Welcome to the Groe Park and Irfon Angling Club

(GPIAC) located in the ancient market town of Builth Wells.

The GPIAC is blessed with a wonderful variety of excellent fishing – both Game and Coarse. Salmon, Trout, Grayling and Chub are abundant. We control over two miles of double and single bank fishing on the Wye and a mile of fishing on its tributary, the Irfon. Combined, these rivers offer a range of water types; from deep rocky pools to gravel flats. There is usually good fishing to be found somewhere on the club’s water whatever its flow height.

The Salmon fishing relies on high water to bring the fish up the river. When the Wye was a noted Spring river, high water (at any time of the year) would bring fish up; but in recent times the latter half of the season offers best potential to connect with a fish. On all but the highest water, the fly is the best option and modern Salmon fishing techniques are making more and more of the club’s water productive.

With respect to Trout and Grayling, these are catchable throughout the year and one can pursue them in a variety of ways: Czech Nymphing in the Winter; to Wet fly in the Spring; and to Dry fly when they are rising. Sustained very cold weather will drive the grayling into the deepest parts of the pools (often beyond the reach of the Czech Nymph) at which time it is the turn of the long trotting rod. We ask that trout fishermen don’t get too sniffy about people throwing maggots into the water in the Winter – they are after all, feeding up your trout for the Spring! That is when the March Browns start hatching, closely followed by the large Spring Olives and the sometimes phenomenal hatches of Grannoms. This is the time when the fish start putting on weight in earnest, ready for those beautiful Summer evening hatches that fly fishermen dream about! The Grayling do perform their annual disappearance act sometime in April or May, in readiness for their reappearance in June – to provide us with wonderfu sport.l

Chub are always willing to put in an appearance when you throw some food in their direction and the Chub seem to get bigger each subsequent year. Many years ago a four pound Chub was a very good one indeed, but now this size is less exceptional. Meanwhile the winter grayling can provide some spectacular sport too; with fish over two pounds by no means uncommon.The Dace are an enigma – some years there are literally hundreds and other years anglers crowd around someone cooing “Look. It’s a Dace.” After the crash in the mid eighties they disappeared for about 17 years then gradually became more and more numerous but seem to have faded recently. Perhaps they will be back this winter.

We hope this introduction to the GPIAC has given you an informative overview of our club, our water and our website. If you have any observations on any of these issues we would very much like to hear from you. Please see the Contact page for the details of how to get in touch.

Tight lines from the GPIAC!