Feedback & Reports

Started well with a superb barbel of 9 lbs 13 oz on the second cast of the morning carried on catching smaller barbel up to 6lbs and some nice chub with a lull in early afternoon; plenty of bites towards dusk....also lots of false bites caused by fish attacking swimfeeders

15 Barbel, 16 Chub

Had a good day catching 8 Barbel to 8lbs on boillie hook baits using standard feeder tactics. There were plenty of fish about but we lost some due to the shallow water and rocky substrate. Lost lots of tackle. Would recommend strong tackle and carrying lots of spares. We saw many canoes using the stretch and for the most part caused no issue. Thank you Wye and Usk for a lovely day.

8 Barbel

I was on the bank at sunrise and what a picture perfect location with the sun struggling to break through the mist. Perfect start to the Autumn. I was impressed by the ease of access and convenience of the car parking. The beat is not long and the options for swims are limited so being a lone angler I was quite happy. The flow was strong and the colour good following recent rains, it looked promising. I fished the bottom pool from the rocks providing more freedom to explore the river further from the bank. I used pellet and scalded pellets in a feeder over a bed of hemp. I tried various spots from near bank across the main flow fishing each for around 30 - 40 minutes all without a bite. The main flow was bringing through some debris and loose weed, but nothing problematic just no bites. I moved up to the top pool for a change at about 11:30 and followed the same approach although without as much hope given the height of the sun now and the preceding lack of activity. Nothing changed. I didn't have a touch although I did get snagged repeatedly on the rocky bed and likely underwater debris.By 2.30pm the weather had changed and the rain had gone from a shower to biblical. Without a touch and this being the last day of a week on the Wye with a drive back to London ahead of me, I threw in the towel. My first blank of the week. But I left with a smile having found a delightful location that clearly fishes well, today was just not my day. I will be back, maybe later this year, if not certainly next. I'd like to give a shout out for the Ferndale Bed and Breakfast in Lydbrook www.bandbforestofdean.co.uk. I only stayed one night and was up too early for the breakfast, but the accommodation was first class and my hosts Andy and Christine could not have been more helpful or welcoming. It was also very reasonably priced. I unhesitatingly recommend this B&B to anyone fishing Wyebank or nearby.
Thanks to WUF for making my first trip to the Wye very memorable.

River a raging torrent. Did not fish & transferred to Courtfield. Many thanks to Don & Allyson at the Foundation for allowing this.

We arrived early in the morning for our first visit to Wyebank and made our way down to the bottom pool to bait up. The river was clear and very low, we were a little concerned that we might struggle in the conditions. We trotted floating crust for a couple of hours starting from the shallows working our way down to the bottom pool. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Chub most obliging and of a good average size. We landed 13 Chub to 5lb 3oz (PB for me) and most fish were over 4lb. We fished the bottom pool through to about midday and landed 4 small Barbel. Canoes had started to arrive and we decided to leave and come back for an evening session.
Arrived back about 5.30, baited up and went for a pint and returned about 7.00. Fished the bottom pool where we had a fantastic evening session landing 12 Barbel. Some very small ones but also fish of 4lb 8oz, 4lb 11oz, 6lb 12oz and the last fish of the evening 9lb.
I would like to add that in the build up to fishing at Wyebank I read many of the catch reports from the beginning of the season. For the most part the fishing had been prolific. This however had not stopped a number of people moaning about SMALL BARBEL (surely this is such a positive) the PATH which yes is a little tricky but it is on a river bank which through the winter I suspect is in many places under water, this obviously makes it very difficult to maintain. CANOEISTS, they have a right to the river as well, we avoided the peak times but found those we encountered to do there best to avoid us and all were polite. It is a privilege to fish the River Wye and I would like to thank the WUF, keep up the good work.

1 Trout, 16 Barbel, 17 Chub

Fished from first light, had one barbel of around 3 pounds, after about an hour. Left at 9.30am.

1 Barbel

Arrived at 3pm to avoid majority of canoe traffic. Fished until 9.30pm, had 15 barbel from bottom pool, 10 of which were under 1 pound.

15 Barbel

Slightly more difficult day at Wyebank as the water was exceptionally low and the venue has obviously been fished hard throughout the last few weeks. However we managed to have a great day spent in stunning surroundings yet again. The barbel were a little more elusive than my last trip but all the same Mat managed 14 barbel to 4lbs and I had 13 to 5lbs. Lots of juvenile fish provided sport throughout the day. Note to others fishing the venue: This is a great venue for smaller fish that provides action throughout the day regardless of boat traffic. Just enjoy it for what it is. If you want bigger barbel then try other venues, read the previous catch reports first before booking. For a day of quantity then this is a terrific venue. All our fish fell to small hookbaits, 6mm pellets and size 12/14 hooks. There are a few better fish present but you'll have to work through the smaller ones first. Not really a big hardship in my opinion. The only downside I can see to this venue is the path which I have commented on before. Yet again both myself and Mathew fell over at the end of the day and have the bruises to prove it. The path needs some work and a little strimming of undergrowth really wouldn't hurt. Some of the rocks positioned on the path are extremely unstable and I would suggest that some reinforcement is urgently required before someone badly hurts themselves!

23 Barbel, 4 Chub

Arrived at half three to fish the evening after the majority of canoes had been through. Fished pellet with feeder and had 9 barbel, they were all tiny maybe only a few ounces each and about 5 inches in length. Slightly frustrating they were not bigger but on the plus side looking good for the future. Nice evening in the sun in beautiful surroundings, hopefully back in a couple of weeks.
Thanks WUF.

9 Barbel

Warm overcast day, river low and clear but rose probably a couple of inches during the day. Fishing not like any other WUF beat. Managed the tricky path to the bottom pool. Arrived ridiculously early after a 2 hour drive, due to previous reports scaremongering about canoeists. Yes there were plenty but all courteous and had no noticeable effect on the fishing.
Had a 3lb chub first cast on ledgered meat and then switched to elips pellet with 50g black cap feeder filled with 4mm elips. Biggest chub was probably 4.5lb, barbel 4lb. Never seen, let alone caught, barbel as small as some of them - some even caught 'on the drop'. Probably only 8-9 of the fish were 'netters'. Lost countless (10-15) hook lengths (perhaps 5lb was too light?) on snag in mid-river.
Interesting day, good fun, but not sure would fish this beat again. Cormorant spotted 4 times along with mink strolling along the far bank.

19 Barbel, 3 Chub