Salmon & Trout Fishing on the River Usk
Swanmeadow Fishery 2007 End of Season Report
2007 was one of the wettest summers on record and whilst the Usk did not suffer the disastrous flooding that other parts of Britain endured the River nevertheless ran high and deeply coloured for considerable periods of time.
Whilst meaningful fishing was often difficult the high water ensured that there were good numbers of migratory fish entering the river and therefore well distributed throughout the system.
During the periods when fishing was possible the quality of the sport available was superb and despite the fact that the river was often unsettled there were some excellent catches made. There was also a substantial run of Shad and although not recorded a number were taken on the fly in early summer.
Salmon were present in numbers from May onwards with the best months being June and August. The River during August maintained an excellent level for most of the month and those who managed to get out were well rewarded.
September was a drier month with the river falling away to being very low and clear and October then produced some quite glorious ‘Indian Summer’ weather with virtually no rainfall, which reduced the level even further when the season closed on 17th October.
At the end of October we had a days heavy rain which lifted the river and large numbers of salmon were witnessed running the salmon ladder on the River Grwyne on their way to the redds. With the great number of fish that ran the Usk this year it should be an excellent spawning season, and this coupled with the work that the Usk and Wye Foundation have carried out on the spawning streams it can only bode well for the future.
2007 Wild Brown Trout Fishing Report
The wild brown trout of the Usk are never easy, but for those who persevere the reward can be some of the most exciting fishing one is ever likely to encounter.
The Spring hatches of Grannon were truly stupendous with countless millions of insects hatching and at times these hatches could only be described as a blizzard of which occasionally made it difficult to see across the river due to their sheer number. There were also good hatches of the various olives, Iron Blues, Hawthorn Flies May Flies and Yellow May Duns, although the March Browns are still failing to make a come back.
Some very good catches were made through May and June with one angler taking and returning 28 trout in the day and another took and returned about 40 over four days. Later in the season the atrocious weather had a very profound effect on the fishing, with the heavy rain and persistent cold winds which combined with high and coloured water sadly made things impossible.
Overall the 2007 trout season started very well but as with the Salmon it was to a certain extent spoilt by the extreme weather later in the season.
The wild brown trout of he Usk are a magnificent and very precious resource, and rods are politely requested to respect them and return the majority of fish gently and unharmed back to the river.