Day of the Mojito at Tan-Y-Mynydd Trout Fishery

Day of the Mojito at Tan-Y-Mynydd Trout Fishery

I am lucky to live only a few minutes from the very picturesque Tan-Y-Mynydd. I had some amazing evenings in the summer fishing dry flies into the dark. This was my first visit of the winter I only had a couple of hours but I couldn’t of picked a better day for it. A cold morning with blue skies and sun and a light breeze perfect winter conditions. A very warm welcome from Martin and some top tips on what spots were fishing well. Its always good to speak with rangers or owners when arriving at the fishery to get the most up to date information on what’s currently working. Tan-Y-Mynydd is spring fed and the water is crystal clear with a healthy amount of weed and depths to about 14 feet. I decided to start on top lake and I had set 2 rods up, The loop 7 X 10 foot for 7 with the Airflo Superflo floater and the indicator and a Mojito Egg set at 4-foot leader, choice was Airflo G3 6lb. The other Rod was the Ariflo Super Stik 2, 10 foot for 7 on this I set up a fast glass and my new favourite small water fly the Olive red tag worm, leader choice was again Airflo G3 6lb.

I started on the indicator and there was a few fish moving which was very encouraging. I started off casting on the edge of the weed bed which is always a good targeting point. With no interest I gradually cast further to cover the water in front of me. There was one other fisher on the lake and he had no luck either so far. About 30 yds in front of me is an island. In the summer this really did hold the fish and I had some great dry fly sport here so I decided to target this area with the first cast landing just short of the island. I let the wind slowly blow my indicator along the island and after about 25 second the indicator disappeared with a quick strike, there was no resistance the first missed fish. The wind was now getting up a little and the light was making it hard to see the indicator but after a few more casts and a few missed takes I manged to hook my first fish. After a very spirited fight I had a fin perfect rainbow in the net taken on the Mojito Egg. 

After a few more cats the wind was making it difficult to fish the indicator and I was missing a few fish so it was time for a change. Switching to the fast glass and olive worm casting a full line past the island I let the line sink for 10 seconds before starting a very short sharp retire doing very fast 6-inch pulls creating lots of movement in the worm that the trout seem to love. The takes are very aggressive and I do really enjoy this style of fishing in the winter. First cast half back and I had a very hard take and the first fish was hooked on the worm. This was the best fish of the day a fully fined rainbow of about 2 and half pound. Due to the fishery mainly being catch and release the quality of the fish is amazing perfect proportions and fully finned trout. After covering lots of different parts of the lake I was surprised not to get any more takes. A change was needed, as happens now again and I got a lucky fish winding in another cracking rainbow. The wind had eased and there were now a few fish rising. I decided to try the MM (Mojito Mitten). 

I set this again at 4 foot but I also put a size 12 silver vicar buzzer a foot under the indicator. After a few casts the indicator disappeared and I was into fish number 4 this time it had taken the buzzer. This fish was a lovely long lean fish with a great tail. I managed another 2 fish both falling to the MM before I decided on having a move.

I headed down to deep pool where martin had suggested may be a good spot for some Blue trout. Spending about 30 mins here trying lots of different fly’s and methods for only the odd pull. I moved onto Farm pool, the weather was now changing the blue skies had now gone dark. A long cast down the middle of farm on the fast glass with the olive red tag worm and as I was counting down the line went tight and fish number 7 was hooked. After a dogged fight I netted a beautiful out of season brown trout with red spots dotted all the way down its side. With the weather now changing and rain starting I thought it was a good time to call it a day. Only a short 2 and half hour session but what great fun and just the right amount of time to be out fishing on a cold day. 

Over the last 2 months I have been really impressed with both rods the Loop 7X being at the top end of the market and a real good casting rod but also being great for playing fish, and the Airflo being a real affordable option. If you’re looking for a new rod, I would strongly recommend looking at both. Over the last month I have also been doing some bespoke fly orders for people so if you need something a bit special like the MM or a fly of your choice please drop us a message.

https://theflyshop.co.uk/small-still-waters