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Coarse Fishing

 

Most of the Monnow is run by trout fishing syndicates or clubs and coarse fishing is only normally possible outside the trout season if at all. The coarse fish much above Skenfrith are limited to the plentiful grayling and a few dace and chub but in the lower stretches below Skenfrith there is a increasingly wide variety of coarse fish, the nearer you get to the Wye the better the coarse fishing.

 

There are two clubs with decent coarse fishing Monmouth & District AS and Cwmbran AC. The best of these is M&DAS and they have most of the last three miles of the river down to the Wye. The very last bit is actually regarded as free fishing although technically belonging to the local Council. The M&DAS fishing offers a wide variety from virtually still water to runs and riffles and the main coarse species present roughly in order of numbers are chub, dace, bleak, grayling, roach, pike and perch. There are also a few wild carp, bream, tench, gudgeon and the odd barbel. Flounders, eels, twaite shad, brown trout, sea trout and salmon.

 

All the fish grow to a good size and the best fish from the M&DAS Monnow beats would be something like chub 6lbs 8oz, dace 1lb, bleak (previous UK record), grayling 3lbs 12oz, roach 2lbs 8oz, pike 24lbs, perch 3lbs, carp 19lbs, bream 5lbs 8oz, tench 6lbs, flounder 2lbs and eel 5lbs.


Catches of up to 100lbs of chub have been made in the quieter water above the weir at Osbaston and that's where most of the tench and bream come from (the carp are actually further downstream) but you can catch pretty much everything anywhere.

 

The club also has a small stillwater stocked with coarse fish and two great stretches of the Wye in the salmon close season (Oct 17th - March 3rd), the best of these is the beat known as the Duke's water which runs on both banks from the bridge at Monmouth down to the point where the Troddi runs in, well over a mile of fabulous and lightly fished water with chub, barbel, dace, roach, grayling, pike, perch, and the odd carp, most of them to close to record size.

 

The other stretch is about two miles upstream at Wyastone Leys and is both banks from the point where the river turns parallel with the dual carriageway down to where the Mally Brook runs in, just under a mile of water . The top end is good fishing but the bottom end has little flow although still holding a stack of fish,mostly chub and barbel.

 

The club issues day tickets for most of their water and full membership is I think still less than £50 per annum.  The Secretary of the M&DAS is Peter Brundrett and he can be contacted on 01989 770667 and will give you more information.