Tonlas Evans is the Honorary Secretary of Llandysul Angling Association which owns 28 miles of the river. He describes the route of the river that dominates the Ceredigion landscape:
"What a magnificent river! Flowing some seventy-five miles from a source 1500 feet up in the Cambrian Mountains to its estuary at Cardigan, the Teifi, Queen of Rivers, is both wild and wonderful.
Tripping over shallow riffles, roaring through white-water gorges, cascading over thundering waterfalls, drifting lazily through dark pools flanked by lush pastures - in its diversity of scenery and wildlife, the Teifi fully deserves the description unique. The river begins its journey at Llyn Teifi, one of five natural lakes that make up Teifi Pools. The lakes abound with wild brown trout, most weighing less than a pound but there is just the occasional surprise to add sparkle to a day's fishing.
The upper Teifi commands a prominent place in the history of Wales. Strata Florida Abbey - some of the arches of this twelfth-century abbey are still standing - is the burial place of no less than a dozen Princes of Ceredigion and Deheubarth (south-west Wales).
Today the ruins of Strata Florida Abbey are a focal point for historians and tourist visitors. The mediaeval bard Dafydd ap Gwilym is also said to have been buried in the grounds of the abbey.
Past Strata Florida and on down through the village of Pontrhydfendigaid (Bridge of the Blessed Ford), the Teifi is a small, fast-flowing stream with great scenic beauty but rather modest fish populations compared with those of forty years ago.
Fortunately, work is now in progress to try to restore to the upper Teifi its once famous wild brown trout. Tregaron Angling Club controls much of the fishing on the upper reaches of the Teifi as well as on Teifi Pools and the nearby Llyn Berwyn For many years Tregaron A C has been stocking the upper river with brown trout, and latterly native Teifi fish have been reared for this purpose.
With help from Environment Agency Wales, the two other large angling clubs on the Teifi - Llandysul A A and Teifi Trout Association - are also involved in restoring the indigenous trout populations. For some years, Llandysul A A reared Teifi-native trout in their own hatchery, while the other clubs stocked with fish reared at Llynyfan Hatchery in the neighbouring Towy catchment. Nowadays the emphasis has move to habitat improvement work and trying to avoid farm pollution - in particular sheep dip chemicals - that kills off insect life and in some instances is also toxic to fish.
It was at Lampeter, in the late 1980s, that Llandysul A A carried out a major tree-planting programme to help stabilise the eroding river banks and, at the same time, to increase the habitat diversity of the river. Many of the trees are nearing maturity, and now they are able to fend for themselves without the need for the protective fencing that has saved them from being eaten by cattle and sheep. The fences should remain, however, because they ensure that marginal vegetation can flourish, and without this the river would lose valuable insect habitat. These 'buffer strips', as they are termed, also act as filters and limit the amount of soil and farm chemicals entering the river during heavy rain.
Llandysul A A has several other fisheries along the meandering Teifi between Lampeter and Llanybydder. Here the deep pools and sparkling riffles, interspersed with ranunculus- and starwort-rich glides provide ideal habitat for trout, sea trout and salmon.
Soon after leaving Llanybydder, the river thunders through the rocky gorge of Maesycrugiau. The old church looks down from its knoll above dense woodland that lines the river above Maesycrugiau Bridge (Pontllwni). Thereafter, the Teifi retains this moody nature: miles of calm meanders and pool-riffle sequences interrupted by narrow gorges at Llandysul, Pentrecwrt, Henllan, Newcastle Emlyn and Cenarth.
Llandysul itself is on the right (Ceredigion) bank of the Teifi, while its sister village of Pontweli sits on the Carmarthenshire bank below Llandysul Bridge. A fine riverside park and playing field facility, plus a thriving village hall, make Llandysul a natural centre for recreational activities.
Apart from Llandysul Angling Association there is an active cricket club in the village and a canoe club based on the white-water slalom course at Pont Tyweli.
Llandysul Angling Association owns most of the fishing rights both upstream and downstream of Llandysul village, and this productive section of the river has contributed much to the Teifi's reputation as Wales's premier all-round game fishery. Thirty years ago there was excellent trout fishing on the Teifi between Lampeter and Tregaron. Nowadays most of the resident brown trout have disappeared from the upper reaches, and so it is mainly to Maesycrugiau and Llanfihangel-ar-Arth that club members turn for the best of the trout fishing. Early in the season, March brown and grannom hatches are usually dense in this region, while during the more difficult dog days of summer the great diversity of aquatic and terrestrial insect life provides a challenge to anyone keen on matching the hatch.
The varied nature of the river in the Llandysul area means that you can see a wide variety of wildlife without having to travel far. Within a mile of the village, there are pools more than twenty feet deep, white-water narrows, tree-lined glides, and rippling crystal shallows where the Teifi skips through rich green pastures. Otters, kingfishers and dippers add sparkle to a day beside the river - but more of that later.
Along the ten miles of river from Llandysul through Pentrecwrt and Pentrecagal - the latter was the scene of a skirmish during the Rebecca Riots - and on down to Newcastle Emlyn, the club has five more fisheries, each with its own unique personality and distinctive scenery. The old bridge and mill above Alltcafan Gorge, near Pentrecwrt, provide an austere backdrop to one of Llandysul A A's most productive salmon fishing beats.
Spectacular falls at Cenarth provide an opportunity for people to watch salmon and sea trout leaping as they make their way up the River Teifi. Most of the fish run at night, and so around dusk is usually a good time to see this migration spectacle.
When the Teifi is in full spate, every part of the lovely bridge at Llechryd, four miles downstream from Newcastle Emlyn, disappears under water and the main A484 road to Cardigan is closed to traffic."
Article by Tonlas Evans
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