Feedback & Reports

The awful weather persisted. Strong downstream wind made upstream fishing impossible and wading adventurous as the wind threatened to unbalance me into the river.
I fished late pm only when the rain finished and took an excellent chub of 2-3 lbs on GRHE. Some rising fish under the far bank but I could not drift a dry fly over them due to the wind. Casting and mending impossible (for me).

1 Chub

Again wet and windy, brightening up later.River so low; recent rain after dry summer doesn't seem to have impacted on water levels yet. Though a completely blank day, with just a couple of unfulfilled "enquiries", this, along with Lower Longtown and Lower Escley, is such a beautiful spot that the prospect of returning when water levels are higher is tantalising.
Thank you Foundation for the fantastic work you do.

Swimfeeder using luncheon meat. River very coloured following heavy rain.

2 Chub

Very enjoyable but tough day fishing..only two small chub.

2 Chub

Fished 3pm - 7pm. 1 Barbel 5 lb 12 oz & 2 x 3 lb chub. All on feeder with halibut pellets.

1 Barbel, 2 Chub

The river was about 18 inches up and carrying a bit of colour so we had high hopes but after trying various swims only one produced around mid beat so one angler pleased and I blanked.......again!

1 Barbel, 4 Chub

We had 10-11 fish up to just under 9lb. We were roving up and down the stretch fishing the calmer water off the faster flow as it was difficult to hold bottom. Our bait choice was Barbel Bomb ground bait in feeders, fished with Blitz dumbbell hook baits wrapped in matching paste.
Simple long mono hooklengths with size 10 hooks completed the tactics.
Had a very enjoyable day and we will definitely be back soon.

11 Barbel

River high and very coloured in morning but clearing in the afternoon. Should be perfect conditions but we struggled to find feeding fish.

2 Barbel, 2 Chub

We had been beaten by a rising river on Wednesday at Holme Lacy so straight after fishing there we drove to Sugwas to look at the conditions for the following day. To say we were gutted was an understatement - the river was flying through with debris and weed everywhere but a lot can happen in 12 hours. We arrived at 6am and saw what can only be describbed as perfect conditions - colour in the water but it had dropped 2 foot from the night before.
Tom and Mark started in field upstream of carpark and Tom caught 2 barbel within 30 mins while Mark broke his Wye duck with a 4lb chub at 6.30. I had decided to fish a bit further downstream and got bites from the word go. Before 11am I had had over 15 fish, both barbel up to 9.5lb and chub up to 4.5lb. It was fishing heaven. Buzzards, kingfishers and even a fox put in an appearence to add to the great start to the day. Tom and Mark had moved up to the middle section where Tom had 6 more barbel before 11am. Mark was still getting used to the river and was getting bites but no more fish as yet. I then moved into the spot vacated by Tom and Mark in the field upstream of the car park and fished 3/4 of the way across river using pellet with hemp in feeder. I then hit a spell I will never forget - a fish a cast topped off by a barbel of over 11lb, never having seen one that size in wye before. I left the swim at 1pm so Mark could fill his boots but he had to wait till 4pm before he landed his 1st Wye barbell, followed by 5 more, his biggest being 8lb, and 2 chub. Tom had gone to the top of the field near brick buildings and had 6 barbel, his biggest being 9.5lb and 4 chub, 1 of 4.5lb. I went back to my 1st peg and caught steadily upto 7.30pm when we called it a day. I only had 4 last casts, 2 of which resulted in fish.
This was our best day on Wye without a doubt. Mark is now a river convert and Tom doesn't want to go fishing again as his expectations are too high now. Overall I can honestly say I won't have another day like this but I've got the pictures and memories forever. Only one downside - a couple of barbel still had barbed hooks in their lips which were taken out. A few salmon were splashing about which again made the day. Thanks for a great stretch of water and the way it's maintained - wild yet fishable. All fish taken on pellets over a hemp base and all fish in great condition. THANKS AGAIN WUF.

40 Barbel, 15 Chub

Once again, what can I say but a great days fishing. 6 barbel to 7lb plus 5 chub and one eel. Many thanks to Don and to Wye and Usk.

6 Barbel, 5 Chub, 1 Other