Feedback & Reports

Fished 10.00 to 19.30.
Found the much discussed walk fine due to dry conditions, would be very treacherous if wet. Need a certain level of fitness but fine for two active middle aged blokes. Travelled light as advised and this is a must.
Fished in the wood as this looks most likely for barbel. The fish fed steadily all day from the very first cast and between the two of us we ended up with 20 barbel and 9 chub. Lost 2 or 3 too. Barbel went up to about 8.75lb and all were incredibly strong and fit. Chub up to 4ish, nothing of any real size. Some swims very snaggy, especially the swim with the biggest rock on the bank. Lost about 6 or 7 feeders so take plenty. The best swim was about 20 yards downstream of the huge rocks, and this produced 12 of the 20 barbel. All bar one of the chub came 20 yards downstream of there. Fish taken on various pellets, didnt seem to matter too much as they often seemed to respond to the sound of the feeder going in.
Packed up at 19.30 but the fishing had surprisingly been at it quietest during the last 2 or 3 hours.
Only 2 pairs of canoes which was a great bonus, and both were very respectful.
Overall we had a fantastic days fishing and I appreciated the contact from the Foundation offering to move our booking if we thought the terrain would be too much.
lovely stretch.

20 Barbel, 9 Chub

A lovely sunny day. Car parking excellent. A bit of a long walk for elderly carrying tackle but flat so not that bad. Steep banks but very good to find a place to sit and fish. Using halibut pellets we caught a barbel 6lbs and chub upto 4lbs.

1 Barbel, 5 Chub

River in high water and coloured so stayed with feeder tactics shallower water hard to fish without large tackle losses due to slipping under rocks etc so spent most of our time roving around the deeper water at both ends of the beat and had steady action all day. Finished very happy even though it rained on us all day for the second day running,. Fabulous just to be out on the beautiful river Wye thanks wuf, :-)

16 Barbel, 12 Chub

After weeks of reading catch reports talking about low river levels, I arrived on the bank after three days of rain and plenty of water pushing through and in good colour. The weather was fine sunshine and broken cloud. Arrived around 7.00am and fished until 6.00pm. Everything I had read about the walk from the car park to the bottom end of the copse was true. The hill is a challenge with your gear so travel light, I'm pleased I did. The footpath through the copse wasn't as overgrown as I had been led to believe it would be from the reports I'd read but it was treacherous after the rain. Getting down to the river required the use of a rope. There aren't many swims accessible in the copse so its not hard to work out which one produces the multiple catch reports. Not the most comfortable day's fishing perched on a rock but well worth it. Fished pellet and feeder in the crease between a pool created by the croy and the main flow. I only landed 6 fish but with the Barbel to 7lb 4oz and Chub to 4lb 8oz it was a satisfying day. I would definitely go back.

3 Barbel, 3 Chub

First time on this beat. Fished the woods and despite damp conditions didn't have too much trouble walking up the hill and round the woods although would recommend fishing light and taking only the essentials as I did. Fished pellet with feeder and caught 2 barbel to 7lb 3oz and 5 chub around 3 to 4lb. River was high and difficult to fish as I have not seen lower - so lost quite a bit of tackle on unseen rocks. Interesting beat and definately worth a return trip in better conditions! Thanks WUF!

2 Barbel, 5 Chub

Crossing the Severn at Gloucester did not give cause for optimism as the Severn was high and coloured. Arriving at the beat the Wye was about a metre up and chocolate coloured. We braved the wet path over the hill and into the woods to fish in the rocky pools but our pellet and meat baits brought nothing. Lots of salmon were moving in the coloured water. Walking downstream into the next field we found some smooth water ideal for trotting but corn, bread and meat brought only small chub. With the water at this level much fewer swims are available and we found nothing in the bottom field. At 2pm we decided to walk back to the top meadow as the walk to the cars would be much less. So glad we did. The dropping river still covered the croys but we managed to squeeze in nearby and were rewarded with fine sport with 6 barbel between 5 and 8lb 2 oz- all good fish that fought so well. All on meat or 8mm pellet through block end or open end feeders with or without extra lead. We also had 4 nice chub to about 4 lb.
Packed up at 6.15 as we wanted food but would definitely have caught more. Fabulous scenery as usual and so nice watching a kingfisher perching and fishing a couple of yards away. Would love to go back when the water is lower and clearer to see what all the fuss about the swims in the wood is about. In wet weather the path was very slippery and sloping and we needed a rope to get in and out of some swims. Really feel privileged to be able to be on such a beautiful stretch.

6 Barbel, 4 Chub

Fished on the lower part of this beat below the wooded area. River had risen according to a local angler by around 2ft overnite and was bringing a fair bit of weed down with it. The weather was at best horrendous at times and made fishing difficult. 5 chub and 1 barbel was caught on a rising river on pellet and meat. A note to anyone fishing this stretch, if you choose to make the walk around the wood and over the hill via public footpath, DO NOT attempt if not reasonably fit, and avoid steep path in severe wet conditions. Still a pleasure to be on ANY Wye and Usk venue.

1 Barbel, 5 Chub

Fished at Fownhope 5 on Sunday 23rd Aug. Had previously read about the landslide and having to go around the wood but that does not tell you anything. For instance you do not mention that the footpath that goes by the private house is almost impossible to climb in wet conditions due to the nature of the ground which is clay. Would it not be a good idea to start a forum or request others to leave contact no,s on there feedback so you can get a better idea of conditions. On a more serious note as wye and usk receive money for day tickets i would assume they would be liable for any injury or even worse death. I may set up a forum if you decide not to because i think its very important for all anglers to exchange information.
WUF Note: The path up and around the wood at Fownhope 5 can be difficult, especially when we have had a period of wet weather. All river banks become more hazardous and more difficult to move along in wet conditions so we ask all anglers to bear the conditions in mind when fishing anywhere, not just waters in the Passport. If access is an issue, please contact us and we'd be happy to advise. There are plenty of already well-established, specialist fora where anglers can exchange their views.

Great days fishing with my son, Both caught PB's mine a 9lb 10oz perfect conditioned Barbel, and my son an 8lb 12oz Barbel. All other Barbel between 3 and 7lb with Chub up to 5lb
Only fished from 6am till 13.00pm, all fish came to pellet on feeder from first cast. Lost a few too many on snags but just really enjoyed the morning. Some weed coming down the river but not to bad. Just a word of warning if you fish the bottom of the beat, as we did, travel light. It's a bit of a walk and a little hilly.

12 Barbel, 10 Chub

Another wonderful days fishing on the Wye. I caught 17 barbel and 12 chub in the wood on feeder tactics. The fish were in much better condition than my last visit a few weeks ago. My friend fished in the field near the hut but only had one chub, sadly a double hip replacement has meant a level bit of bank is more important these days. It was his first visit to the Wye and despite a lack of fish he really enjoyed his day.

17 Barbel, 13 Chub