Snowdonia and beyond.....

[custheyder]

These "off the beaten track" waters are what I enjoy most about river fishing. Western tackle always seemed far too clumsy to take on the very spooky fish that live in these waters. Fantastic to see that fish do indeed reside in this water. Size isn't everything, especially when it comes to truly wild fish, I feel. Well done!

[Simon]

Posted on behalf of Louis.
The further adventures of Dyfan and orange otter: at the start of the season we drew up a list of potentially good waters in North Wales, this is the second voyage of discovery. The River Ogwen near Bethesda in deepest Snowdonia seemed a natural choice from what we'd heard as it has plenty of rough water. Primarily a sea-trout and salmon fishery there was allegedly a good stock of brownies. On entering Bethesda and buying an expensive day permit for £17, the next hour was spent driving up and down looking for access points. The river at the bottom of the beat ran through what could be described as a ravine with huge rocks and deep mysterious pools. Having no ropes and crampons (joke) we moved back up towards the village to find a good access at the bottom of Ogwen St. We entered the water here armed with both full length rods and Rhodo's and worked upstream. The pictures show clearly the terrain which was testing to say the least, every chance of a broken ankle as we picked our way through the boulders. The water clarity was amazing and in some pools which would cover your head should you fall in, every stone on the bottom was visible. This was at summer level, goodness knows what it's like with extra water. This was all truly exciting as some pools and runs mirrored those in Japan but sadly all we could tempt were small trout, although one monster of 9" escaped at the side, I badly wanted a picture of it. Pretty fish though and quite light in colour. You can see that at some points we were actually fishing behind houses and shops, at other places in lovely meadows. It wasn't long before the Rhodo's became the weapon of choice as some pools are very tight with foliage. This river is a Jekyll and Hyde because once it's left Llyn Ogwen and worked it's way across the flat lands, it quickly assumes a placid weedy nature which looks amazing for classic dry fly and yet as you reach the outskirts of Bethesda, you have effectively a mountain stream with waterfalls. I could go on and on because it was a great experience and worth the trip but we deduced that the trout were in the main very small, and not even that plentiful. We were pounced on by a bailiff who gave me grief for not having my salmon licence with me (they clearly suffer from poachers when the pools are full of migratory fish)and he said they have problems with goosanders which are depleting the brownies. Although it's technically a wonderful challenge and well suited to Tenkara, we don't feel able to recommend it to you. There was a nice trickle of olives all day but only small fish rising. I have a habit of checking the alkalinity of waters I fish and this only showed to be neutral, typical of many upland rivers predominantly holding migratory fish. Maybe one more trip for interest.....















Next on the list is the Glaslyn at Beddgelert - watch this space !

[pedros]

Thanks Simon(Louis)

"Next on the list is the Glaslyn at Beddgelert - watch this space !"

The fisherman's path - stunning!
Imagine that you will be more successful there, although another predominantly migratory fish water you normally see plenty of small browns (and parr) - especially under the footbridge at the confluence with the Colwyn(watch out for young 'uns jumping in off the bridge!). I remember two years ago (Sept 2012) walking from the town centre along the Colwyn up to the Gelert camping shop and looking into the water, there seemed to be small trout in most pools. Quite a thick canopy along that short stretch.

[orangeotter]

That sounds promising Pete, many thanks. The water level at present is extremely low so we'll have to wait for plenty of rain before we go.If anyone has knowledge about the river, I'd appreciate it.

Cheers.

[custheyder]

Stunning set of pictures added to the report. Looks like excellent water to play in.

[orangeotter]

It was great fun Daniel and worth another visit just for interest, probably be heaving with sea-trout....

[flatsghost]

The 3 musketeers venture forth again! Great report and photos thanks boys. If you do find the Glaslyn full of sea trout it will be the only river in Wales that is!
Tight lines 'hogiau Tenkara'
Glyn

[orangeotter]

Only 2 of us - maybe Batman & Robin.....

[orangeotter]

the further adventures of Dyfan and Louis: River Glaslyn, Beddgelert,Snowdonia.

The day dawned bright as we bought tickets at the PO in Beddgelert, at £20 similarly priced to the Ogwen but these are essentially for salmon/sea-trout. We drove to below the Aberglaslyn Pass to find the river reminiscent of a canal although this is apparently the best place for brown trout, of which plenty were rising. Clearly no good for tenkara, we returned part way up the Pass where we found a parking layby. As we crossed the road to view the river we were amazed at it's character and suitability for tenkara but an earth shattering sight were 2 salmon lying quiety in the tail of the pool below us, large ones at that. They must have seen us as they slowly moved to a position by a rock where they were out of sight. Dyfan fished the pool a few minutes later and was amazed as one quietly drifted past him. In fact, over the course of the day Dyfan disturbed two more.



We didn't expect to catch a lot of big fish but started with enthusiasm and I shortly hooked and unfortunately lost a monster of at least 9". I was playing it nicely but just after I started to handline it the inevitable happened - this was a shame as it turned out to be my best fish of the day. As it glided through the gin clear water it was obvious that the normal colouring was silver, very pretty. Dyfan was soon catching fish although a bit smaller and he confirmed the colouration.



The next few hours were spent quietly working our way through the many superb pools and runs and Dyfan was making contact with better fish but always escaping. My favourite Hare's Ear SK was drifting sublimely through a run when a good fish rose to it at speed and I missed it, I could see that again it was silver. We both agreed that all fish took at high speed which was surprising, more like grayling.



As we completed the Pass the ground levelled out and pools become much longer with a bed of small stones so typical of sea-trout rivers. However, at the head of each pool was a typical fast run which yielded more fish but quite small. Some pools were spoiled by the inevitable presence of goosanders - they were so blatant they hardly moved when I threw stones at them !. This is a tourist area and there are paths each side of the river so there was a procession of visitors all day, sometimes right above the pools and sometimes further away. Maybe the fish are used to it but we did feel that we would have done much better without the disturbance. The famous small gauge railway came close to the river and this was quite something to behold as it passed.



In Beddgelert itself, the River Colwyn meets the Glaslyn beneath a footbridge, below which is a large pool - many fish were visible although mainly small. No fishing is allowed above the bridge nor up the Colwyn which is a shame. The gauge height was only 0.39 mtrs but the pools and runs were suitably deep, if we go again we'd like 0.50.



In conclusion then, we both really enjoyed the day as the water was ideal for tenkara and would consider another trip perhaps next May/June. Without a doubt there are decent fish to be caught but you need to appreciate the technical aspects of it. Dyfan used a Rodo and myself an ESO 360 but trees were very little problem, most pools being very open.

[Simon]

Great article Louis, very good photos too!

Simon.

[custheyder]

Fantastic report and pictures.

[orangeotter]

Thanks Simon and Daniel: what I forgot to mention was that upon turning many stones, there were no upwinged nymphs but plenty of caddis and these were in evidence over the water all day.

I have a habit of checking the alkilinity of waters I fish and I put this at a ph of 6.5, with 7 being neutral. Little wonder that the fish are generally on the small size but typical of many upland rivers with migratory fish being dominant.

I saw only one small olive on the water but caught several rising fish on a s16 Ducks Dun - interesting 'eh.

[flatsghost]

Great report boys and the pics are good too. Wales has such a lot to offer in terms of varieties of water and beautiful ones at that.
One for a return visit for sure.
Tight lines
Glyn