Fishing the River Towy

The River Towy ('Tywi' in Welsh) is undoubtedly the best sea trout ('sewin') river in the country. Good runs begin in the spring and escallate with the high tides of May and June and continue into the autumn.

Many double-figure sea trout are caught annually and those caught before June are usually over five pounds. The annual declared catch has averaged over 4,000 sea trout and around 500 salmon for the past ten years.

In early May the river also has a small run of spring salmon which are followed by summer fish in July. Grilse enter the Towy in early August before the main run of autumn salmon start to appear in September.

Most sewin are taken on a fly at night when the water is clear, although fish can be taken on smaller wet flies during the day too. Daytime spinning (and worming on beats where this is permitted) can be very effective when the water is coloured.

The 70 miles of river flows from Llyn Brianne Reservoir, north of Llandovery, to its estuary south of Carmarthen, where there is a long tidal stretch. The prime fishing can be found in the middle reaches downstream of Llandeilo to Nantgaredig, just below the River Cothi (the Towy's largest tributary). This section of almost 15 miles mainly comprises the Abercothi and Golden Grove beats.

Sea trout are also know as sewin in Wales