Feedback & Reports

Arrived at 7.15am to find the river clear and looking perfect. The weather was nice and sunny, a beautiful autumn morning. We settled into a peg where the Vanstone Pool empties. After an hour I had missed a couple of knocks, lost 2 chub to an unseen snag and caught a 12lb pike on an old plug I found in the bottom of my box after it insisted on trying to eat my feeder every time I reeled it in.

Three hours later not sign of a fish so a move was on the cards. We moved to a new area and immediately resulted in a few fish - I had 3 barbel and a chub in the first few casts and again got pestered by pike trying to eat my feeder. Out went the plug and I had a 16lb pike first cast, followed by another double next cast before going back to my barbel fishing.

We ended the day with 8 barbel between 5 and 7lb, 5 pike to 16lb, 2 chub 3 to 4lb and a suprise carp I had last cast (12lb common) so a good day was had by both of us. Middle Hill Court has to be the best looking beat on the Wye at this time of the year.

Lovely day - some stretches of the beat looking very appealing for fly.

But the bank really could benefit from a little bit of management for creating access down to the river.
On the lower part of the beat the white pegs are very visible for the coarse fishermen. But above the Vanstone Pool it is very difficult to find access down to the river. This could easily be marked with a coloured plastic strip tied to a tree and a small path through the growth cleared.
Not knowing the correct access points down to the river, I got stuck in some very deep mud by the bank and only managed to free myself with great difficulty.

Thanks for all the work you are doing.

WUF Note: We will look into the access issues described above before the start of the 2011 salmon season.

Fishing was hard going, five dace and at the end of the day one decent chub of 4lbs. No barbel but this was prob due to river conditions.

We arrived early and found a poacher on the beat. Not a good start. After walking the beat in the half light we decided on a start in the Vanstone pool and the tail but whilst tackling up the WUFs deputy director, Simon Evans, arrived with a companion to attempt to catch a salmon. They wanted the Vanstone pool so we headed off downstream but only fished half heartedly, just getting a feel for the beat, exploring the swims and likely spots for a bite. By eleven we had the beat to ourselves and, after a coffee, headed up to the Vanstone. In the daylight it looked hammered, not really what we are used to on WUF beats. Then the shooting started. Shot rained down on us as the guns blazed in the woods opposite and it wasn't long before a change of swim was in order! We couldn't settle and flitted around until mid afternoon. The shooting had stopped but a chainsaw now stepped in to protect us from peace and quiet. I was beginning to feel a bit shell shocked. Late afternoon and still fishless. The only noise now was a pair of Ravens wheeling overhead and at last we began to relax and settle into our fishing. Fishing hard until dark, my companion blanked and I managed six chub and two barbel, one of which was a very nice fish. Plain old meat doing the damage.

River dropping off after weekend prior. Picked swim which appeared productive for barbel. Alternated between feeder for barbel and float for dace etc. But after several hours only dace caught. Mid afternoon the Baliff (Adam) stopped by for a chat. Changed swim on his advice and subsequently, thanks to this, caught 3 barbel (8 3/4, 9, and 5 lb) on pellet and straight lead before poor light stopped play. Once again thanks for your advice. P.S. saw 3 salmon moving during course of the day.

This return covers 3 days fishing between 6-8 Oct 2010 by 2 anglers. 18 barbel caught to 10.02 plus 4 chub. River was high limiting swims available and flow meant that only near bank fishing was possible.

Following on from Backney the previous day, we found Middle Hill Court even harder going. Total fish caught was 8 Barbel to 9 1/2 lbs, 6 Chub up to 3 lbs. Pellets very unproductive, with corn doing better producing the most bites, and paste capturing the largest fish. River in need of some rain.

With having caught a large number of barbel over the previous four days, but with only one over 8lb, i was looking forward to trying to tempt one of the larger barbel that inhabit this fishery. Two anglers arrived just before me, and with a very limited number of fishable swims in the current high water conditions i was concerned they would plump for the swim i was after. However, they chose to fish the main Vatone Pool, so i fished the run off below, which was my first choice in these conditions. Even here the pace was very fast and the only option was to fish close in where there was a steady pace and a good crease. However, as on Saturday, the river was rising fast after yesterdays rain, and i was not sure that the fish would feed. I needn't have worried as i had a barbel of 8lb 11oz first cast and continued to catch steadily until they switched off late afternoon, at which point the amount of suspended debris was again making the fishing almost impossible. However, by this time i was very happy with a catch of 13 barbel, including a cracking fish of exactly 10lb. This was a great finish to a fantastic few days fishing in mainly ideal conditions, and my thanks go to the Wye and Usk Foundation for offering such wonderful fisheries in stunning surroundings.

4 x Barbel 5-7lb on halibut pellets

Catch return - Nil. Unfortunatly the river was very high & coloured unsuitable for the fly.
Stayed at the Inn on the Wye at Kerne bridge it was very good, also they allow dogs.