Fly Fishing in Gwynedd

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. Here it sells the Seiont, Gwyrfai and Llyfni Fishing Society’s lakes and Ogwen Valley Angling Association’s, and one ticket covers any of the society’s waters on it. Llyn y Dywarchen is the stocked, fly only rainbow lake, at £25 a day or £90 a week. Llyn Cwellyn (220 acres) holds wild browns and Arctic char, and Cwm Silyn is lightly fished because it is a mile’s walk from the road. Ogwen Valley’s ticket is £25 for 24 hours or £50 for a week and covers Llyn Ogwen, stocked with rainbows of 1 to 2lb, Llyn Idwal and the River Ogwen, each with its own dates.

Llyn Trawsfynydd is run by Prysor Angling Association, with 40 boats for fly fishing, natural browns that average just on 1lb and stocked rainbows. Permits and boats come from the Prysor Centre on the shore, and we show no prices. Cambrian Angling Association has the Ffestiniog lakes: small hill waters such as Cwmorthin, half an hour’s walk from Tan y Grisiau, and Llagi, two and a half hours out, with Morynion and the Gamallt lakes on the Migneint. Llyn Ffridd, by the road, has a footpath to every swim. Prices are on the association’s permits page. Pwllheli and District Angling Association runs Llyn Cwmystradllyn, with wild browns and stocked rainbows, and combined river and lake tickets at £20 a day, £50 a week or £125 for the season.

Bala and Dolgellau have lakes too. Llyn Maes y Clawdd, near Bala, is fly only and for season ticket holders, at £90 for a local senior and £100 for a non-resident. Dolgellau Angling Association’s day ticket covers Llyn Cynwch as well as its rivers. Cregennan, on Cader Idris, has a 27 acre lake of wild browns and a 13 acre fly only lake that is stocked, and Eisteddfa, near Criccieth, has a Fly Lake with rainbows into double figures.

On the rivers, the Seiont is an autumn salmon river, with sea trout (sewin) from late May, and the Rhythallt is its upper water. The Llyfni is one of the premier sea trout rivers of Wales, with night fishing popular in July, and the Gwyrfai is a summer river. The Ogwen is a classic spate river of about seven miles. The Dwyryd is Cambrian’s only fly river, with an early run of small sea trout. The Prysor and the Afon Eden are small trout streams on the Passport; on the Eden you may not wade, to protect its freshwater pearl mussels. Dolgellau Angling Association has 13 miles of the Mawddach and Wnion, and its day ticket includes fly only night fishing for sea trout. At Bala the Dee is known for grayling, at £17.50 a day or £50 a week, and the Tryweryn rises fast when water is released from Llyn Celyn. On the Llŷn, Pwllheli has the Erch and the Rhyd-hir.

It suits an angler who will read each club’s rules first, and who doesn’t mind that a walk of an hour or two is often the price of a quiet lake.