Feedback & Reports

A lovely day fishing on my favorite stretch of the Wye. Terrible weather though as it rained heavily at times all morning and for some reason I always struggle a bit on the Wye when it's stormy. IdDid however manage to catch a few fish but never consistently in the same spot which is unusual for this stretch. I finished with 5 barbel and an eel. All of the barbel were between 2 & 5 pounds which I was surprised at as when I fished it last a few years ago the average size was between 6 & 8 pounds. Small barbel are a good sign though for the future. All caught on pellets or luncheon meat.

5 Barbel, 1 Other

We used feeder tactics and caught well late in the day,despite a canoe capsizing right in our swim and the two occupants walking around in the river waiting to be rescued.

10 Barbel, 2 Chub

A lot of smaller barbel, nice to see, small stretch but worth fishing, all fish caught on pellets

16 Barbel, 1 Chub

Had a good day even though it was sunny and clear all day, loads of small barbel and chub caught throughout the day, lost a very big one very early mourning, and same again in the late evening! Best swim was the very last swim downstream.

10 Barbel, 5 Chub

What a excellent days fishing. I must thank Don for letting the three of us to fish together, we all fished the lower end of the section we had fish coming throughout the day even with canoes coming down the river in droves. Though the fish seem to be smaller average in this section (1-3lb) it is good sport and looks good for the future. Most fish caught on pellet or meat with a feeder. (RS-18 Barbel,3 Chub; SP- 7 Barbel, 3 Chub; SC-14 Barbel,5 Chub).

39 Barbel, 11 Chub

Arrived at the beat around 5pm and began fishing. We started off on pellet and bomb and were bothered by small chub eventually managed the occasional small barbel.
The swim then went quiet so we rolled some meat. We managed a few good chub (4lb plus) doing this then got settled back in on the pellet and bomb.
We then seemed to attract a better stamp of barbel (for Wyebank which is know for its miniature barbel straight from the barbel factory) and caught steadily on large pellets.
Another good session without a groundbait feeder in sight!!!

15 Barbel, 4 Chub, 1 Other

The top swim is live with gush, they are mostly small though including some very young fish. Good fun, not for you if you are in search of bigger fish. Handy swim for float trotting too, and plenty of small fish turns to be had there.

7 Barbel, 4 Chub

Started well with a superb barbel of 9 lbs 13 oz on the second cast of the morning carried on catching smaller barbel up to 6lbs and some nice chub with a lull in early afternoon; plenty of bites towards dusk....also lots of false bites caused by fish attacking swimfeeders

15 Barbel, 16 Chub

Had a good day catching 8 Barbel to 8lbs on boillie hook baits using standard feeder tactics. There were plenty of fish about but we lost some due to the shallow water and rocky substrate. Lost lots of tackle. Would recommend strong tackle and carrying lots of spares. We saw many canoes using the stretch and for the most part caused no issue. Thank you Wye and Usk for a lovely day.

8 Barbel

I was on the bank at sunrise and what a picture perfect location with the sun struggling to break through the mist. Perfect start to the Autumn. I was impressed by the ease of access and convenience of the car parking. The beat is not long and the options for swims are limited so being a lone angler I was quite happy. The flow was strong and the colour good following recent rains, it looked promising. I fished the bottom pool from the rocks providing more freedom to explore the river further from the bank. I used pellet and scalded pellets in a feeder over a bed of hemp. I tried various spots from near bank across the main flow fishing each for around 30 - 40 minutes all without a bite. The main flow was bringing through some debris and loose weed, but nothing problematic just no bites. I moved up to the top pool for a change at about 11:30 and followed the same approach although without as much hope given the height of the sun now and the preceding lack of activity. Nothing changed. I didn't have a touch although I did get snagged repeatedly on the rocky bed and likely underwater debris.By 2.30pm the weather had changed and the rain had gone from a shower to biblical. Without a touch and this being the last day of a week on the Wye with a drive back to London ahead of me, I threw in the towel. My first blank of the week. But I left with a smile having found a delightful location that clearly fishes well, today was just not my day. I will be back, maybe later this year, if not certainly next. I'd like to give a shout out for the Ferndale Bed and Breakfast in Lydbrook www.bandbforestofdean.co.uk. I only stayed one night and was up too early for the breakfast, but the accommodation was first class and my hosts Andy and Christine could not have been more helpful or welcoming. It was also very reasonably priced. I unhesitatingly recommend this B&B to anyone fishing Wyebank or nearby.
Thanks to WUF for making my first trip to the Wye very memorable.