Stillwater · Ordovician Volcanics · Wales / Snowdonia (Blaenau Ffestiniog uplands)

Llyn Cwmorthin

Misty mountain lake (Llyn Cwmorthin) reflecting snow-capped cliffs in Snowdonia, north Wales.

Cwmorthin is the water Cambrian AA members talk about first — an old slate-valley lake with a genuine claim to fame, a seven-pound-two brown trout taken from it back in 1922 and still cited whenever the club wants to make a point about what's possible here.

Fair · Trout
Marabou Damsel · 8-12
Fairlive now
Good drifting conditions on Llyn Cwmorthin
Good wave on — drift country. A useful wave. Work the productive shore.
51% confidence

Llyn Cwmorthin is often best in spring through autumn.

What moved it
  • WindSW 10 km/hLight breeze
Today's fly
Marabou Damsel
Marabou Damsel8-12
Retrieve, sub-surface
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Wind
Light breeze
SW 10 km/h
N
SW
from the south-west
WaveRipple
Water temp
Air temp18°C
CloudOvercast
Pressure1021 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm

Some readings unavailable — check directly before fishing.

How to fish it · for Trout
When
Late April–June; evening rises through summer
Where
Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.
The plan
Plan A

Set up a broadside drift and cover the water systematically. Work a bushy searching pattern on the bob and drop a contrasting nymph on the point.

Plan B

If the main plan is not working, switch to a smaller, more imitative pattern fished slower and deeper. A change of drift angle can also make a difference.

Watch for

Evening tends to be the best period in summer — stay late if you can for a sedge or spinner fall.

Bank

Bank-only venue. Fish from accessible margins, points, weed edges, and inflows.

Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 3 guilds with Pro.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 5 with Pro.

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Through the year
0–3 scale · August highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Daddy Long LegsHatch
2
3
2
Murrough (Great Red Sedge)Hatch
2
3
2
Black MidgeHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Lake OliveHatch
1
2
2
2
2
2
1

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Trout fly box
Bays & launches · 1
Day ticket via Cambrian Angling AssociationAccess varies
The club's flagship historic water in an old slate valley, holding a strong wild brown trout stock; covered by the Cambrian AA's single day ticket across the whole llyn portfolio.
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What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Condition match
85%
Cloud50%
Wind100%
Temp100%

Conditions are ideal for Llyn Cwmorthin — wind, cloud and temperature all line up.

Other water nearby · 5
Gallery · 2
  1. Misty mountain lake (Llyn Cwmorthin) reflecting snow-capped cliffs in Snowdonia, north Wales.
    Llyn Cwmorthin
  2. Terrain map of the venue
    Terrain map
About this water

Cwmorthin is the water Cambrian AA members talk about first — an old slate-valley lake with a genuine claim to fame, a seven-pound-two brown trout taken from it back in 1922 and still cited whenever the club wants to make a point about what's possible here. You won't catch that fish again, obviously, but the stock behind it has stayed strong, and there's a weight of history sitting on this water that the smaller llyns simply don't carry. Fish it on a day with some cloud and a breeze, work the margins where the old quarry spoil meets deeper water, and treat the 1922 fish as folklore worth knowing rather than a target.

  • Lake
  • Ordovician volcanics
Why this score
  • Wind conditions (ripple) closely match what this water fishes best in.
  • Temperature (cool) is in the sweet spot for summer fishing.
  • Daddy Longlegs are in their seasonal window, boosting the chance of targeted feeding.
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