James Farrer
Senior Member
Opening week on the river Wye was a bit strange with the water levels rising and falling day by day, it was hard to decide where to go. We had two venues to chose from - Hereford & District water or Letton Court. Opening Day - the decision where to fish was made the night before on the 15th, it was decided to start at Letton Court as it was only 15mins away from our caravans at Eardisland. At that time we hadn't seen the river so didn't know what condition it was in or what to expect after all the rain we had the weeks before. We arrived at the river about 8.30am and had a quick look at the river. It was well up and pushing through quite fast so we decided to give it a go - so back to the car, gear out and back to the bank to find a peg. That was the hard bit,t here was only two pegs to chose from that were fish-able and there was no one else there on our side of the river. On the other side of the river, which is The Red Lion stretch, there were 2 anglers from Liverpool who had not started fishing yet - more anglers arrived, later 8 in total.
One of the pegs was close to the water 18ins or so, the other about 4ft to 5ft down the bank to the water and hard to land a fish from, so my mate Ken was going to fish that one as he is younger and fitter then me (So he keeps telling me). I fished the other peg from 9.00am till 4.00pm and not a bite - what a start to the new season - a blanker. Ken on the other hand had 2 nice barbel, 1 at just over 6lb & the other tipped the scales at 10lb 3oz the - first double of the season. On the Red Lion stretch all 8 were fish-less when we went home.
So it was back to the caravans & the wives for something to eat and decide where and what to do next . We didn't fish the 17th (Sunday)
We went back to Letton again on (Monday)18th, the water had dropped about 6ft and still no one else there. This time Ken fished about 10ft upstream from where I was fishing on the 16th and I fished about 50ft upstream from where Ken was on the 16th. Ken blanked & I had 1 small Barbel 3lb ish - not a good day.The Red Lion had 6 anglers - 1 Barbel of 7lb 3oz between them.
Tuesday the 19th we were heading for Hereford and we knew where we were going to fish, The Withys, and which peg. We got there and there was no one in it - fantastic. We set up camp and started to fish and wait for that first 3ft twitch and wait and wait and wait. Ken had 2 Barbel by lunch time and I had a long wait but at 3.30pm all hell broke loose for 1hr - Ken had 6 Barbel & I had 3 Barbel & lost 3 and that was it for the day.
Wednesday the 20th saw us at Letton again - this time the water had dropped to about 4ft above summer level and the river looked spot on but it was pulling through like a train. We decided to fish the in side of a bend to get away from the strong flow and hopefully find the fish, but it was not to be - Ken blanked and I had 2 Barbel. The only way was to fish the fast flow with 7oz on to hold bottom.The Red Lion was full of anglers again, about 8, and 1 Barbel & 1 Chub to one angler and the rest were fish-less when we went home at 4ish.
Thursday 21st and we were off to Hereford again - same spot this time, it was raining hard and the river was on the rise. We fished 9.30am till 3.30pm - Ken had 3 Barbel and I had 3 Barbel - honours even for the day but up to now Ken has had 9 Barbel and I have had 7 Barbel so the battle is on.
Friday the 22nd was a day off.
Saturday the 23rd and the fight was on where were we going to go. We looked at the numbers and we were heading for Hereford but a change of venue. It was going to be The Poplars. It had been raining hard all night so we knew the river was going to be up and rising - not the best time to fish the Wye but it was our last day as we were heading home tomorrow. We arrived at the waters edge about 11.00am, a bit later then usual, but full of expectation never having fished this venue before. We set up the gear and Ken was in to a Barbel first cast and then I had 1 and it was tit for tat all day - we finished the day at 4.00pm, with Ken 4 Barbel + 1 Chub and I had 5 Barbel. So the Total for the week was Ken 15 Barbel & 1 Chub and I had 14 Barbel and the 'Younger man' won. Not a bad week - a few fish and a lot of fun and the good news is we are back again in two weeks to do it all again. (Isn't Life Grand). Jim.
One of the pegs was close to the water 18ins or so, the other about 4ft to 5ft down the bank to the water and hard to land a fish from, so my mate Ken was going to fish that one as he is younger and fitter then me (So he keeps telling me). I fished the other peg from 9.00am till 4.00pm and not a bite - what a start to the new season - a blanker. Ken on the other hand had 2 nice barbel, 1 at just over 6lb & the other tipped the scales at 10lb 3oz the - first double of the season. On the Red Lion stretch all 8 were fish-less when we went home.
So it was back to the caravans & the wives for something to eat and decide where and what to do next . We didn't fish the 17th (Sunday)
We went back to Letton again on (Monday)18th, the water had dropped about 6ft and still no one else there. This time Ken fished about 10ft upstream from where I was fishing on the 16th and I fished about 50ft upstream from where Ken was on the 16th. Ken blanked & I had 1 small Barbel 3lb ish - not a good day.The Red Lion had 6 anglers - 1 Barbel of 7lb 3oz between them.
Tuesday the 19th we were heading for Hereford and we knew where we were going to fish, The Withys, and which peg. We got there and there was no one in it - fantastic. We set up camp and started to fish and wait for that first 3ft twitch and wait and wait and wait. Ken had 2 Barbel by lunch time and I had a long wait but at 3.30pm all hell broke loose for 1hr - Ken had 6 Barbel & I had 3 Barbel & lost 3 and that was it for the day.
Wednesday the 20th saw us at Letton again - this time the water had dropped to about 4ft above summer level and the river looked spot on but it was pulling through like a train. We decided to fish the in side of a bend to get away from the strong flow and hopefully find the fish, but it was not to be - Ken blanked and I had 2 Barbel. The only way was to fish the fast flow with 7oz on to hold bottom.The Red Lion was full of anglers again, about 8, and 1 Barbel & 1 Chub to one angler and the rest were fish-less when we went home at 4ish.
Thursday 21st and we were off to Hereford again - same spot this time, it was raining hard and the river was on the rise. We fished 9.30am till 3.30pm - Ken had 3 Barbel and I had 3 Barbel - honours even for the day but up to now Ken has had 9 Barbel and I have had 7 Barbel so the battle is on.
Friday the 22nd was a day off.
Saturday the 23rd and the fight was on where were we going to go. We looked at the numbers and we were heading for Hereford but a change of venue. It was going to be The Poplars. It had been raining hard all night so we knew the river was going to be up and rising - not the best time to fish the Wye but it was our last day as we were heading home tomorrow. We arrived at the waters edge about 11.00am, a bit later then usual, but full of expectation never having fished this venue before. We set up the gear and Ken was in to a Barbel first cast and then I had 1 and it was tit for tat all day - we finished the day at 4.00pm, with Ken 4 Barbel + 1 Chub and I had 5 Barbel. So the Total for the week was Ken 15 Barbel & 1 Chub and I had 14 Barbel and the 'Younger man' won. Not a bad week - a few fish and a lot of fun and the good news is we are back again in two weeks to do it all again. (Isn't Life Grand). Jim.