Testimonials

A Couple Of Customer Comments/Reviews

So is Andrew Cartwright a good guide?

"Andrew is a good guide - a very good guide indeed. He is that rarity, someone who instinctively knows when to give advice-or not, to be quiet- or not and he constantly does not try to wrench the rod from your hand to show you how good he is ( which is very ) Actually he is an exceptional guide."
Charles Jardine ( Todays FlyFisher Magazine)

"For those wishing to get away from it all in truly pristine river conditions on the Upper Severn [and Wye] in deepest Wales, which offers the chance of latching onto beautiful trout or a really monstrous grayling over 3lbs, amidst truly breath-taking scenery, I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending local guide Andrew Cartwright, as the man you want with you. Andrew has a vast amount of knowledge and experience fishing these clear-flowing reaches, particularly on the fly. And if there is one guy who can put you onto fish it is him.” Rarely has a local guide impressed me as much or been as helpful. "
John Wilson.( Discovery Channel)

'Thank you for being such a great guide at the recent 'Wild Trout Experience' break. The feedback on your guiding was excellent, and not just because everyone caught fish ! It was clear that your primary concern was that everyone had a good day's fishing. We are planning a similar event next year, and I hope you will be available to guide for us again'
Denise Ashton (Wild Trout Trust)

We have heard nothing but positive feedback from anglers who have hired Andrew, particularly with regards his professionalism and personable approach. His in-depth knowledge and understanding of our rivers is a huge help to both beginners and more experienced fly-fishers.
Seth Johnson Marshall ( Wye & Usk Foundation)

My weekend in September at the Caer Beris Hotel in mid Wales fishing on the Wye was a catalogue of firsts!!
The first time I have waded in a river.
The first time I have ever caught a truly wild brown trout, and the first time I have ever caught a grayling, and on dry fly.
All this under the expert tuition and guiding of Andrew Cartwright.
A memorable experience and one that I would thoroughly recommend.
Frank Sargent Surrey.

I got to know Andrew quite well over the season, picking his brains on Mid Wales fishing.
So with the grayling season upon us I booked a guiding session to fish for grayling.
We managed to get on The Dee in very windy conditions, which would have put most anglers off.
However Andrew managed to expertly show me how its done by immediately hooking a 2lb grayling on his first cast.
Following his advice I took three grayling around the 2lb mark and a bonus 1lb brown trout, missing at least four in the blustery conditions.
Throughout the day Andrew was committed and very informative, without his help I am sure I would have blanked.
Thanks for such a good day.
Mr Bill Ritson.

" Andrew patient style has really helped improve my casting no end. If you feel that you could be casting better then take some time for a session with Andrew. He will soon have you casting like a professional.
Frank Williams"

"Andrew Cartwright...a veritable human Heron , an extreamly skilled man with a fly rod , particularly for Grayling and river Trout . Importantly Andrew has another rare skill , he is not only able to cast well and fish well , he has the ability to teach these skills to others" .
Thanks for all your help. Mick and Tracy Bates.

I recently had the pleasure of hiring the services of Andrew Cartwright as a guide, whilst on a fishing holiday in mid-Wales. Andrew was not the first guide I contacted, but was the first that gave me a sense that his priority was what I needed.

I had planned to get the most out of my 2 days with him, and he helped me achieve all of my objectives, including reservoir, small river and larger river fishing, and learning a variety of techniques. The only problem for me is trying to remember it all. To that end, Andrew was kind enough to permit me to video him tying some of the flies he uses (a good sample of which he provided on the first day). With his local knowledge, the flies he ties, or his variations on established patterns, will get you into fish way ahead of shop-bought generics.

I can honestly say that the only times Andrew picked up the rod was to demonstrate a technique, or to patiently unpick one of my many tangles! He was on my shoulder at all times to give advice, which he did without ego-tripping in the slightest.

My only regret is that I did not take his advice earlier on choice of waters to fish; Andrew will take you where he is confident of the best chance of catching, rather than personal convenience - I would strongly recommend a chat with him before booking any fishing beats (he is also a mine of information regarding suitable accommodation!).

I can unhesitatingly recommend Andrew to anyone; he carries a quiet confidence which puts you, the pupil, at ease, and enables a relaxed but effective learning session.

Tight lines!

Daniel Shillabeer
Gravesend, Kent

“We spent two days end of last June with Andrew who did a tremendous job in guiding us to discover the Mid-Wales rivers particularly the Wye, Severn and the Dee. His advices, availability and in depth knowledge of these amazing rivers really made the difference.
I would definitely recommend his services to anyone who wants to discover how attractive the welsh rivers are”
Denis Diet (Belgium)

Dear Andrew

Having just returned from my week in Wales I wanted to write and let you know how much I enjoyed the couple of days I spent on [but perhaps that should be 'in'!] the Severn, being taught by you how to fish. You really listened to what I was hoping to be able to achieve, you understood my reluctance and lack of confidence about wading and you used your considerable breadth and depth of knowledge and experience to choose the best location, having given due consideration to the rainfall and its effect on the river, and the fact that I was, to all intense and purposes, a beginner.

You are a great instructor: a good communicator, extremely patient, excellent at explaining technique and balancing very well the demonstration of what you were teaching me for a particular cast with actually - miraculously - making me do it successfully! Your relaxed manner, combined with a persistence which matched mine gave me the confidence to make real progress. What I found particularly useful was that you were also able to teach me how to analyse what I was doing wrong when things did not go as they should, so that when I practise on my own I will know, hopefully, how to improve. You did not mind how many times you had to say the same thing before it registered in my slow middle-aged brain, I learned much about dry fly and wet fly fishing, and no one was more surprised or delighted than me when on my first afternoon I caught a greyling and two brownies all in the space of an hour, followed by further success the next day under very different river conditions.

I greatly admired your respect and conscientious regard for the conservation of the river, the fish in it and the wildlife around it. I appreciated the loan of your waders and quickly came to realise that I would not have had much fishing without wading, and after two days of your diligent, safety-conscious supervision felt far more confident about actually being in the river. It was also very helpful having the use of your rod and some line in addition to my own, to get the feel of different weights and balance etc.

After two rather false starts in terms of the previous instruction I had received, I felt that I made real progress entirely thanks to your really excellent tuition combined with your very encouraging and positive attitude. I very much look forward to returning for more instruction next summer. I have already passed on some of your leaflets and I will do my best to mention your name should I come across anyone wanting a fishing guide or instructor in mid-Wales. Thank you for all that you helped me to achieve.

With kind regards,
Emma

Despite having fished many waters over more years than I care to remember, I still come across pieces of water where previous experience and knowledge count for nothing. For some reason the fish seem resolute in their dete rm ination to ignore my every offering.
Faced with this situation on a stretch of the Upper Wye near Rhyader, I decided to engage the services of a guide, partly as a treat but also in the hope that I could learn something new and something to my advantage. The owner of this particular stretch of river suggested Andrew and after a quick phone call and a couple of emails a date was booked. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but the reality far outweighed whatever I expectations I might have had. Our day together covered anything and everything; tackle, flies, knots, leaders, river craft, entomology, where the fish would be lying, how food supplies moves through the water and most importantly how to catch fish on this particular stretch of river. The results speak for themselves, 34 fish for the week weighing up to 2 lbs. This was possibly the best money I have spent on any aspect of my fishing for a long time and I would recommend Andrew’s services to anyone that wants to combine a great day with the opportunity to improve their fishing.
Thanks again
Jack Ward
Chief Executive
NPTC