Usk Reservoir

Reservoir · Fresh water · in Inland Wales

An upland reservoir in the upper Usk valley in the Brecon Beacons, surrounded by forest and moorland, with wild brown trout and stocked rainbows; the western end is fly only.

Safety: cold water shock — can cause serious injury or death (general advice, not specific to this place).

What each one does, and what reduces it ↓

FishingHQ describes what this place is, not whether you may fish it. Access, permits and who to ask.

What you can catch here

Documented at this place, grouped by how you would be fishing, with how strongly the sources support each one. This is what has been written down, not a forecast, and being listed is never permission to fish.

From the shore · 2

Brown troutRegular local target1 placeUsk ReservoirOver reservoirAround Mar–Oct
Photo: Robermix, via Wikimedia Commons, CC0; resized and trimmed to fit
Rainbow troutRegular local target1 placeUsk ReservoirOver reservoir
Photo: Jonathunder, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; resized and trimmed to fit; shared under the same licence

What these strengths mean

Regular local target: Fishing sources describe this as a normal local target here, not merely as caught.
How breadth is counted: A fish documented at six marks is shown as six marks: breadth never raises the strength on its own. A fishery account describes the fishing; a recorded catch reports one specific catch. How evidence is weighed.

How people fish it

Practised here: Fly fishing, Lure fishing.

Methods the sources name for this ground. Each one is explained in full on its own page.

Stillwater fly fishing
Fly fishing without current, where the angler supplies every movement and the problem becomes finding fish rather than presenting to them.
Spinning
Casting an artificial lure and retrieving it so that it moves like something alive — the most direct form of lure fishing.

Baits and lures for these fish

The baits and lures each of the fish above is commonly taken on, from that fish’s own page. This is what works for the fish, not a report of what people use on this particular water — local knowledge and the conditions on the day still decide.

Baits

Maggots — for Brown trout

Lures

Dry flies — for Brown trout, Rainbow trout
Nymphs — for Brown trout, Rainbow trout
Streamers — for Brown trout, Rainbow trout
Spinners — for Rainbow trout
Terrestrial fly patterns — for Brown trout
Wet flies — for Brown trout

How to catch them: Brown trout fishing

The ground and the water

The ground: An upland reservoir in the upper Usk valley in the Brecon Beacons, surrounded by forest and moorland, with wild brown trout and stocked rainbows; the western end is fly only.

Getting there

What public sources describe, last checked 2026-10-23. Car parks fill, services change and a path existing is not a path anybody may use — none of this is a guarantee of availability and none of it is permission to be anywhere.

Getting to it: In the upper Usk valley in the Brecon Beacons, west of Brecon. Tickets are sold through the Wye & Usk Foundation's Fishing Passport; buy before fishing. The page gives no parking or directions.

Where this access information comes from

Usk Reservoir — The Wye & Usk Foundation (Fishing Passport) (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: The ticket route and the fishing rules.States this directlyPassage read and verified

Through the year

Rainbows are stocked through the season, the ticket page says; it gives the daily hours but not the opening date.

Safety

Cold water shock — Can cause serious injury or death

General safety for this kind of ground, not a finding about this place.

Water around these islands stays cold enough all year to trigger cold water shock — involuntary gasping and hyperventilation on sudden immersion, which can cause somebody to inhale water in the first seconds regardless of swimming ability.

What reduces it: Wear a buoyancy aid where immersion is credible. If immersed, float on your back until the initial response passes rather than trying to swim immediately.

Rules and access

Licence

A rod licence is required for freshwater rod fishing in Wales — the same licence as England's, bought through GOV.UK. Natural Resources Wales regulates the fisheries.

Permission to fish

Separate. Fishing rights are held by clubs, associations, riparian owners or navigation authorities, and the licence does not grant access to any water.

Particular to this water: The ticket page, read on 23 October 2026: fly, spinning and worm only, and no Power Bait or anything like it; the western end is fly only. All brown trout must be returned alive. No fishing from the dam face, the overflow, the feeder streams or the conservation area on the north bank. Lead weights from no. 8 shot to 1 oz are prohibited. There is no boat fishing for now because of maintenance works near the dam, expected to finish in late spring 2026. Fishing from 8 am until half an hour after sunset or 9 pm.

Beyond what is stated above, FishingHQ does not know the current access position here. Freshwater rod fishing in Wales requires a current rod licence AND separate permission from whoever controls the fishing, which is frequently a club, riparian owner or navigation authority rather than a public body. Close seasons, byelaws and local rules apply and change. Check with Natural Resources Wales and with the controlling club or owner before going.

Who holds the answer:

Natural Resources Wales, for close seasons, byelaws and fisheries regulation in Wales; the rod licence is the England and Wales one, bought through GOV.UK.
The club, association or riparian owner that controls the fishing.
Natural Resources Wales, for close seasons, method restrictions and fisheries regulation in Wales.
GOV.UK, through which the England and Wales rod licence is bought.
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, which owns the reservoirs it opens to anglers, and the fishery that sells each one's ticket.
The club, association or owner that controls the fishing on a river.
Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water, which owns the reservoir; the ticket is sold by the fishery named on this page, and an England and Wales rod licence is needed as well.

Nearby fishing

Other publicly documented places within about 40 km, by distance. Positions are approximate public geography and are never exact marks.

Beacons Reservoir — 10–25 km · Reservoir
The Towy at Llandeilo — 10–25 km · River reach
Llwyn-onn Reservoir — 10–25 km · Reservoir
Talybont Reservoir — 25–40 km · Reservoir
The Teifi at Lampeter — 25–40 km · River reach
The Elan Valley reservoirs — 25–40 km · Reservoir
Aberavon Sands — 25–40 km · Surf beach
Swansea West Pier — 25–40 km · Pier

Usk Reservoir and the publicly documented places around it. Approximate positions, not marks. On a narrow screen the plot is wider than the screen and scrolls sideways inside its frame. Positions are approximate by design — they are capped at about a hundred metres and describe where a named public place is, not where fish are and not a mark. Everything plotted here is also listed below.

Sources for this place

Usk Reservoir — The Wye & Usk Foundation (Fishing Passport) (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: The reservoir's fish, rules and ticket route this season.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Fishing the Reservoirs of Wales: Your Guide — Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water (Local authority, harbour or protected-area body)Relied on for: That Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water owns this reservoir and opens it to anglers.States this directlyPassage read and verified
Buy a rod fishing licence — GOV.UK (Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales) (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: That a rod licence, bought through GOV.UK, is needed to fish in Wales from age 13.States this directlyPassage read and verified

How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy. Last reviewed 2026-10-23.

Something wrong or out of date?

If something on this page has changed, email us from your own account using the link that fits, with a link to where you saw the change if you can. Every report is checked by a person before anything is changed, and a report never appears on the site by itself. Please don’t send exact private marks.

Before you go

Fish documented here: 2 at this place itself. See them.
Getting there: Described from public sources, last checked 2026-10-23. Getting there.
Rules particular to this water: The ticket page, read on 23 October 2026: fly, spinning and worm only, and no Power Bait or anything like it; the western end is fly only. All brown trout must be returned alive. No fishing from the dam face, the overflow, the feeder streams or the conservation area on the north bank. Lead weights from no. 8 shot to 1 oz are prohibited. There is no boat fishing for now because of maintenance works near the dam, expected to finish in late spring 2026. Fishing from 8 am until half an hour after sunset or 9 pm. Dated: The Wye & Usk Foundation (Fishing Passport) and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water and GOV.UK (Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales). Whether it still applies is not established. Applies to: Usk Reservoir.
Nothing here is watched for change. Sources and who to ask.
Hazards particular to this place: None recorded for this place; the hazards of the wider coast or water still apply.

Check before you travel

Whether you may fish here, and whether a licence or permit is needed — start with Natural Resources Wales.
Who holds the fishing right on the water you mean to fish.
Anything recorded here was true when it was read; it is not watched for change.

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