Feedback & Reports

Booked fishing on Goodrich court after reading it was classic fly fishing water, and I was not disappointed with the quality of the fishery. From entering the gate to the car park, it was a delight to see pheasant, partridge and wild hares scattering around. There was no gillie available on the day so we just covered as much water as possible in 11 hours, we did manage to cover all pools except the cottage pool, and we did see 5 salmon in deep water on Vanstone pool but could not tempt them to the fly. Overall an enjoyable trip with my father.

Very difficult conditions due to the very busy prior couple of days (Easter Weekend). Didn't experience as much as a bite. After discussions with the rangers I learned that no other fish had been caught all day from the western bank of the reservoir and only two or three from the eastern bank. Still, if it were easy they'd call it 'Catching' and not fishing. Plus the added bonus of not having to fuss about with the worst job in fishing, cleaning the fish, it was not completely unsuccessful. My 10 year old son had a good day out with me despite there being no fish, and that's what makes it all worthwhile. I must point out that the rangers were very helpful and most friendly.

Nice morning spent on the river. 2 WBT caught on black Klinkhammer, 1X6inch, 1X9inch, missed another two. Not a lot of activity but an early hatch meant some fish rising.

2 Trout

A lovely beat, with some great water, especially the lower end. Had a great day out. Trout (3 small chaps) were hard to come by and mostly tucked away in deeper water and undercuts which took nymphs. Whilst fishing a dry in some riffle water picked up 2 good grayling, but found no trout in the shallower water.
Fish stocks were far lower than I would expect from water such as this where entomology biodiversity seemed very high based on some stone turning. The upper end of the beat lacks the character and fish holding nooks and crannies of the lower section and could do with some rehabilitation to improve this as trout habitat.

3 Trout, 2 Grayling

1 salmon seen but didn't manage to tempt it with a number of different coloured flying
C, 1 pike at the end of the day on a purple flying c 14/15 lb Nathan the Ghillie was an absolute pleasure and very helpful would recommend anyone visiting this beat to use his services

1 Pike

The water was clear and at a sensible height but it was pretty cool for most of the day. The hatch of grannom and march browns, which have been plentiful, lasted only an hour, still with few signs of taker on some parts. There were more trout and others present further down, but no sign of salmon.

There were signs of several lesser spotted canoeists however... I have a photo (which I will try to attach) of 3 canoes with 8 people between them. I always start off politely saying that they aren't allowed to be there and usually meet with stern resistance. Today was no different. The one man was pretty unpleasant about it saying they had every right to be there. I went down towards the Rectory Pool to find them coming round the corner. I saw a gentleman who lived there walking. He saw them and told them off good an proper, ordering them to get out. They did not.

I wonder, is it appropriate for canoeing clubs to be written to in order to clarify the position, once and for all?

One other thing... opposite the Rock Pool, somebody has seen fit to deposit a grey mini-fridge. This staggers me... He would have had to walk on the Wye Way with a FRIDGE in his arms and fnd a spot when no-one was looking and dump it over the side. There are refuse places much nearer the road tht it could have been dumped more responsibly... but no...


WUF Note: The arrangements for canoe access that ensure an equitable use of the rivers for all activities are clearly stated on our website here. Unfortunately, certain representative organisations still claim that rights of navigation exist on all rivers, encouraging what are a small minority of canoeists to ignore the arrangements. Similarly, there is a small element of society that believes that fly-tipping a fridge down the side of a riverbank is either easier than taking it to a council facility to be dealt with for free, or more enjoyable.

2 Trout, 1 Grayling

Bright day with a gusty downstream wind. I fished from early afternoon until dusk and saw a trickle of olives popping off at various intervals but only four rises. No fish seen and nothing taken on either dries or nymphs.
Saw one Goosander in the pool after the waterfall on the lowest part of the beat.
Beautiful setting and I will be back.

None caught, only a couple of takes. Nice day, though and conditions were good with reasonable hatch.

Arrived to find another car unexpectedly in the car park. Turned out to be two fly fishermen (with all the fancy gear), fishing without permission. Reported this to the Owner. It seems that poachers are becoming more sophisticated! Having sent them on their way I enjoyed a lovely day on this one of my favourite Usk beats. Fishing was a little slow with just sporadic LDO and March Browns hatching, but managed three trout to 13": on on nymph 2 on dry. All returned.

WUF Note: Thanks for reporting the poachers! If you ever see anything suspicious, always report it.

3 Trout