Stillwater · Ordovician Volcanics · Wales / Snowdonia (Ardudwy, Rhinogydd foothills)

Llyn Cwm Nantcol

Llyn Cwm Nantcol terrain map

Cwm Nantcol sits at the head of one of Ardudwy's quieter valleys, tucked under the Rhinogydd where the road gives out and the walking begins.

Fair · Trout
Minkie · 6-10
Fairlive now
Sedge evening rise expected on Llyn Cwm Nantcol
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
64% confidence

Llyn Cwm Nantcol is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindN 21 km/hModerate breeze
Today's fly
Minkie
Minkie6-10
Retrieve, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Estimate
Wind
Moderate breeze
N 21 km/h
N
N
from the north
Wave40 cm chop
Water temp
Air temp14°C
CloudClear
Pressure1026 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

No gauge on this water — readings are regional estimates from weather, not a live gauge.

How to fish it · for Trout
When
The sedge is on. Daddy Longlegs may also come into play as the day warms. The ripple is helpful — fish should move onto the feed and a slow-drifted team or single wet will cover water well. The breeze will be blowing terrestrial insects onto the water — check the wind lanes and downwind margins for rising fish.
Where
Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. Keep a sedge-style dry or emerger on a short leader for the evening rise. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.
The plan
Plan A

Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point. Keep a sedge-style dry or emerger on a short leader for the evening rise. In the ripple, a bushy searching dry (Hopper, Shipman's, Elk Hair Caddis) outperforms flush emergers — it stays visible and holds the surface tension.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Heather FlyHatch
2
2
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Claret DunHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Trout fly box
Bays & launches · 1
Day ticket via Artro & Talsarnau AAAccess varies
Remote Rhinogydd valley lake holding stocked rainbows and wild browns — the least recently updated of the association's waters, so confirm it's still active before the drive up.
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What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
64%
Cloud25%
Wind65%
Temp100%

A reasonable day here, though cloud isn't quite in the sweet spot.

Other water nearby · 5
About this water

Cwm Nantcol sits at the head of one of Ardudwy's quieter valleys, tucked under the Rhinogydd where the road gives out and the walking begins. The lake holds both stocked rainbows and a resident head of wild browns — though this is the least recently updated of the Artro & Talsarnau waters, more a listing that hasn't been revisited than one that's been dropped. Worth a call to the club before the drive up. If it's still running, it's the kind of place you fish as much for the walk in and the silence as for the catching, which up here has always been most of the point anyway.

  • Lake
  • Ordovician volcanics
Why this score
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
  • Sedge is in its seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
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