Feedback & Reports

Great days fishing as normal. Dont know where all the ranunculus has gone. The river was the lowest I've ever seen it. The paddlers and boat people must be disturbing the weed or it's been washed away in the floods. This will have a large negative impact on the river over a longer period.
Anyway the fishing was good the largest barbel was about 4lbs and the largest chub 3lbs 14oz. With the water level low I believe the bigger fish have moved from the bottom pool.

9 Barbel, 3 Chub

A very different day to what I have planned before on this section. I took my son and arrived at Wyebank in a canoe landing at Lydbrook. It did feel a little like turning to the dark side briefly but gave me a very useful different view of angling in general on the Wye. I have to say that some anglers I encountered during the course of the day just hate canoeists! On the flip side some of the practices of some of the canoeist are incredulous and show a total ignorance and contempt for anglers, a shame as a little education particularly by the canoe hire companies would solve so many issues. Anyway, we arrived at about six o'clock in the evening and my son started fishing with me acting ghillie, which he seemed to enjoy! The river was incredibly low and very clear and canoes were still passing through at 7pm, he managed one barbel of about 4lb but bites were a bit scarce. We changed baits, using some boilies and various pellets but it was't until the canoeists ceased and dusk came that the fish started to feed. In total he caught 4 barbel, the biggest just over 7lb and 2 chub. The second chub being a monster 5lb 4oz, a new personal best. A very enjoyable evening. Unfortunately no photos as phone went flat.

4 Barbel, 2 Chub

Fished late afternoon and evening water level had not changed, still very low. Barbel to 6lb Chub to 6lb 2oz on pellet.

9 Barbel, 7 Chub

Water level was very low, not too many canoeists, most of whom were considerate, however one individual thought it very amusing to go out of his way to grab my line (or wire as he called it) and try to pull my feeder up.
Rained most of the day but a very enjoyable session. Barbel to 6lb chub to 4lb on pellets.

8 Barbel, 10 Chub, 1 Other

Another great day on what is one of my favourite WUF beats. To be honest we were not expecting much what with the water being crystal clear and very shallow (Don said he has never seen it so low) but it did not make any difference. The fish came steadily from 5amm until 4pm when we packed in. We fished feeder/pellet until early afternoon then decided to cool off and waded mid river and trotted luncheon meat which produced a better size of Barbel. Thank you Don and thank you WUF.

38 Barbel, 13 Chub, 13 Other

Fished a short spell late morning, early afternoon but it didn't really get going as it was bright and sunny so we took a few hours off and came back at 5pm and got settled in for the evening.
Bites came as soon as the feeder landed for the first hour and then steady for the rest of the evening. Most fish were very small with one or two going to 6.5lbs. Even so the small ones in the 1.5 to 4lb range were still fighting like crazy. Used medium sized elips pellets today.
Today's wildlife included sparrowhawk, kingfisher, tawny owl and ducklings sat in the landing net.

26 Barbel, 7 Chub

I fished with cage feeder and hiar-rig from 5.30am to 9.30pm no barbel caught until 12.30 using flavoured meat as bait. Two more caught in the following hour. Two more caught at 6.00pm - 7.00pm.

5 Barbel, 12 Chub

First time fishing this beat. Arrived at sunrise to fish the bottom pool. Hadn't appreciated that the water levels were going to be so shallow. There are very concentrated pools of deeper water which take some locating. Fished for 8 hours without a bite. Tried feeder with pellet and free lined pellet and tried the other swims further up (although all were very shallow). I think what would have made a difference is trotting some luncheon meat but I didn't have any. What didn't help was the approx. 500 people in canoes. A serious canoe train started at about 10am and did not stop until about 6pm with a constant flow. Don't come here on the weekends unless you are a canoe spotter. They also pull up on the banks all around you and start with the usual splashing/shouting. Got to about 5:30 when I had 4 fish on 4 casts followed by another 5 until sundown. A long days fishing and could have done with another foot of water. I also felt that the chub were wise to ledgers and hooklinks. Tried trotting some pellet on the far side of the island but to no success. All fish in the medium range.

4 Barbel, 5 Chub

River low with conditions overcast. Caught fish from the start and they came steadily throughout the day. Barbel were predominantly in the 3lb range although fish were caught upto 6lb. Chub upto 5lb.
Hooked a Salmon on Halibut Pellet which leapt out of the water and shed the hook some 50yds downstream! A coloured fish.
Great days fishing and thanks to Don the owner for his invalulable knowledge of the river.

15 Barbel, 5 Chub

Another great evenings fishing. The third and final day so started seriously fishing in the early afternoon and fished until early evening before travelling home. The river was still very low and clear and the fish seemed to have backed off the feed a little, although as soon as the sun started to fade the bites came thick and fast. All fish came to pellets and some very successful homemade boilies, all presented using standard feeder techniques. Biggest barbel was 9lb 8oz and the biggest chub about 4lb. A very enjoyable few days. I will be returning very shortly. Many thanks to Don.

7 Barbel, 5 Chub