Feedback & Reports

Another stunning stretch - less accessible swims than the other stretches we fished but there are certainly enough to go at. Again struggled on a low clear river but persevered and managed to get three nice Chub in the end from the faster water. Great weekend - must have seen easily 50 Salmon leap out of the water over the three days. Despite what some reports say if you follow the maps and the instructions you can't go wrong. Thank you Wye Usk Foundation

3 Chub

Nice to be back at Holme Lacy 3 after an absence of 8 yrs, could not believe how much it has changed. Young trees and bushes growing, with well maintained pathways and pegs. This beat is a real credit to Colin Richardson who maintains and manages it for the land owner. Great to speak to him again, what a true gentleman and always willing to give good advice on pegs and where to locate fish. Lets hope the w&u keep this beat on their passport for many years to come.
So to the fishing itself - weather was sunny and cloudy on the 1st day and overcast with rain showers on the 2nd. 1st day saw me start at the bottom croys trotting pellets catching a few chub, I then moved to the first land slip changing to a speci waggler trotting the far bank this picked up a lot of fish bites came fast and furious. 2nd day I fished the bottom of the beat and started wading right down to the fast water with a feeder. No luck. As I came back I noticed a deep gulley on the far side. Put in a kilo of ground bait, hemp and pellets. Went back to rig up and avon float, waded out and started feeding pellets. Picked up a few chub just off bottom then noticed chub coming right up in the water to take on the drop. I shallowed up to 18" and started to catch what would turn out to be a massive haul of chub all ranging from 3lb to 5lb+. At one point I was catching 4 to 5 fish in 20 minutes. This then tailed off and the fish became spooked by the float going in. I stripped everything off but a no.4 shot and basically free lined a 8mm pellet down the run. The chub could not cope with this, the presentation must have been as good as it gets. 5 barbel also fell to the free line and at 7 o'clock with my hooklink broken and a long drive looming I desided to call it a day. The fish were stil feeding and I stood and thought to myself how lucky I have been to catch such a large amount of quality fish. I will probably never have such good fortune ever again. The angling gods must have smiled on me. Thank you to the wye and usk for letting me fish in such beautiful surroundings. I feel privileged.

7 Barbel, 100 Chub

5 Barbel, 3 Chub

Lovely beat and very scenic. Arrived about midday and struggled in hot bright conditions. Managed 1 chub and 1 barbel before going for lunch at the Green Man pub. 6 more barbel and 3 chub after refreshments. Will explore more of the beat next time, down stream of the hill looks very nice.

7 Barbel, 4 Chub

Fished four different swims including two of the recently opened ones. Caught in all of them but found the barbel in the deeper water - maybe due to the bright conditions. All fish to double sweetcorn straight on a size 12, fish meal and hemp in the feeder.
Biggest barbel was 8.15 and biggest chub 3.15. With a 2 hr drive before and after only fished 6 till 5 so would of expected a few more before dusk if I had stayed on.

4 Barbel, 7 Chub

A long anticipated first trip to the River Wye. Planned to fish the late afternoon after the canoe traffic had died, arrived on bank to a heavy (but brief) rain storm and fished from 4pm. Slow start, but steady feeding saw the fish really come on from 5:30 pm. Fished trotted pellet and time bomb pellet till dark. Five barbel to 8.5lb and seven chub to 5lb. Had me wondering why it has taken me so long to come here and if I'll ever fish anywhere else again! Many thanks to the Wye and Usk - superb booking service and instructions.

5 Barbel, 7 Chub

A difficult day: 1 barbel and 2 chub caught by my companions - and nothing by me.
The upper part of this beat is very overgrown with steep banks. The lower part has sheep grazed banks which offer plenty of fishing spots. Unfortunately a caravan event was being held on the lower part of the beat which, though it didn't stop us fishing, effectively confined us to Church Stream. Church Stream is a super run but it is not the place for novice canoeists - some of whom totally ignored their leader's instructions and careered dangerously down the run before capsizing. This amused them enormously; we packed up. We also had bathing belles, but their presence brightened an already hopeless day!
Absolutely no complaints about the Wye and Usk which offers a fantastic service! One bad day is quickly forgotten.

WUF note - We have only just found out about this caravan event. Please be aware, the campers are permitted to fish the bottom field of this beat until their departure on 5th August.

The top half of this beat is due to be strimmed on Thursday 17th July.

1 Barbel, 2 Chub

River running low, took 11 barbel & 7 chub, all on pellet and paste. Biggest barbel 9lb 14oz. Great 6 hour session. All fish in excellent condition.

11 Barbel, 7 Chub

River low, but slightly coloured which I'm sure helped. Cut out a new peg down from the tree line, although would recommend a rope to use it. Fished there first thing without a touch. Moved to the faster water 2/3's of the way down and caught 4 barbel (up to 7lb 12oz). Bites stopped after 90 mins. Returned in the evening and fished the new peg. Caught 5 barbel in the last 2 hours before sunset.

9 Barbel

Beautiful stretch with spectacular scenery. We fished beats 4 and 5 which we found easily with the detailed map provided. Struggled on a low clear river but caught 2 Barbel late on in the faster water on halibut pellet on the feeder. Lots of accessible swims to try.

2 Barbel