River Wye – Ross-on-Wye Town Water

The lowdown

• This is the club’s public day-ticket water, so there’s no membership faff for a day’s coarse fishing. You’re fishing the left bank in Riverside Park, with town landmarks making the stretch straightforward to pin down.
• Get those boundaries bob on before settling into a swim. The upstream limit is the hedge below Ross Rowing Club; downstream, look for the signed limit one meadow below Wilton Bridge.
• There’s an important gap in the fishing: the Hope and Anchor pub frontage is out of bounds. Don’t treat every bit of bank between the two limits as fair game.
• Large barbel and pike get a particular mention for this stretch. The club also names chub, perch, bream, carp, dace, eel, grayling and roach — a proper mixed line-up for coarse anglers.
• Brown trout and salmon are present too, but don’t let that muddle the ticket choice. The public day ticket covers coarse fishing only, not a cheeky session targeting the game fish.
• For a pike session, the deadbait rule is clear: sea fish only. Barbel, carp, pike and grayling must stay out of keepnets, and baited rods need watching rather than leaving while you wander off.
• Access options include the old Wilton Bridge layby and Wye Street, with limited parking near the bandstand. There’s also a large paid car park across the road from the park — handy when the smaller options are full.
• The coarse season runs from 16 June to 14 March inclusive, with no night fishing. Fish welfare can mean closures; the club announced reopening on 5 September 2026 and asks anglers to avoid shallows where safe landing and release aren’t possible.

Methods: For deadbaiting, stick to sea fish only. Keep baited rods supervised and choose a swim where fish can be safely landed and released, rather than squeezing into unsuitable shallows.

Access & tickets

Pick up a day ticket from a patrolling club bailiff on the bank. The club also lists Badger’s Bait, the White Lion pub and Riverside Cafe as ticket sellers.

Fish the club names

barbel, pike, chub, perch, bream, carp, eel, roach, trout

Key rules

• Day tickets cover coarse fishing only; the coarse season is 16 June to 14 March inclusive.
• No fishing along the Hope and Anchor pub frontage; stay within the marked Town Water boundaries.
• No night fishing. Permitted hours are one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.
• Fish only one peg at a time, and never leave baited rods unattended or unsupervised.
• Deadbaiting is permitted using sea fish only. Barbel, carp, pike and grayling must not be retained in keepnets.
• No bank fires or littering. Dogs must be leashed and tethered at pegs.
• The club may close fishing when river conditions threaten fish welfare.
• Avoid shallow areas where fish cannot be safely landed and released.

River level

Where it is