Feedback & Reports

A beautiful warm and sunny day but the Wye was in flood, having gone up 6 feet since yesterday- the River level at Mordiford was 3.01 Metres on arrival. Very little choice of swims due to the very high level. We started in two swims at the downstream end fishing very close in but lost a lot of tackle in the bankside snags. One of us, not me, made the sensible decision to move to the downstream end swim and caught several fish. Best barbel 8.0 and 8.3 lbs.

4 Barbel, 2 Chub

The river was rising quickly. All fish taken from near side slack water.

2 Barbel, 1 Chub

Our first visit to this stretch and what a stunning and beautiful location it is. Took a few hours for either of us to get a first bite. Fished the mid section of the beat and just looked for a steady glide. All fish to pellet and or paste. River had dropped back to normal level after being well up a week ago and was surprisingly clear again. Fished bomb or feeder with a longer than normal hooklength because of the clarity. Banks very slippery would advise taking a rope to assist getting up and down from the water. Barbel weighed 9lb 7oz and all chub were around 2 to 2 and a half pounds mark. Wildlife a plenty made it a memorable day. A privilege to just be there.

1 Barbel, 7 Chub

A couple of Chub, 3 to 4lb coming in the afternoon. I was using standard feeder methods with a new bait to me. Not sure if it was me or the fish getting used to it?! A nice day on the bank though on a decent stretch of the river.

2 Chub

One nice chub on the end swim ,then moved back up stream, one last cast and the rod nearly went in, ten pound or very near on by my old scales. What a great way to end the day. Both caught on meat.

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

The usual Jolly Boys outing to the Wye consisting of DC, MF, MA and Sherlock the faithful hound, was depleted for the last Wye trip of 2025. DC sadly had to stay at home following an interesting knee operation. So while DC spent the day stewing over a medical negligence claim, MF, MA and Sherlock had the pleasure of fishing the incomparable How Caple Court.

Possibly the most stunning stretch of any river we have fished yet overly maligned in certain whingy catch reports - too fast flowing, too slippy, too much debris, too much water, not enough water. This is wild fishing at it’s very best and part of it’s character is the challenges it throws up!

Arriving at first light, MF and MA walked most of the bank and came to the conclusion that the swims at the downstream end where there is plenty of slack water offered the best option, with most swims pushing through very fast. The water was high and coloured but dropped about 3ft through the day.

Feeder fishing with a range of baits was the order of the day. As usual, MF had just about every bait available from a tackle shop as well as a slab of stinky cheddar cheese. The banks were a wee bit slippy to say the least but this only added to the day’s entertainment as we flailed around all day like new born foals. It was a victory that we didn’t fall in.

The chub came fairly regularly through the day other than a quiet spell around lunchtime. All were in fabulous condition and averaging about 4lb. The last twenty minutes before the lights went out, and the owls started hooting, brought two decent barbel for MF. Both around 8lb.

MA had another rather lack lustre catch compared to MF. His form seems to have dipped since having to extract a rusty barbed hook from his arse at fownhope 5 and getting stung by a gang of angry wasps at Holme Lacey. Needs to do better.

Thank you to the wye passport team and the beat owners for a magical year on the Wye for this crew. We will be back with a vengeance next year!

And here is a picture of Sherlock for no other reason than he looked cuter than MF with his barbel.

2 Barbel, 8 Chub

Abandoned the day. Very high. Very fast. Floating vegetation/trees debris

Very fast flowing flood water including many branches etc etc
Tough day to the point that we booked another venue tomorrow and abandoned this beat

2 Chub

Strong flow with lots of debris racing past. 3 barbel around 6-7 lbs. All on meat. Lost a couple in the weed at margins. Great day!

3 Barbel, 1 Chub

A lovely day weather wise to fish this stretch. Water higher than the previous day. Also noticeably colder from the rain.
Another tough day. But when you fish the Wye there is always a hint of anticipation whenever your there, compared to other rivers we fish. Didn't produce the goods. But would still happily spend a Sunday here catching a few small chub on this lovely beat.

Our last trip to Wye this year.

4 Chub