Feedback & Reports

With the river only about a foot up on conditions that had been kind to us before we were both confident of a good days fishing. K.P had chose to fish for barbel while I opted for a change and targeted the pike. I walked the whole stretch fishing the most likely looking swims and was pleased with the two pike I caught which although only small were very nicely marked and in great condition. K.P did catch four barbel to around 7lb which he had to work hard for, moving swims and changing tactics paying off.

River just under 2 feet up, looked really good but finding the fish was not easy. Ended up with 8 barbel to 7.5 pounds and 1 chub. Most of the fish did not come from the more popular swims on this beat. Pellet again!

First visit to this stretch, managed 3 Barbel to 10.06 which is a p.b to one rod and 1 Barbel of 7.14 to the other rod. Conditions far from perfect with bright sun all day. Fish started feeding in earnest at dusk when we had to pack up.Take plenty of leads/feeders!

4 rods, complete blank not even a chub.

Arrived at 7.15am to find the river clear and looking perfect. The weather was nice and sunny, a beautiful autumn morning. We settled into a peg where the Vanstone Pool empties. After an hour I had missed a couple of knocks, lost 2 chub to an unseen snag and caught a 12lb pike on an old plug I found in the bottom of my box after it insisted on trying to eat my feeder every time I reeled it in.

Three hours later not sign of a fish so a move was on the cards. We moved to a new area and immediately resulted in a few fish - I had 3 barbel and a chub in the first few casts and again got pestered by pike trying to eat my feeder. Out went the plug and I had a 16lb pike first cast, followed by another double next cast before going back to my barbel fishing.

We ended the day with 8 barbel between 5 and 7lb, 5 pike to 16lb, 2 chub 3 to 4lb and a suprise carp I had last cast (12lb common) so a good day was had by both of us. Middle Hill Court has to be the best looking beat on the Wye at this time of the year.

Lovely day - some stretches of the beat looking very appealing for fly.

But the bank really could benefit from a little bit of management for creating access down to the river.
On the lower part of the beat the white pegs are very visible for the coarse fishermen. But above the Vanstone Pool it is very difficult to find access down to the river. This could easily be marked with a coloured plastic strip tied to a tree and a small path through the growth cleared.
Not knowing the correct access points down to the river, I got stuck in some very deep mud by the bank and only managed to free myself with great difficulty.

Thanks for all the work you are doing.

WUF Note: We will look into the access issues described above before the start of the 2011 salmon season.

Fishing was hard going, five dace and at the end of the day one decent chub of 4lbs. No barbel but this was prob due to river conditions.

We arrived early and found a poacher on the beat. Not a good start. After walking the beat in the half light we decided on a start in the Vanstone pool and the tail but whilst tackling up the WUFs deputy director, Simon Evans, arrived with a companion to attempt to catch a salmon. They wanted the Vanstone pool so we headed off downstream but only fished half heartedly, just getting a feel for the beat, exploring the swims and likely spots for a bite. By eleven we had the beat to ourselves and, after a coffee, headed up to the Vanstone. In the daylight it looked hammered, not really what we are used to on WUF beats. Then the shooting started. Shot rained down on us as the guns blazed in the woods opposite and it wasn't long before a change of swim was in order! We couldn't settle and flitted around until mid afternoon. The shooting had stopped but a chainsaw now stepped in to protect us from peace and quiet. I was beginning to feel a bit shell shocked. Late afternoon and still fishless. The only noise now was a pair of Ravens wheeling overhead and at last we began to relax and settle into our fishing. Fishing hard until dark, my companion blanked and I managed six chub and two barbel, one of which was a very nice fish. Plain old meat doing the damage.

River dropping off after weekend prior. Picked swim which appeared productive for barbel. Alternated between feeder for barbel and float for dace etc. But after several hours only dace caught. Mid afternoon the Baliff (Adam) stopped by for a chat. Changed swim on his advice and subsequently, thanks to this, caught 3 barbel (8 3/4, 9, and 5 lb) on pellet and straight lead before poor light stopped play. Once again thanks for your advice. P.S. saw 3 salmon moving during course of the day.

This return covers 3 days fishing between 6-8 Oct 2010 by 2 anglers. 18 barbel caught to 10.02 plus 4 chub. River was high limiting swims available and flow meant that only near bank fishing was possible.