About RWGA

Our vision is to see the Wye returned to its position as the premier salmon river in England & Wales. To see a sustainable river environment where all indigenous flora and fauna can thrive and grow. A river providing employment opportunities for gillies and an environment anglers and other users can share in a fair and equitable manner.

Support of a river authority gathering data and intelligence, providing information and resourced sufficiently to safeguard and develop the river environment.

The River Wye Gillies Association (RWGA) was established in 1984 to represent the interests of Gillies on the Wye and it's tributaries with regard to protection, preservation and enhancement of indigenous fish species, both game and coarse and the fight against pollution, predation, poaching and illegal navigation. In conjunction with the Salmon & Trout Association (STA), of whom we are members, we also object on a regular basis to abstraction and foul water discharge applications as and when they occur.

For the last decade RWGA's membership has been open to all anglers who wish to be represented by us and assist in our common aims and goals. RWGA regularly meets and make representations on behalf of our members to bodies such as the Environment Agency (EA), The Wye and Usk Foundation (WUF), Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) and Natural England (NE) and had representation on various local fisheries groups and the Wye Salmon Action Plan (SAP). We are currently and have been for some time, engaging WUF and EA regarding the poor state of salmon stocks on the Wye in a bid to see the current habitat improvement activities enhanced and current legislation relaxed to secure recovery of these stocks. We are also cooperating with a number of other concerned parties in engaging a number of these bodies, notably EAW, CCW & NE in discussions regarding the tackling of avian predation, a significant factor in the survival of salmon & trout fry in areas of both the Wye and its near neighbour the USK. We have, on behalf of our members also made recent submissions to the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) Sustainability Committee hearings regarding canoe access to the Wye and other Welsh rivers. We have in the past assisted WUF wherever possible and taken part in hatchery catch up, although this has been suspended for sometime due to disagreements over policy decisions. However given a change in policy we would be delighted to assist again in river enhancement activities! We also provide a website (www.rwga.co.uk ) for our members and others, providing information on the river such as its fishing history. There are articles, archive and comment of interest regarding major current issues, angling byelaws, weather forecasts for the area (provided via BBC Weather link), links to river height web cams (a number of which are provided by WUF), a photo gallery along with regular, daily at times, report on river conditions and catches plus monthly summaries and the only daily updated catch chart beat by beat, month by month through the season and a contact page allowing members and the general public to seek advice, gillieing and guiding support and report catches. We hold an open members meeting on a bimonthly basis in Hereford. Strength of any organisation is in numbers so if you would like to join us and become a member of RWGA send your application and fee (see membership application form) to our treasurer Derrick Maund, Orchard Place, Dorstone, Hereford HR3 6BE Tel 01981550054