3rd of March starts the browntrout season on the Monnow, Usk and Wye and without fail I get out and fish. Not that I don’t fish in the winter, its just one of those thing. I can fish for brown trout so will.

I arrived at Chanstone Court on of the new Dore beats available through the Wye and Usk Foundation.
It was blowing a right hooley and I knew it was going to be one of those days when as I was leaving the house in the horrendous weather my wife said to me, “Never mind dear, it might not be raining in Wales”.
Now being an Abergavenny lass she knew just how much irony was in that statement.

So I walks down to the bottom of the beat to start fishing my way back up.
Fishing up the first pool, and it is raining quite hard now.
I catch a nice Grayling about 10 inches but the river is starting to colour up I manage another pool and three more Grayling the biggest up to 12 inches however by now the river is rising rapidly and starting to become un-fishable so I head back to the care muttering about it not raining in Wales and only catching Graying on the first day of the trout season.

By the time I get back to the car I am fairly determined to get my self a brownie. so into the car with my waders still on I head for Lower Stanton on the Honddu by the time I get there the river is coming up but not as coloured as the Dore.
I changed from the shrimp pattern I had been using on the Dore to a GRHE nymph in light olive with a black spider on a dropper about 30cm above.
After a couple of casts I am in to this little beauty

Tight Lines for 2009
Frank Williams