Beat News - 19/07/08

We have let the Forest of Dean Angling Club have the coarse fishing on the Courtfield beat. We occasionally let coarse fishing on the Wyebank stretch, where a13 1/4lb Barbel was caught in the Wyebank pool a couple of years ago by local Andrew Moule. Bookings must be made in advance by telephone.

Both season and day tickets for the Courtfield coarse fishing can be obtained from Wye Fishing Tackle Shop in Ross on Wye.

Salmon and trout fishing has been slow all season. The fishery has held a reasonable head of salmon throughout the season so far, although fishing effort has been minimal.

The most notable catches have included an Allis Shad, estimated between 5 1/2 and 6lbs in weight, caught be Professor Jarvis whilst spinning for salmon. Numerous exceptionally large Shad were caught this year while salmon fishing.

09/05/08 More fish sighted and caught on the Wyebank and Courtfield fisheries. Don Macer-Wright had a 10lb Salmon off the Wood crib first thing before the sun got on the water. This has to be a call to all the season rods to take advantage of this and get down to fish when you can.

26/04/08 - Don Macer-Wright released a 12lb salmon and lost a good fish, probably 15lb, this evening on the Wyebank beat. Both hooked on flying C; the larger fish above Wyebank crib, just off the main stream and the other midstream from the old wharf.
We have seen salmon passing through the beat now since late January and the quality of salmon caught throughout the river has been very encouraging this year so far.

Lower Wye Fishing represents the Wyebank and Courtfield Fisheries which are located at Lower Lydbrook on Wye, Forest of Dean Gloucestershire. This is where the river Wye starts its twisting course through the dramatic and spectacular landscape of hills, cliffs and broad ravines of the lower Wye valley. It is a wonderful place to fish for either coarse or game fish.

Season and day Rods available for game and coarse fishing
Click here to see the beats.

“I have owned the Wyebank Fishery on the left bank between the Courtfield and Lydbrook Fisheries since 1993. It is a short stretch of shallows with a few potentially excellent salmon pools. Over the years I’ve keepered this stretch with the long term aim of improving its capacity to hold salmon. I try to enhance the existing habitat through traditional river keepering methods. I hope these create more secure resting places for ascending salmon while optimising the habitat and ecology for juvenile salmon. The most obvious effects of this work have been increases in all species of fish common to the Wye, both in numbers and size. All these fish are wild and to the best of my knowledge no stocking of any sort has been carried out for at least a decade.
In March 2006 I took a 5 year lease on the upstream and adjoining Courtfield Fishery giving a combined overall length of one and a quarter miles (2 kms). This increased length creates more economic viability enabling improved management
The Courtfield is a well known stretch from which one of the handful of Wye 50 pounders was caught. It has a mix of fine shallows and deep pools, fishable from the bank and by wading and excellent boat fishing water. As the name suggests the river here runs beside the famous and ancient Courtfield Estate, which has been the home of the Vaughan family for hundreds of years. The right bank for some six miles borders the estate, with its glorious woods , meadows and hills, its old mansion and catholic chapel on the hill and eye catching church of Welsh Bicknor.”
Don Macer-Wright