With approaching 40 years of angling experience under my belt, perhaps I'm becoming a little more circumspect in my dotage.

Last summer I was introduced to your Association by Eric Williams. Thanks Eric! I will be applying for membership next season. What are the best flies to use? Thanks in anticipation of your help. David Galliers.

With time so often at a premium, it's not often I can spare a few hours by the river without a fishing rod in hand, or a strimmer if I'm on one of our working parties tackling the dreaded balsam!

But I recently found myself on a familiar beat at Treffgarne Bridge with an altogether more circumspect purpose. I was being trained by Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust in the dark art of environmental monitoring. I say 'dark art' because in order for it to be of any scientific use, you quickly learn that you have be very subjective and follow a tight set of rules for reporting.

A few years ago, me and my friend were sitting upon St. Catherine's bridge; contemplating a full day's fishing at Llys y Fran the next day. When a fisherman walked down from up stream carrying his bag, rod, and a net; which seemed to have a silver bar in it. Eager to ask about his trip, the fisherman was more than happy to show us his intended quarry. As he opened up his net; a salmon emerged. It was about 6 lbs and well over a foot long! He said he caught it by spinner on the tail of the round pool.

Heading over to Pembroke for some fishing from about the 16 May for a couple of weeks. I usually fish small rivers in Derbyshire, so am unsure what to use on the Cleddau. I fly fish, using dries wets and nymphs. So what can anyone suggest? Not inclined to night fish currently. I am happy to target trout. Do you have the mayfly on the Cleddau? I know the treffgarne gorge stretch better than other areas.

Thanks,

Irene.os

About 30 years ago I began what turned out to be a rather eclectic career at Midland Bank in Haverfordwest. As a fresh-faced teenager, who had never even visited north Pembrokeshire before, I was fortunate to find lodgings with a generous local, whose past-time was game fishing. He took pity on his young lodger, and hosted regular expeditions along PAA waters.

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The dot in the water off the second promontory is me, photographed by my father during a recent fishing trip. My first holiday in 4 or 5 years: a couple of days fishing in Snowdonia, hosted by the wonderful ‘Tynycornel Hotel’ on Tal Y Llyn lake.

Having been lucky enough to travel the world and being yet luckier to live somewhere that hard-working people with precious little time off want to spend their holidays, travelling for me these days is a very low priority. But drifting a boat among the small olives and sedges, on a lovely lake, in stunning scenery can almost make the fishing a secondary thing. Almost.

I almost missed it!'

Duffer's Fortnight' is a fly-fisherman's nickname for a magical period in late Spring when Mayflies are hatching; because it's when the trout gorge with abandon and even the clumsiest angler can bag his supper. It is much more famous on southern England chalk streams, and big west of Ireland loughs, but from time to time there is a 'big' hatch in Wales. Moc Morgan, a very famous welsh fly fisherman describes one here, for example.