Fishing diary 2021: August on the wonderful Welsh Dee

My main fishing target for August was to catch more Welsh Dee sea trout to enter into my fishing diary. Conditions were good for sea trout fishing.

So how did I get on…

Fly fishing diary – 2^nd August

Over the weekend, my son had caught a couple of sea trout on Llangollen-Maelor’s Upper Beat of the Welsh Dee. Therefore, I decided this would be the best place for my first sea trout fishing trip in August.

To make the most of the fishing trip, I arrived mid-afternoon to fish for trout and grayling while darkness descended.

Trout and grayling fishing at Llangollen

The Top Pool was my first port of call. It looked as if nobody had fished there since my last visit in June because I had to trample down the overgrown bankside weeds to reach the head of the pool.

The river was at its summer level (0.44 m @ Manley Hall gauge), and I noticed a few fish taking surfacing in the fast water near the head of the pool.

I couldn’t determine what flies were being taken. So, I set up a 9ft 5wt rod with a floating line tipped with a 12ft leader fish and a team wet flies spaced 3ft apart (point: size 14, March Brown spider; middle dropper: size 14, black hopper: top dropper: size 14, olive and claret nymph).

Starting in the glide below the fast water, I slowly fished my way upriver with the wet flies.

It proved to be a good move because it wasn’t long before my line tightened into fish that took off downriver. After a short struggle, my first grayling of the day was safely netted, which had fallen for the March Brown spider.

This was quickly followed by four more grayling that either fell the March Brown spider or the black hopper, with a double up!

After reaching the head of the run, I fished my way downriver with the wet flies covering the slack water near the far bank. This produced two grayling and a few parr.

I noticed a few fish rising in the tail of the pool. So, moved downriver to target them with the wet flies. I had a couple of takes but failed to connect with them.

At 7 pm, I started walking back to the car to get ready for sea trout fishing but stopped to fish at the Hollybush Pool when a fish surfaced in the tail of the pool. This was a good decision because I caught a beautiful brown trout on the black hopper as the light started to fade.

After returning the brown trout to fight another day, I walked back to the car for refreshments and got ready for sea trout fishing.

Sea trout fishing at Horseshoe Falls

I started fishing with a 10ft 7# Grey GR80 fly rod loaded with a floating line tipped with a 9ft length of 12 lb Maxima Ultragreen and an 8″ dropper 5ft from the point. I’d tied a size 8 Diaoni on the dropper and a size 6 Mr.Fish on the point.

At the head of the glide above Horseshoe Falls, I began fishing by casting the flies squarely across the river and retrieving them with a slow figure of eight.

After about a quarter of an hour, I had a strong take, a fish boiled on the surface, went deep, and started shaking its head…

like a grayling and not a sea trout.

Indeed, it turned out to be a beautiful grayling that had smashed the Daioni on the dropper.

I continued fishing and, near the end of the glide, had one more take that turned out to be a small, greedy brown trout that had taken Mr Fish on the point.

I packed up around midnight when the mist rolled down the hillside and onto the river.

Fly fishing diary 9^th August

Heavy rain over the weekend broke the recent dry spell and pushed the Welsh Dee into spate. Therefore, I dusted off my salmon fly fishing gear and headed out to fish for salmon.

Fishing on Ddol Isad beaf

The river level was 0.82m (@Manley Hall gauge), dropping and clearing nicely; ideal conditions for fishing the Ddol Isaf beat at Llangollen.

I set up my Orvis Clearwater switch rod (11ft, 7wt) to fish a floating line tipped with a 10ft medium sink tip and 6ft of 15lb fluorocarbon and tied on a size 10D Cascade salmon fly.

Excited to be out salmon fishing, I stepped into the river and methodically fished downriver. Unfortunately, my excitement evaporated on fishing through the Cottage Pool and Sludgy without a take or seeing any salmon move.

Dejected, I switched to Czech/Euro nymphing for trout and grayling using a team of three flies spaced 18″ apart on 4lb fluorocarbon (point: size 12 PTN with a 4mm copper TB; middle dropper: size 14 gold TB Hare’s ear nymph; top dropper: size 16 quill nymph with a 1.5mm TB).

This switch was successful because I’d only made a few casts when my line tightened, and I guided a beautiful grayling safely to the net that had fallen for the Hare’s Ear nymph.

Over the next hour, I caught several grayling on the Hare’s Ear nymph from the Cottage Pool and Sludgy.

Before heading off home, I moved upriver to Duncan’s Pool and had another attempt at salmon fishing, but just chalked up another blank.

Fly fishing at Bangor on Dee – 13^th August

As August progressed, the weather dried up, and the Welsh Dee quickly dropped towards its summer level (0.47m @ Manley Hall gauge).

Salmon should have entered the river on the last spate but with little sign of salmon in the middle beats earlier in the week. Maybe, they were languishing in the lower beats around Bangor on Dee.

On Friday morning, I picked my mate Tim up, and we went fishing at Grove Farm because this seemed the best option.

The mild and overcast weather conditions were ideal for salmon fishing, and we were eager to start fishing. Tim opted to fish head of the first pool while moving upriver to the second pool.

At the top of the pool, I started fishing with my Orvis switch rod (11ft 7#) loaded with a floating line tipped with a 10ft intermediate tip and 9ft of 15lbs fluorocarbon and a size 12D black & silver Ally’s shrimp.

Salmon tend to lie close to the far bank under the shelter of the overhanging trees. So, this is where I started placing tMhe fly and allowing it to swing around to the dangle.

Amazingly, on the third cast, a fish swirled at the fly, and my line tightened. For a split second…

I thought it was my first salmon of the season…

However, when it started splashing on the surface, it was clear I’d hooked a lovely sea trout.

After safely returning the sea trout, fishing the rest of the pool didn’t produce any more takes.

Tim returned empty-handed from fishing the first pool, and we headed upriver to fish the remainder of the beat. Unfortunately…

After covering what felt like every inch of the river, we both blanked on the salmon front. However, at the top of the beat, I caught a couple of small sea trout and grayling fishing a team of wet flies.

Also, Tim avoided a blank by catching a sea trout and two brown trout on the spinner.

Grayling fishing 26^th August – Corwen

After a walking holiday in the Malvern Hills, it was back to the Welsh Dee to fish St.David’s beat for a few hours, which according to my fishing diary I’d not visited for a couple of years. I parked in the bottom car park and walked upriver to fish the riffle which leads into the main pool.

I didn’t see any fish rising or flies hatching. So, I set up my 11ft 3# Vision Nymphmaniac rod to fish a team of nymphs on a short leader (point: size 12 black nymph 4mm gold TB; middle dropper: size 16 quill nymph 2mm TB; top dropper: size 16 claret nymph 1.5mm TB).

Beginning at the top of the riffle, I slowly fished my way down to the main pool. Initially, I caught a couple of small trout on the quill nymph. Then…

The rod bent into a bigger fish that had been lying in the slack water behind a large boulder. Carefully, I got the upper hand and netted my first grayling of the day, which had taken the quill nymph.

Fishing through the remainder of the run and pool produced another three graylings. All the fish were caught on either the quill or claret nymphs.

Welsh Dee fishing outlook for September

As we enter September, the warm, dry weather is forecast to continue, with no sign of rain in sight. Therefore, trout and grayling fishing should be good.

Sadly, however, salmon fishing will be adversely affected by the lack of rain.

Let’s hope the rain gods take pity on us soon, and I have some salmon to report in my Welsh Dee fishing diary.