RIVER DEE AT
llandDerfel and bala
River Dee at Bala
The Dee is renowned for its grayling fishing especially in the upper reaches.
BDAA has two beats, one at Bala and one on club owned water at Llandderfel.
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Species present are brown trout, grayling, migrating salmon and sea trout along with minnows, bullhead and loaches. Pike, perch and roach are here in much lesser numbers, mainly at the Bala stretch.
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Llandderfel rules are: fly ( including nymphs//bugs), worm or spinner/lures permitted. No maggots or ground baiting – NRW bye-law.
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Bala beat rules: fly only during salmon season (including nymphs/bugs). Trotting with worm permitted from October 18th until March 2nd. No spinning at any time. No maggots or ground baiting – NRW bye-law.
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Access to Llandderfel beat is convenient from the parking area by the road bridge at Llandderfel.
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Bala beat access is from the road leading to the sewerage at Bala (track by the Tryweryn bridge). Space here for a few cars. Do not block access to sewerage works. Access from the lay by on the A494 near the turning for Llandderfel , approx ¾ mile from Bala in the Corwen direction. Steps give access to the river. Further access is from Aerfen farm where parking is permitted. Enter through the gate opposite the farm entrance and turn left along the rough track. Space for a couple of cars at the end of the track. Do not block the track as it is in constant use. Aerfen is approximately 400yds along the B4401 after the junction with the A494.
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River levels can be checked by referring to NRW gauges here.
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As a rough guide, levels of 0.3M are normal summer levels and fishing for grayling should be best at or around this level. The river is getting fresh at 0.45M and above 0.6M conditions become difficult. Salmon fishermen may favour higher than normal levels. At 1.0M and over the river is unsuitable and may be dangerous. These figures are guides only and NOT recommendations. They are for you to check river conditions before travelling.
River Dee at Llandderfel
LEFT TO RIGHT: Dee at Bala - Map Llanderfel Map - - click maps to Enlarge
LLANDDERFEL BEAT
PHOTOS AND VIDEO
Top Left Photo: Enter parking area between the chevrons. Please leave farm gates clear. Park so as to leave room for other cars. Photos start at top of beat (bridge) and the last photo is at a large pool at the end of the beat.
Spate photo was 0.66 on the Bala gauge. Other photos 0.25 and perfect for fly fishing.
BALA BEAT
RIVER DEE
There are three access points to the Dee beat at Bala. The beat starts downstream of the Bala sluice gates and the confluence with the Afon Tryweryn. The access to the beat is shown on the map (linked further up this page), via a left turn off the A494 immediately before Pont y Bala. The access road runs alongside the Tryweryn which although canalised is a good grayling water. Park anywhere on the grass verge without blocking any gates etc. At the end of the track is the Sewerage Plant. There is plenty of space to park on the right. DO NOT block or drive down the unmade track as the gates are sometimes closed. There is no vehicular access to the field.
Take care climbing the stile - the cross bar is quite high for anyone under 6', and there is barbed wire and large nails so be careful! From the sewerage works it's a walk of 300 yards to the top of the beat.
There is deep water above and below the monitoring station (no fishing +/- 20m of the weir) and a good pool above it, in the run below the top of the beat. Lower down a long section has large boulders placed by NRW. The river bed is mainly gravel here and wading is OK at the right river level. These photos were taken with the Bala gauge at 0.253m. Good grayling water according to our guide.
There are plenty of gated access points along the bank. remember it's double bank here so wade across if you can to try both banks, especially lower where there is more tree cover on the left bank.
When you reach this stile, and wooden bridge the river deepens slightly with good tree cover. The next stile gives good access to very wadable water and at this point you are only two fields from the main road, where the river takes a right hand bend.
Have a look at the drone video it'll be much clearer.
During our visit Scott met a Bala member who said many anglers use the layby parking area on the A494 to access the beat rather than the Pont y Bala access. Personal preference but perhaps this mid section of the beat has better fly water and more tree cover for the fish?
We didn't have time to walk the middle and lower part of the beat so if any members does explore that part of the river please take a few photos and let us know how you got on.
The river at this point where it's close to the road is wadable if the Bala gauge is around 0.3m or less. It looks like a deep pool on the corner.
To find the final parking area for the lower part of the beat, take the Llandderfel turning. You'll see the entrance to the parking area on the right opposite a white farmhouse.
Plenty of parking space. Do not block the field gate.
Well you've made it this far, scrolling down the page - here's the drone footage. We hope you enjoy exploring the River Dee here and at Llandderfel, and all the other waters available to Rhyl & St Asaph members in the area.