Feedback & Reports

21 barbel caught 8lb 8oz, chub 4lb.
We found the map of the beat was very misleading, the walk to the beat was at least 1 mile from the carpark. There should be more work done between the farmer and the Trust so that it would be possible to park at the bottom of his track. This would only make the walk to the river one field. We found the farmer very helpful on which field to walk to to make it easier for us as we are both 68yrs old. We will fish this again when the problems are sorted. we stayed at Mr and Mrs Anscombe Cider Barn at the top the track near to the Trusts carpark.

WUF note - Following a meeting with the landowner and tenant farmer yesterday, July 25th 2012, we can report that the access issues will be resolved in the next few weeks. In the meantime, there is a ½ mile walk from the car park down the track to the river’s edge (measured on Google Earth and GIS). Anyone concerned about this is asked to refrain from booking Lower Canon Bridge for now. We will announce when the improvements have been made on beat’s webpage.

3 barbel and a 5lbs 2oz chub. the latter same fish of 21.7.12.

Bright hot sunny day. River fined down. Blanked due to the angler not the venue which is fantastic. Can't even blame the canoes which kept well clear of my swim in the lower section (barley field?).

4 barbel and a 5lbs 3oz chub, subsequently caught again on 23.7.12. Total confusion on map access paths around fields with the farmer variously concerned with cattle in that one, crops in that one, all to change with the seasons. Renting the farm from the council all he gets from anglers is the grief, not the money. This needs to be effectively sorted as the walk down track is long rough and v muddy in the wet, and then there's the fields to trek through. I know WUF visited to sort this out, lets hope we get access down to the riverbank, as the locals do this anyway, to paddle in the gravels on very pretty stretch.

Began fishing around 10.30am. River a touch high but looking good. Rain moved in midday and hung around to mid-afternoon. Caught 8 barbel all nice sized fish and 2 big chubb on a variety of baits.

We arrived on a wet morning and after parking found the long walk to the river rather tiring as this required passing over and around several gates and through long grass and nettles. In all it took us 20 mins fully loaded with gear to reach the first of the useful swims. There were several nice swims some obviously more used than others with the top end seemingly the most popular.
We caught 14 barbel to about 8lb and numerous chub and most of the fish came during a short spell between 1pm and 3pm with nothing much earlier or later. The river was about 1m high but easily fishable however you should be prepared for tackle losses in the first two swims.
Upon leaving and walking up the lane we did encounter a problem with an aggressive farmer who said we should have walked the long way around the fishery in all approx 2 miles which was ludicrous when a much shorter path was clearly marked on the map. He is obviously most unhappy about people fishing here and after waving a large piece of wood in our direction told us not to come back again. I believe he is a tenant and not at all happy with the arrangement the landowners have with WUF. I am mailing the WUF fishery officers seperately on this as feel this could have turned ugly.
Otherwise, a nice fishery with many easily accessable swims once you reach the waterside.

WUF Note: We are meeting the landowner and the farmer on Wednesday to resolve the access issues.

For some reason we struggled today. Fished mainly in the first field section. As others have said before this is a very snaggy area and more time was spent tieing new rigs than fishing! One rod blanked and I only managed 1 barbel and 1 chub on the usual hair rigged pellet and feeder combo. We stayed at the Greenman at Fownhope which isn't the cheapest but I couldn't fault it. Fantastic food and beer!

Another superb beat, the setting is lovely and being higher up the Wye you miss a lot of the canoes!! Three rods were booked but only one fished. Barbel and chub came regulary all day, although as pointed out before, this is a very snaggy section. River was 3ft up and rising. Access at this beat is tricky. The farmer has locked the gates and directed me to follow the road. This was impossible as it was so muddy. I scaled the gates and follwed the path given in the directions. The route I went was down the hill and then over the second gate, follow the hedges to another gate, then follow the river down to the beat. I would say this was about a 10-15 minute walk and I would not reccommend this beat for less able anglers. The swims are all well defined with posts at the top of the bank showing where they are. Even in high conditions there were still plenty of swims.

18 barbel and 8 chub all on pellet. Only 2 fished this time as 2 of the party did not fancy the trek to the fishery, but to those that did the fishing were not disappointed. Very glad that this fishery has been opened to all.

29 barbel upto 9lb 12oz and 15 chub upto 5lb, mainly caught on pellet with a few also on meat. Some swims very snaggy but these produced the most fish and took the most terminal tackle. A few fish had other hooks in their mouths with one fish having 2 hooks from battles it had previously won. Travel light as it is a fair walk from the parking areas.