The Wye & Usk Passport
While most of the Foundation's work concentrates on the physical improvement of Wye and Usk tributaries, an important part of our effort has been to make available the fishing on both rivers and thus convert our environmental improvements to tangible benefits for the rural economy in the form of sustainable tourism. The Passport scheme began in 2003 and set up wild brown trout fisheries in the uplands of the Wye catchment, opening up fishing that was not previously accessible to visiting anglers. Its success has enabled us to add salmon, trout, grayling and coarse fishing on the main river Wye and tributaries such as the Lugg, Arrow and Monnow, along with the salmon and trout fishing in the Usk catchment. The scheme continues to expand with new waters added each year, including some of the area's top still water fishing.
The Passport is made up of two distinct elements. Our "Wild Streams" scheme focuses on the opening up of new fisheries created by our habitat work on the tributaries while our 'Booking Office' has been created to take day, week and season rod reservations for salmon, trout, grayling & coarse fishing on the more established fisheries. An online booking facility allows reservations to be made at any time of day. We act as a focal point enabling you to get fishing with the minimum of fuss. At the same time, we are giving farmers and landowners an economic incentive to look after the rivers and support the various initiatives that improve them.
The Passport offers a variety of fantastic water. Please click on the adjacent image to request your free copy of the Passport. See "WUF River Reports" section for all the news so far this season and the "Anglers Feedback and Reports" for news on what's being caught and where.
The Wye fishing in the last century was very salmon orientated. Apart from a handful of the tributaries and some stretches of upper main river, little was mentioned about trout and almost nothing at all about the superb grayling fishing, which continues throughout the autumn and winter. Wye coarse fishing has always been excellent, particularly downstream of Glasbury where the river is host to a range of species. Big chub and pike and the highly prized barbel are all common while dace, perch, roach and even bream are also found here.
The Usk, on the other hand, has always been as well known for its brown trout as well as prolific salmon runs and occasional sea trout. The trout fishing is some of the best in the country and if you want a freestone river wild fish of over 2lbs, the Usk is the place to come. The last few years have seen resurgence in the upwing fly hatches to go with the summer sedges. There has been a corresponding increase in the average size, now near the 1lb mark. Catches of 20 to 30 trout during the Large Dark Olive and March Brown hatches in spring are now commonplace, followed by consistent fishing to sedges and Blue Winged Olives during the summer. In addition to its heavy runs of summer salmon and grilse, the Usk also has a decent spring run of salmon that peaks in May, a fast improving sea trout run, and some good coarse fishing below Abergavenny.
For more information on Wye and Usk salmon, trout, grayling and coarse fishing, please see our When and Where to Fish section.
Also included in this section is all the information you will need for your visit to the Wye or Usk, such as our list of recommended accommodation, pubs, tackle shops, guides/instructors and information of the fishing available. For information on river height and colour, a series of webcams have been set up, the images from which can be seen in the River Info section. To make fishing Wye and Usk even easier, the Foundation has set up some fishing packages. For salmon anglers, we have a plan to overcome the difficulties of never being at the right end of the river - The Salmon Visa. Before fishing any of the waters in the Passport, anglers must be aware of the Environment Agency bylaws.
We look forward to welcoming you to these two wonderful rivers.