FISHING ON THE TAF
(2011)
SALMON:
There is an early run of salmon in April and May but under current legislation any salmon caught before 16th June must be released. There is a further run in September and early October. The last 10 days of the season are catch and release only. The majority of salmon caught weigh between 6lb and 10lb but occasionally fish of over 14 lb are taken.The 15lb 9oz salmon pictured below was caught on worm at Fforest Farm in the late summer of 2009.
SEATROUT (Also called sewin):
The majority of the seatrout caught on the Taf weigh between 1lb and 3lb but much bigger fish run the river such as this superb 8lb 2oz fish caught on spinner in June 2002 on the Ddolerwydd beat, St Clears.
Each season several fish of over 4lb in weight are caught on fly. The larger fish run from May onwards while the smaller fish appear in July. The 6lb 12oz seatrout pictured below was caught on a Sweeny Todd on the Tynewydd beat, Whitland. The fish was caught on 4th August 1999 at 10.15p.m. in low water conditions on a floating line.
On 12th June 2006 the superb seatrout of 10lb 1oz, pictured below, was taken on fly in Clogyfran corner pool.
Anglers specifically interested in fishing for seatrout will find the following websites useful:
http://www.seatroutfishing.net
TROUT:
While the vast majority of the brown trout are on the small side,each season fish of over 1lb are taken by all methods. The trout season ends on 30th September.
[For anglers who prefer stillwater trout fishing a number of waters are available such as Llysyfran Reservoir (Tel: 01437 532273) and White House Mill Trout Fishery (Tel: 01834 831304) www.whitehousemill.co.uk ]
PRE-SEASON INFORMATION:
The low rainfall in the first half of March resulted in river levels dropping. Moderate rain in the last two days of March freshened the river but the level remained low.
APRIL:
Despite the low river level, on 2nd April Granville Davies caught a 3lb sea trout on a 5cm rapala while fishing the lower beats of St. Clears water. The absence of rain throughout the month resulted in a minimal fishing effort. Some trout were caught but the majority were small and were returned.
MAY:
The lack of substantial rainfall resulted in the river remaining low and clear throughout the month.Trout up to 1lb have been caught on spinner and fly but although night fly fishermen have witnessed the occasional large fish moving no catches of sewin or salmon have been recorded.The low river levels have led some anglers to turn their attention to the stillwaters of Whitehouse Mill and Llysyfran where good catches have been made.
June:
Rainfall in the middle of the month at last brought some action though the river levels have remained comparatively low. On 18th June at Whitland Chris Owen caught a salmon of 6lb and Frankie Storer a sewin of 4lb. On the same day Mike Bell caught a pound and a half sewin on the lower St. Clears beat. On 29th June a freshly run salmon of 8lb was caught by Gareth Davies at Whitland and the following day a similar salmon of 7lb was taken on rapala by Roy Adams at Fforest. A number of sewin around the pound and a half mark have also been caught at Whitland, Fforest and St. Clears by anglers including Roy Adams,Granville Davies, Nigel Davies and Adrian Howells.
July:
Despite river levels falling again at the start of the month fish were caught. On 2nd July a number of sewin in the 3 - 4lb class were taken at Clogyfran but the outstanding catch was a sewin of 7lb 5oz caught by 8yr old Lowri Pritchard. On the night of 4th July Anthony Wilson had a 3lb sewin on the fly at Fforest while his fellow fly fisherman, Roy Adams had a fish of 1lb. Sewin between 1lb and 1lb 8oz have also been caught on spinner at Whitland by Will Diamond, Willie Johnson, Dempsey Lee, John Llewellyn, John Owen, Denny Richards, Wyn Rosser and Aeron Thomas. On 13th July a salmon of 5lb was caught by Wyn Rosser at Whitland. Five days later, again at Whitland, Denny Richards landed an 11lb salmon on a No.4 Mepps. While on 19th July a superb salmon of 15lb was caught by Dai Jacobs on worm at Clogyfran. A rapala proved successful for Mark John who took a 3lb sewin on the night of 20th July. On 23rd July John Owen caught a 6lb salmon.
August:
Lack of rainfall resulted in river levels falling and fishing effort decreasing but Eifion Davies and Davy Howells both had salmon of 5lb on St. Clears water.Granville Davies took a 5lb sewin at Ddolerwydd and Johnny Dunford one of 4lb at Whitland. Sewin between 1lb and 2lb were also caught by Roy Adams and Davy Howells on fly and spinner respectively.
September:
Heavy showers at the beginning of the month revitalised the river. At Clogyfran Ernie Jones caught two salmon weighing 10lb and 14lb and Harry Llewellyn a grilse of 4lb 8oz. On St Clears water Glyn Richards had two grilse of 4 - 5lb while a fish of similar size was also caught by Eifion Davies. At the Poplar pool at Whitland a salmon of 9lb 5oz was taken by Arthur Whittingham while elsewhere on Whitland water Brian Thomas caught two fish at 5lb and 7lb and Spencer Jeremiah and a London angler holidaying at Fforest Farm both had salmon around the 6lb mark. On13th September on the Pale / Fforest beat Dave Tinker caught a superb salmon of 14lb 8oz while Mark John had a fish of 7lb 2oz and a 2lb sewin. The following day at Fforest Roy Adams and Davy Howells both caught salmon between 5lb 8oz and 6lb while the latter also had a sewin of 1lb 12oz.On 15th September Mark John had a salmon of 7lb 6oz while Anthony Wilson took fish of 5lb and 6lb on consecutive days at Whitland. A grilse of just over 4lb was caught by Dempsey Lee on the 16th September while salmon of unknown weights have also been taken by Johnny Dunford and Vic Williams. In the week 19th - 25th September a number of freshly run fish were caught, the best being a sea-liced 12lb salmon from the Poplar pool by Phil Whittaker. Fish of 7lb 8oz, 7lb and 8lb 3oz were also taken by Terry Bowen, Neville Pearce and Anthony Wilson, while Wyn Rosser had two salmon at 4lb and 7lb. At Fforest Farm holidaymaker Steve Knight caught a 5lb sea trout in good condition. Grilse of 4lb 8oz, 5lb and 5lb 8oz came to the rods of Aled Thomas, Granville Davies and Nigel Davies. On Monday 26th September at Fforest Farm, not to be outdone by his brother, Steve, Joe Knight caught an 11lb salmon. A fish of 16lb was reported caught by Whitland angler Vic Williams though the precise location of the catch is not known. On Wednesday 28th September a salmon of 13lb was landed by Granville Davies on lower St Clears water.