Feedback & Reports

We went late in the day and only fished for about 3 hours. We didn't catch any fish, lost one as it jumped and dislodged the spinner. Very enjoyable though just to teach my 11 year old daughter to spin....

Small Chub caught (and released) on a dry fly. Overcast weather and fairly high water conditions, there seemed to be very little insect activity and fishing was slow with only a few takes of small trout. Water level seemed high, but it's my first time fishing the Wye so it's difficult for me to be accurate.
I noticed that someone had inadvertently left the gate open to left bank access beats 3,4,5. It maybe worth considering posting a reminder on the gate itself.

It was my first time using the Foundation's service. I found it to be excellent, both the on- line service and the information provided by phone.

Best regards

Robert Gunn

1 Chub

First time on this stretch and not disappointed, very well maintained and Collin the Ghillie is one the nicest people you could meet. In two days me and my mate caught 2 barbel and 47 chub between us, my mate trotting took most of the Chub. The river looked good but with all our best efforts could only manage the 2 barbel. We will return next year as we really enjoyed the two days. Stayed at the Brandon Lodge, also very impressed, clean rooms, beds are great and breakfast is very good. Staff friendly and helpful. Thanks WUF for a great couple of great days.

2 Barbel, 47 Chub

Had a great day again guiding a client. After a very tough morning however, a move to another area saw 7 barbel with one at 10lbs 11oz. All caught on pellet. Surprised on how low the river was after recent rain.
A great day completed by a new pb chub of 5lbs 8oz for my client. A super beat with loads of potential.

9 Barbel, 6 Chub

5 Chub

Wet most of the day, lovely stretch but not joy.

Location was perfect but the weather not so. Did not catch but enjoyed my day. Will return when the sun is shining!

Rain made fishing difficult and no fish were landed but I enjoyed my day, wading a little tricky.

One of the most beautiful locations I have fished, caught 2 small brown trout on the dry fly but rain made it tricky. I shall come back next year and have another go!

2 Trout

22 x trout 6-11 inches, mostly 7 and 8 inches, plus various parr, on a Rusty Klinkhammer. A very wet bank holiday morning, which I could have spent indoors watching the levels on the online gauges and worrying about whether there might be a chance of a salmon on a rising river somewhere, or whether there would be spinning or fly fishing later, and if so, when and where? When would night fishing for sea trout start again? That’s the trouble with chasing these here today and gone tomorrow, will they or will they not be in the mood, migratory fish – they don’t allow you to relax and it’s all very hard on the nerves. Instead I went trout fishing on the nearby Cannop Brook. The rain was relentless. The steam train chuffed up and down the valley making a nice fug. Nothing was rising, but every pool seemed to have a little trout prepared to rise, which is really just as good. I got to the top in three hours, just as the stream coloured up.
Incidentally, there has been some discussion at the WUF about just why these Forest streams have such prolific populations of small trout. One view is that we have the woody debris, of which there is much lodged in the channels, to thank for it. It’s certainly true that, between the loose timber and the tree roots, there is a lot of cover. Apart from kingfishers you rarely see fish eating birds around these streams and I can’t recall catching a fish showing predator damage. Another view is that, most unusually, there is virtually no agricultural land in these catchments, but only mixed forest with a large deciduous component. The only livestock in the area (apart from deer and wild boar) are lightly managed free range sheep, grazing over a wide area and at low density.
Quite possibly it is a combination of both factors which keep these little fish healthy.

22 Trout