Secretary’s Blog- 2023
Happy New Year. Tight lines everyone.
By-Laws – REMINDER
An angler’s brief guide to the introduction of new salmon and sea trout byelaws
River Nevern
Salmon
All salmon must be released with minimum injury and delay
Salmon season – 1st April to 17th October
Fly 1st April – 17th October
Spin 1st April – 17th October
Worm No worm fishing
Shrimp and Prawn 1st September – 7th October
Sea trout
All sea trout caught prior to the 1st May to be released with minimum injury and delay
All sea trout greater than 60cm to be released with minimum injury and delay
Worm fishing is only allowed for sea trout with a single worm using a single barbless hook with a gape less than 8mm.
Please note that dates are inclusive
Sea trout season – 1st April to 17th October
Fly 1st April – 17th October
Spin 1st April – 17th October
Worm 1st May – 7th October
Hooks
All hooks must be barbless or de-barbed
On artificial flies with a hook gape greater than 7mm, hooks are restricted to singles or doubles
On artificial flies with a hook gape 7mm or less, hooks are restricted to a maximum of two hooks with a total of four points between them
No treble or double hooks are permitted on lures used for spinning
Spinners and spoons can have only one single hook with a gape of 13mm or less.
Plugs can have a maximum of three single hooks, each with a gape of 13mm or less.
Shrimp and prawn fishing for salmon is allowed from the 1st September until 7th October with the use of a single treble hook with a gape of less than 7mm.
Further details of byelaws affecting the rivers in Wales, non-migratory trout, coarse fish can be found on the NRW fisheries pages. https://naturalresources.wales/days-out/things-to-do/fishing/?lang=en
Useful information for anglers:Angling Cymru – Angling Cymru
Have you submitted your catch return? These returns are vital for us to know what’s happening on the river. It’s a condition of membership and NO ticket will be issued this year unless you have done yours!
After no rise in Subscriptions for over 10 years, we have regrettably had to raise fees. 2023 charges will be £110 for a season ticket, £30 for a day ticket and £60 for a week. Junior tickets will remain unchanged at £10 for a season.
January 2023
We have had some very cold weather which is good for spawning and some very wet weather. Lets hope the fish have perfect conditions.
I sadly report the death of Peter Lloyd. Peter was a great friend and supporter of the Club and will be missed by all. Our condolences go to his family and friends.
February
Next weeks AGM has been postponed until the first Tuesday in March. This is due to work taking place at the Salutation Inn.
I’m very pleased to report that the CLEAN project has been extended on the catchment of the Nevern for a full six months. Volunteers will take samples at a number of sites to test for Nitrate and Phosphate levels every month between March and August. More info https://www.cwmarian.org.uk/post/clean-rivers-project-on-the-afon-nyfer
March
During February I was getting worried as we had practically no rain and the river was getting very low. There was some good cold, frosty weather which is good for late spawning and egg survival. Salmonids need cold water to survive, especially during the egg stage. However, I didn’t need to worry as it rained almost every day in March. The river had a good wash out and stayed high for the whole month. No damaging floods, so we are all good.
April
So the season has started. I haven’t been out on the river yet, except to take samples for the CLEAN project. See link above for more info. The river is still nice and high after all the rain we had in March and looking good.
May
Little rain to speak of. River is quite low. No reports of any fish yet.
June
Still little or no rain for over 4 weeks. The river is very low and the warm weather is not good. A few fresh sewin have been seen in the lower river. Alga is starting to form in the shallows. We need a good flood and soon!
Over the last two weeks we have had two good work parties. The first was to clear the tree that had fallen into the head of Corner pool in Felindre. At the same time we made safe a dead tree by the weir and had a general tidy up. The second was at Nevern where we removed the tree from Pwll Tanner and had a general tidy up in the area. Thanks to Jeremy Collins and Dai JCB for their assistance.
July
We had some much needed rain over the weekend. The river came up and was quite dirty. It dropped back down quickly and is now clear again. I hear a few sewin came up on the water so there should be some good fishing to come.
August
Plenty of rain now! The river has been up and down like a yo yo for the past week or so. Fish have responded and are spread throughout the system. Night fishing hasn’t been great due to the unsettled weather.
September/October
Both September and October were wet. There were several floods and fish ran whenever they wanted. This made good fishing a bit hit and miss. If you were on the river at the right time, fishing was excellent. One rod I know did very well returning 3 salmon and 6 sewin in one outing. Others had nothing!
Now the season is over its time to hang up your rods, clean and grease your reels and SUBMIT YOUR CATCH RETURN. Please don’t forget. It’s a condition of membership and you won’t get a ticket next year unless you do a return.
Reminder
Day and week tickets are available at the Salutation Inn, Trewern Arms and the Post Office in Newport. These guys don’t charge anything for selling tickets for us so please support them if you visit by spending some money there. The Post Office in Newport has a lovely shop attached and both the Salutation and the Trewen do lovely food and provided excellent accommodation.
Newport Post Office Google review ” Lovely ice cream and friendly people. Great souvenirs and stationery!”
https://trewernarms.com/ https://salutationcountryhotel.co.uk/
