Upper Wye (Mid-Wales).

[DaveH]

Many mink on your stretch? I used to fish the Usk and it's lower tributaries in the 80's and they were thick on the ground in some places

I haven't seen a mink for a few years. I fished the Wear in the 80's and they were rife there as well.

 

[DaveH]

While we're waiting for the river to behave and the salmon/otters to show, here is a pic of a badger walking over a pipe bridge just down from me.
I saw a badger on the bridge a couple of nights previously, and told my neighbour who put up a wildlife camera. On one of the images a fox can also be seen, queuing up to cross.

 

[DaveH]

Grabbed an hour on the river yesterday afternoon looking for grayling on fly. No takes , apart from a 3" brown trout
What a lovely afternoon to be out though!

 

[goose]

Current thinking is that brown trout are landlocked sea trout, and sea trout are the originals. Don't know how true that is though.

That's what I had read also but there are loads of conflicting views and opinions.

 

[glandyman]

That's what I had read also but there are loads of conflicting views and opinions.

Not sure how all the brownies in rivers can be landlocked?

 

[DaveH]

Not sure how all the brownies in rivers can be landlocked?

Simple answer - they're not. Some browns spend their whole life in the river, only moving up and down to spawn and feed. Others move out into the estuary, others move out into the sea for months at a time. On the river Blyth the trout used to be landlocked, in that they wanted to get down to the sea but couldn't because the lower reaches were permanently polluted (hope that's changed now).Up this high (the Upper Wye is 100 miles+ from the sea, the trout are resident and don't move down to the coast. I did catch a 3lb+ sea-trout at Builth Wells some years ago - Builth is only a few miles from where I fish now, and that fish had been down to the sea and returned. That was a rare enough occurrence to get a mention in the Catch Reports of Trout and Salmon. Just to confuse the issue further, it is common to catch Wye trout which are quite silvery (and look like sea-trout) after prolonged high water. Wild brown trout in lakes and lochs of course are landlocked.

 

[glandyman]

Simple answer - they're not. Some browns spend their whole life in the river, only moving up and down to spawn and feed. Others move out into the estuary, others move out into the sea for months at a time. On the river Blyth the trout used to be landlocked, in that they wanted to get down to the sea but couldn't because the lower reaches were permanently polluted (hope that's changed now).Up this high (the Upper Wye is 100 miles+ from the sea, the trout are resident and don't move down to the coast. I did catch a 3lb+ sea-trout at Builth Wells some years ago - Builth is only a few miles from where I fish now, and that fish had been down to the sea and returned. That was a rare enough occurrence to get a mention in the Catch Reports of Trout and Salmon. Just to confuse the issue further, it is common to catch Wye trout which are quite silvery (and look like sea-trout) after prolonged high water. Wild brown trout in lakes and lochs of course are landlocked.

Your posts about the upper wye bring back many happy memories of fishing for graying , a couple of miles below Rhayader. It seemed like a long journey from my home in Crickhowell in those days but always worth it even in weather so cold the rod guides used to freeze. We tried a few to eat, not bad, and also transported a few to the Usk back home, not realising the risk at the time, only one was ever caught to my knowledge. Used to be a BAA stretch back in the 70's at the time when they were buying the lease on rivers and streams everywhere. Bit like Fishing Passport now. Happy days.

 

[DaveH]

I fished the Derbyshire AA stretch of the Dove - Prince Albert AA had the stretch below, and either BAA or the Railway AA had the stretch above. The Builth Wells AC was formed to keep the BAA from buying the lease on their water on the Wye and Irfon I believe. That's interesting about stocking grayling into the Usk. Of course well-meaning amateur stocking of various fish into different waters wasn't uncommon at that time. Thanks for responding.