Sea trout fishing: A great start to the 2022 season on the Welsh Dee

The sea trout fishing season on the Welsh Dee rolled into gear after a long wait since last season.

My first sea trout arrived out of the blue while showing a couple of club members, Alex & Steve, how to fish the Grove Farm beat for trout and grayling.

I was showing them how to approach fishing in the Cemetry Pool with a team of Euro nymphs (point: #12 black pheasant tail nymph with a peacock glister collar and 3.5 mm silver TB; middle dropper: #14 claret nymph with hare’s ear collar and 2mm TB; top dropper: #18 hare’s ear nymph with 1.5mm TB). 

Halfway up the pool, my line darted upriver, and a Sewin shot into the air as my line tightened. The hook held, and after a short struggle, I netted my first sea trout of 2022, which had taken the black PTN nymph on the point.

It wasn’t a large fish but a welcome sight because it signals the main run was underway.

Fishing the remainder of the pool produces a couple of nice grayling that fell for the claret nymph on the middle dropper.

We moved upriver, where I showed Alex and Steve how to fish the tail of the long glide. They began catching trout and grayling, and I moved upriver.

The sun was beaming down onto most of the glide, but the overhanging trees on the far bank cast a shade on the river.

Trout and graylings often shelter from the sun in those shady areas. I set my 9ft 5# rod to fish a dry fly on a 12ft 7X tapered leader because it is the best approach to cover those fish.

No flies were hatching, so I opted for an iron blue dun emerger that often works during the summer.

Slowly, I fished the shady areas with the dry fly as I worked my way upriver. Halfway up the glide, a fish snatched the fly and darted for bushes on the far bank. Initially, I thought it was a big grayling, but when it jumped, I could see it was a beautiful sea trout.

It took off downriver, and I had to race after it while trying not to stumble over boulders. Eventually, it tired, and I netted it safely.

It’s such a great feeling catching sea trout during the day on light tackle.

After a short rest, I fished the remainder of the pool and caught a few grayling until it was time to go home.

Sea trout fishing on the Welsh Dee

5^th of July

After catching ST during the day at Bangor-On- Dee, I didn’t waste any time and took a trip to fish the Welsh Dee near Llangollen to see if I could catch any bigger specimens.

Earlier in the year, I’d carried out a recce of the beat and identified two pools that looked ideal for sea trout fishing at night, which would be my focus for this fishing trip.

As I waited for it to get dark, I set up my Greys GR80 10ft 7# rod to fish a WF7F Rio Outbound Short line tipped with 9ft of 12lb Maxima Ultra Green with an 8″ dropper tied about 6ft from the point.

Last season two flies designed by Steffan Jones were successful, so I tied on #8 Daioni on the dropper and #6 Mr Fish on the point.

I walked upriver and started fishing at the top of the first pool when the colour vanished from the tree foliage.

Slowly, I worked my way downriver by casting across to the far bank and letting the flies swing around into the shallows. The first pull on the line occurred opposite the large bush on the far bank, but this turned out to be a brown trout.

Shortly afterwards, I heard the tell-tale buzz of a sea trout’s tail as it jumped towards the end of the pool. Then, a few casts later…

BANG – the 1st Sewin of the evening took off downriver.

After a few lively moments, I netted a beautiful Welsh Dee Sewin that had taken the Daioni on the dropper.

1:0 for the Daioni

Fishing the rest of the pool didn’t produce any more takes. So, I moved upriver to the second pool at the top of the beat. Access to the top pool was difficult, and I had to thrash my way through overgrown bankside vegetation and slip down the bank into the river.

While fishing towards the tail, I heard a couple of large splashes, and my anticipation of a take was in overdrive.

I felt a couple of light plucks at the fly but didn’t connect with anything. On approaching the tail, I had a solid take as the flies landed close to the far bank. A small sea trout went airborne and splashed around as I bought it to the net.

It was now 2:0 for the Daioni.

Everything had gone quiet after the commotion from the last fish, but I continued fishing towards the tail. It was an excellent move because as the flies swung into the V-of-the-tail, there was a massive swirl, my line tightened, and the GR80 bent around into a big fish.

It dashed for the pool below and I had to let the rod take the strain because it wasn’t possible to follow it. Fortunately, everything held, and the fish turned around and shot upriver.

After darting up and down for a few minutes, I guided a cracking sea trout to the net, which had taken Mr Fish.

2:1 Daioni vs Mr Fish

I fished on for another hour but didn’t get any more takes. So, called it a night and went home happy.

21^st July

After a couple of fruitless sea trout fishing trips to the Border Esk and River Conwy, I had a return visit to the Dee to see if I could repeat my previous success.

The constant release of reservoir compensation water kept the Welsh Dee close to its summer level (0.46m Manley Hall). Sometimes, this can adversely affect the fishing, and I was unsure how this fishing trip would play out.

I started fishing with a Daioni on the dropper and Mr Fish on the point because this combination had worked on my last visit.

Unfortunately, after an hour of fishing, that combination hadn’t worked, and I began trying other Sewin flies.

Finally, for the last run through the pool, I tied on my old favourite, a silver stoats tail (1″ plastic tube).

For a while, it seemed I was going to blank. But, out of the blue, a fish snatched the fly, a struggle ensued, and it kept avoiding the net until it was exhausted.

I quickly returned the sea trout and took photos while it recovered in the shallows.

Fishing on for another hour but didn’t produce any more takes. So, I headed off home to my bed.

Fly fishing for Sea trout at Llangollen

I had two frustrating fishing trips on the Welsh Dee at Llangollen in July, where I saw plenty of Sewin running.

I managed to hook a few, but they wouldn’t stay on, no matter what fly I used. Also, my son lost several fish on the fly. However, he managed to land a few Sewin on the spinner at daybreak.

27th July

My last sea trout fishing trip in July above Horseshoe Falls started in a similar vein missing several takes while fishing a Daioni on the dropper and a Mr Fish on the point.

Eventually, I got a solid take, and a fish screamed off downriver. This time the hook held, and I netted a well-earned Welsh Dee Sewin that had fallen for the Daioni.

I fished on for another hour but didn’t get any more takes. So, I called it a night and went home.

Welsh Dee mid-season sea trout fishing roundup

After a good start to sea trout fishing on the Welsh Dee, the scorching weather in July and constant release of compensation water took their toll. At the end of July, the…

Daioni vs Mr Fish challenge stood at 3:1

The following post has further information on the flies I use on the Welsh Dee.

• 9 great sea trout fly patterns

I’ll sign off now while hoping the weather cools and it rains to freshen up the sea trout fishing at night on the Welsh Dee.

PS. On a separate note, I came across this feed covering the 100 Best Fly Fishing Blogs and Websites that you might find interesting.