Feedback & Reports

After several disappointing outing to the Severn and Stour my fishing partner and I needed a confidence booster and from experience, knew that fishing the Wye would do exactly that...we were not disappointed.
Arriving at Foy Bridge and parking in the lay-by we walked both sides of the beat. There were a a good number of swims on the south bank with maintained steps leading down to the river. Unfortunately, as a pensioner with a dodgy leg, I felt that some were too steep for me to climb. The north bank had less swims but more suited to me. I settled into the second peg from the bridge and my friend dropped in the last one before the downstream limit.
After heavy rains the river was up and pushing through but beginning to fine down. I used a 3oz feeder to hold bottom although a lighter one may have held. With a little bit of weed coming through I used a slightly longer hook length than usual, about 30 inches and initially a pice of meat on a hair rig. After a couple of hours I hadn't had a touch and went to chat with my friend. He had had both Chub and Barbel using two elipse pellets on a hair. I went back to my swim and changed hook-baits and almost straight away
hooked into two quality Chub. I plugged away all afternoon without a touch until around 1830 when I hooked into a Barbel......only a very small one, but it was a Barbel. Between 19:00 and when I packed up at 20:15, I hooked into another 5 Barbel ranging from around 2lb to around 8lb. My friend did slightly better in the faster water just after the rapids and finished the day with 9 Barbel ranging from around 2lb to a fish just under the 10lb mark. He also had 4 Chub and a Perch (on double pellet).
Even the heavy rain in the afternoon/early evening didn't spoil what was an excellent days fishing. I'm sure it won't be long before we make the long trip from Portsmouth to enjoy this wonderful river.

15 Barbel, 6 Chub, 1 Other

Arrived at 2pm with my daughter to lovely looking beat and red hot sunshine. The river was carrying colour and up couple a feet so we feeder fished pellet, landing two tiny barbel after a down pour. Switched from fishing mid river to slack water after constantly picking up weed on the line and landed two decent chub on the 4lb mark then switched back to main flow at 6pm and pulled in 4 more barbel, the biggest going 5lb to the delight of my little girls face. Small beat but enjoyable.

6 Barbel, 2 Chub

Arrived at 2pm with my daughter to lovely looking beat,and red hot sunshine, river carrying colour and up couple a feet so feeder fished pellet landing two tiny barbel after a down pour, switched from fishing mid river to slack water after constantly picking up weed on line and landed to decent chub on 4lb mark then switched back to main flow at 6pm and pulled in 4 more barbel into dark, biggest going 5lbs to the delight of my little girl's face, small beat but enjoyable.

6 Barbel, 2 Chub

Got to fishery around mid day and opted for the far bank. Loose fed 10mm pellet and corn steadily for 20 mins while setting up trotting rod. 3rd trot down saw a tiny barbel around 225mm(!!) which took a single piece of corn on a size 10 beaked, barbless hook. It was difficult to get the pace right through the swim and shooting pattern correct...slowing it down and fishing 500mm over depth saw another 3 Barbel (all under a lbs,) a spirited brown trout also took a offering of corn, along with 3 nice Dace and 7 chub to 4lbs (4 of which were on bread flake). Rested the swim and fed the tail end of the faster water with the same bait, thickened up with Elips crushed pellet. Sat behind the 45grm open end feeder and 2 hair rigged 10mm elips pellets for the remainder of the day (3hrs) and landed 9 hard fighting, immaculate conditioned Barbel to 9lbs. Found that a long hair helped select Barbel from the Chub, 5-6 ripping yanks on the tip resulted in no contact? Would like to think this was taps from smaller Chub?
For it's size, this fishery really does produce quality fishing on it's day. The water was coloured and dropping back but I think the low air pressure does help. Great value and thanks to all concerned. The only negative to the day... I'm sure I sawn a mink close to the bank twice !!!!
WUF Note : Mink controls are in place.

1 Trout, 13 Barbel, 7 Chub, 3 Other

Fished the first swim under the bridge road side. Used feeder with banded 6mm pellet over hemp. Had a chub around the 1lb mark followed by a few smaller ones. Chatted to a local guy who fished on the other bank he reckoned my swim wasn't one of the favoured spots so I moved down stream opposite him and watched while he had around ten barbel in a few hours. Local knowledge is a wonderful thing. At least I know what to do next time.

4 Chub

Water levels slightly up, not sure why it did not fish
only 1 small barbel and 2 nice chub.

1 Barbel, 2 Chub

Very good day for barbel fishing. Water was coloured, and barbel was feedeing all day. It's not an easy stretch of the river (reports and avaibility), and after rain is hard to find a good swim.
Barbel liked pellets and boilies, meat didn't work - I tried Spam and pepperami. Chub appeared in the evening - I thought this venue is chub only, but it was 'very' barbel! There is a problem with snags - I lost at least ten hooks and few feeders, but that's Wye! :-)
Perfect stretch of the river and beautiful day! Thanks WUF!

16 Barbel, 3 Chub

River was up due to the recent rainfall and was fast paced with good colour. Barbel were caught throughout the afternoon and evening from both banks. Range was from 2lbs to 7.5lbs. The chub caught were small.

7 Barbel, 3 Chub

River fairly low, but a pleasant warm but overcast day. Lots of Chub caught on legered pellet/meat. Finished off the day with a Barbel of about 3lb around 7.00pm. With these low clear conditions the Chub will often feed all day but you have to wait until the evening to catch the Barbel. As always a pleasure to be on the Wye.

1 Barbel, 15 Chub

First visit of the season. Long drive but arrived at 6am fishing by 6:45am just as it started raining! And it rained until 4pm. First time I'd fished Foy Bridge. Small beat with only a few swims. Once it stopped raining and with the benefit of polaroid sunglasses, it was clear that probably only 3 swims that were really fishable. Barbel didn't want to play but if you fished for chub I'm sure you could really bag up. Lost three decent Barbel to the snags (and some of the swims are really snaggy). Access and parking are easy and most of the few swims have steps down to the waters edge.
Not a great day and the weather was miserable even when it stopped raining, but as per normal can't wait to get back.

1 Barbel, 6 Chub