Taf Fechan

Got a day ticket for the Taff through the Wye and Usk foundation passport scheme - £10 for 10 miles of fishing from Merthyr Tydfill AA. Far too much fishing to cover in a day so I decided on the upper reaches of the river.

After a relatively unsuccessful start to the year on some brooks closer to home, the view below was a welcome surprise.

I started off with a 9 foot tapered leader, with a small copper head nymph on the end. This way I thought I could easily switch to dry if required. The section I fished started off above a small cliff and gorge, so it was pretty deep in sections, other parts were slower and flat, with some real pocket rifles in between. I had no success for the first 30mins with a nymph, so I swapped to  a dry to see if I could tempt anything up. I had read that there were wild and spooky fish in the Taf Fechan, so stealth and presentation were key over fly choice. After no success with the dry I swapped back to the nymph, this time on a french leader - immediate success from the first pool, right at the head in the deeper oxygenated water.

Carried on with the french leader targeting the head of each pool, and got some success. All fish were 6-10" and beautifully coloured. There seems to be a pattern to the pools as well - first or second cast near the head would result in a fish, then nothing else from that pool. On to the next, same again. Best pattern was a slovak gammarus. It was fantastic fun, and I will definitely be heading back.