Feedback & Reports

A very quiet day, slightly spoilt by the hot weather and even though it was mid week a lot of canoeists, most of whom were very polite.
Will be back next year.

2 Barbel, 1 Chub

Still low water conditions but caught late afternoon.

1 Barbel, 2 Chub

All activity at and around dusk. Very low and gin clear plus bright sunshine, not good conditions. Both barbel about 6lb.

2 Barbel, 3 Chub

Booked the beat for 3 days from the 19th - 21st Sept.
River very low and clear. Fished from top to bottom during the 3 days but almost failed to find some feeding fish of any kind. Tried every trick in the book but could only produce 2 Barbel and a couple of Chub. They were simply not having any of it. Andy, the Keeper/Bailiff is a super chap and could not have been more helpful in our quest for a catch - but we still failed despite his valuable advice. But that's fishing.
The swims are on very steep banks and very slippery and dangerous when wet - not suitable (in our opinion) for anyone elderly or slightly infirm. Some work and maintenance by the Estate could remedy this and make fishing on this beat a lot safer.

2 Barbel, 3 Chub

Bright and sunny, needed to stay till dusk, will try again next week.

2 Barbel, 1 Chub

Only a few swims fishable in low water conditions. Hard going but managed a barbel and chub each. Need some rain !!

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Low river conditions and anglers fishing from the opposite bank limited swim choice. Managed to catch an 8lb barbel and two smaller barbel late afternoon.

3 Barbel, 4 Chub

Other = dace. Cage feeder fishing halibut pellet & luncheon meat.
Also wish to report a incident: when we got to our chosen swim at around 7.15am there were anglers on the opposite bank fishing with their bait under the trees on our bank which we did not object to but they objected to us fishing in our chosen swims even though we were fishing only about 3ft from the bank.

1 Barbel, 10 Other

Got to the beat @ 9 am on an cool overcast morning, walked the bank and decided to start our day at the bottom of the length in the faster shallower water across from the shingle bank. The pegs looked fishy and the bailiff/ranger (nice bloke) had said some barbel had been caught there recently, even thought the river was low. Fished pellets, close into the bank but had no luck as the day warmed up.
At around 2ish we had a walk up the length, looking for some deeper water and decided on the try the peg directly across from the line of trees dividing fields. Mixed some ground bait with pellet and hemp and fished feeder or pellet PVA over top. Didn't take long before knocks and bites started to come. From then on it was just about turning the bites into fish. We came away with 4 barbel between 7-8 lb and 2 chub and lost quiet a few more.
A great days fishing from the strong fight barbel in the beautiful setting of The Wye. Shall return again soon.

4 Barbel, 2 Chub

First time on a new beat for us. Walked down to the river on arrival and decided to head upstream to try and find the first gully area. Found a swim which looked like it would hold a few fish in the searing sunshine and clear skies.
Had to wait till around mid afternoon for the first few fish, unfortunately I proceeded to loose 6 barbel to hook pulls early on (I don't think they were feeding properly at this stage) and later to a monstrous snag mid river and the rocks close in. The barbel were scrapping like demons and with a straight drop to 6-7 foot in the side, they were boring for the gaps in the rocks under our feet in the clear water. Worth noting for any anglers that braid hook-lengths and barbless hooks would be useful to avoid breaks and, if broken, avoid leaving barbed hooks in the fish. We eventually worked the swim out and the best way to play them which involved walking up the bank a little and getting out onto a submerged rock for a better angle.
Ended the day with a 9lb 6oz fish for me, and 2 7lbers for my fishing partner. The few that I saw close in before they cut me off were 7-8lbers.
Lovely beat, although I can imagine at weekends the opposite bank could get busy with other anglers. At the moment it's a must to stay until it gets dark, as we had pretty consistent action from around 6 o'clock onwards but very little before this as is usually the case on the Wye in summer on low levels.
As always, many thanks to WUF for letting the beat.

3 Barbel