Feedback & Reports

First time at Courtfield and had high hopes for this venue after reading some of the reports. The fish were hard to find despite the nice conditions and after trying hard all day at a variety of swims we ended up with 3 barbel and a few chub. There were two other anglers there who had little to show.
A couple of points to note for other anglers who have not been here before:
Despite a few areas having been strimmed the number of "safe" swims were limited and after the heavy showers we experienced, proved seriously dangerous. It would not hurt to have some small flat areas made without damaging the natural environment.
The canoe situation was absolutely ridiculous with a continual procession all day from 9.00 until heavy rain at 17.00 brought an end to the spectacle. We had wild hen parties, stag do's, pirates chinese tourists all ploughing through the swims in and out of their canoes. The fish are probably used to it but we were not, so will not choose this venue again at a weekend.

3 Barbel

River well coloured and first time on the beat. Two large barbel over 7lbs and five small males, with some still producing milt. Not bad for a short day session!

7 Barbel

River running above summer level and chocolate brown in colour, managed one decent Barbel also caught a stonking great eel must have been 3lb+

1 Barbel, 4 Chub, 1 Other

The river had dropped a little but was still a foot or so up and coloured. This is one of our favourite stretches of the Wye and it seems to produce more than its fair share of big barbel. This proved to be the case today with the best barbel of 7 being 10lb 7oz. All the fish came from the slower water at the top of the length .

7 Barbel, 2 Chub

Dead baits + lures. First time fishing the river but appeared too fast for some of the methods that produce on other slower rivers. Saw 3 large 70cm + salmon jump while fishing.

River was still fairly high but the colour was good. Fished at the metal steps at the lower end of the section. Fished pellet in a large open end feeder answer 12 mm halibut pellet on hook. After couple of hours had a few good bites but sure they were chub, did not connect with anything. Then a classic tap and rod bent round and soon a barbel of around 8 lbs was in the net. Fished on but strangely no further bites so moved up into the meadow just above the middle parking spot. Thanks to the appearance of very hot sun had no further bites so packed up an hour later. Th roughly enjoyed the day and will certainly be back.

1 Barbel

6 Barbel, 5 Chub

River still very coloured; fished top of Legg meadow caught 3 barbel 9lbs 8lbs and 6lbs 2 chub early evening

3 Barbel, 2 Chub

This beat was a must for me as I'd heard such good reviews, this was the first session of my trip and it didn't disappoint. Stunning backdrop to the left downstream! Not far to the river from the car park with good access to the bank and plenty of swims. Not much was happening in the morning but by midday things picked up. Unfortunately I had to leave to check into my accommodation mid afternoon, missing out on some good fishing. The biggest fish was 8lb. I'll definitely be back here this year to have a full days fishing. Great venue!

3 Barbel

The river was up, fast and coloured with a fair amount of debris coming through including some large branches and logs which took me out several times during the day. Levels slowly rose a further 15cm and the pace and colour increased in the afternoon. Fishing close in to find slacker water was the only option and, fortunately, the fish agreed with bites coming in batches of 2 or 3 at regular intervals. Pellets were the only bait tried with a 4oz feeder still struggling to hold bottom. As usual all the fish were immaculate and fit. The largest chub just topped 5lb and the largest barbel was 9-04.
Absolutely brilliant day - even the relatively small number of canoeists were courteous and careful. An otter popped up by my rod tip and gave me an evil stare but the usual wildlife, including a frequently passing kingfisher largely ignored me.
Thanks WUF. See you again soon.

4 Barbel, 11 Chub