Feedback & Reports

On a sunny day Caradoc can be a very busy venue judging by previous reports and even on a cloudy one there were people swimming in the river.....The fishing however can be rewarding in a beautiful place and fortunately for me this was the case on this visit.
Only one rod fished and I caught 6 Barbel with the best fish being just under 9lb.I lost one and bumped a couple more off in a productive day which also produced a few 8oz small Chub too. Rather curiously though I caught nothing on the float trotting pellet despite giving this method some considerable effort and time....There were also some fairly friendly cattle which at one stage broke out in a bit of a gallop which was certainly a bit of an eye opener. With the opposite bank controlled by BAA and a syndicate there is plenty of angling pressure here too so you need a few things going for you to enjoy this beat.

6 Barbel, 1 Chub, 10 Other

Warm and bright. No barbel showing today.

5 Chub

Poor fishing - nothing in the fast run below footbridge. No weed or signs of fish.

Nice fishery looks wise, not been here previously and packed up mid afternoon to get back to Hertfordshire at a reasonable time.
Will come back and give it another go in September.

A few chublets caught trotting pellet

Howard & Gary

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

4 Chub, 2 Other

Caught plenty of Chub mast around 1.5lb, but one was just over 5lb, two Barbel about 6lb all on floatfished pellets. After landing one of the Barbel i hooked another large fish which i thought was another Barbel but it did not fight like a Barbel. did not hug the bottom and make long 50 yard runs just under the surface. after a fight of approx 15 mins a great big fish rolled at the net. After 50 years of fishing i had never seen a live Salmon but here was one of approx 10lb in my landing net. The fish was hooked legitimately in the scissors on a pellet.
After removing the hook the fish was allowed to recover in the net and swam away strongly. for about an hour either side of hooking the Salmon there were numerous Salmon showing and Jumping some of which were well over 20lb.

1 Salmon, 2 Barbel, 22 Chub

Beautiful stretch. Access along top of river great for driving long. Some very steep pegs along top section. Water level very low at moment. Saw several barbel in deeper sections bu couldn’t catch. Caught some lovely chub up to 5lb 6oz…and 2 large eels. Will return when levels are up

13 Chub, 2 Other

Only one angler fished another beautiful beat on the Wye and Usk passport although rather exspensive Ended up fishing lower end below suspension bridge caught nothing on feeder so switch to the float with immediate impact caught steadily dropping down stream to pick bigger fish Ended up free lining meat catching 18 chub to around 4lb

18 Chub

After hearing all the negative comments on pricing, and because I’m from the Black Country and value every pound (i.e., I’m tight), I arrived at first light determined to stay til dusk, to ensure I got my money’s worth. I then proceeded to throw at least sixty quid’s worth of hemp, pellets and meat into the river over a 16 hour period, thus making for a very expensive fishing trip.

Nonetheless, a very enjoyable day on a beautiful stretch of river. As it was a Thursday, the hordes of holiday makers, sunbathers and canoe ruffians I’d heard about were few and far between – instead I was only briefly joined by a few dog walkers, a bloke flying a drone and a frisky couple on the beach bit who were quick to get dressed when they spotted my rod.

Maybe they’re the reason the guy was flying the drone.

General comments – the beat is stunning and it’s a bonus to be able to drive the full length, but bank access is very poor bordering on non-existent apart from the top and bottom end. I loved being there but £45 is way too much, especially when the Brummie lads on the opposite bank pay that for an entire year for the same stretch and another gazillion miles of the Severn, Teme etc.

Fish wise, caught 8 or 9 chub, one bad tempered eel that managed to knot himself into a pretzel and a stonking barbel.

That was the highlight of the day, stalking to catch a barbel.

Through my Poundland Polaroids, I’d spotted a huge shoal of big, big barbel in low water but the only way to get at em was by channelling my inner Ray Mears to fashion a fishing peg from the roots of an elderflower bush (I think, I’m not good with nature). Somehow I managed to get into a fishing position at the foot of a 20 foot drop, defying gravity by lowering my 16 stone Black Country self down a slippy 70 degree bank whilst grabbing only a B & M dog spike and a chubby handful of nettles. Once in place I managed a single under arm cast with a small cube of meat, resulting almost immediately in a massive take from a hungry 8 pound barbel.

The fight was pretty scary, almost as if the fish knew from where I was sitting that he could just as easily pull me in as I pull him out. It was close fought but eventually the fatter man won and photographic proof is below.

Possibly the most exciting way to catch a fish ever.

1 Barbel, 9 Chub, 1 Other