Feedback & Reports

Fly fishing only. River conditions were slightly coloured.

2 Trout

Blank for salmon, but a delightful few hours fishing down this lovely bit of fly water. Owner Don Macer-Wright (who got one yesterday) was helpful as always. I have an ambition to get a fish out of the Wyebank runs and this time everything looked just about right on a nice "soft" day of cloud. Instead there were some hefty trout hitting the tube in the fast flow to increase the pulse rate for a moment. I sometimes think we should pay some more attention to trout in this part of the Wye and any salmon angler will tell you that there are some really nice ones, right down to the tide. A few grannom and yellow may hatching now. Everything seems to be early this year.

1pm to 4.15pm. Centrepin on old Garrick kevlar trotting rod rod, all very light gear, size 18 hook to 2lb hook length of 2ft with no shot on hook-length due to water being crystal clear. 1 good dace and 1 chub around 2lb in the shallows below entry, from bottom pool. 2 chub in 3 to 4lb size and 1 OOS trout of around 12oz. Good sport on this kind of tackle. All caught on single maggot, no bites on double maggot. In summer you can catch these chub on a tow rope but they seem very cautious in these cold clear conditions. Excellent level for float fishing.

1 Trout, 3 Chub, 1 Other

River just returning to normal winter levels although the bottom swims were still inaccessible.
Fished the inside line with maggot on the middle section taking a nice wild brownie about 3/4 of a pound and some decent chub, all 4 to 5lb.

1 Trout, 4 Chub

After never ending weeks of rain I put a phone call in to the ever helpful Don the night before. He said all but two swims were fishable and see what you think when you arrive. If it's a bit iffy you're more than welcome to fish Courtfield as no one was booked on it.
When we arrived we were greeted with the first frost of the year and knew then it was going to be hard. We decided after inspecting the swims that we would try Courtfield instead. Flood water isn't a problem as some of our best days have been in high coloured water - you've just got to try and find some slack water. Anyway, we found 2 swims to fish but apart from a rap round bite in the first hour and a lost fish to a sunken bush, we never had a touch all day. We chucked the kitchen sink at them - pellets, all different sizes and flavours, meat, boilies, paste wraps, corn, short and long hook lengths. It wasn't to be but thats fishing.
Don said with the falling temps and water temps droping we would probally struggle and I think with the frost that finally did it, but as usual we enjoyed the day out and on to the next one.

3 Barbel, 5 Chub

Made use of the 'buy 2 get one free' freebie before end of season. For third year on the trot fishing in autumn I was blessed/hindered with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. River at a good height. Nil caught. Beat owner, Don, visited to chew the fat and offer advice. Would fish here again.

10am to 1.30pm, trotting maggots. From swim below entry 1, oos trout, a good 2lber, 1 chub of around 2lb and then 6 barbel in about 20mins, must have attracted a shoal of barbel in 2 to 3lb size. I fished well overdepth and held back heavily, the barbel would only take to that method. I have noticed this on other occasions also. Moved to Quay, took another oos smaller trout then plagued by minnows. Bottom pool 1 grayling of 10inches or so then it rained and bites ceased.

2 Trout, 1 Grayling, 5 Barbel, 1 Chub

Nice short stretch with good parking. Caught 4 Chub to about 3lb and lost another at the net but the Barbel didn't seem to be around.

4 Chub

10am to 12.30pm. Trotting maggots to see if the grayling that took sweetcorn in June still resident. Wading in bottom pool, 1 cock grayling of around 6oz, 4 out season brown trout 6oz to around 1.5lb and 3 chub of 2 to 3lb. Moved to shallows below entry and fished edge of main flow, another small brown trout, 1 chub of around 4lb, 1 barbel of 6lb size and what I think was a sea trout of around 3lb, an all over silver fish with few dark spots that could have passed as a small salmon but looked more of a trout, a very strong fish! All fish in excellent colour and condition released in water.
The problem with trotting on the Wye is if a true trotting rod is used its not strong enough for the barbel and big chub hooked in the current but a 1.5lb test curve is a bit of a broom handle for majoriy of fish hooked. The use of a centre pin however adds to the enjoyment and direct contact with the hooked fish.
Several summer fly rods questioned the presence of trout in this area of the Wye, 5 trout plus a sea trout in 2.5hrs is good by any estimation. A pair of constant passing kingfishers and a raven soaring then corkscrew tumbling in the wind completed an excellent morning, then it rained!

5 Trout, 1 Sea Trout, 1 Grayling, 1 Barbel, 4 Chub