Flyfishing on the River Usk, in Wales

The Usk is one of Wales's finest game-fishing rivers. The river is fast-flowing and heavily wooded in its upper reaches, becoming a little more gentle and open as it passes Brecon and Crickhowell, but it is still a very lively river even at Abergavenny. From there the river flows south through the town of Usk before turning west to enter the Bristol Channel at Newport.

Summer flyfishing on the Usk above Brecon

Over most of the lower and middle river the fishing is reasonably easy going, although in places the banks are very high; however, the rocky gorges of the upper Usk can be difficult going for all but the most nimble of anglers.

Usk tributaries
The Llwyd is a trout stream. Having recovered from industrial pollution, it now holds brown trout and is home to the otter and the vole. Although much of the Llwyd is bordered by urban developments, once on the river bank it is easy to lose yourself in the rough beauty of this wild stream.

Berthin Brook enters the River Usk half a mile above the bridge in the town of Usk. It contains mixed stocks of coarse fish and brown trout.

The River Ebbw rises at Llangynidr and Carno Reservoirs on Llangynidr Mountain, and it flows some 30 miles to its meeting with the Usk below Newport Docks. On the way it passes defunct collieries and steelmaking sites, which in the past killed off virtually all life in the river. Things have changed now: the water quality is much improved, and the Ebbw and its tributaries are home to kingfisher, dipper and mallard as well as some fine brown trout and the occasional salmon.

The River Sirhowy rises to the north of Shon Sheffrey Reservoir, above Tredegar. It flows through Blackwood and Pontllanfraith before joining the Ebbw near Risca. This river provides good trout fishing.

The Olway brook is a lowland tributary of the Usk. It rises near Raglan and is fed by several feeder streams on its ten mile meander to the Usk at the town of Usk. It is another good trout stream.

Trout fishing
The River Usk has long been renowned for its wild brown trout, which on many beats average around 3/4lb. The Usk's fame as a trout fishery can be ascribed largely to its abundance and diversity of fly life. Upwinged flies there include large dark olive, March brown, medium olive, small dark olive, late March brown, iron blue, blue-winged olive, olive upright, mayfly, yellow may dun, large brook dun and autumn dun. Large yellow sally stoneflies hatch in good numbers in summer and the trout sometimes rise steadily to take them even in the midday sun. Note that the March brown hatch is much better on fast, shallow stretches, so these kinds of beats are a very good bet for early spring fishing.

Sue Parker fishing for Usk trout in springtime

Evenings in summer bring good hatches of large sedge flies, which in turn bring trout (and the occasional sea trout) to the surface.

An AFTM #5 or #6 rod of 9 or 9.5 ft in length is about right on the main river, while a shorter, lightweight outfit may be advantageous on some of the smaller tributary streams. The trout sometimes get preoccupied with a particular life stage of a major hatch - this often happens in mayfy time, for example - and working out whether they are taking nymphs, emergers, duns, egg-laying spinners or spent spinners can make all the difference between success and failure. (Pat O'Reilly's bestselling illustrated book Matching the Hatch covers all of these aspects.) Our advice is: if in doubt, try a spent spinner first!

If you need detailed advice on river trout flyfishing, our Beginners' Guide to Trout and Grayling Fishing is available online...

Salmon fishing
The River Usk is now Wales's premier salmon river, with a rod catch of around 1000 salmon per season. A double-handed rod is a great help on this large and fast-flowing river, and in all but low water a sink-tip or even a sinking line will be necessary to get down to where the fish are. (Incidentally, our introductory Guide to Salmon and Sea Trout Fishing is available online, and of course we recommend it unreservedly if not altogether impartially!) There is a strong 'catch-and-release' culture on the Usk, fostered not only by the fishery owners but also by the Wye and Usk Foundation, a charitable Rivers Trust that works to improve and protect the habitats and fish stocks of the Usk and its neighbouring river the Wye.

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