Monmouth And District Angling Society

Hon’ Secretary, Peter Brundret, turned up this undated ‘Meritorious Catch List’ from his M&DAS archives, reproduced below. In reading it we should bear in mind that in those days, early 1990’s we think, we had no still waters. Only stretches of rivers Monnow and Wye. Regrettably no other details are available.

M & D A S ‘club’ record.                                  Season’s best —   Adult.         Junior.

Barbel.                       8 lbs.                                                                 6 lbs.          4 lbs.
Bleak.                         8 oz.
Bream.                        6 lb 8 oz.                                                         5 lbs.           3 lbs.
Carp.                          12 lbs 8oz.                                                         7 lbs.           4 lbs.
Chub.                          6 lbs 4oz.                                                          5 lbs.           4 lbs.
Dace.                           14 oz.                                                                12 oz.           8 oz.
Eel.                                                                                                         4 lbs.          3 lbs.
Flounder.                2 lb 8oz.                                                               2 lbs.           1 lb.
Grayling.                  2 lb 3oz.                                                              2 lb.            1 lb 8oz.
Perch.                      3 lb, 2oz.                                                             2 lb 8oz.     2 lb.
Pike.                        21 lb, 2oz.                                                            20 lb.          12 lbs.

Roach.                     2 lb, 4 oz.                                                              2 lb.            1 lb, 8 oz.
Sea Trout.               3 lb, 4oz.                                                              4 lbs.           2 lbs.
Twaite Shad.           2 lbs, 2oz.                                                            2 lbs.          1 lb, 8oz.
Tench.                      6 lb, 4o z.                                                             5 lbs.          3 lbs.
Brown Trout.         3 lbs, 10oz.                                                           2 lbs.          1 lb.
Rainbow Trout.    3 lbs.                                                                      2 lb, 8oz.    2 lbs.

Days catch.           106 lbs.                                                                 70 Lbs.         40 lbs.

Perhaps most the most notable record is the tench. So far as I know there have never been any in the Wye and it is most likely that it came from the Pwllholm on the Monnow. Old tales exist of plentiful tench, and other fish, in the slower stretch of the Monnow above the Osbaston Weir, so perhaps there is more than an element of truth is them. How it’s changed today. It still looks good but catches say otherwise.

Has anybody even seen a roach lately?

The decline of the silver fish on most stretches of the River Wye below Ross makes match fishing here a thing of the past but perhaps the small fish will come back like they have on the Severn and the Wye in Hereford. But with all the predation going on, I doubt it.

Peter Hunt.

Chairman.