South Wales’ trout fishing ranges from the highly accessible, Welsh Water-managed Llandegfedd Lake barely twenty miles from Cardiff, to the genuinely upland, wild brown trout waters of the Brecon Beacons at Usk and Talybont Reservoirs. Together they offer a full range of South Wales trout fishing experiences within a single national park and its surrounding valleys.
Fisheries Covered in This Guide
- Llandegfedd Lake Trout Fishing Guide: South Wales’ Most Accessible Reservoir
- Usk Reservoir Trout Fishing Guide: Brecon Beacons Upland Water
- Talybont Reservoir Trout Fishing Guide: Wild Brown Trout in a Wooded Valley
Each guide below covers what the fishery actually offers, current access and permit information via the fishery’s own website, and how it connects to nearby waters if you’re planning a longer trip. See our brown trout and rainbow trout species guides for background on what you’re likely to catch, and our spinning for trout, float fishing for trout, and trout rod guides for tackle and technique that applies across all of these waters.
Gear that fits this
Gear that suits what this covers, by type.
Fly lines: Airflo Sixth Sense 2 Floating Fly Line WF 7/8, Airflo Superflo Mini Tip Fly Line 6' Fast Int. Tip WF7 and Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth MPX Weight Forward Fly Line #5.
For leaders and tippet, SeaGuar Soft-Plus Fluorocarbon 100m Clear 6.6lb 0.165mm, Wychwood Lure Mode Flourocarbon Tippet 50m 0.17mm 5lb and Scientific Anglers Absolute Trout Tippet 30m 1X (0,25 mm) 13.9lb are all worth a look.
Reels worth adding: Lamson Guru S-Series Olive Green Fly Reel, Guideline Aeon Fly Reel- Black/Silver #7/9 and Greys Tital Fly Reel #3/4.
On the rods side, Guideline Elevation Nymph Single Handed Fly Rods 10'2'' #2, Airflo Airlite V2 Comp Special Fly Rod 10' #7 and Wychwood Flow Fly Rod 6ft #3.
Sarah Marsh came to fly fishing through her father, who kept a rod on a small syndicate water in Devon. She spent her teens fishing stocked reservoirs and gradually worked her way toward wild fish on moving water – first on rain-fed freestone rivers in Wales, then on the Hampshire chalk streams she now considers home water.
She holds a level 2 APGAI fly casting qualification and guides informally on the River Test and, from June to September, on a private beat on the River Tay for Atlantic salmon. Her personal best brown trout came from the Itchen at 4lb 1oz; she’d sooner not talk about the salmon that came off at the net last August.
At The River Bend, Sarah writes the game fish species guides, fly fishing technique articles, and the legal content covering trout and salmon regulations.
Covers: Brown trout, rainbow trout, sea trout, Atlantic salmon, fly fishing, chalk streams, Scottish rivers, close season and regulation articles