Freestone Rivers
	The Teifi, Wales
	The Towy, Wales
	The Usk, Wales
	The Till, England
	The South Esk, Scotland
	The Don, Scotland

The U.K.'s greatest spate or freestone rivers rise in Wales to the west, in the far north of England, and in Scotland. They fall into two categories: those that provide sport largely with resident wild browns and those that, in addition, provide sport with sea trout (sea-run browns that are also known locally as sewin, peel and finnock). These same rivers also often have runs of Atlantic salmon, but salmon fishing is a separate subject. Tactics for resident browns are downstream wet fly and upstream nymph and dry fly. Small flies and larger lures, fished on the surface or under, mostly from dusk onward, will take the sea-goers. Local seasons vary, but typically run from March to October. Prices on good waters are typically #15 to #25 per day.

The Teifi
	Wales

The Teifi, Wales
The Teifi rises in the Cambrian mountains and is one of the U.K.'s finest and most prolific game-fishing rivers. Salmon are commonplace. Its resident wild browns are not large but they are plentiful; two-pound fish turn up and fish up to four-plus pounds are taken every year. There are some heavy hatches of fly. The fishing for sea-run browns is spectacular. A reasonable year's run will contain around 20,000 fish with an average weight of over four pounds. The 4,000 fish typically falling to rods average between two and three pounds. Fly methods as described above. Good base: Cardigan.

The Towy
	Wales

The Towy, Wales
This famous river, complete with its spectacularly beautiful (though in places dangerous) tributary the Cothi and the Cothi's smaller cousin, the Gwili, provides world-class flyfishing from the beginning of the season to the end. The Towy holds both resident browns and beefy salmon, but is most famous for its sea-run browns, which every year run to 15-plus pounds. These great fish get into the lower main system as early as April. By midsummer, numbers are boosted by heavy runs of fish to three and four pounds. A fresh run of smaller fish and a sprinkling of fresh-run big fish liven things up in September. Useful base: Carmarthen.

The Usk
	Wales

The Usk, Wales
The Usk flows through one of the U.K.'s great beauty spots, the Breacon Beacon mountains, into the Bristol Channel. It is probably the most prolific salmon river in Wales and it gets sea-run browns. But it is most famous for its dry flyfishing for resident browns. Sizes are in the same class as those in the Teifi. It is the regularity and diversity of its fly hatches that make the river so popular—and a dry fly angler's delight. They start early, with often dense spring hatches of March Brown bringing every fish in the river to the surface. Heavy hatches of Yellow Sally will relieve hot summer days. Hatches of caddis will bring up not only the resident browns but also their big sea-run cousins in the dusk. Good base: Abergavenny.

The Till
	England

Berwick makes a good base for fishing on the Till

The Till, England
The Till is a tributary of the Tweed, the famous salmon river that marks the boundary between England and Scotland. Like its Welsh counterparts, the Till is beautiful, has creditable fishing for resident browns, some salmon, perhaps the biggest grayling in the whole of the British Isles—and first-class fishing for sea-run browns. Like the Towy fish, the Till sea trout can run before the snow is off the banks. The cream of the fishing comes in June and July, with the arrival of the main sea trout run. The best water overall is the 17 miles between Wooler and the Till's confluence with the Tweed. Same tactics as in Wales. Good base: Berwick.

The South Esk
	Scotland

The South Esk, Scotland
There are lots of Esks in northern England and Scotland—the word"Esk" means water—and this Esk is one of the smaller ones, tipping into the North Sea in the Montrose Basin. It is just 22 miles long, flows through beautiful countryside, has excellent salmon fishing, and can provide spectacular sport with sea-run browns. In general, Scottish sea trout are smaller than those found in Wales—the South Esk's fish average two to three pounds—but there are plenty of them and plenty of heavier fish to be had. As in most places in Scotland, a permit for fishing on the South Esk is much easier to obtain by the week than the day. And as everywhere with sea trout fishing, daytime reconnaissance before nighttime fishing pays off. Good base: Brechin.

The Don
	Scotland

The Don, Scotland
The Aberdeenshire Don is perhaps the finest wild resident-brown-trout stream in the U.K. and, unusual for Scotland, most of the river is available to visitors by the day or the week. It is a relatively sedate affair, mostly flowing through idyllic countryside. The Don has salmon and sea-run browns, but aficionados are attracted by its dry flyfishing for residents. Fish of over three pounds are not uncommon, and leviathans of double that size and more have been taken. Useful base: Inverurie.

Editor's Note: To get more information on U.K. fishing, visit these helpful sites:

Fish and Fly
Flyfish U.K.
go-fish.co.uk
Fishing in Wales

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