This Carboniferous limestone river. Atlantic salmon are under serious conservation pressure — Natural Resources Wales mandates catch-and-release for salmon on all rivers, so all fish must be returned. The Loughor is the short one with the big estuary — a relatively brief river that punches above its weight on sewin and carries a useful late-season salmon run. Pontarddulais AA holds five miles of fishing on a single fifteen-pound all-species day ticket. The estuary above Llanelli holds back the run; when fish come, they come in numbers. Night sea-trout tactics dominate from June onwards.

• Carboniferous limestone