Feedback & Reports

Fished on the meadow stretch for 3 hours without a bite.

2 Barbel

Lovely autumnal day on Courtfield on a very high - but dropping river. Gauge showed 2.15m when we started and dropped about 15cm through the day. Having fished the stretch before we headed to legg meadow, three or four swims here easily accessible despite the high water. One angler had a handsome chub of 4lb or so very early on but then had a longer wait for the next catch of the obligatory wye eel. The other angler had a slightly better day with 5 barbel. One small one of 3lb or so, three slightly bigger typical shoalies of 5lb to 6lb and one really impressive fish of 12.02, a new PB. Successful baits were the usual suspects, 14mm halibut pellets, 12mm robin reds, boilies, luncheon meat - they all got bites. Having said that, the fish were sporadic through the day with no real consistency. Early in the morning seemed best but there would be periods of an hour or so with no real interest and then a bite or two would emerge. Given the recent weather it was nice not to have to put a brolly up and the buzzards over the woods opposite kept me entertained when the fishing was slow. We'll be back. Thanks to WUF and also Don with whom i had a nice chat the day before just to check on river conditions. One last point on parking - we parked in front of the gate to the side of the waterworks. The trick is, reverse in and don't go too far - and you'll easily get out again.

5 Barbel, 1 Chub, 1 Other

Better day didn't loose any gear missed lots of bites

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Nothing caught very snaggy lost quite a bit

First time on this beat since July 2021 but I had the same parking and swim access issues that have stopped me from returning. I have emailed the office with detailed comments.
As I arrived early I was able to reverse in front of the gate entrance on the little bit of hardcore there (room for one car when inside of the gate is squishy mud). This needs to be very quick with the window open listening for traffic as they rip round the bend from Lydbrook. Same issue with getting out where, unless you have a lookout, you're best driving straight into the waterworks entrance and going again from here.
There are currently only really two swims at the top end that have good access to the river and then best with water on (between 1 and 2m). There are swims opposite these which could prove difficult with bolshy anglers in. There are another two tight swims down a bit where you'd need to pray the fish didn't bolt downstream.
So back to my day:
Clear skies (clouded a bit later) and a 2.5c temp on arrival didn't bode well but with 1.3m (RoW), a good flow and colour, and an 11.9c water temp, I was still hopeful. 7 bites spread throughout the day kept interest up and these resulted in barbel of 3.08, 6.13 and 8.07, and a 4.10 chub. Fish came on bait changes to 12m robin red, 10mm halibut and a large lump of raggedy meat, with a GB feeder. So a thoroughly enjoyable day but this beat could be much more.

3 Barbel, 1 Chub

River was still rising with a couple of inches of visibility. Fished in the Meadow, successful baits being meat and boils wrapped in Paste (garlic and Cheese)

5 Barbel

1 Barbel

Not much information at all on the swims and no clear directions on how to get to them.

On arrival a very high and heavily coloured river limited swim choice but we found a couple of fishable swims in the meadow and the first fish was caught within 5 mins of fishing. Another five followed between 9:30-12:00 and then things went quiet until 16:00-17:00 when two more fish were added to the tally. The river dropped by 2m during the day and the main feeding spell came mid morning as the river level started to fall. Also lost a couple of barbel to hooklinks snapping on rocks during the fight. As a result I would recommend the use of flourocarbon hooklinks and regularly checking line for damage as it does happen a lot. All fish came to pretty standard feeder rigs. Car got stuck in the meadow just through the gate and had to be rescued with the generous help of Don (thanks again you hero!). Don’t park here if the ground is wet! Highly recommend the fish and chips from The Wye Fry in Lydbrook.

8 Barbel