Feedback & Reports

A fabulous water and a great result for all four anglers on this trip. There is a lot of ground to cover, and there are large areas where getting to the river is impossible, but that still leaves plenty of scope for angling in a variety of conditions. Fish were caught throughout the day, but there was a final flourish immediately before sunset. all caught on ledgered or drifted pellet, with an emphasis on keeping mobile. Beat 2 and 3 were particularly productive.
Although we were coarse fishing, there were many sightings of salmon and trout throughout the day.

9 Barbel, 10 Chub

Lovely, fantastic beat. Tough conditions but managed a good few fish from the upper end of the beat. All in great condition, fell to pellet and feeder tactics towards the evening

4 Barbel, 9 Chub

Decided to fish a couple of swims in the big field below the orchard after a slow start we started to catch a few fish by mid morning Continued to catch odd fish for the rest of the day even during the sunny afternoon. Had some notable barbel including fish of 9lbs 14 oz and 9lbs would certainly fish this beat again

17 Barbel, 5 Chub

What a excellent days fishing. I must thank Don for letting the three of us to fish together, we all fished the lower end of the section we had fish coming throughout the day even with canoes coming down the river in droves. Though the fish seem to be smaller average in this section (1-3lb) it is good sport and looks good for the future. Most fish caught on pellet or meat with a feeder. (RS-18 Barbel,3 Chub; SP- 7 Barbel, 3 Chub; SC-14 Barbel,5 Chub).

39 Barbel, 11 Chub

Day 3 and a better day weather wise. Barbel continued to feed well with young J taking 11 to 8.8, 6 plus 4 Chub to dad A and 6 for me, the usual groundbait feeder tactics still working, small hookbaits seem to be the order of the day though. Fished a different area today to give area fished the first two days a rest. Last day tomorrow.

23 Barbel, 6 Chub

Last day and another lovely one, joined by the fourth member of our party P who enjoyed a catch of 5 Barbel, 6 Chub and a pound and a half Brown Trout! A at last caught more than son J with 11 Barbel and 4 Chub, I weighed in with 10 with the biggest of the week a fish of exactly 9lbs.
We've had a great four days on a truly beautiful river. Many thanks to the landowner who we spoke to briefly and was pleased to hear of our catches and especially to the Wye and Usk for giving us the opportunity.

1 Trout, 33 Barbel, 15 Chub

River in good condition. Good size barbel. Biggest 8lb 15oz. Two chub over 4lb. All fish on pellet or meat. Will be back.

4 Barbel, 4 Chub

Had the one barbel on corn. Slow day but another lovely evening. Should have had 4 or 5 barbel really but had a bit of a nightmare, lost 3 fish and snagged up a lot when the fish were feeding at dusk.

1 Barbel, 2 Chub

An excellent red letter day for both of us. 11 Barbel from 5 to 7lbs and 6 Chub up to 4lbs. Missed bites would probably double our total. A truly memorable day for us. The Long walk with all our tackle was worth every step. Halibut pellets and luncheon meat did the trick.

11 Barbel, 6 Chub

This was not the first time I have fished this beat, but possibly the most frustrating in terms of actual fishing. I should say though that the reason I like these beats is not simply for the fishing. As a nature lover it really is great to feel like you have a mile of the Wye valley to yourself! And September is fantastic. Barely a canoe, and so much wildlife activity from swallows and house martins feeding off the surface, kingfishers fishing opposite me, Canada geese gathering the troops to fly north and so much more. But the fishing... The river was so full of weed which made things very difficult and was a test of patience, and skill. This was the second of two days fishing and I adjusted my techniques to the conditions and managed to bring in 5 nice size chub, all between 3-4 lbs. No barbel this time around though, whereas previous times have been very fruitful.
A word on the beat itself. Despite reading beforehand that more swims had been created, it was hard to see much evidence of this. Those 'swims' were quite treacherous and hardly accessible. I understand the WUF principles and support them, but when you have virtually only one safe spot to fish from in 1/2 mile stretch then something isn't quite right. And of course this means that the one good 'peg' at the bottom of the beat gets fished by everyone I would imagine. I tried to get to other swims but was aware of my safety and being alone it wasn't worth taking risks. I'd like to re-visit closer to winter for some chubbing and hopefully the weed will be long gone and the banks clearer of vegetation. It's a beautiful location, and I know there are good fish in there, but I agree with others that say more work needs to be done to make more swims safer and more accessible, there is a lot of money coming from us anglers after all.

5 Chub