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Fly Fishing

When the Victorians first dammed the valley to create Lake Vyrnwy, they stocked it with 40,000 Loch Leven trout to create the largest wild trout fishery in England and Wales.

In 1899, the Llanwddyn Valley were finally flooded with 13 million gallons of water. During the first years following the flooding, the lake produced good trout of just over 1lb on average. At odd intervals over the past 120 years or so it has managed to do the same.

The fishing season runs from Mid-March through to Mid-October

An introduction by G.V Westropp

G.V Westropp learnt to fish with his family on Lake Vyrnwy in the days with the old ghillies, when fishing folk would take a fortnight each summer. Mr Westropp has fished every year since, and has probably accounted for more Vyrnwy trout than any man alive. He wrote the definitive book ‘Fishing on Lake Vyrnwy’ which was updated and republished in 2009; he has kindly written a few words..

Fishing Lake Vyrnwy is a fine sporting challenge. There are days when every brownie in Vyrnwy (and there must be tens of thousands of them) is on the move and others when it seems that there are no fish in the lake.

Lake Vyrnwy is a ‘fly-only’ water and has to be fished from a boat, usually drifting loch-style with a team of three flies.

Vyrnwy trout tend to be found close to the shore where most of their food falls from the trees and bushes. So the key to fishing Lake Vyrnwy, and catching fish, is always try and get your flies as near the stones of the shore as possible. Never miss an opportunity to cast under over-hanging trees if they are between you and the bank.

However, drifting across the shallower arms of the lake, notably Rhiwargor, Cedig and Llwyn Rhiw, can be rewarding too. But if the level of the lake is down four or five feet from the top of the dam, these will be high and dry and, therefore, stick to long drifts down the shore line instead.

Fishing around the Tower can be fun and never underestimate the number of brown trout in the Boat House Pool itself, especially on very windy days.

Tariff

LAKE VYRNWY FISHING 2024

LIFE JACKETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES AND ARE MANDATORY!
Rods are required to carry appropriate licenses when fishing on Lake Vyrnwy

All prices include battery & engine

DAY TICKET

£45.00 per rod
£60.00 – 2 rods sharing

HALF DAY

£35.00 per rod
£45.00 – 2 rods sharing

BAG LIMIT – 4 fish per rod – then catch and release on barbless hooks

EVENING FISHING £19.50 per rod – Available after 5pm

Under 16’s FOC when accompanied by an adult rod

2-day resident rates –
1 rod £78
2 rods £105

Weather dependent during fishing season between 15th March 2024 & Mid-October 2024
Please contact reception for more details – 01691 870692
All prices include VAT.

Tactics

Most fishers on Lake Vyrnwy use three flies and drift along loch-style. A good rule for choosing a fly for the lake is ‘When in doubt, go for black’.

Leaders in the early months of the season will be a team of three black or darkish wet flies size 10 or 12. Black or dark lures, like the Montana or Viva, work well early on as well on the tail.

By late May, lighter coloured flies like an Invicta and, maybe, a Peter Ross on sunny days should be given a swim.

Some flies for Vyrnwy:

Wet Flies – Alexandra, Invicta, Bibio, Mallard & Claret, Black Pennell, Peter Ross, Connemara Black, Zulu

Dry Flies – Claret Bumble, Greenwell’s Glory, Coch y Bondhu, G&H Sedge

Nymphs – Buzzers Black/Red, Damsel Nymph, Diawl Bach, Pheasant Tail

Lures – Damsel Nymph Gold Head, Sweeny Todd, Montana, Viva, Muddler Minnow

Lake Vyrnwy fishing report

Here in the Welsh uplands Spring is beginning to make it’s presence felt at last, and as I write we are eagerly anticipating the opening of the trout season on Lake Vyrnwy.
After an eventful winter of storms and what felt like endless rain, it is good to feel the sun again. The various named storms of the winter certainly left their mark on the forestry around the lake.
Preparations for the coming season are well underway with all the boats being refurbished, the jetty and landing areas spruced up and cleared of winter debris and for the first time since 2019, boats will be available at both ends of the lake. It will be very interesting to see what the fishing is like this season at the Whitegates end, since this has been largely un-fished for two years.
There are also plans to stock with rainbows this year to add a little spice, but of course the lake remains a predominantly wild brown trout water, much beloved by those of us that crave those particular bars of precious gold.
Also this year, gillies will be available to book, to help you get the most from your time on the water.
It will be good to see the lake back and fishing at full strength after the trials and tribulations we have all had to endure over the last couple of years and I for one cannot wait to get back out there.

Mike Walker.

 

April 2022

Seldom has the start of the fishing on Lake Vyrnwy been so eagerly anticipated. With both boat stations open for the first time since the start of the pandemic this gave anglers access to the whole lake for the first time since the start of the pandemic. With everyone raring to go the weather on the first week was, for the most part, not ideal with cold strong blustery winds and snow showers on several days of the opening week. However, those few hardy souls that did brave the weather were very well rewarded for their efforts. Most  notably,  on 1st April, N. Runciman and Mr and Mrs Edwards, ably assisted by gillie John Davies, took 64 fish on sink tip and DI 3 lines. Favoured flies on that day being black and green and red tags.
Two days later in cold and windy conditions Ken Thomas using a DI3, again assisted by John Davies, took 30 nice brownies up to 1lb. and once again red tags and black and green flies doing the business.
On the 8th April, D and V Sparrow used a slightly different approach and while catching fewer fish, certainly made up for it in size catching 4 fish with a total weight of five pounds, the best being 2lbs. These fish fell to a black humongous on a DI5.
A day later the Walker Jankowski party of five rods managed 17 lovely wild brown trout using a variety of flies including Cormorants, Black Pennel, Clan Chief, and Gold head hares ear. Most of the fish were around the 3/4lb. mark but one was around 1 1/2lbs. In a memorable moment, one member of the party brought a fish into the boat and while he was unhooking, his boat partner had a double hook up. Both these fish were successfully brought to the net however, while unhooking his two fish the angler discovered one of the fish had taken two flies, his own and another of his boat partners cast left in the water while unhooking, so could both anglers claim a double while only landing three fish between them?!
So the season is off to a great start and with all the boats on the water again, the quality of the fish being caught and some excellent gillies available, everything looks set for a great season.

Mike Walker

April/May 2022
The latter half of April was exceptionally dry and the light to moderate winds made for some
excellent fishing on the lake with some anglers having some very memorable days sport.
C. Simmonds, assisted by Ghillie John Davis, was amongst them, managing 19 fish, taken on red tags and green tags. On 12th April Nick Webster had a good day when he coaxed 13 nice brownies into the boat.
However, on the 16th, Brian Christopher had a most spectacular days fishing, again with the help of ghillie John Davis, fishing red and green tags on a Di3 he was rewarded with sixty three hard fighting wild brownies with three of them around the 1lb 12oz mark. Well done Brian.
Tom Rosser and friends had a good day with all members of the party catching fish including two first timers. They were using intermediate lines and a range of traditional loch style flies including Connemara black, black Pennel and goat’s toe.
Regulars Mackintosh and Mackintosh had their first day of the season on  17th April and used slow sinking lines to account for 20 fish.
By the 20th of the month the magic of the red tags and green tags on a Di3 was still strong and Neil R used them to great effect when he caught 42 fish, although some of these fish were taken on dry flies as well, a hint of what’s to come perhaps.
April 28th was cause for celebration for keen angler Rupert Bevan and his wife Carol when they celebrated Rupert’s 70th birthday in style by booking into the Lake Vyrnwy Hotel and then taking to the water where they caught five fish in 90 minutes.
We also had a visit from George Barron this month, but I will leave it him to tell you how he got on!
For the season so far it is safe to say that most anglers have had success using sinking lines of one sort or another, with many double figure bags recorded, but as the weather warms up, water temperatures rise and the abundant resident invertebrate life beings to burgeon in earnest I dare say the fishing returns may start to tell a different story. Something to look forward to.

Mike Walker