Fly Fishing in Carmarthenshire

The Fishing Passport is an online booking system run on a not for profit basis by the Wye and Usk Foundation. It doesn’t own or lease any water; each beat stays with its owner, so book ahead. Here it sells Golden Grove, Llandeilo and Llandovery on the Towy, a day or weekly ticket covering nine Carmarthen Amateur Angling Association beats, and Usk Reservoir.

The Towy is the river most anglers come for. It is thought to produce more double figure sea trout (sewin) than any other river in Britain, with salmon in summer and autumn. Llandovery Angling Association has over seven miles above the town, with sewin from May and the main run from the middle of June. Llandeilo Angling Association has around nine miles, open to visitors, at £25 for an adult day. Golden Grove has nearly fourteen miles in some seven beats, with rod numbers limited, and night fishing is permitted (wading is required for it). Abercothi, at Nantgaredig, is £50 a day in April, £75 in May and £120 from June to 17 October. Cross Hands and District sells day tickets at £20 and weeks at £50 between Llangadog and the Pump House beat, just off the tide. Carmarthen and District Angling Club is members only, joined online through Clubmate.

The Cothi is the Towy’s largest tributary, a small spate river. Edwinsford Estate has over five miles in six beats, with salmon and sewin strictly catch and release and wild brown trout in the upper beats; it publishes no prices, so ask the estate. Clwb Godre’r Mynydd Du sells one Passport day ticket covering two Cothi sections and the Amman from Pontaman to Garnant, for 24 hours from 7am, so a day can be followed by a night for sewin. The Gwili at Bronwydd, the Taf at St Clears and the Gwendraeth at Llandyfaelog are members’ water. The Bran and Gwydderig are wild brown trout streams on Llandovery Angling Association permits, fished on light tackle, and dipping a drop minnow is not allowed.

The Teifi Trout Association looks after the lower Teifi, including beats at Cenarth and Newcastle Emlyn. A daily permit is £30 until 31 August and £35 after. It names its pools but doesn’t say which bank is which, so read its bye-laws and the Natural Resources Wales bye-laws. Llanybydder Angling Association has about 4.5 miles in seven beats, described bank by bank. A guest day ticket is £10 from April to July and £20 from August to 17 October, and salmon must be returned.

Usk Reservoir is 280 acres in the Brecon Beacons National Park, with a 6 fish permit at £26. Upper Lliedi, near Llanelli, is 32 acres of stocked rainbows, fly only from the bank, at £25 for two fish. Garnffrwd is a 5 acre woodland lake, fly only, with catch and release at £28 a day. Springwater’s fly lake, near Llanwrda, holds rainbows to 2lb and closes in summer when the water is warm. It suits an angler who will book ahead and doesn’t mind that much of the Towy is members’ or estate water.