Feedback & Reports

The river had dropped a little but was still a foot or so up and coloured. This is one of our favourite stretches of the Wye and it seems to produce more than its fair share of big barbel. This proved to be the case today with the best barbel of 7 being 10lb 7oz. All the fish came from the slower water at the top of the length .

7 Barbel, 2 Chub

Dead baits + lures. First time fishing the river but appeared too fast for some of the methods that produce on other slower rivers. Saw 3 large 70cm + salmon jump while fishing.

River was still fairly high but the colour was good. Fished at the metal steps at the lower end of the section. Fished pellet in a large open end feeder answer 12 mm halibut pellet on hook. After couple of hours had a few good bites but sure they were chub, did not connect with anything. Then a classic tap and rod bent round and soon a barbel of around 8 lbs was in the net. Fished on but strangely no further bites so moved up into the meadow just above the middle parking spot. Thanks to the appearance of very hot sun had no further bites so packed up an hour later. Th roughly enjoyed the day and will certainly be back.

1 Barbel

6 Barbel, 5 Chub

River still very coloured; fished top of Legg meadow caught 3 barbel 9lbs 8lbs and 6lbs 2 chub early evening

3 Barbel, 2 Chub

This beat was a must for me as I'd heard such good reviews, this was the first session of my trip and it didn't disappoint. Stunning backdrop to the left downstream! Not far to the river from the car park with good access to the bank and plenty of swims. Not much was happening in the morning but by midday things picked up. Unfortunately I had to leave to check into my accommodation mid afternoon, missing out on some good fishing. The biggest fish was 8lb. I'll definitely be back here this year to have a full days fishing. Great venue!

3 Barbel

The river was up, fast and coloured with a fair amount of debris coming through including some large branches and logs which took me out several times during the day. Levels slowly rose a further 15cm and the pace and colour increased in the afternoon. Fishing close in to find slacker water was the only option and, fortunately, the fish agreed with bites coming in batches of 2 or 3 at regular intervals. Pellets were the only bait tried with a 4oz feeder still struggling to hold bottom. As usual all the fish were immaculate and fit. The largest chub just topped 5lb and the largest barbel was 9-04.
Absolutely brilliant day - even the relatively small number of canoeists were courteous and careful. An otter popped up by my rod tip and gave me an evil stare but the usual wildlife, including a frequently passing kingfisher largely ignored me.
Thanks WUF. See you again soon.

4 Barbel, 11 Chub

The second day of our party's early season foray onto the Wye saw us looking at both Wyebank and Courtfield, having fished Backney with mixed success the previous day. The river was about 3 feet above summer levels and still coloured from heavy rain earlier in the week. A cursory check of the bottom pool saw us plumb for the slower swims of Courtfield. The river was pushing through but it looked perfect and so it proved. NC and RM squeezed into the drain cover as the rain arrived whereas JC opted for the fallen tree in the wooded section. Both swims were prolific throughout the day, with sport only slowed by the sun which made a welcome appearance in the afternoon but we caught throughout. JC had a superb fish of 10lb 6oz but he was similarly impressed by an eel of 1lb 10oz. The average size of fish on this beat is impressive, most fish were in the 8lb to 9lb bracket. Great to be back on this wonderful river once again.

18 Barbel, 15 Chub, 1 Other

Fish caught on pellet and meat. River dropping but running quite fast and coloured. Lots of tackle lost on snags.

3 Barbel, 3 Chub

Only 4 out of the 6 rods could meet for this trip. We approached the river at 5 am not exactly full of confidence, it was on the rise but a good colour. I found a swim and two of us settled to pit our wits against whiskers. At 0930 we were tearing our hair out ready to go home we had lost that much tackle due to snags. We popped down to have a chat with a mate who had lifted 3 barbel out. So we changed swim and persevered it paid off and I lifted 2 and lost 1 barbel. We moved up near the pump house late in the day and hit a good spot and we landed 9 more barbel before we called it a day when the thunder storm arrived. I think if I fished this again I wouldn't hesitate to move if I wasn't getting any joy within an hour. It's a cracking beat but needs to be worked to pay dividends.

14 Barbel, 1 Chub