It All Gets Better On The Clettwr

Heavy rain in Mid-Wales on Friday put paid to my plans to fish the River Wye so I spent early Saturday morning on a reccy trying to find one of the many streams in this area that may have run off quickly.

The upper reaches of the River Irfon had took the bulk of the downfall and although flood water on this river generally runs off quickly it was apparent that this may take a while to get back to anywhere near fishing level.

I would need to set my sights on the smaller streams so I headed south to the River Edw of which the Wye And Usk Foundation have four beats on their roving voucher scheme, peering over the bridge at Aberedw I could tell that my quest was not yet over as this stream was also carrying too much water.

I now pinned all my hopes on a small stream I had fished a couple of times before...the Clettwr that runs into the Wyw at Erwood, it's a stream that tumbles fast down a steep sided gorge creating some of the most dramatic fishing you could wish to experience.

Again, this is a W&UF beat (R15 in the voucher booklet) and I guessed that due to the nature of this stream most of the rain would have travelled through in to the River Wye so I geared up and set off down the steep gorge to find it running relatively clear and a perfect level.

Marker posts guiding the way down the gorge to the beat start.

If you ever get to fish this beat you will appreciate how spectacular the backdrop of this stream is but as a consequence you will also have to endure a gruelling trek through some pretty rugged terrain. If you manage to make the end of the beat with any energy left then the walk back to the car will surely drain the last ounce from you.

Described by the Foundation as "real mountain stream fishing and a challenge to the most hardy...pure escapism!" which I think pretty much sums it up.

Stuffed full of small trout (which fight like hell) of which a 10" fish would be deemed a bonus...give it a try if you dare, but give yourself a full day!

River levels on the Irfon had dropped back on Sunday allowing me to target some Grayling using the French Nymphing method which rounded off the weekend nicely.