Feedback & Reports

River fined down from recent floods with colour dropping out. Fished opposite weir garden but very quiet with no fish spotted all day. Tactics used were open end feeders filled with pellet & pellet hook bait. My fishing companion caught a barbel (5lb 6oz) which was to be his only fish of the day whilst I continually found snags & lost 3 feeders & a ledger. Decided to switch swims & 1st cast caught a 2lb chub but then started to snag again. The swims looked good with slow oxygenated water running round the outside of a bend but perhaps the fish have moved downstream into deeper, slower water? Very snaggy!

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

Another blank recorded. Other fishermen catching just one or two.

5 x small trout 10-11 inches, beadhead nymph on the point of a team of spiders. A glorious and sunny day and the river at a much more reasonable level than two days earlier. Still, nothing much seen rising at the surface yet, despite occasional large dark olives and it seemed to be necessary to go deep. Others did better; regular angler Peter North had an 18 inch trout from the beat this morning on a nymph fished New Zealand-style.

5 Trout

Fished the bottom end of Wyastone today from noon till 6pm. 2 anglers, 3 barbel a piece (plus 2 lost) plus one chub. Very fishable and enjoyable experience.

6 Barbel, 1 Chub

Having fished the Wyebank and Courtfield a few times we decided to have a look at the other side.
The track to the Youth hostel parking is interesting and requires care but is not a problem and the parking is fine. The Hostel seems to operate a cafe which is worth investigating further.
The walk up to the beat is not unpleasant and takes about 15 mins. There is plenty to go at, we walked to the top of the beat and even with the river a couple of ft over it was no problem finding swims. The banks are steep in places but easy enough to get down. In hindsight we should have fished fewer swims but with the bright sunshine and great company it just happened the way it did, the fish were a bonus. Great to catch up with Don. Looking forward to fishing this beat again in the summer, especially if the water is high.

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Superb conditions on Sunday, river clearing through the day which showed in a bonus 4lb Chub in the afternoon. We had 4 fish to just over 10lb fishing the Meadow and had to leave after lunch, very reluctantly.
If you can get there this week promises some very special end of season fishing. The Barbel are fighting fit and at top weight for the season.
Also saw a number of salmon jump and should be clear for a fly by now.

4 Barbel, 1 Chub

Sunshine, a gentle westerly and 16 degrees.....we had to wait until about mid-May for similar conditions last year. The Arrow was a picture, carrying some water but running clear. A few small olives hatched mid afternoon along with some terrestrials but fly life was quite sparse otherwise, in common with a normal March day. I had 3 trout on a weighted nymph, all in good condition and around the 8-9" bracket. A few others were missed, probably due to early-season excitement.

I was once told by a local that it's impossible to catch Arrow trout before April. It was nice to prove the theory wrong.

3 Trout

Hard day, 2 Chub on pellet and meat.

2 Chub

First visit on the Wye. Initial reaction spinning up the left bank, donated a few flying c to the river, result nil. Decided to fish right bank on the fly 1" black/yellow conehead down the Lines caught a 9" brownie. Came back through again and had a great pull, initially thought I had hooked my first Wye salmon only to find a lovely 20" brownie landed and returned after a quick snap on phone. A great end to a day on the Wye.

2 Trout

An enjoyable but tough day in the sun with the river running high and fast. I did manage to find a couple of mint condition Barbel in a large crease about half way along the beat. The fish were 7lb 4oz and 5lb 8oz. The water levels are still dropping at the moment, so might try for another last minute session before the end of the season.
I had a lucky escape and unintended test of my new waders when I slipped into the margins while returning the first fish and ended up sitting in 6 inches of water. I could have been in real trouble if it happened to be a deep spot, so chest waders and a life jacket are highly recommended at the moment.

2 Barbel