around an old dam. Upon closer investigation it turned out to be a small cluster of spawning brook lamprey. Several males mate with a single female, whose eggs are then deposited in a "nest" in the gravel. Job done the adults then die, leaving the eggs to hatch into larvae which stay buried in the substrate for several years before transforming into adult themselves and starting the cycle again.

Managed to get a reasonable photo just to get expert confirmation of the ID and then watched them fascinated for a good five minutes before carrying on. In the light of my morning's observations I was pleased to see that the pollution I'd reported last time had apparently been resolved, althought the occasional whiff from the nearby sewage treatment works served as an unwellcome reminder! By the time I reached the road bridge about 200 metres upstream I was down to my last worm. Used it to trick one final brownie and making it a "baker's dozen" before packing up. I often feel quite privileged that, as an angler, I get to see and experience nature much closer than most and this morning was no exception. 

As I walked back to the car I wondered how many of the people speeding past were even aware of this little gem of a stream so close to a busy road, but I suppose that's what makes it special.

24/08/2025 - A game of two halves

Didn't get out again in July or the early part of August for various reasons (work, weather, club fishing bans, general apathy, blah, blah, blah....). Then had two weeks very relaxing weeks in France with the family and friends in the middle of the European heatwave. 

Temperatures topped out at 41 degrees Centigrade, which meant we were up early every day and out and about before it got stupidly hot and then chilling back at the house for the rest of the day in the shade with a glass of wine or a cold beer (or several!). Also meant that it was too hot to contemplate the two hour journey each way to St Palais sur Mer on the "Wild Coast", so although I'd packed some LRF bits in anticipation they went un-used. Once back from France I had a couple of days at work before we headed down to Pembrokeshire for the Bank Holiday weekend. With potentially four days to play with I had hedged my bets and taken enough kit to cover all eventualities. However, in the end, I'd not reckoned with the weather or my own physical capability, but more of that later. 

Having eyed up the tide tables and keen to get on the bass again I was out bright and early on Sunday morning for high  tide. Headed to the same area where I'd had a couple of decent bass out in May with a view to fishing the ebbing tide as it exposed the beds of bladder wrack, flushing out any potential prey items of interest to a foraging predator. It was a big tide, over 7 metres, so the level was well up the shore when I arrived and partially submerging the clumps of grass and reeds at the high tide line. Rather than blast my lure to the horizon I therefore flicked it parallel to the shore. 

Two turns on the reel handle and the shad was taken with a bang, the rod tip hooped over and the clutch briefly sang as an angry fish tried to make its escape. Unfortunately for me it was successful and after a few seconds the line fell agonisingly slack. Disappointed and encouraged at the same time I carried on, but three hours later and with the tide whizzing out like an express train I was fishless. Better still I'd managed to gash the knee of my waders and fill both legs  with water, so I had to strip off and drive home in my pants! Had planned to return to the estuary later in the week for a low tide session, so on Monday I headed to Hobbs Point in Pembroke Dock. Popped into the local Tesco for some bait, but had forgotten it was Bank Holiday and that they wouldn't be open for over an hour - doh! 

Headed down to the point anyway and spent an hour or so fishing off the pontoon with isome on a dropshot rig. Quickly racked up several rock gobies, black gobies and poor cod before I was able to nip back to the supermarket and get a pack of raw king prawns. Moved onto the old slipway, setting up a two-hook flapper that was baited up with chunks of prawn and dropped down the side, hopefully for a trigger fish or a decent ballan. Swapped the drop shot rig on the LRF rod for a mini-two hook flapper, baiting the bottom size 16 hook with a sliver of prawn and the top hook with a section of isome. The corkwing wrasse and the pollack loved the isome, often intercepting it as it dropped past the weed growing on the wall, whilst the prawn continued to pick up the gobies, along with the biggest tompot blenny I think I've ever seen. 

Kept an eye on the other rod, reeling it in after 30 minutes or so to find both hooks completely stripped, so re-baited it and dropped it down again. With another big Spring tide that morning, there was only about 40 minutes of slack water before the tide started to ebb and rip along the wall. At this point the prawn rod hooped over and I struck into some firm resistance. Hope of a trigger or big ballan were dashed when I saw a snake-like shape emerge from the depths and I began to think I'd hooked a strap conger instead. However, once safely landed I saw that I'd actually caught a decent silver eel, not the first I've had out of the Haven either. Thankfully he was neatly hooked in the bottom lip so after a quick shake with the forceps he was quickly off back down the slipway under his own steam. 

Went back to the pontoon at this stage as it was impossible to hold bottom with my relatively light gear. Another angler had arrived by now and stationed himself on the end, but he graciously let me slot in next to him. Turned out he was from the Black Country not too far from where I grew up in Birmingham, but had retired down to Pembrokeshire with his wife. Had a good old natter, gaining some decent local intelligence in the process, whilst picking off a few more gobies, pollack and corkwing wrasse with the LRF rod in the process, interrupted briefly by one of the Haven's tugs testing its fire-fighting  jets. Had an eye on the time and was just about to pack up when I finally had a ballan wrasse to make it an eight species session comprising 17 corkwings, 13 rock gobies, 7 pollack, 5 black gobies, 4 poor cod, 1 tompot, 1 silver eel and that ballan. 

Headed home pretty satisfied but thinking I was going to get a wigging off the wife, who instead told me that I could have stayed longer if I'd wanted to! Unfortunately that was it for the fishing for the rest of our stay. I'd been feeling a bit dizzy and "out of it" over the previous couple of days and when my hearing started to suffer it became apparent that I'd got a problem with my ears. Taking a strong decongestent knocked me for six, but helped things a bit and I felt bright enough to contemplate a bass session on our final morning. However, by then the tail end of Hurricaine Erin had blessed us with high winds and heavy rain that knocked things on the head anyway. Not what I had planned, but at least I'd had a decent session at Hobbs Point for a change. 

With temperatures cooling down and a bit of rain forecast it's time to see how the rivers are faring now. 

27/05/2025 - Two estuaries, mixed fortunes

Took the opportunity to hook up with Joel Squires while I was down in Saunton. Cirumstances had prevented us from meeting last year and I was keen to build on the success of previous sessions. Exchanged emails beforehand and whilst Joel had only been out a few times himself this season, he had managed to find a few fish in his last couple of outings so things looked promising. 

After an 8 km paddle up the Taw estuary from Crow Point to Braunton and back with the lads in the morning I returned a couple of hours later to meet Joel in the car park. Got togged up and had a good natter as we walked over the dunes and down onto the estuary. Started off by fishing topwaters over the reef on the last of the ebb without a hint of a fish, so slogged back up the to the mussel beds as the tide turned. Was unusual to walk past a few bait fishermen on the way, which had Joel bemoaning recent social media posts about gilthead bream, smooth hounds and even tope showing up in the estuary, although everyone that we stopped and spoke to was also fishless. 

Out on the mussel beds we carried punching our lures out into the fresh breeze, but as the light began to fade the wind dropped and conditions seemed perfect. However, try as we might the fish were either not there, or just not interested. Nail in the coffin came when I had the mother of all wind knots in my braid after having carefully looked after it, checking it after each cast, all afternoon. Headed back to the cars a tad disappointed, but it had been good to catch up and we pencilled in some plans for later in the year. Fast forward to May Bank Holiday down in Pembrokeshire. 

Saturday was taken up with the mother-in-law's 80th birthday, including assisting the wife put on a surprise tea party up at the village hall with friends and family and then a massive curry in the evening. With plenty of brownie points in the bank I snuck off at 5.30 AM the following morning to the Cleddau estuary. With stiff westerley winds forecast all weekend I had my eye on an area just around the corner from Lawrenny that I thought would hold a few fish at high water and where I would hopefully find a bit of calm. However, I'd forgotten that it was the "Big Retreat Festival" and when I pulled up in the car I found a dozen middle-aged ladies enjoying an early morning wild swim, although it sounded more like an excuse for a chinwag. Got togged up in the chesties, said good morning and then headed a decent distance further up the bank. Was initally flat calm and looked perfect for topwaters. 

Started off subtle with a small Fishus Espetit, working it over the top of the eel grass and bladder wrack. As the breeze picked up and ruffled the water I changed over to a Patchinko 125 and carried on working the area in front of me. After a while the ladies left, but were immediately replaced by a paddle boarding class. Thankfully they steered clear of me and as they disappeared around the bend in the river I changed lures again to a larger Espetit in hot belly glass. First cast a fish slashed at the lure just beyond the edge of the weeds then came back for a second go, resulting in my first bass of the year. Carried on with renewed enthusiasm, but as the tide rapidly ebbed exposing the bare mud beyond the weed beds I figured that the any fish would now have disappeared for pastures new so headed home for breakfast. 

Despite the appalling weather forecast I was back again this morning, hoping that there would be an early window of calm before the storm. However, when I arrived it was already raining and blowing a hoolie, although this did mean that there were no wild swimmers to contend with. Decided to go with soft plastics this time because of the chop on the water and popped on a slender scoop shad on a 5g cheb rig. Spent an hour and a half covering some new ground in the wind and rain without any interest before making my way slowly towards the car. As I came around a slight corner I could see the area that I'd fished yesterday was a bit calmer and that the ebbing tide had started to expose the top the of bladder wrack. Decided that it looked "fishy" and was worth staying a bit longer, so started working the lure in clear channels between the weed in the hope that a bass might still be mooching about. 

Third cast the shad was taken with a thump and a fish took off against the drag of my Penn Spinfisher. Managed to get itself stuck in a clump of bladder wrack, but after I gave it some slack line it was out and off again. When I got it up onto the surface I could see it was a decent fish, so was glad when I eventually drew it safely into the margins - a nice fat bass of 55 cm that made everything worthwhile. Took a couple of snaps on the phone and watched him swim off strongly before carrying on. However, I was pretty wet through by now and starting to shiver with the cold, so decided to end on a high. Left me with a bit if a quandry of what to do on our final day in Wales - had planned to go LRF or trout fishing, but who knows now?!

30/05/2024 - "One last cast"!

With the in-laws in France the wife and I headed down to Pembrokeshire to check their house over and have a few days chilling over half-term. Resisted the temptation to pack all the LRF tackle in as I knew I would just get distracted chasing "minis". 

Instead the lure gear went in, the plan being to try a get a bass or two. It was also a chance to try out my new Penn Spinfisher after yet another Daiwa Ninja had bitten the dust - great budget reels but the unsealed bearings are not too fond of the salt. The tides were looking good for it, mid-range and with low water early in the morning. The only possible fly in the ointment was going to be the wind as a brisk northerly was forecast all weekend. However, Saturday morning I was up at 0530 hrs, out the door and down on the estuary for 0615 hrs. 

At first glance conditions looked pretty good, but as I rounded the corner I could see that the wind was blowing straight up the arm. Got togged up and made my way down to the water to find that the clarity wasn't brilliant and the water had a brown hue. Closer examination revealed the presence of the dreaded "May weed" with loads of snot-like clumps of algae suspended in the water column. Not a great sign as its appearance often results in the fishing temporarily dropping off, possibly because it affects the oxygen levels in the water or even irritates fish gills. Wading out mid-thigh I could just about see beyond my knees, so started off with a Savage Gear slender scoop shad in sandeel mounted on a 4/0 worm hook with a 3g cheb weight but soon changed that to one in lemon back. 

Worked my way down to the pontoon and back without any hint of a fish, so made my way up to the point and put on a usually reliable Savage Gear weedless sandeel in white. The wind was now strongly gusting from right to left and making casting a nightmare. The tide was also pushing in strongly now and the combination of wind plus tide was making it difficult to keep the lure out in the channel. Had been fishing away for a few minutes when I noticed a lot of bird activity away to my left. A flock of seagulls were repeatedly diving down onto to the water and as they got closer I could see the occasional splash of a fish on the surface. Rummaging in my bag I found a silver, 19 gramme Westin Salty so clipped it on and whacked it out in the general direction of the commotion. 

Over the next few minutes I had four hookups - first one came off halfway in, the second came off when I wound it into clump of weed and the two I did manage to "land" were micro-bass barely big enough to cover my hand! 

As the gulls drifted off the bites stopped but I carried on with the Salty - for a small lure it flew like a bullet and I was able to punch it out for some distance into the wind. 

However, despite working hard for the next half an hour, I'd had no further interest and was on the brink of giving up but for whatever reason I decided to have one last cast from the point. Whacked the lure out into the flow once more and let it swing in the current before starting to retrieve. After a couple of turns of the handle the rod tip thumped round and I found myself connected to a heavy fish that came up to the surface very quickly. Thought I'd possibly foul-hooked a large mullet, but then caught sight of a spiky dorsal fin belonging to a decent bass. After a couple of runs I caught sight of it again and it was certainly bigger than anything I'd caught before, which had me praying for it not to come off!

Gave me some hairy moments as it made a few more determined runs out into the flow, but I eventually managed to steer it into the slack water of the bay to my left. The Salty looked tiny in its mouth and when I unhooked it I saw that it was only secured by one point of the treble and that this had been bent part-way out in the fight. Measuring 66 centimetres and weighing about 7lb this was a new PB bass for me. Had seen a couple of people heading for the cafe and contemplated going to get somebody to take a trophy shot, but in the interest of fish safety I took a couple of snaps on the phone and watched it swim away strongly instead. Was a very happy angler when I got back to the house, but it could have been so different if I'd not had that one last cast!

01/04/2024 - Bank Holiday bits and bobs

Managed to get down to Pembrokeshire for Easter despite the weather throwing everything at us on the way down, including a hail storm near Merthyr. Had an inkling that something was about to happen when the low temperature alert starting pinging as we came over the highest point on the A465. 

Luckily for us the worst of the shower had already gone through, but half a mile down the road we came across the aftermath - banks of hailstones big as marbles in the gutters and a dozen vehicles, including an ambulance, strewn across the carriageway and up on the verge. Thankfully everybody was out their cars and seemed okay, so we inched our way through and cautiously carried on. Once down at the in-laws it seemed as if it hadn't stopped raining since the last time were there at Christmas. The local River Cleddau was the colour of a builder's brew and tonking through, so I left it a day for some of that extra freshwater to flush out the esturary before heading to Pembroke Dock on Saturday morning for high tide. 

Had a bit of salted rag with me, so started off by fishing small sections down the wall on my scaled down, two hook flapper. Second or third  cast I felt a bump as the rig dropped past the kelp, so changed the rag on the top hook for a small strip of squid. Did the trick as next drop down it was taken with a bang by a fat, hand-sized pollack that gave me a good scrap on the light gear. Had seven more of these, all on the squid, whereas the bait on the bottom failed to attract any attention. When the tide starting running along the wall I moved around the corner and had a rock goby, then a black goby in successive casts. However, I failed to buy another bite over the next half an hour and with the tidal flow increasing and making it hard to hold bottom I called it a day. 

Popped in to see Roddy for some fresh rag but found that he'd stopped doing live bait and was winding down and selling off his stock. Therefore headed up to the town to J & M's Tackle instead. With Anglers' Corner over in Milford recently shutting, this is the only local shop to sell live worm now - a bit of a sad state of affairs for the visiting angler. Back home the laddo asked if he could come with me next time, so the following morning we took a bit of a gamble and headed to Hakin on the opposite side of the estuary. 

I knew that the wind had changed direction and was blowing from the South-East. However, I hadn't bargained on it being so strong. When we got to Hakin Point there was a brave soul already there with two bait rods out. However, the pier was being battered not only by a stiff breeze sweeping down the Haven but also by the resulting wind chop, which had churned up the water in the bay. Therefore didn't take much of a decision to jump back in the car and make the 15 minute journey over the bridge to Pembroke Dock. Was still a bit breezy stood out on the ramp, so we tucked ourselves around the corner on the pontoon instead. Tactics were same as before, but with fresh rag on the hook this time. Thought perhaps this would have made a difference, but it was again very slow. 

After a couple of hours we'd only had a few pollack and gobies between us and were getting a bit cold, so we packed up and headed off for a much-needed coffee. I suppose it is still early in the year and the sea hasn't had long to warm up, but equally fellow bloggers on the south coast are already catching what you would consider "summer species", e..g mackerel, garfish and black bream! Anyway, I wasn't going to keep flogging a dead horse, so this morning I headed off to Haverfordwest with a tub of worms and a box of jig heads to try for some brownies. 

Once again it was a bit parky first thing and there was a dense mist shrouding the Cleddau Valley as I dropped onto the A40. Police cars were blocking off Freemans Way due to an accident, so I had to take a quick detour through the town before parking up at the bottom of the section. Whilst it had rained in the night resulting in a slight touch of colour the level had been unaffected, so I got togged up and slid down the bank. Flicking a worm up to the head of the pool I had a rattle straight away as it drfited back towards me and a couple of casts later I had my first fin-perect little brownie. Carried on in the same vein, missing far more than I hooked and landed, possibly because I had to tie on a larger jig to keep the worm down on the deck. The brook was also "hungrier" than usual as I kept snagging up on the urban debris littering the bottom. 

This inevitably resulted in a bent or blunted hook and a new jig, so at the end of the session I had a handfull of scrap and a very short leader! Had to keep an eye on the time as laddo wanted to use the car to meet a friend later, but after a couple of hours I'd had eleven little brownies and a proper little "silver tourist", presumably about to start her perilous journey down to the estuary and out to sea (the vast majority of sea trout are females, their male partners remaining behind as resident brown trout). With a bit of colour in the water it was difficult to see the bottom at times and I had been sliding about on the rocks even with my studded boots. Crossing the brook to get to a spot on the other side I was just thinking to myself "I could have really done with my wading staff" when I slipped and fell forwards, ending up on all fours in the water and cracking my shin in the process! 

Luckily my waders and my rod survived, but it had knocked the wind out of me and when the next cast ended up in yet another snag I called it a day. Headed home to find that the lad had cancelled his plans, scuppered by another closure on the A40 at St Clears and cancellation of all trains from Cardiff, which meant that his friend was now stuck in Swansea. Happy days!

28/08/2023 - A bank holiday brownie bonanza!

After three consecutive early mornings I was in need of a lie in, so had a day off from the fishing and went for a walk with the family instead. 

However, arriving down at Amroth later I wished that I had got a rod and some feathers with me as there was a large flock of gulls chasing a shoal of sandeels or whitebait on the surface close to the shore, no doubt as they were harried by the mackerel from below. There were a couple of grey seals knocking about as well and when my lad went in for a quick swim one of them popped up about two metres from him to say hello and then followed him over the next few minutes, much to the amusement of everybody watching. 

Anyway, suitably refreshed by a large coffee and a bowl of chips at the Pirates Cafe and back at the in-laws I pondered where to go on the Bank Holiday. Decided that a change of scenery was in order, so spent an hour scrabbling around in the farmyard turning over wood and plastic sheeting until I'd gathered a hundred or so redworms. Early the next day I was off to Haverfordwest to "my" urban trout stream. Parked in the layby off the dual carriageway, surreptitiously donned my waders and then slipped down the bank when the coast was clear. It was dark under the tree canopy and when my eyes adjusted I saw that the little stream was clear, but running at a nice level - not bare bones like last summer. 

Baited up a pink, 0.5 g tungsten jighead with a worm and cast it upstream, allowing it to bump back along the bottom with the flow assisted by little flicks of the rod tip. Was just about to lift it out of the water when the worm got smashed at my feet. 

Unfortunately he didn't stay on long, but it was a good sign. Worked my way slowly upstream, casting into any little holes or "pockets". Pricked and lost another three before finally nailing first perfect little brownie of the morning. Had been checking the hook point and it had seemed fine, but then lost the next two fish as well before I was forced into changing the jig head after opening out the hook pulling it out of a snag. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly I started hooking up properly after that - just shows, if in doubt change your flippin' hook! The action was pretty fast and furious and I was going through my worms at a rate of knots as they were getting shredded by tiny teeth on each drift. 

Managed to avoid getting caught up too much on the various bits of urban debris, but it was still frustrating when a perfect cast ended up straight in a snag and I had to ruin the swim to go and free it. Was sad to see the number of disposable vapes appearing with all of the rest of the usual rubbish. The bloody things are everywhere and should be banned in my opinion. By the time I had reached the top of the section just two and a half hours after starting I'd had twenty uniquely spotted little, wild brownies and had lost half as many again, mainly due to my earlier laziness. Had really enjoyed myself after the relative struggles of the last few days and even felt inspired to try and fit in a session back home before the end of the trout season. 

Said goodbye to my bit of Welsh trout fishing heaven for another year and headed home for some well-earned breakfast.

02/06/2023 - a bar of Welsh silver

Flashed down to Pembrokeshire with the wife for a few days at the end of half-term. Proved to be a good decision as we left a cold, grey Nottingham on Thursday morning to be greeted by blue skies and bright sunshine a few hours later. 

As usual I'd packed enough tackle to cover a range of eventualities, including a new bass lure rod - a 9', 7 - 35g HTO Nebula - that I was keen to put a bend in (well, new to me anyway - second-hand, but in mint condition and a bargain off eBay at £80). Therefore headed down to my usual estuary mark at Lawrenny just after dawn on Friday morning. Whilst I would normally fish the first couple of hours of the flood, tide times dictated that I would be fishing the ebb instead, so it was a bit of an exploratory trip for that reason.

The water was gin clear and the shallow, flooded margins were as smooth as a millpond, so I started off by working a surface lure - a Fishus Espetit - over the top of the clumps of bladder wrack hoping that a bass was waiting in ambush. However, by the time I had worked my way along the length of the beach I'd not moved or even seen a fish. Standing on the old quay wall I tried a couple of casts out into the main estuary. However, the first flush of the ebbing tide was bringing loads of floating weed downstream, fouling the line and forcing a change over to sub-surface lures. Over the next hour or so I worked through a range of patterns - both hard lures and soft plastics - with absolutely no interest from anything until finally arriving at the old faithful Savage Gear weedless sandeel. 

The estuary had really started to empty out now and there was fair old rip whizzing past. Casting the sandeel upstream I let it hit bottom before bumping it back with the flow. Had done this a few times when I felt the satisfying thump of an aggressive take through the braid. Let it dog around in the clear water testing the rod before drawing it into the shallows. Wasn't huge, but it was nice and plump and in mint condition. Quickly unhooked him and sent him on his way and then carried on with re-newed enthusiasm for a bit longer. However, that proved to be my lot, but at least I'd avoided the blank and christened the new rod. Took the long way home, popping into J & M Tackle in Pembroke Dock for some ragworm before stopping off at Hobbs Point for a bottle of seawater to keep them fresh. Tide was well out by now, but there was a chap fishing off the pontoon so went down for a chat. 

Turns out he was after the mullet, legering breadflake with a string of freebies pinched on above the lead, "washing line" style. He seemed to be getting plenty of interest judging by the rattles on his rod top, but the crafty beggars appeared to be good at avoiding the hookbait. Left him to it, but not before obtaining a few more tips and adding another potential quarry to the list!

09/04/2023 - Wild Welsh spotties

Couldn't come down to Wales without seeing how the resident brownies in "my" urban trout stream were getting on and I'd brought a tub of dendras with me for exactly that purpose, rather than have to scrat about in the father-in-law's compost heap. 

The level of the stream had been up when we first arrived but, due to its flashy nature, it was back to normal after a couple of days and whilst it was quite windy I knew that I would be sheltered once down below the level of its steep, tree-lined banks. Therefore headed off to Haverforwest at first light, but found that the layby that I usually use as my sneaky access point down to the water was blocked off due to roadworks. However, a bit further on I found a parking spot next to an electricty sub-station that afforded an equally quick and hopefully un-noticed scramble down the bank. 

Not that my secrecy is to avoid getting caught, but more about not revealing this little jewel to anybody else! Tackle was as before, my ultra-light lure rod, 6lb braid on a size 1000 reel, 4lb flourocarbon leader and a size 12, pink jig head. A worm was hooked through the saddle "wacky style", pitched up to the head of the first run and allowed to drift down with the current - all the time waiting for that rattle on the rod tip. 

That first spot yielded two, fin-perfect little Welsh spotties in consecutive casts before the jig head got snagged up in one of the various pieces of urban junk littering the stream bed and I had to wade in to free it, killing the swim in the process. Carried on in the same vein for the next couple of hours, snagging up and losing a handful of jigheads, but catching several more acrobatic little brownies whenever I managed to get the bait to successfully run through a swim unhindered. 

Also shared the stream with a pair of industrious dippers that regularly flew up and down, often within a couple of feet of me. Presumably they had more important things to worry about than some weird looking bloke stood knee deep in the water, like feeding a brood of hungry mouths. 

Found that several of the large trash dams from the summer had now gone, whether removed by design or just pushed on by the floods I don't know. In addition the redundant weir part way down the section had also gone. I would like to think that this had been done purposely to improve passage for any migratory fish coming up from the estuary (I've had a little sea trout and even a flounder in the past), but again suspect that that the old and un-maintained structure just gave up in a flood. All of this had created new spots that I would have to investigate properly at a later date, as I was on a strict timescale to get back for an Easter brunch. 

By the time I had worked my way back to the car I'd had nine fish and missed half as many again while the cars and lorries flew past on the bypass above my head. The only downside was that I'd got a wet left foot after stumbling and puncturing my old waders (worn exactly for this reason!) on some wire or rebar. Not that I was complaining - give me an urban stream full of wild spotties over a managed fishery full of stockies any day!