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Fishing byelaws, seasons and fly hatches of the Teifi Valley

Rising in the Cambrian Mountains some 2000 feet above sea level, the River Teifi is 75 miles long and drains a catchment of more than 400 square miles. This prolific river flows through some of the most scenic of Welsh countryside.

From its source at Llyn Teifi the river flows south-westerly, falling rapidly over the first six miles of its seaward journey. Leaving Pontrhydfendigaid the river meanders across a broad flood plain, passing through Tregaron Bog, a massive aquifer that bolsters what would otherwise be a much more 'flashy' river.

Spring trout fishing on the Teifi

After Tregaron the gradient becomes more gentle, although the pool and riffle sequence is broken in places by spectacular waterfalls and rushing gorges. The Teifi has a relatively short tidal section, characterised by a steep, rocky gorge at Cilgerran.

Historically the Teifi has always been a noted salmon river, with a small but significant commercial fishery in its lower reaches. In recent years it has gained a reputation as a world-class sea trout river.

Sea-trout fishing at Llandysul

Llandysul Angling Association has some 30 miles of fishing on the lower, middle and upper Teifi. There are also three other angling clubs and a small selection of private fisheries on the river, as well as stillwaters fisheries and two reservoirs within a short drive of the Teifi Valley.

There are no coarse fisheries on the River Teifi, although pike are sometimes caught in Cors Caron, near Tregaron; however, coarse anglers have some good stillwaters to choose from in and around the Teifi Valley.

Sea fishing around the Teifi Estuary, from rock marks and storm beaches is also very good, and charter boats operate from local ports and harbours, offering trips for inshore and wreck fishing.

Local byelaws
Fishing is not permitted in the immediate vicinity of Cenarth Falls. The downstream limits are 60 yards (right bank) and 50 yards (left bank) below the falls, and the upstream limits are 30 yards (left bank) and 60 yards (right bank) above the falls.

Season dates and methods
Salmon and sea trout fishing season using bait, spinner or fly is allowed from 1 April to 7 October; fly and spinner only are permitted thereafter until 17 October.

Trout fishing on the upper Teifi above Lampeter Bridge opens on 3 March. Elsewhere, trout fishing is from 1 April to 30 September except for downstream of Llechryd Bridge (just above the tidal reaches), where the start of the season is delayed until 31 May.

Fly hatches
The Teifi has some very good fly hatches, and on occasion it can be important to match the hatch fairly closely. March brown, hawthorn, grannom, mayfly, yellow May, blue-winged olive dun, sherry spinner, Kite's imperial and a small red sedge will cover most situations. Pale wateries hatch in good numbers from mid-summer onwards on the middle and upper Teifi in particular, and trout will generally accept a light olive dun or a Tup's Indispensable at such times.

Rod catches
Before 1920, sea trout were rarely reported from this river, but since World War II the size of the sea trout catch has risen progressively and in recent years has hovered between 3000 and 5000. Today the Teifi is arguably the best mixed (salmon, trout and sea trout) game river in Wales. The rod catch return  for 2004 was approx. 1200 salmon and 4300 sea trout. The latest catch results for our fisheries on the River Teifi are published each season in our newsletter Current Affairs.

Note: Please check the Environment Agency Wales latest edition byelaws booklet before you go fishing, as changes may have occurred since our information was last updated.

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