Feedback & Reports

River in good condition had some takes but no fish caught. At the top section above the falls I was asked by a couple who claimed the leftbank rights for sight of the map showing the extent of the rightbank fishing which I provided.

All fish taken on a small gold bead ptn. Almost half of the Grayling were small fingerlings but the rest were fin perfect 6 - 8". River starting to show it's bones and gin clear and the sun was bright all day.
Thanks to the Wye and Usk.

5 Trout, 33 Grayling

Agree with last report on this beat by JD of Porthcawl. The uncoppiced first half is heavily wooded, but by taking time and improvising I got a dry fly onto most of the runs and glides. Made it to the clearer section but only had time to fish a couple of runs there. Worth perservering though, started with a rust klink and then a blue dun para to land 12 at 6" to 12", all in great condition. Got nothing on the dry from the slow deep pools.

12 Trout

No fish taken. No salmon seen. 1 salmon parr caught and 1 brown trout 1lb both returned. River level approx 1 foot. Very bright sweaty conditions. Lovely beat and nice fishing hut and facilities. Fished for trout and grayling with 10 foot 3 weight rod with elk hair caddis and red tungsten bead nymph. Both rods fished for salmon on sink tips and cascades.

1 Trout, 1 Other

Fished the upper section in the morning arriving later than planned due to the M5! Looked perfect as I set up and fed the swim, but then the sun got above the hill burnt off the mist in about two minutes and i knew it would be a struggle. River very "sluggish" and clear holding the bottom with 30gram feeder. 1 Chub in the morning. Planned to move down to the bottom section for the afternoon evening packed up, back to the car and drove down to the lay-by for the downstream section. This was not a nice experience, lay-by full of big lorries and the hedge full of rubbish, bottles of urine and you can guess what else. To be honest felt uncomfortable leaving my car there, and a quick walk along the banks did not inspire so back in the car to the top end again. Afternoon session produced another chub on bread flake. Evening session produced three Barbel, 5lbs 2oz, 8lbs 4oz and 9lbs 14oz. If only they would feed all day. All fell to feeder and pellet. Another great day and well worth the drive

3 Barbel, 2 Chub

First time I've fished this lovely lake. I didn't expect these grown-on wild fish to be easy, and I was right about that. When the perfect SW breeze finally fell away at dusk you could see countless fish dimpling the lake, and it was clear that they know exactly how far anglers can cast! I took a small fish (returned) on a droppered dry dabbler near the car park, my only take in a 3-hour evening session. No rise to speak of, just a few very small chironomids. Will be back, but next time I'll concentrate on the less fished areas.

1 Trout

Tough day,very hot,bright sunny day, a few bites and a couple of chub during the day, remainder of fish taken after 7pm. Best Barbel = 9lb. a "Baby" Barbel from the top field.

4 Barbel, 8 Chub

Many thanks must go to Mick Sutton who put me onto a fish almost straight away. 3lb Grilse from Vanstone stream on a home tied Wotsit fly. A few fish seen but no other takers- heavy canoe traffic all afternoon. Left about 3pm.
I can throughly recommend Mick to anyone who is new to Goodrich - he is a wealth of information about the beat and the Wye. I really enjoyed his company on the bank.

1 Salmon

River low and clear - very hot with bright sunshine all conspiring to make catching very difficult - 3 barbel, the best being just over 8lb and 2 chub between 3lb and 4lb - will be back when the river has been flushed through after a good spell of heavy rain.

3 Barbel, 2 Chub

Hard days fishing as the river was pushing through hard and fast. Very little fly life and only the odd fish rising. Still caught all fish bar 2 on dries tan klink and pheasant tail para doing the business. All trout were small 8" to 10" grayling from 12" to 16".

5 Trout, 11 Grayling