Feedback & Reports

Hard work today. Not sure why as the river looked to be in reasonable condition. OK, so it was up a bit and really pushing through and it had been cold overnight. Talking to the farmer, the river had been carrying colour on Saturday, but come Sunday the colour had all but gone so it was a confident angler striding down to the bottom of the beat on a glorious autumn morning. Not to be though and, come lunchtime not so much as a sniff of a fish. More and more frequent changes of fly during the afternoon. All the usual suspects - PTNs, GRHEs, Copper Johns, Czech Nymphs etc - but to no avail. Finally saved the blank by putting on a Klinkhammer and casting to the first fish I had seen rise all day. More of the same in the next run on a day when results did not match application.

River in good condition - not too much colour. Barbel slow to show but one nice fish around 5lbs taken on meat in the Vanstone Pool tight under the near bank. Dace were a menace! Attacking all maggot baits almost as soon as they settled but they were not our target species.

Lovely spot with great access for my elderly father who has difficulty walking - he had a grand day out sitting by his beloved Wye in the autumn sunshine - worth every penny to see him happy. Thanks.

PS "Silver Tourist" about 10lbs showing in the Corner Tree.

On the downside, strong upstream wind, horizontal drizzle, chocolate coloured water, lots of weed and leaf debris washing through. On the upside, not at work!
Fished a number of swims from the islands, down past the 'bridge' to Carey Brook, looking for that near-side depth that would hold fish rather than struggle with mid-stream where its not easy to see what's what because of the colour and debris dragging the line. Found numerous spots to try and caught in 3 of them, finishing with 5 barbel to 7lbs and 2 nice chub.

Thanks WUF, great beat.

Booked early on the day after overnight rainfall in Wales. Arrived at the bank early to find the river in spate at a good 3 foot over LSLs. Hunted out the slacker water off the crease. Could not find feeding fish till late afternoon when the river had fined down to around 18" over LSL's. 5 barbel to 7.5lbs, 3 chub to 2lbs all on pellet. The other gentleman who had booked on the same stretch (Paul), I witnessed weighing a perfect 10 3/4lb barbel.

Our second day on the river, as we were on the Lower Carrots and Luggsmouth beat yesterday, and the river had risen about five feet overnight and coloured up a lot. As I'm 78 and not so good on my pins, I decided I couldn't cope with carrying all my gear to find a fishable spot, which would inevitably have been quite a way from the car, so I gave up the idea, and sat and watched my son fish a small area of comparatively slack well down from the hut.
He had four good takes during the day on pellet and meat, resulting in four barbel hooked. One came unhooked, one broke him at the hook, but he landed two of 6lbs and 7lbs respectively.

Lovely day, near perfect conditions - mild, river up and coloured. Had 3 barbel, 5, 6 and 10.75 lbs. All taken at the lower end of the fishery on pellet. Lovely beat, excellent fishing. Thanks to all at the WUF and to fellow angler Simon for helping to photograph and return the fish. Limited access to the lower end of the beat.

Beautiful stretch of river, could do with a sign to confirm you are on the right beat (at least for "out of towners"). Arrived early but was woefully inequipped for the river, no fish in the 5/6 hours I was there, another chap had fished the previous day with no luck either. Fished the Vanstone Pool and was even more snaggy than I had imagined. Advice - take lots of heavy weight and be prepared to lose some tackle.

Overall great place to fish with enormous promise.

1 x 11 inch grayling, 2 x out of season trout 10 and 14 inches. A search for the elusive grayling with the trotting rod, and a difficult day really, although I am not quite sure why. The Monnow looked to be in excellent condition.

We were beaten by the flood water eventually. We went back to last week's productive swim but found that dragging weed was a problem and despite apparent drop in water level the flow seemed faster and it was difficult to hold the bottom. So we went to a slower patch of water at the bottom end of the beat and coaxed two barbel to the net. When the water crept around my ankles we realised that the water levels were rising despite a glorious and dry day. More weed and debris, two more barbel and I was chased up the bank by rising flood water, tree branches and other debris. So the dreams of 20-30 barbel did not become reality. We ended the day with 6 barbel to 9lbs and four decent chub. That's fishing! Thank you WUF, we'll be back next year.

3 Rods, 8 barbel (5/2/1)and 2 lost. River up a little but quite clear which may explain less-than-hoped-for catches. Water 11degC and some loose weed coming down. We left at dark before the 3 foot surge came through.