Feedback & Reports

Arriving at the river at around 8am, after a long drive, we walked the meadow section and spoke to the other two anglers that we would share the beat with. They were very friendly and informed us that they had caught 1 barbel and as we chatted they proceeded to land a nice chub of just over 5lb. The river was coloured and very slightly rising after overnight rain but a good 6ft down on the our last visit. With the use of ropes and spikes (due to the slippery banks) we settled in to our chosen swims. It would be fair to say that the fishing was very slow with four rods fishing and often moving to cover new ground it felt as though it would come down to waiting it out for the fish to feed. An afternoon move down into the faster moving water of the wooded section provided me with my first barbel of the day which was worth the wait as it was in mint condition and weighed in at 10lb 4oz, a new pb for the Wye. Shortly after I was attached to another strong fish but unfortunately this was lost to a hook pull. A 6lb barbel was the last action of the day for me once the light had faded. K B had sat it out in one of the meadow swims and managed to pick up a very respectable 6 barbel, mainly in the evening, up to 8lb.

A very poor day fish wise only 2 eels to report despite trying a variety of baits and swims. Not helped by the terrible weather causing the river to rise and colour badly. Both fish caught on meat.

7 chub from 3lb to 5lb. 4 barbel 5lb, 6lb,4oz, 8lb 6oz and 10lb 11oz, all caught on corn.

7 barbel - a low 7, two low 8's, and a 9.7 plus 3 others, plus that ruddy eel. Several with significant hook damage - I use de-barbed 14's.
Had to cast and rove around a bit, all from Leg Meadow swims, river at near 'normal' summer level and clear.
As the road noise diminishes and the setting sun gets out of your eyes behind the tall pines, the place takes on the Wye magic atmosphere. Pretty reasonble for an evening session with the just the one, home-made and Indian-looking, canoe.

Decided not to fish the morning session following our experience with the masses of kayaks the previous day, so arrived at about 4pm to find the river carrying a bit more colour from the overnight rain. A few kayaks and boats still on the river, but without exception they were all quiet and considerate to us as anglers.
We returned to the "Rocks" swim in the wooded section, this time being aware of the safer, rock - free areas in front of us. Using swim-feeder approach and 16mm pellet bait we caught 3 nice Barbel weighing 7lb 4oz, 7lb 15oz, and 9lb 11oz. Only lost one barbel and very little tackle to the rocks this time having found the clear runs on the far bank.


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Decided not to fish the morning session following our experience with the masses of kayaks the previous day, so arrived at about 4pm to find the river carrying a bit more colour from the overnight rain. A few kayaks and boats still on the river, but without exception they were all quiet and considerate to us as anglers.
We returned to the "Rocks" swim in the wooded section, this time being aware of the safer, rock - free areas in front of us. Using swim-feeder approach and 16mm pellet bait we caught 3 nice Barbel weighing 7lb.4oz, 7lb.15oz, and 9lb 11oz. Only lost one barbel and very little tackle to the rocks this time having found the clear runs on the far bank.

Arrived 6am to find river slightly up and in good condition. My son and I chose to fish the meadow section and caught 2 Eels and a Chub before the mass of kayaks caused us to pack-up at 10am. Following a recce of the wooden section of this stretch we returned to my son's home in Bristol.
We returned at about 5pm to fish on the "Rocks" in the wooded section. In a very short evening spell we hooked two Barbel, landing one of 6lb.8oz. Lost one fish and quite a bit of end gear before finding the clearer patches. Determined to fish same spot the next day.

Very quiet day for Courtfield. After blanking at Meadow in the morning we tried the swim by the pub-taking a tiny chub. Went back to the Meadow swim and took 3 barbel 5lbs 7lbs & 8lbs late afternoon. Very bright sunny day did not help. Canoeists a pain as usual.

The river condition was low and clear so decided to fish the wood section. My theory was to roam around. Well 4 feeders lost in the first hour had me thinking again. So I headed for the meadow where I opened my account with a 6lb plus barbel and an eel. I then ventured down into the woods where in the space of 90 minutes had 4 chub with two being over 4lbs and 4 barbel to 6lbs 10oz. Lost many more feeders and hooklengths. The swim went quite for an hour then another small barbel came along. With just 2 feeders left I moved back up into the meadow and caught another small barbel and lost the last two feeders by 7.30pm. We had a storm during the afternoon where most of the rain fell upstream and the river started to rise a little. Note to self wait until the tide goes out on the Wye and go and retrieve my feeders. So 7 barbel and 5 chub is not too bad considering.

18.00 to 21.30 middle swim of Leggs Meadow. Took 13yr old Grandaughter M to try catch her first Barbel, with shouts of "its pulling me in" she did at a weighed 8lb 4oz then caught 2 more of similar size. 20mm halibut pellet with swim feeder in near third of river. I caught 1 also but it was smaller!
Both Courtfield and Wye Bank fishing well now but early morning and evening/dusk providing most fish to hand.
Tues morning river rising and coloured, should fish well.