Feedback & Reports

Lovely to be back on the river again and this is a particularly beautiful beat. We had followed weather conditions closely and knew the water was going to be low and clear, which it was. We had a frosty start and then bright and sunny conditions throughout the day. This made it tough going! Neither feeder or float techniques seemed to wake the fish from their stupor and we were biteless and fishless until late afternoon, when there was a face-saving spell which produced 5 barbel to 8lb, a couple of good chub and a very welcome perch. These were taken on maggot feeder and pellet feeder in the deeper/slower water in the middle of the beat. Overall, this was a difficult day as we know what the Wye can be like when conditions work in your favour, but nevertheless it is just a joy to be able to experience this environment again. We can recommend: (1) the green man in Fownhope for comfortable beds and large portions and (2) the lift from the parking to the riverbank. Thanks WUF!

5 Barbel, 2 Chub, 1 Other

Two of us fished the Foy Bridge stretch for first time on 12th & 13th. Both days suffered from very cold nights and bright & windy days. Fish very scarce although best on the Monday. Road side swims looked the best and the biggest chub at about 3 pounds came from the end swim at 6pm on meat. Most of the smaller chub and half a dozen gudgeon on maggots. Dave had the only fish on Tuesday - two Grayling and a small Par all on maggots from the first swim across the bridge. Very envious as I have never caught a Grayling!! Need to come more often as the Wye takes some getting used to. Beautiful setting - watched what I think were Buzzards wheeling around the sky screeching.
Stayed at The Coach House nearby for B&B - very comfortable and friendly. The owner, Iola even made us some ham & cheese rolls for our lunch! Pity we didn't meet Mr Barbel!

1 Salmon, 2 Grayling, 12 Chub, 6 Other

Very bright conditions with low clear water. A chub apiece from the flow near the Lugg confluence.

2 Chub

River low and clear and cold. We all fished lower beat only one bite between us at dusk. Have fished here before so know how productive it can be but conditions were wrong. Will come back in the summer.

1 Chub

River was low, bright sunny day but hey, how often do you get a chance to fish such a desirable river with a great reputation. My previous visit to Courtfield had resulted in a blank! Fished the woods section from the start (5 different swims), got yakking with the land owner who gave some sound advice, not least, stay until dusk and you will reap the rewards. Tried a few methods and baits, in the end halibut pellet with scalded pellet and hemp ground bait in a feeder paid off. A 3ft twitch kicked the rod into life at 6pm, resulting in a fun perfect "bar of gold" coming in at 9lb 6oz. 10 mins later and a 7lbish, I didn't bother weighing it as I wanted to cram as much action in as possible in the fading light. Headed back to Brum a happy fella! Beautiful scenery, truly un-paralleled! Thanks WUF....and the landowner!

2 Barbel, 2 Other

River low and clear with bright weather, all fish caught on pellet. This venue never fails to produce fish and is so well maintained by Colin. He joined us for a chat in the afternoon and gave us a few tips, such a nice fellow!

4 Barbel, 9 Chub

A very pleasant day fishing in superb surroundings. We all started off the day in the woods and further downstream and caught steadily thoughout the morning using pellet and feeder tactics.
The afternoon was spent fishing the croys in the top field which was alive with small chub and dace, a good sign for the future. We spotted a fishing masterclass from a couple of kingfishers which had me putting down my rod to watch and marvel at. Best barbel was around 9lb ish and best chub 2.5lb.
As usual great service from the booking office. Many thanks.

6 Barbel, 6 Chub, 25 Other

Very nice beat, 2 barbel landed to 8lb an 2 nice barbel lost.

2 Barbel

Hi, whilst we enjoyed our day a lot, I would have the following comments to make. The fishing pegs are very very limited. Not having fished the stretch ever before I decided to walk it from top to bottom. I counted probaly 8 pegs in total that could be fished but 3 of these were really really awkward to fish and in fact most anglers wouldnt have even contemplated looking at them. 2 others at the lower end were in extremely shallow fast water and not really an option. With any water on then one of these would have been a no no so in reality there were about 4 pegs. I believe 4 anglers are allowed on it so possibly okay but then no options to move at all. We were lucky enough to be the only 2 anglers so we could move a bit but at £22 each we thought its very very expensive for the options available. With a little bank work the difficult pegs could be made better and a couple more created at the upper end. I suppose the question would be, would I return? The answer is only possibly if I knew we were the only 2 on there as 4 is to many for the stretch as it is.(from an angler thats seen a lot of river over many years). Thanks.
WUF note: Wyastone Leys, like many Passport fisheries, is a 2 person beat with an option of a party of 3 or 4 to book. 2 groups of 2 or 4 individuals would not be permitted.

1 Barbel, 1 Pike

Arrived relatively late, around 2.30pm. PH set up in the first swim on the opposite side from the road, JC headed to the last swim on the road side. PH struggled to find any fish during the short session - JC on the other hand had a couple of chub relatively quickly, then things went quiet.... Then at around 5pm, the bottom pool seemed to come alive as JC took a chub almost every cast, finishing with 8 in total. Biggest was a touch over 5lb.
This proved to be the last fish JC would see for the next two days, as both anglers would join friends to fish Lower Canon Bridge (Monday) and Middle Hill Court (Tuesday). PH managed to reverse the trend and do much better.
Stayed at the Greenman in Fownhope. A bit pricey but very pleasant indeed. Thanks to all at WUF, booking, directions, service - all spot on!

8 Chub