Holme Lacy 3 and Lechmere's Ley

River level

The lowdown

• This is Middle Wye fishing with a bit of everything. Salmon anglers get fly and spinning water, while coarse anglers can target barbel, chub, dace and pike.
• Lechmere’s Ley is described as one of the more productive areas of the middle river. There are also a number of good salmon pools to have a look at.
• The banks are gently sloping, and numerous croys give you handy spots to fish from. The gravel riverbed makes wading relatively easy too.
• Barbel are a main attraction for coarse anglers, with good numbers present. Large pike are also in the beat, while the river holds big shoals of dace and chub to considerable size.
• Some swims are a fair hike from the parking area, so coarse anglers are advised to travel light. No need to lug the whole tackle shop down the bank.
• Salmon anglers have a ghillie included in the day-ticket price. Colin Richardson is the long-serving ghillie and is normally available Monday to Saturday, when the salmon hut is also available.
• The salmon water can be fished by fly or spinner. The owner may fish up to three salmon rods, and coarse anglers might need to give way briefly to a salmon rod working downstream through their swim.
• The standard coarse allocation is three rods daily during the salmon season. That can rise to four at short notice, depending on river conditions, with a maximum of four tickets per day.
• Canoes can be heavy between 10am and 4pm at weekends in warmer months and on bank holidays. Worth factoring in if you fancy a quieter feeder session or a tidy bit of trotting.

Methods: For salmon, fish the pools with fly or spinner. Coarse anglers can travel light and work the barbel and chub swims with feeder or trotting approaches, keeping an eye on the flow and sharing the water courteously with salmon rods.

Access & tickets

Day tickets are booked through the Wye & Usk Foundation’s Fishing Passport booking page. Season rods are available separately through the Fishing Passport scheme.

Fish the club names

barbel, pike, chub

Key rules

• Salmon fishing is catch-and-release at all times.
• National fishing byelaws must be observed.
• Barbless hooks are required.
• No dogs are permitted on the beat.
• Professional guides are not permitted to operate on the water.
• The beat operates a wash-off policy.
• The owner reserves the right to fish up to three salmon rods.
• Coarse anglers may have to give way temporarily to a salmon rod fishing downstream through their swim.

Where it is