"The Coch are UP"

The Coch y Bonddu beetle has just started hatching in the bracken covered uplands of Wales.This is a  fairly large beetle with black body and a hard irridescent brown wing cover. It is the first major fly hatch of the summer and we fishermen see these beetles as the equivalent of the chalk stream Mayflies. Wild brown trout can be turned on to these beetles to the exclusion of any other food. Once the cry" The Coch are up" and you will see us heading to the upland lakes like the Elan Valleys, The Brecon Beacons and the Blaenau Mountains. Its wild camping for the next few weeks for me and my mates.