Fishing in Wales, Fly-fishing, Grayling, Trout, Writing

Fishing in Wales: My top 5 Welsh urban rivers

Mere decades ago, these were waters that still ran black with coal dust and the toxic effluent of steel mills and other industries. Today, many Welsh urban rivers still suffer from litter, drainage misconnections and misbehaving sewage treatment works, but if you look carefully, you’ll find wild fish among the remaining shopping trolleys: trout (some of them very big indeed), grayling, barbel and even salmon…

Some writing projects can be a slow burn between concept and publication, and that’s OK.

I think it must have been in autumn 2019 that Ceri Thomas asked me if I’d share some of my favourite Welsh fishing spots in a feature for the new Fishing in Wales website. Of course, I said, and turned it round in time for publication sometime in spring 2020, but we all know what happened this time last year…

Thanks to the most excellent C-19 vaccination programme, though, 2021 is looking a lot more promising for fishing travel. And urban fisheries hold great potential if you’re hunting for beautiful big wild trout that may hardly have seen a fly in the last year and a half.

So, click here to find my favourite 5 Welsh urban rivers. Then get your vaccine shots as soon as you can, and maybe I’ll see you out there on the banks.

(Spoiler: I’m all about the Usk, Taff, Rhymney, Ogmore and Afon Lwyd. But you’ll still need to check that article to find out exactly why!)