Club News

Next Working Party	Sunday 20th July 2025 - 9:30 am
Quarterly Committee Meeting	Monday 6th October 2025 - 7:30 pm

Sunday Working Parties

More excellent work was carried out by the Work Party on Sunday 6th July 2025. This time only 3 Club members were involved as a number of the regular volunteers were unavailable. Maintenance work was carried out on the section of our waters from Kingfisher Corner up towards Gresford Weir. Sean used the hedge cutter to trim the foot path from the stile at the top of the Sheepfield along behind the Water Treatment Works and then swapped over to the Pole Saw to remove some limbs overhanging the river. Clive and David used Weed Slashers to cut down the large amounts of Himalayan Balsam along the banks on this section. The final focus was on Kingfisher Corner where all 3 workers laboured hard to level the thick stands of balsam. A good team effort once again.

The river was badly impacted by the storms and floods of 2024 into 2025.  It will be interesting to find out how the changes have impacted the fish stocks and where the fish holding spots are. A lot of improvements have already been made and the river is recovering. Please be careful if you wade upstream of Llay Road Bridge as there are several very deep pools in particular above the island and above the Two Bridges.

The Work Parties continue fortnightly. The Club is dependent upon volunteers giving up their time to assist otherwise the river will soon become overgrown and unfishable. More help is always welcome on a Sunday morning - specialist skills are not required! The next Work Party is on Sunday 20th July at 9:30.
 

The Dog Days of Summer arrived early this year. Fishing has been quite limited in recent weeks due to the generally dry and warm conditions. The river had been low until 14th June when rain caused quite a significant lift to 0.515 on the Pont y Capel gauge. Since then the river has fallen back and was at 0.195 on Friday 4th July. Conditions were very warm in the Alyn Valley in the 3rd week of June with temperatures in the high 20s. Although the temperatures are now more like the seasonal average rain is very much needed. Rain did arrive on the morning of 6th July and the level rose to 0.358 which was a welcome flush through of the river. More rain was forecast for 15th July and this promised much but only raised the level to 0.259. Grayling came back into season on 16th June and it will be interesting to see how quickly this species reappears in catch reports. Our stretch of the River Alyn has a very good head of Grayling and fish over 2lbs. have been caught in the past. 
 
Parking and river access at September Cottage. The access track from the B5373 down to September Cottage has a new smooth compacted surface as does the parking area. This is a big improvement and much appreciated. Please note that there is no access to the river through the garden of September Cottage. There is a clear sign below the house name stating - " Private Garden. No access to the River Alyn". Fishing access to the river is by foot through the metal field gate to the left of the parking area.

Please keep a close eye on the river for any signs of possible pollution or changes that do not seem to be normal. If you see any suspected incidents of pollution then report the event to NRW via their online Report an incident system which is very simple to use. You can also call NRW to report an incident on 0300 065 3000 which is a 24 hours a day number. This information is contained in the Club Rules and yet even when the river has been polluted and witnessed some members have seemed reluctant to report incidents. We all have a duty to report.
Please report any suspected poaching to NRW who do take these matters seriously.

Sunday 20th July 2025 is the next scheduled Work Party and we will meet just downstream of Llay Road Bridge at 9:30 am.

David Meadows (Chairman)

Members who fish, or even walk upstream from the Llay road bridge  will have noticed a large hill of timber which appearred almost over night on the area known by some, as the 'cabbage patch'! This timber is the accumulation of trees, branches and even a fence, pushed and tipped there by the riparian owner after most of it had come from wind debris and the two crack willow trees that had produced a major blockage at Flame Corner. Removing  both trees from the river and cutting another which had fallen into the field had been done for us some weeks ago by a contractor, most efficiently, and then removed by the farmer so he could plant yet another maize crop, now done and growing well! The completion of the major work has been a relief but it has meant additional work for our bank gang and Flame Corner perhaps needs a new name.
Clubs upstream of us are still struggling to repair banks and remove obstructions, the Wrexham club receiving some help from the Dee Trust and Bradley are waiting to see if their plight can be eased by Wrexham Council lending a hand.
 

Recycle Hub

A Recycle Hub has been set up on the Club forum.

The purpose of the hub is for members to recycle any old fishing or fly-tying equipment that that might be useful to other members who are either just starting out or wanting to try something without having to commit to buying it new at full price; or just to generously pass on something that is no longer of use to someone who might benefit from it for a small donation.

Funds raised will be utilised at a later date to introduce some local young people to fly fishing, fly tying and the river itself.

The hub is for Club members only and registration is required in order to access the forum. Please contact us via the E-Mail us page for any forum registration queries.

Please read the “Welcome to the recycle hub.” thread on the forum.

The forum can be accessed here

Newsletters

The latest newsletter is now available. Previous newsletters are also available.

Welsh Dee Trust Survey

The Welsh Dee Trust are undertaking a brand survey to establish people’s perception of them. This is to help them investigate the perception and to consider how they should move forward. If you would like to take part in the survey, then click on the link below

Welsh Dee Trust Survey