[peterchilton]

lol really? They do not breed all along the river in the Wye although plenty of coarse fish breed around Hereford, mostly they breed above the Ithon and in the feeder streams above there. SNR ponds on the river above the Ithon (and elsewhere) could be the turning point for the river whilst people campaign about chickens, after all it was when the stocking by NRW and the SNR ponds stopped that the new decline really took hold

 

[peterchilton]

The Wye & Usk Foundation focuses on ecological restoration, particularly enhancing the habitat, water quality, and fisheries of the Wye and Usk rivers.

how is that going?

 

[charlieH]

Cant see how they can avoid it, they are always saying how data driven they are?

If they are data driven, they’ll no doubt have noted the recent catches from the (West Coast) Carron, which Ian Gordon holds up as such a shining example of the success of hatcheries. The decline in numbers over recent years has seen it demoted from Cat 2 to Cat 3, and Wildfish comment that:

“It is now apparent that, while the intensive stocking and “ranching” exercise may have boosted numbers in the short-term, it is not a long-term solution…It is surely time for a reality check and for these salmon stocking proponents to recognise that the real priority, with the aim of achieving long-term sustainability, should be to address, as far as is feasible, the underlying problems that negatively influence salmon abundance.”

River Carron in Wester Ross downgraded to “poor” conservation status | Wildfish

Scotland's river conservation gradings for 2025 include a notable download for the river Carron to a "poor" conservation status.

wildfish.org

 

[peterchilton]

yes its a shame that 'wildfish' should appear to be so anti salmon. Is their stance easy to maintain as it costs little to achieve little. Their political posturing should be changed to actually removing the in sea salmon farms, have they had ANY success? Maybe the downgrading of the Carron is political or maybe its is declining due the the farms just not as quickly as some others.
Surely the Wye isn't affected by west coast salmon farms so what are wildfish doing about that?

wildfish charity - https://register-of-charities.chari...tydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_priv_r_p_organisationNumber=4028644

 

[Rutlander]

As a new resident of the area (albeit on the opposite side of the FoD to the river), which are the Wye level gauges I should be keeping my eye on and are there any river cams that will provide a rough idea of colour? The Farson digital cams provide useful clues to the state of the Tyne and Ure but although there's a Farson camera on Hereford Bridge, I can't see any others. Do any of the canoeing sites have a similar thing?

 

[Tangled]

There are lots of problems with stocking but they can all be summed up with 'unless you've fixed the reason why the decline is happening AND you introduce a really expensive, science-backed system and are prepared to do it for decades it's just a waste of time, effort and money.'

Very few of them have been shown to work, some even do harm; it's the least effective salmon conservation measure and it's VERY expensive.

 

[steved]

As a new resident of the area (albeit on the opposite side of the FoD to the river), which are the Wye level gauges I should be keeping my eye on and are there any river cams that will provide a rough idea of colour? The Farson digital cams provide useful clues to the state of the Tyne and Ure but although there's a Farson camera on Hereford Bridge, I can't see any others. Do any of the canoeing sites have a similar thing?

Welcome to the madhouse
The WUF have a few cameras dotted up the river on their website
We use Shoothill Gauge Map ( Google it ) they have data all the way up the river , for the lower river Redbrook needs to be 800mm or lower to be able to wade safely and for fish to stop bombing up river

 

[Richardgw]

As a new resident of the area (albeit on the opposite side of the FoD to the river), which are the Wye level gauges I should be keeping my eye on and are there any river cams that will provide a rough idea of colour? The Farson digital cams provide useful clues to the state of the Tyne and Ure but although there's a Farson camera on Hereford Bridge, I can't see any others. Do any of the canoeing sites have a similar thing?

Welcome Rutlander.

As for gauges there are a considerable number provided throughout the river by the EA & NRW. Just select one and from there you can move up or down to the next one. As to which you will watch it all depends on where you will be fishing. Although it is a good idea to keep an eye on those upstream as well just in case there is a big rise on its way down following rain in the Welsh hills.

He are links to the Ross EA gauge and the WUF cameras. On the latter just click on the red dot for the camera you want.

River Wye level at Ross On Wye - GOV.UK

Check the latest recorded river level and recent 5-day trend at Ross On Wye

check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk

River Webcams & Weather | The Fishing Passport

www.fishingpassport.co.uk

 

[peterchilton]

Welcome rutlander😊

 

[Nomilktoday]

I saw this add in an old trout and salmon and wondered if any wye anglers used thes rods.

.

 

[gwelsher]

I saw this add in an old trout and salmon and wondered if any wye anglers used thes rods.
.

I had a try of the 14ft Standard when a mate bought one. Very nice rod but way beyond my budget.

 

[Nomilktoday]

I had a try of the 14ft Standard when a mate bought one. Very nice rod but way beyond my budget.

I just checked the price of a hardy 14ft favourite which was £159 and a bruce and walker was £147 so it was a fair bit cheaper in 1985. Would have still been a bit pricey for me as well. Do you know how long they were on the market for?

 

[gwelsher]

I just checked the price of a hardy 14ft favourite which was £159 and a bruce and walker was £147 so it was a fair bit cheaper in 1985. Would have still been a bit pricey for me as well. Do you know how long they were on the market for?

With a wife, 3 kids and a mortgage at 15% is was totally out of reach
I don't think they lasted long I never came across them again.

 

[Nomilktoday]

With a wife, 3 kids and a mortgage at 15% is was totally out of reach
I don't think they lasted long I never came across them again.

I'd just left school so I didn't have the pennies. The first double hander I bought was a 12 ft 6 inch hardy favourite about 5 years later which took a bit of saving especially when I bought a marquis 1 and 2 spools and lines to go with it. I still have them.

 

[OURTREV]

After the misery that we suffered in the middle/lower Wye last year with lots of rain and river too high for us to fish this year is turning out to be so different.
I fished Ross waters at Weirend this afternoon and managed to wade some sections without any bother. The River at Ross look very good at the moment and continues to improve as this weekend approaches. It should be good for the coarse fishers, their last weekend for a while, and hopefully for the salmon fishers. Someone somewhere surely has to take the first salmon of the year and hopefully it will be one of us at Ross.....

I took this fantastic brownie today not on the fly rod but on a black toby, 20 inches long and about 3lb. it hit the lure very hard and for the briefest of moments I thought I was in.

 

[Richardgw]

I'd just left school so I didn't have the pennies. The first double hander I bought was a 12 ft 6 inch hardy favourite about 5 years later which took a bit of saving especially when I bought a marquis 1 and 2 spools and lines to go with it. I still have them.

Excellent blank, but oh for the rod rings were just too small, particularly the tip ring.

I had one years ago and rings would just not allow a loop to loop to go through without sticking. So shooting heads were out of the question. Also the rod is just too short for the then new (long belly) spey lines that were taking over from double tapers.

Now if integrated switch lines had been available back then I would have probably kept it. Line with something like a Barrio 8/9 switch line and you have an excellent outfit, even when comparing with today’s modern rods. And because of its short length it is not at all heavy.

I used a Marquis No2 reel on it, as that is what I had.

Here is a nice Wye 11 lb'er I caught on it from the river between Ross and Monmouth. Sorry not C&R in those days.

 

[Richardgw]

View attachment 111525

After the misery that we suffered in the middle/lower Wye last year with lots of rain and river too high for us to fish this year is turning out to be so different.
I fished Ross waters at Weirend this afternoon and managed to wade some sections without any bother. The River at Ross look very good at the moment and continues to improve as this weekend approaches. It should be good for the coarse fishers, their last weekend for a while, and hopefully for the salmon fishers. Someone somewhere surely has to take the first salmon of the year and hopefully it will be one of us at Ross.....

I took this fantastic brownie today not on the fly rod but on a black toby, 20 inches long and about 3lb. it hit the lure very hard and for the briefest of moments I thought I was in.

The first salmon of the season would have been better, but as second prize that is a specimen sized wild river brownie, well done Trev.

 

[Nomilktoday]

Excellent blank, but oh for the rod rings were just too small, particularly the tip ring.

I had one years ago and rings would just not allow a loop to loop to go through without sticking. So shooting heads were out of the question. Also the rod is just too short for the then new (long belly) spey lines that were taking over from double tapers.

Now if integrated switch lines had been available back then I would have probably kept it. Line with something like a Barrio 8/9 switch line and you have an excellent outfit, even when comparing with today’s modern rods. And because of its short length it is not at all heavy.

I used a Marquis No2 reel on it, as that is what I had.

Here is a nice Wye 11 lb'er I caught on it from the river between Ross and Monmouth. Sorry not C&R in those days.

View attachment 111526

I think the only rod I ever got rid off was a 15ft 4 inch hardy deluxe. I only used it about a dozen times and got shot of it and bought a sage 8150-4 which is still my favourite rod so much so I now have another 2 that I've bought second hand.

 

[gwelsher]

I have just been sent this. Ricky Reno Brobury Boat Pool 1.30 today on Red FC. By the way that isn't my estimate of the weight. In the excitement he read the tape wrong and thought 43" not 34"

 

[steved]

So 15lb then , it’s a fish end of Well done Ricky