Feedback & Reports

Dave had never fished the Wye before. With all the rain we had the river was rising rapidly. We changed swims and positions several times during the day. Lots of debris coming down including some huge tree trunks. First 3 casts produced two 7lbers and a 5lber, so they were feeding. However we had to move from this swims as we couldn't hold bottom where the barbel were feeding. So we moved swims. The river continued to rise and peaked at 8pm up about 4ft. Dave continued to catch throughout the day and ended with 15 barbel two eels. Of the barbel 6 were over 7lbs. The weather was kind for the day too.
All the fish were caught on pellet and feeder approach. Another great day out.

2 barbel before lunch. River became difficult to fish after lunch due to rising water levels so I packed up early.

As expected the river had risen overnight and was about 2 feet up from yesterday with a nice colour although it dropped around 12inches before the heavy rain put a lot of colour in the river late afternoon. A better day, 4 barbel smallest 4lb 8oz and the largest 8lb, a chub of around 3lb 8oz and an eel of around a 1lb made for an enjoyable days fishing. All came to feeder and pellet. As other people have said before, the banks are extremely slippery when wet as it was in the morning rendering some swims too dangerous to venture down without a rope. Be careful if its rained or raining.

Fished the meadow early afternoon without much luck, moved downstream trying a few swims and had 3 barbel to 7lb and a chub. Moved into the woods for the evening upto dusk. Produced 5 more barbel to 9lb and 3 more chub, biggest going 4lb 13oz. The 3 of us ended with 8 barbel and 4 chub! Fish came to a mixture of hook baits offered on straight lead/PVA bags and feeder tactics.

A hard day’s fishing in the meadow all day. Only had 2 bites, hooking a decent barbel only to see the hook pull out under the rod before i could see it. I then managed to hook a nice chub only for that to find a snag and leaving me to lose all the terminal tackle, for once the only hook I lost all day! Both fish hooked on feeder and pellet. The river dropped a little through the day and became much clearer but late evening it began to rise again. Keep an eye out for the 2 young women in bikini`s having a wild swim, most distracting!

Probably the strangest fishing day ever for me. Barbel were caught steadily all day not twenty yards downstream of me in featureless open water on identical tactics to me but I remained on a blank, should of moved in hindsight as my bait was working more for next door than it was for me but the weather was not nice so I stayed put, lazy angling on my part.

Oh well I'll try again in a week or so in drier conditions hopefully.

NOTE:A dog spike and rope are essential on this stretch it will set you back a tenner but you will have problems getting out of your peg if you go without one in the wet.

Had another great day on this beat. The river was still a little high and had some colour. The forecast was for strong winds and heavy rain. The umbrella took off a few times and the Fox shelter pulled the pegs up too. And did it ever rain! A great day though Paul and Alex had never caught a barbel before. They ended with 9 barbel with each of them having a 7lb plus fish. 4 chub were caught nothing larger than 4lbs 10oz.
I think the two of them will return to this beat.
Canoe traffic very quite but the weather was terrible so not too surprised.

Conditions looked perfect for a good afternoon/evening session but the weather worsened and the fish were reluctant to feed. One Barbel (7lb 9ozs), 5 Chub (to 4lb) and an Eel (2lb) between two rods. Fish fell to Elips pellets and meat. Torrential rain from 7pm turned the banks into a slippery mud track which was extremely dangerous and difficult to escape from. Take great care if the weather turns in like it did for us.

A strangely quiet day on what is one of our favourite lengths of the wye which has been good to us on previous visits. Only 1 barbel and 1 chub to show for our effort, the barbel coming with virtually the last cast of the day. Fortunately it was a nice fish of 9lb 7oz. Not sure why the river was so out of sorts but rudi the bailiff seemed to think a rising river with an influx of colder water might be to blame. Typical of fishing just when you start to think you've got it cracked you have a session like this. Will definately be back for another go on this excellent length though.

Hadn't been coarse fishing for a very long time (15 years or more), so decided to book a day on the Wye. I had some fantastic help from Rudi and WUF in providing plenty of advice and tips before the session. Arrived at dawn to make the most of the 'morning' potential, but it wasn't to be. I was joined by two other gents from Leeds at around 10.30 and we carried on through the day. Plenty of fish jumping, but not a sign of any interest from any barbel. That was the story for the rest of the day. I called 'time' at 6.30pm and headed home. A lovely day on the river despite not a single fish, except a chub for one of the other chaps. Saw plenty of wildlife including an over-friendly mink and the small family of ducks that decided to sit next to me all day (even with my spaniel sat next to me!). I will definitely return for another go soon......