IT seemed that whilst the rest of the UK was experiencing some very hot weather, here at Llyn Brenig we were enjoying somewhat cooler conditions, writes seasonal ranger JIM JENKINS.

Not for us the sweltering heat, but a nice balmy breeze and for most of the week, a covering of cloud which kept the temperatures down.

That’s not to say that we didn’t enjoy some really pleasant days, as we did, although, fortunately, we escaped the extreme temperatures of continental Europe.

The wind at times was certainly quite strong and that, coupled

with some bright sun shine did, on occasions, make for some rather difficult fishing conditions.

However, once again, we have had a very healthy rod average of 5.1 fish per angler (including fish returned).

The lake once more fished well in a number of places with fish being found near the top of the water and close to the bank.

We have certainly seen an increase in fishermen coming to the Brenig over the last few weeks, drawn by reports of the hard

fighting fish and top quality fishing.

At one stage over the course of the week, the fishermen were lining

the Nant Glyn shore bank like the Terracotta Army!

For bank fishermen, the hot spots have been Nant Glyn shore, the ring of stones, Hafod Lom and the visitors' centre shore.

Boat fishermen have had success along the dam wall, Tower Bay, Hafod Lom and the ring of stones.

With the fish being near to the top of the water, fishing on the dry fly proved to be very successful.

Peter Morris and Mick Reade caught on the dries in the north

end by barrow island.

The biggest fish caught during the course of the week was by Dylan Jones, who landed a 6lbs 4ozs rainbow.

Meanwhile, the biggest bag of the week was recorded by N Roberts, from Ruthin, and it weighed in at 16lbs.

The top flies over the course of the week were coral nymph, hawthorn, heather fly, diawl bach, black gnat, montana, black hopper, sedge, cat’s whiskers, damsel and various blobs and boobies.

During the weekend, a number of fishermen took advantage of the early morning boat initiative and they enjoyed a very successful day.

The early morning is a lovely time of day at the Brenig, particularly at this time of year.

The fish were rising as the sun was rising and the dawn chorus was in full voice as the boats headed off in search of the Holy Grail - or to be more precise, that elusive ‘big un’.

In these times of political uncertainty, when it seems that personal ambition overrides what is in the best interests of our country and that there is the strong possibility that we might have the leader of our country who has little respect for those people that he leads, life can feel quite depressing.

Not only as a country do we face challenging times, but also as a world with the rise of autocratic states and the threat to human

rights, as well as the massive threat facing our environment.

We have to rise to these challenges and make the right decisions about the future.

We also have a mental health crisis in Britain which is getting worse due to societies pressures.

There are some marvellous schemes that are being introduced to tackle the mental health crisis and I am convinced that something like fishing could be very positive way of alleviating stress.

The pleasure that one can get from pursuing an activity that in itself requires concentration and skill, but at the same time involves a sense of repetition and detachment, is an ideal combination for relaxing the mind and driving away the

cares of life.

Tight Lines.