Feedback & Reports

4 Barbel

First time fishing this beat and really pleased we did. There is a fairly long and hilly walk involved (if you don’t want to fish the first field), so worth leaving the kitchen sink at home. We fished in the wooded section and caught most of our fish between 4-6pm, but we did have the odd fish throughout the day. We fished pellet and feeder tactics, best barbel around 9lbs and we had several around this size (and lots of Chub).
This is a very peaceful and scenic stretch and we really enjoyed fishing it. There are one of two very snaggy areas in this wooded section and we lost a number of feeders working out what was what (and I don’t generally lose much tackle on the Wye). The access in this wooded section is pretty dodgy, if you’re not fit or good on your legs – slippery sloped path and very steep banks leading to the swims. The fact there is rope to cling onto, should tell you everything! But I personally loved the fact it’s been left wild. Would certainly return to this beat!

10 Barbel, 12 Chub

Quick 4 hour session in the morning producing 6 barbel with one possible scraper double in great condition. 2 taken in the forest and the other 4 below in what was better levels of water compared to last time. Again fished to gaps in the weed using boilies and hemp in pva bags. Enjoyable few hours

6 Barbel

Arrived at Fownhope and chose the hike to the wooded area. Conditions were dry and we both found the walk certainly gets the heart pumping. However it is certainly not as arduous as many of the reports suggest although I can see how negotiating the wooded area path could be rather tricky in wet conditions.
The fishing action was non stop with all barbel falling to feeder tactics and elips pellets. Anglers should note that the swims within this area are very snaggy so quality abrasion resistant line is a must. We finished the day by returning to the upper stretch where we both took more barbel.
Fownhope is a stunning stretch of the Wye and the quality of the fishing is second to none. Many thanks to the WUF for enabling access to such an exceptional stretch.

17 Barbel, 4 Chub

River fast flowing after recent rain with lots of weed. Weather sunny with no wind. Fished upper end of beat using feeder with pellet. All fish in excellent condition. Biggest Barbel 71/2 lb with 4 x 6lb.

6 Barbel, 1 Chub

As a 65yr old life long smoker the much debated "Hill" made me puff and sweat but it's not exactly the north face of the Eiger! Worth the effort, some good swims in the wooded
area. All fish to meat or pellet both seemed equally effective as did static or float fished presentation. Good quality chub, the best of which = 2 x 4lb 4oz. 1 x 4lb 6oz.
1 x 4lb 12oz. several in the 3-4lb. range.
Barbel = 5lb 2oz., 6lb 8oz., 7lb 8oz., 7lb 12oz., and undoubtedly the catch of the day, the most perfect 8oz. little barbel, rarely seen at this size but a wonderful thing to behold! Other = small eel.
Tidy beat, very pleasant surroundings, all in all a very
enjoyable days fishing.

5 Barbel, 13 Chub, 1 Other

Lovely stretch of river. Level appeared low. Started off at bottom end before moving into wooded area and finding the fish. All caught on pellet. Wooded area appears to have dried out.

11 Barbel, 1 Chub

This was our last day of the week and what a way to end!! We arrived at lunchtime and walked the full stretch, eventually settling in the wooded area.
We fished a mixture of pellet and bomb and also groundbait feeder and had barbel up to 8lb + which all fought extremely well in the fast flow.
We lost a couple off to rocks and also missed out on our 100th barbel of the week to a snapped swivel!! 99 barbel in a week is an unbelievable figure though and just goes to show the quality of the Wye and Usk fishing. Back in Yorkshire that number would take about 5 good seasons to catch!!
This is a lovely beat, however the walk is not for the faint hearted due to the hills. The wooded area would be slippery in wet weather but we did not find it as bad as others have made it out to be.
One thing to note is the problem with the ducks here - they chased our loose feed down to the bottom of the river and at one point whilst rolling meat went down for the bait and came up with a baited hook in their mouth. A very close call!!
We will certainly try this beat in the future as we found it produced mid afternoon as well as the last hour before dusk.

19 Barbel, 6 Chub

What a smashing stretch of river, conditions were low and clear with bright sunshine but some nice chub to 4.5lb kept me occupied until the barbel got going in the evening. Had several nice barbel between 2.5 and 6.5 pounds and lost a couple in snags. Tried pellet and boillie but meat in paprika was the no 1 bait on the day. Saw quite a few salmon leaping which was nice to see. All in all a stunning stretch and a wonderful day out on the bank.

4 Barbel, 3 Chub

An excellent red letter day for both of us. 11 Barbel from 5 to 7lbs and 6 Chub up to 4lbs. Missed bites would probably double our total. A truly memorable day for us. The Long walk with all our tackle was worth every step. Halibut pellets and luncheon meat did the trick.

11 Barbel, 6 Chub