Feedback & Reports

A lovely stretch of the Wye in breathtaking setting. Arrived at 3pm and mostly fished the section by the Islands and persevered with trotting for a few hours to yield one chub. Then settled into fishing the pellet feeder for a few hours and had 4 barbel to just under 9lbs. Had a really nice chat with Charlie Lodge the beat owner. A very pleasant man. Only saw 3 or 4 canoes and the water was slightly tinged and up a little. Nice afternoon and evening.

4 Barbel

Thought it worth a go as the river levels were dropping after rain; sound theory? Yes, river was fine, access however, no. You must take your hat off to the bank clearing staff for their intrepid exploits where they have worked and access into wader depth water was there but unfortunately, unless you can get 40m+ back upstream against waist depth flow, there's no way to get out again, and the rest of the bank was way too overgrown to cast from. So, two hours trying to cast a fly and I gave up and drove the 40 miles back home. If the WUF are going to continue to charge more for game fishing in summer months, perhaps they should do something for game anglers. Too often the summer season is geared only for the course angler. Yes, the choice is mine but if there is no fishing possible on a beat, don't offer it!

A great days fishing on a beautiful beat. I took my Brother in law (American) fishing for Barbel as I promised him over a few too many beers at Christmas!
I set him up and even before my bait hit the water he was into his first ever barbel, a lovely fish of about 7lb. I was made up for him. He was thrilled.
Long story cut short he ended the day with 2 barbel and a chub while I settled for a beautiful 12lb barbel (my second best) and an 8lb barbel.
Wind picked up late in the afternoon so we up sticks early to head off. A great day - thanks to WUF!

4 Barbel, 1 Chub

3 Barbel to 6lbs caught in the first hour but the river was rising steadily and this seemed to put the fish off feeding. We only had one other bite between us in 7 hours and that fish (probably a chub) came off. By the time we left at 4pm it had risen by nearly 2 feet and gone a lovely brown colour! This also meant we had to move swims twice as the rising water effectively washed us off where we had settled in for the day. Really high banks mean there is very limited access to the water and the amount of weed, branches even half trees coming down the river made it a really difficult day. Will try it again but I think river conditions need to be spot on.

3 Barbel

First visit to this excellent new fishery; good variety of water, easy access from car park and usual stunning countryside. A really nice addition to The Fishing Passport.
9 barbel to around 7 pounds, quality chub and two eels, one of which was around 3 pounds.

9 Barbel, 4 Chub, 2 Other

RAIN, RAIN and more RAIN but good for the river. Did clear in the afternoon and on the plus side, kept the canoes away. Fished every type of swim possible fast water, slow, deep, shallow and far bank under the trees but the fish did not want to know. Did manage 3 fish in the end but hard work, just could not find them. Maybe next time.

3 Barbel

Fantastic looking bit of water around the Island - looks like barbel heaven but river very low when we fished.
Trotted corn gave 13 chub from various swims along the Island but frustratingly not a sign of barbel. Canoes throughout the day but polite and went straight through - no problem. Beautiful meadow bank - ideal for an afternoon nap.
Friend waded across just above the top end of the island and went round the back - only saw 1 small chub but interestingly some millers thumb under the rocks on the gravel riffle. Lots of bird life on this beat and something splashing about in the shallow water which I assumed could have been an otter- are they here?
Eventually got frustrated by lack of barbel success in faster water and went downstream - no campers - and feeder fished across to the far bank (longish chuck) in the slightly faster water there. Had a nice 'late'(we only fish to about 6pm) barbel and a big eel - both on meat.
If you were adventurous and waded across and walked downstream I think there would be lots of potential on this tree lined bank at the bottom of the fishery.
I agree with previous comments about not being able to use the public footpath but parking is very good.
Also walked the upper part of the beat to find the Pulpit Pool - I assume it is the one by the nice tree - very still water . I think there are about 2 or 3 areas where fishing is possible on this part of the beat- I do not agree about some of the comments of the inaccessibility of this area though, I would take a rope to be safe. The slower water upstream of the access point may not be to everyone's taste.
Could not find the notice for the upper part of the beat and could easily walk into Foy fishery where you can see the fast water again. I hope the angler we saw on the other bank did well.

1 Barbel, 13 Chub, 1 Other

Hard fishing on the day but a beautiful spot. The banks here are very steep so if your not too good on your feet or like a comfortable swim this might not be for you. The other downside is the Island. Every canoeist thinks it is a great spot to stop for a swim ,toilet, dump rubbish and skim stones. Some were very rude, drunk and not very nice people not why are they not policed? Even the locals I spoke to were not very happy. 4 rods is 2 many on this beat.

WUF note - This beat is bookable for 2 individuals or a group of up to 4 anglers in the same party.

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Day 2 of our trip. What a difference a day makes! Arrived at the river just after sun rise, although we didn't have enough rain the day before to affect the river conditions that much, we both felt a lot more confident about our chances. A cooler, over cast day with rain forecast for the afternoon. We tried 1 or 2 swims each giving them 1 hour before we both found a swim each that produced barbel throughout the day. The final score was a draw, 10 barbel 1 chub each. What a way for CB to spend his Birthday, and to top it off he had a phone call to say he got a new job. Definitely one to be remembered. Thank You WUF.

20 Barbel, 2 Chub

Was hoping to get a friend his first Barbel, but the low river conditions made for a difficult day. He did manage 3 Chub to about 4lb though and I had two Barbel at around 4lb and 7lb 15oz. The place seemed to come alive just as it was time to pack up, with loads of fish coming up for a fly hatch.

2 Barbel, 3 Chub