Feedback & Reports

Only fished the afternoon and evening, 1 barbel about 12 ozs and 2 small chub. Fished 6 pegs at the lower end of the fishery. Just couldn't get them to feed. Lovely place and a great day. Weed did prove to be a bit of a problem.

1 Barbel, 2 Chub

The ducks kept us company all day but unfortunately so did the continuous (and I mean continuous) canoes. They were still coming down well past 6pm.
Some clearly did their best not to disrupt us. Many were frankly inept (some triggered by alcohol), making it impossible to fish at times. A stark reminder as to why we tend to avoid Saturdays in July on certain parts of the river, especially when the weather is ‘good’.
Despite our best efforts and persistance, changing methods throughout the day and fishing until 9:30pm, we couldn’t off-set the difficult conditions (bright sunshine, clear water) and frequent disruptions.
CH made an all too brief contact with a solitary Barbel and hooked and lost a Chub on cheese-paste very late on. RE generated some interest in his float-fished sweetcorn but ultimately the river and conditions beat us both.
Only booked a few days prior to the weekend so faced limited availability. We expected a generally challenging day and that’s exactly what we got. We look forward to next time, but maybe not this stretch on a summer weekend whilst the sun is shining. River 1 Fishermen 0.

Fished the Meadow swims as none available in the woods from 2pm until late. Only caught eels.

4 Other

I fished from 6am to 9pm. Water low and clear. Hot day. Biggest Chub 4lb 8oz. 1 Eel, no Barbel. Didn't even see one. Tried to find them with my polarised sunglasses but no luck. Fished two swims. Left bank in the middle by the stump and right side just under the bridge. Chub from both swims. Second time I've been here. I have not idea where to find Barbel here. Maybe back when the water is higher and more colored.In the afternoon 2 families arrived on canoes, stopped just in front of me and had 30 min break with children throwing stones in to the water. I have no idea if they allowed to stop anywhere? A happy and unhappy day on the river.

10 Chub, 1 Other

Weather hot and river low. Not a bite all day. Lots of canoes most of whom were well behaved, but some decided to ignore the code and messed about right infront of me.

One foul hooked Minnow. We were beaten by the tropical conditions.

1 Other

Great day had by me and my mate. 10 barbel between us although 9 were to him. Please be careful returning these fish as they are struggling at the moment with the low oxygen levels. I had to spend 20mins with one up to my waist in the water to make sure she was okay. Great stretch of river but be prepared to fight your way to swims.

Hot, low water, one chub to each rod on meat.

2 Chub

Fished the Marl bed section down to the point - with nothing coming out until the evening on the lower section. Hard work in hot, low river conditions but beautiful surroundings and a really special stretch of water. Shame to see the abstraction pumps on 24/7!

3 Barbel, 2 Chub

Quite a difficult day, but we were rewarded for our patience later in the day. Started well with a barbel & chub first cast in both of our swims. Second fish followed shortly afterwards and then both our swims went quiet. Followed the same pattern throughout the day and only seemed to be able to induce bites when we changed baits - even from large to small pellets. Started to catch more consistently in the early evening. Barbel from 4lb to 9.5lb and chub up to 4.5lb. Not a touch on meat, with all fish caught on pellets either glued to the hair or bait banded. Pellets from 8ml to 15ml and a combination of micro-pellets or groundbait in the feeders. 1.5lb test curve Shimano Beastmaster rod, with 12lb mainline, 18lb braid hooklink and a size 10 hook. The river was VERY low (the lowest I have ever seen here) but there was a reasonable flow even above the pylon pool. Canoeists were fine but the peace and quiet was disturbed by the 6 who turned up with their tents on the adjacent HDAA stretch and started fishing in the mouth of the Lugg. Although they were no real problem they were more interested in the swimming, beer and barbeque and I would suggest keeping an eye on where they are fishing. This is probably for me the most pretty beat on the Wye & Usk and I will definitely be back soon.

15 Barbel, 10 Chub