Feedback & Reports

Hard day on low river in hot bright sunshine with no bites until late afternoon. Perseverance paid off with too late barbel to 6lb from the croy and 16 chub to 4lb in two hours before dusk from faster water in one of the new swims below. Chub on sweetcorn and barbel on pellet.

2 Barbel, 16 Chub

Yet another beautiful stretch of the Wye. Access is OK although would not suit the physically less able. Weather was spot on, overcast. Fished the second swim up from the bottom of the beat. Three cracking barbel to 9lb and a 4lb chub in a short evening session, all fell to classic feeder and halibut pellet tactics. Oddly the smallest barbel put up the strongest fight.

3 Barbel, 1 Chub

Fished four different swims including two of the recently opened ones. Caught in all of them but found the barbel in the deeper water - maybe due to the bright conditions. All fish to double sweetcorn straight on a size 12, fish meal and hemp in the feeder.
Biggest barbel was 8.15 and biggest chub 3.15. With a 2 hr drive before and after only fished 6 till 5 so would of expected a few more before dusk if I had stayed on.

4 Barbel, 7 Chub

Two barbel and two chub on feeder-fished sausage sizzle squabs over hemp and pellet. Great looking stretch of river but the fishing was a little slow compared to my two days on other beats on the previous week. Water was at normal summer levels and was fairly clear.

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

Feeder/pellets. We'll overgrown banks this time of year. Four swims only available. Being a Saturday lots of canoes which all kept to the other side on seeing me therefore no problem apart from a break in tranquility. Several large salmon jumping. Did not fish for long so may have caught more if I had stayed into the evening. Good advice to travel light. A discharge from local farm coloured the water and appeared to start the fish feeding.

3 Barbel, 1 Chub

Not many swims available to fish on this beat, the croy seems further away each time but a nice day and a friend had his first barbel.

4 Barbel, 2 Chub

This stretch doesn't get a good review from me I'm afraid. It is very overgrown with steep banks. Unless you take a chainsaw down with you, there are very few swim options.
I am very fit and able, and count around 5 fishable swims on the stretch, with one or two looking good for barbel. We caught fish from one of these swims, but if they weren't there, it would have been a frustrating one.
There were two of us and we ended up fishing at opposite ends of the stretch as these were the only places that looked good for a bite and were fishable. Therefore not a particularly social stretch either.
That said, caught plenty of barbel to 7lb and saw some enormous salmon jumping. Salmon parr in abundance in the shallows so happy for the £22 to go to WUF, who are doing a great job.
Cheers.

4 Barbel, 4 Chub

Fished from 6am. Started in the first field. Usual pellet feeder tactics. Landed 3 barbel between us and a couple of chub. Bites dried up so moved up above the bridge. Started catching chub again. Sun became unbearable and also put the fish off. Left at 11.30am for some much needed refreshment.
Returned to the river at about 4pm. This time I tried the stick float whilst my son stuck with the pellet feeder.
He managed a few more fish whilst I was pestered by minnows tiny dace, baby chub and bleak. Did manage a couple of chub around the pound mark and a couple of similair sized trout. All in all a good day.
My only gripe would be that the river from the stile to the croy is unfishable, no safe access at all.

2 Trout, 6 Barbel, 10 Chub

Safe swims on this beat were in short supply and we had a job to find fishing spots. A long and hot walk to the top, where there is a big concrete croy, was reasonably productive and we were happy with a bag of 4 good barbel and 5 chub to kick the season off. Two large eels also took a fancy to our pellets but we wouldn't mind not catching those! We spent a very quiet evening at the start of the beat where we had very little action.

4 Barbel, 5 Chub, 2 Other

Chub all around a couple of pound and barbel to 6lb.

5 Barbel, 8 Chub