After several weeks of dry weather, a storm blew in and dropped heavy rain over North Wales.
Well, did this summer spate and good fishing conditions bring any salmon on the Welsh Dee upriver…?
Fishing for Salmon on the Welsh Dee – 12thAug
On Monday afternoon I was tempted out salmon fishing with Tim because the river had started to clear and fall (river level 0.98m Manley Hall gauge).
Dee Farm was our first port-of-call because it’s one of the pools that can be fished with the fly and spinner when the river is close to 1m.
I decided to fish through Dee Farm with the fly – a size 10D red Ally’s shrimp on a floating line tipped with a 15ft medium sink polyleader.
On fishing through the pool, I only felt one tug on the line when I approached the fence near the tail. Probably, a trout.
Tim fished the pool with the spinner and close to the tail of the pool he lost a couple of trout.
As we were resting and deciding on our next move, my friend Jeff came into sight with a plastic bag in hand…
Earlier, on his way upriver he’d caught a lovely sea trout from the tail of Dee Farm on the spinner.
After resting the pool, we fished through it again but were met with the same result – a big ZERO.
We finished the day by fishing the glide above Horseshoe Falls but with exception of Tim having a couple of snatches at his spinner were drew a blank.
The river was in perfect condition for salmon fishing but there was not a sniff of any all day.
Dejected we headed off home.
Fly fishing for salmon at Llangollen 13thAugust
Still eager to catch the first salmon of the season, I was back on the Welsh Dee on Tuesday.
The river level had dropped overnight to 0.8m (Manley Hall gauge), which opened a few other pools to fish. Therefore, I decided to try my luck on the Ddol Isaf beat.
I set up my Orvis Clearwater 11ft 7wt switch-rod with a floating line tipped with a 7ft medium sink polyleader and tied on a silver stoats tail (size 10D).
Form the car park I headed upriver and fished through the Cottage Pool and Sludge Pools without a single tug.
I moved upriver to fish the run below the wood. Where it was just possible to wade under the overhanging trees and flick the fly out.
I missed a couple of plucks at the fly before the line
Clearly, there was nothing wrong with the fly..
After a late lunch, I went downriver and fished Mill Run with the salmon fly. Fishing the top half of the pool produced a couple of plucks at the fly. Then, where the river bends to the right, the line was pulled out of my hand and on lifting the rod…
a beautiful sea trout went airborne.
Fishing on to the tail of Mill Run didn’t produce anything else.
I was now drained, after fishing hard all day without the sniff of a salmon. Therefore, I trudged back to the car and headed off home.
Fly fishing at Llangollen 19th August
Over the weekend, more rain had pushed the Welsh Dee back into spate, with the level peaking at 1.1m (Manley Hall gauge).
By Monday, the river was running off and clearing (0.82m Manley Hall). Therefore, I resumed the salmon fishing quest with Tim, by fishing the Ddol Isaf beat.
Tim decided to fish the river with the spinner. Whereas, I chose to fish with my Vision 14ft 10wt rod using a floating line tipped with a 15 ft intermediate polyleader and tied on a black & copper tube fly (1″ copper tube).
Depressingly, we fished to the top of the beat without catching anything on either the fly or spinner.
On the way back to the car I stopped to fish the fly through the Cottage Pool again. After a few casts, the line tightened and when I lifted the rod a sea trout surfaced.
After releasing the sea trout I continued fishing through the pool. About halfway down, the line tightened again, and a decent fish swirled on the surface before it threw the hook.
I didn’t get a clear look at the fish, but it felt like a brown trout (ca. 2lb mark).
I fished the remainder of the pool but didn’t hook anything else. Next, we went back to the car for refreshments and on to fish the upper beat, from the Pipe Pool to Dee Farm.
On the upper beat, I didn’t catch anything fly fishing. Whereas, while spinning Tim lost two trout in the tail of Dee Farm.
In the end, it was another blank day on the salmon front for both of us.
Fishing round-up:
In summary, the three salmon fishing trips to the Welsh Dee were very disappointing. We didn’t see a salmon move, never mind catch one.
This story was the same for the other anglers we met on the Welsh Dee at Llangollen.
It’s not my nature to be negative. However, if Welsh Dee anglers don’t catch many salmon, then the introduction of compulsory “Catch-and-Release” in 2020…
will have NO significant effect on Welsh Dee salmon stocks.
Consequently, if the NRW is serious about making a difference they need to quickly employ additional, PROACTIVE conservation measures. For example,…
- restarting the salmon hatchery program,
- controlling other sources of predation, etc…
For reference, just look at how
Anyway, tight line until next time, Andrew
I used to fish the Welsh Dee. Stopped fishing for Salmon in 2013. Why lack of fish. Started Salmon fishing in the late seventies. You would see fish even if you was not catching eighties then same as nineties. For me some time in 2000 onwards. The fish really was getting less. For me the Dee is finished as a Salmon River.
Hi David,
I have to agree with you on that. I mainly fish for trout and grayling on the Welsh Dee. My salmon fishing there is more about casting practice.
Cheers, Andrew