THAMES VALLEY

FLY DRESSERS

BRANCH OF FLY DRESSERS GUILD

River Dee Report October 2015

Grayling at Llangollen

A fantastic weekend of Grayling fishing with at least 80 fish caught & released. Many were in the 25 – 35cm class and there were few, if any, tiny ones. We received a huge welcome by the local club Chairman and had the benefit of guiding by two local anglers, one in the Welsh International Rivers Team. We would have struggled to have found the locations without them.

Peter & Richard arrived Friday midday and fished with guide Terry on the Llandyn beat from the Sand Hole down to Broken Bridge in glorious sunshine. Meanwhile Alex & Paul who had arrived the night before were allegedly hauling in fat fish on the Bala beat upstream.

Our group of seven met up on Friday evening (in the bar, inevitably) and entertained guides Terry and Alan to dinner at the Corn Mill – a good popular local riverside restaurant.

Saturday was misty and overcast, however we were guided through the Meadows and the Ddu Issaf beats, with the surprise addition of two new guests in the afternoon.

Saturday Evening we returned to the Corn Mill after an unsuccessful attempt to dine at the Red Lantern Chinese Restaurant. Followed by watching the England v Wales game back at the hotel.

Sunday was another glorious sunny day and were reversed the beat allocation of Saturday.

We fished maybe 3 miles out of the 12 miles available – much scope for further expeditions.

The Hotel, whilst more Fawlty than Intercontinental in decor, was excellent, welcoming and served a superb breakfast – all for a reasonable sum.

Driving up and back was not as bad as expected – but need to anticipate delays around Birmingham.

I’m sure we will be back for a mid-winter visit – there were reports of the river being stuffed with 3lb fish!

Thanks go to Peter for arranging a superb weekend.