Feedback & Reports

Anglers booking this beat should be aware that the upper stretch is opposite a busy day ticket fishery owned by a lady called Jean Bishop. There are two factors with this situation; one is that with up to 8 anglers on the opposite bank it could be impossible to fish effectively from Fownhope 5. The other is that the resident barbel are subject to intense angling pressure, unlike many W&UF beats where the fish are less pressured. The trek up and around the wooded area is tough but manageable but there is quite limited access to pegs on the two lower fields (virtually none on the second field and none in the wood). In our experience, the walk is not justified by the fishing available.
One 9.6lbs barbel caught from top stretch saved the day from being a real disappointment despite the coloured water suggesting good barbel conditions.

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

10 Barbel

Hard going today with just the one chub.

1 Chub

Fished just below "Lucky Pool" and regularly caught chub throughout the day. The Barbel switched on early evening, it was then one every cast. Access to the pool is not easy, leave your chair behind as you'll be stood in the water or sat on a rock so you may wish to take an unhooking mat to sit on, although its easy enough to unhook the fish in the water. Stayed at Bowens B&B opposite the church in the village.

9 Barbel, 12 Chub

River extremely low and in desperate need of rain.
We started fishing at the bottom end of the beat and finished the day in the swims by the fishing hut.
Despite our best efforts we could only manage one small chub. We're certain this beat would produce more fish in better river conditions.

1 Chub

Very low water levels made the fishing extremely difficult. We started at the bottom end of the fishery and finished the day in the swims by the hut with only one small chub to show for our efforts.
A pleasant fishery which we are sure would produce plenty of fish in better conditions.

1 Chub

First time on this beat, very hot, river low, like a pond on top. Started at 6am, nothing by nine so moved down over the hill. I explored wood but fishing not really viable, overgrown and access to river dangerous. The one spot was a boulder field and tackle graveyard. Tried every spot down to border, fished extensively from gravel beach only to be told by a local on the opposite bank that we were wasting our time. Moved back up to the top for the afternoon. This was spoilt by anglers on far bank who were loud and whose every other word was an expletive. Fished most WUF waters, this is the worst yet and does not compare to others. I think it is important that new waters are accurately assessed, it would be a mistake to rush to open new beats, not of previous quality. Only saying this as others have made similar comments.

1 Chub

Low water and bright conditions, a number of anglers on opposite bank including us made a total of seven fishing. The only angler to catch was our man D with one Barbel and a small chub from the down stream end of the first field. It was a long day without a bite.

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

A good day on an interesting beat. Access to swims is challenging at the bottom end and the much-referenced hill is really not for the faint of heart. All that said, our hard work was rewarded with some fine barbel in beautiful surroundings. The croys at the top end produced some unexpected fish from the deeper, slower water at the end of the day.

18 Barbel, 10 Chub

We arrived at 2.30pm, we were really looking forward to exploring this new beat. What a disappointment. There was no access to the river in the lower section of the beat. As for the top section, there is a day ticket water on the opposite bank so very very limited water. There are only 3 swims fishable on the whole beat. We will not be returning.

2 Barbel, 4 Chub, 2 Other