Feedback & Reports

New to this beat so just finding our way round with the fly rod / where and where not to wade! Lower limit of beat has Martins Island which you can wade to from above Island on left bank pointed out with white spray paint and some steps cut out of bank. More spinning water than fly but some nice spots to get to know.

1 Trout, 1 Barbel

Very cold day with river running high and coloured. Fished with swim feeder, red maggott to catch good 5 pound Chub and 1 pound 12 oz Grayling. Very muddy banks after recent flooding!

1 Grayling, 2 Chub

Fished with the fly. A nice stretch of water below the foot bride on the right bank, the river looks fishy around the island. I thought if I could wade out to the island it would be a great spot to fish but access to river looked a bit iffy with out kwowing your way out. I spoke to Adam when I was leaving. Its a shallow wade out at the bottom of Martins Pool on the left bank and he is going to improve the access to the river bank which makes returning worthwile when the weather warms up a bit.

Fishing was slow, only one barbel to the two of us on pellet. We have fished here several times before and will be back again in better weather. Thanks to Don for his advice and help.

1 Barbel

Blanked! Relatively warm weather with a high, coloured river, should have been pretty decent Barbel conditions but I just couldn't find the fish.

Very tough day, we went in high hopes of the milder recent weather bringing the barbel on to feed but we were wrong!! Tried several swims from the power lines down, with various hook baits but couldn't get a touch. Right at the end, NC had a pike follow his feeder and it subsequently grabbed a plug the first time of asking (glad I bought a tiny bit of pile gear with such an occurrence in mind). I think we probably needed about two weeks of better weather rather than two days. And with the current forecast, it looks like it will be next season before I venture this way again. Thanks to all at WUF, directions and service all first class as usual, just a shame the fish weren't playing ball!

1 Pike

At around 10.15am I landed a 38.5" cock salmon 22lbs from the Waterscross Pool of Craig y Heul, aka the Fishing Lodge, which is the 150 yards no fishing stretch in the Courtfield beat, now extended to 250 yards double bank. Yesterday a fish was seen rising here and another one below the Boat Pool of Courtfield plus a further 3 fish were seen leaping early morning on Legg meadow. I believe this was a run of fish going through after the small lift and dirty water below Monmouth. They are the first fish seen breaking the surface in the first week. All quiet again today. maybe my fish was part of this run.

1 Salmon

Swim feeder using Meat, Maggot and Pellet. Three barbel - 13.5lb, 10.5lb, and 8lb.

3 Barbel

One lost fish on first cast then no further action to either rod on any of the 'swims' tried. Conditions looked right but could not locate the fish. Only other real excitement was when a very large pike (probably mid 20's) attempted to take the feeder on the retrieve.

Low and clear fishing maggot and feeder on lower beat. Down to 5/6lb flurocarbon 14/16 hooks. Moved to find fish mainly 2 rod lengths out near cover. 2 caught, 1 struggled, I blanked. Stayed at Red Lion, Madley. Very welcoming.

5 Barbel, 6 Chub