Feedback & Reports

Water temperature 13 degrees C, water low and clear. Water flow - fast. Only 1 Chub :( No Barbel. Long walk from car park. Be careful when you leave the car park, impossible to see.

1 Chub

One barbel at around 9am, one chub at around 10am. No more fish for 2 days. Everyone else on the entire river struggling (speaking to tackle shops, famous anglers, people doing magazine features etc) except for Lydbrook fisheries. 18 barbel off one of their stretches, 8 off the other including a 6lb chub! That was more than caught on the entire rest of the river on opening day!

1 Barbel, 1 Chub

Other commitments meant we weren't on the river until 14:00 in overcast and very humid conditions. Initial rain cleared and precipitated a hatch of absolutely allsorts - mostly various duns but a few large mayflies.
Sadly no fish landed but three lost - two took PTN and one a March Brown dry. Sadly the rising fish were spooked by a couple of helpful kayakers who seemed to enjoy scattering a family of juvenile ducks.
Nonetheless - this is a lovely stretch. It'll be the full 12-hour shift next time.

Whole stretch including day ticket areas above and below struggled. I caught four barbel caught in four casts then no further bites.

5 Barbel, 10 Chub

This is a cracking stretch with some really great water to go at. I fished beat 3 and 6 and although it wasn't easy fishing I enjoyed the day very much and caught a new float caught PB chub @ 5lb 3oz so very happy!

5 Chub

This was a club visit from Pheasant Fly Fishers, Chippenham, Wiltshire, a small active club of about 15 members who fish for trout and grayling on their monthly trips. Normally visit stillwaters and reservoirs and last year included Cantref, this year Wentwood. This was first club excursion to either Rivers Wye or Usk although some members have fished these before. ( I actually had fished the Ty-Newydd beat some years previously but did not recall until I got there.) A mixed experience of wild river fishers, so help was available, resulting in all rods catching fish. Richard Shaw was top rod with 3 brown trout, 2 at about 1 1/4, 1 1/2 lbs and 3 grayling largest about 1 3/4 lbs. Caught in the gutter runs with gold bead head nymph and klinkhamer - both successfull flies.
An assortment of flies and methods worked, as you would expect, each using what gave confidence.
Some fish caught on dry flies, cream spider pattern on drop dropper to imitate lemony yellow upwings hatching. Some mayflies also hatching. One chap had 3 small browns on a single pheasant tail nymph fished downstream. Another had success with a butcher after he had been advised to try a heavy point fly and traditional wets on droppers about 2 ft apart - fished downstream and across, left to swing around. We all fished debarbed hooks and all fish were returned.
Foundations service was excellent and patient when I could not receive attachment for directions and beat map. We all enjoyed the fishing, a great experience and the view at lunch from hut was stunning. We will put Wye&Usk rivers in our calender again next year. Thank you. Next week - a beginners boat day at Hawkridge Resv.near Bridgewater.

11 Trout, 6 Grayling

Sunshine and a few showers, having fished Gromain the previous day this was quite different - a wide variety of fishing opportunities. Plenty of action early in the day at the top of the beat near the stream and some good nibbles throughout the day. Tried a variety of flies, caught on headed nymphs and dry flies fished New-Zealand style. It was a shame to have had to leave, would love to come back! Thanks to all who make these rivers accessible to day fishers. Much appreciated!

5 Trout, 1 Grayling

This was my second trip to Hergest Court - the beat enjoys a healthy, steady hatch of upwings including some prehistoricly sized Mayflies (although it was the Olives that the fish seemed to be taking).
Again I fished a Parachute Adams with a small (size 18) Phesant Tail variant shifted from about 1-3ft to match the water depth. The nymph really does help to cast against the squally westerly wind which whips downstream and has been a feature of my visits here.
I caught about 15 fish - all around 8 - 10 inches. These fish are a good healthy handful and are clearly enjoying the abudent fly life. All but a couple were taken on the nymph.
I am yet to explore the upstream half of the beat such amount of good fishing to be had in the lower section.

15 Trout

Fourth visit to this beat and with nothing to report, other than 2 x Shad, 1 x Chub and 1 x Pike on fly (Cascade/Willie Gunn). Perhaps this an opportunity to give a description of the beat as I found it for fishing with DH 14 ft fly rod and with water at around about summer levels.
From the top; long and flat with room for a back-cast but deeper water on near bank prevents wading, line of weed just 15 yds out creates a good channel below you: I used an intermediate tip here as the flow is slow but had no takes from Salmon but lots of Pike! Water shallows and quickens from croy on opposite bank. Hard to fish this area due to steep banks but there is a concrete path a little further downstream which affords easy access to a good length, 50 yds or so, of productive water. Strewn with big rocks the channel is at your feet and with a roll cast or shooting head you can cover this area with ease. This is where I had many takes but only one landed, you could do better! From the Pump Hut there is a deep section which I could not fish that well but just below this is the croy which is shown in the pass-book; I found the fish hang out just off of this so cast from above before plodding to the end and seeing them shoot off! Afterwards this pool, full of Shad in June, is easy to cover with loads of room all around, I changed to a very fast sink-tip here; deeper water again your side so a down and across or even straight across and drift around cast (if there is such a thing), works a treat. Canoes passing will kill this section though as there is no way around. From here down it's classic fly water, plenty of room and as the water shallows at the tail you can switch back to the intermediate tip or skip this and go to the end of the pebbles and fish the "secret", ( well I missed it the first time), deep hollow. Caused by winter floods and over 8ft deep and 35 yds long, (but just after a long riffle of only 4-18 inches), this pool can be easily covered from upstream. [Don't tell the Barbel hunters or they will be trundling meat through it all season]. After this I had to go around a huge mass of fallen timber to access the lower section which has a gravel bar, please avoid the redds here, running right down the middle of the river at under knee high; and with the main channel towards the right bank and a cracking dry-fly water full of WBT to the left, the choice is yours. I hope this has been of some use. Tight lines.

1 Chub, 1 Pike, 2 Other

One Shad on spinner,about 4lbs. Water a little coloured with recent rise.
PS. Could the large Willow branch be cut back on Corner Tree pool as it makes Spey casting difficult when fishing the best lie.

1 Other