A good Grayling can make your day
River Wye, Lower Clochfaen Beat.
November 2nd
The Lower Clochfaen is a very beautiful section of the upper Wye. In parts lined by trees, in other places the upland meadows come straight down to the river. It is also a very long beat. There is plenty of water, more than sufficient for a couple of anglers, for a whole day; even a long summer's day. The only caveat is that it needs a reasonable head of water to get a flow through many of the pools.
At this time of year grayling are the quarry. They are superb fish and well worth the pursuit. There hasn't been the cold weather to push the fish into deeper water and so they can be found in a variety of situations, from fast deep sections of the river to shallow slack tails to riffles and 'the eyes' at the head of a pool. Depending on your mood of the day, this can be challenging and fun or just plain hard work.
My mood varied throughout the day, depending on the ratio of fish to foliage I had caught recently. But the river and the splendour of the autumn colours won over even an old curmudgeon like me. It's a great beat; have fun. Just one last tip. If you are fishing with a friend do think of leaving a car at either end of the beat. It will save a 3 mile walk back at the end of the day !
A good Grayling can make your day