The river Usk
Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2023 8:35 pm
Shaz and I decided to take a couple of days in East Wales. The small town of Usk was our first stop and despite the weather warning the rain was only torrential. Several nice pubs to choose from and we stayed at the Castle Inn before walking downhill to the bridge over the Usk. It had a nice flow with a little bit of water on. No one was fishing and nothing topped whilst we were there. I asked the elderly publican how his salmon fishing was going. “Well” he said, “I still take out a ticket, but I don’t fish anymore. Catch and release is a waste of time because caught fish usually die anyway. Some locals shout abuse when I’m on the river even though I’ve fished here all my life.”
I asked about coarse fish and he said that there used to be a head of roach, chub and perch upstream, but after they released the otters, the fish disappeared. His view is that rivers that are full of fish, like the Wye at Hereford, can cope with a few otters, but not the Usk.
Onwards to Crickhowell next day. There are even more pubs here and we chose the Dragon Inn for overnight accommodation. The walk down to the river was also to look at the sixteenth century Bridge End Inn. We had had a few pints here ten or fifteen year ago, but a succession of shoulder high floods in the lounge bar persuaded the publican to call last orders.
The river was still devoid of anglers so we walked back up the hill for lunch. A plaque on the wall of a cottage told us that that was the home of the Three Salmons Inn in 1740. Interesting really because yesterday in Usk we had lunch at the Three Salmons Inn.
I know that there are fish in the Usk because I attend meetings of the Wye and Usk Foundation. However I was back on the Wye today to net a dozen roach and a two pound perch. Lovely fishing in the torrential rain…..
I asked about coarse fish and he said that there used to be a head of roach, chub and perch upstream, but after they released the otters, the fish disappeared. His view is that rivers that are full of fish, like the Wye at Hereford, can cope with a few otters, but not the Usk.
Onwards to Crickhowell next day. There are even more pubs here and we chose the Dragon Inn for overnight accommodation. The walk down to the river was also to look at the sixteenth century Bridge End Inn. We had had a few pints here ten or fifteen year ago, but a succession of shoulder high floods in the lounge bar persuaded the publican to call last orders.
The river was still devoid of anglers so we walked back up the hill for lunch. A plaque on the wall of a cottage told us that that was the home of the Three Salmons Inn in 1740. Interesting really because yesterday in Usk we had lunch at the Three Salmons Inn.
I know that there are fish in the Usk because I attend meetings of the Wye and Usk Foundation. However I was back on the Wye today to net a dozen roach and a two pound perch. Lovely fishing in the torrential rain…..