Autumn Is The Start of Some Great Angling

I must admit I didn't expect the big flood we had at the start of September, though it was most welcome. It gave my local rivers the Aire, Calder, Lune and Ribble a good flush out. On the Ribble it certainly got the salmon and seatrout moving through the system. I was also pleasing to see several grilse moving upstream near Sawley. Mick Holgate and me went over to the Aire in the hope of catching some chub. We arrived to find the river was just below the top of the bank. Within half an hour it was over the bank, half an hour later it was across the road. As we needed all this rain, we didn't complain. Sunday the river was in good trim with just an extra two foot of water. Ideal for those seeking big chub. Bradford City AA Bradford Number 1 AA and Keighley A C all have some excellent water. Keighley AC have day tickets at £2-00 a day, membership for a year is just £22-00 excellent value for money. Telephone Secretary Denise Freeman 01535-663695 or call in at K L Tackle Keighley for further details. The stretch up and downstream of Keighley golf course offers you the chance of a 5lb chub or 20lb pike.

Pallatrax Paste Baits Do Work

In the past when chub fishing, I have used bread, luncheon or sausage meat as my number one baits, followed by double lobworms when the river has some colour. Big chub have been caught on these baits. On the advice of several excellent anglers, I have been using some of the Pallatrax paste baits which have proved excellent for barbel. Paul Smyth one of the countries top coarse anglers is one of those guys who has been using these baits for three years, they have accounted for some big fish. When Paul set the Kennet barbel record with his 17-4-0 fish he used Pallatrax whisker stick bait, with paste wrapped around the bit of stick.

I fish the Pallatrax paste bait by moulding it around a small bit of cork fixed on a short hair. Don't use a long hair when chub fishing, I find you get a lot of missed bites. I well remember trying to catch some chub for a feature to be published in Total Coarse Fishing magazine. My usual method of legered crust or flake didn't work, neither did floating crust. Having fished from around 4am trying all my usual swims without success I needed some inspiration. At nine o'clock I changed to the Stonze method with a short hair rig using Pallatrax paste. Fifteen minutes later the rod tip moved slightly. A minute or so later, I felt a pluck then a powerful pluck which moved the rod tip. The answering strike connected with a nice fish. I called to Ian "Fish On" For a summer chub it put up a decent struggle but there was only going to be one winner, Ian and me. I was proved correct as a nice fish was engulfed in the landing net. At noon Ian had everything he needed for his feature.

Over the past few months fishing with two rods, using my usual baits on one rod, the other rod with a Pallatrax paste bait. I found the results slightly in favour of the paste on stillwaters and river Kennet. I will know more after a few months of hard fishing during the autumn and winter months. I am not saying you want catch on bread, you will. I am saying, when all your normal baits don't work, its time to try something new as I have done on occasions

New From Pallatrax

Simon Pomeroy of Pallatrax has announced the launch of the Pallatrax Line In Line Out system (LILO) – as Simon told me a few weeks ago "Its the most effective style of fishing that we know of in all of our years’ of angling experience where a weight is required".


The LILO system has been the result of many years of perfecting tactics and catching fish to give the angler an edge above all else. The LILO is simplicity in itself and easily explained.



By using a Pallatrax Inline Silt Stonze™, you slide the LILO sleeve into the central hole and then trims the excess to suit. Then by using the specially developed swivels and clip (42lb breaking strain), rigs can be assembled whereby the connection point is neatly hidden within the natural stone weight. The benefits are immediately obvious, as the name suggests, with the main line going into the Stonze™ and the rig coming out of the other end. In essence you are bottom ‘free lining’ with the only factors the fish are now aware of being tackle that you just cannot hide i.e. mainline, rig line, hook and bait! I reckon Simon has come up with another idea that will hopefully help catch us more fish. This idea with a quality fluorocarbon line will certainly enhance our end rigs.



If you have any questions or require further information, please do no hesitate to contact Pallatrax Tel 01305-849333 or e-mail [email protected]

LILO Sleeves Worked For Me

A few days after receiving the LILO sleeves I was on a Midland river where I decided to give them a try. I was already a fan of the Stone system, using the sleeves was child's play. Though I did have doubts about the swivel clips, they looked so fragile. I didn't need to worry, they worked perfectly. Perhaps the only item of tackle on view to the fish was the size 12 barbless hair rigged hook, attached to ten inches of Seaguar fluorocarbon. No way could I imagine the fish seeing that short length of line. I also pinched some lead putty on the hook link at three and six inches to keep it close to the bottom. Bait was Jungle paste wrapped around a small piece of pellet on the hair. On every cast, I attached a small pva bag of very small pellets on the hook. My three hours session was in bright sunshine and clear water. I had eight barbel with quite an high average weight of seven to eight lbs and four small chub. While other anglers nearby sat fishless. I am not saying this was all down to the LILO system, but a combination of a good paste bait, quality fluorocarbon, water craft and the added benefit of LILO enabled me to catch when others failed. Why not give it a try for a few sessions?

In another short session using the same method with Jungle paste moulded around a piece of cork to give the bait some buoyancy on the rubble strewn river bed I had 11 barbel best estimated at 9lbs plus.

Roach And Dace Are Making A Comeback

On the river Ribble some good size barbel are being caught, along with many small barbel which is nice to see.The great news on this water are the dace are returning in good numbers and lets hope this trend continues. Hopefully the roach will follow. Last season anglers were catching some fine roach, fishing float tackle using gentles or casters, with many fish over the pound mark. The best roach I have heard of was 1-12-0 I will be spending a lot of my fishing this autumn and winter when conditions are right targeting the roach, which I rate more highly than barbel. Lets hope the cormorants keep away.

The Kennet - It's Open To Everyone

Another river where you can get some excellent roach and dace fishing is the Kennet. Mention the Kennet and many anglers think of barbel. In my book this river has always been a great roach and dace river. The great angling writer of the early 1900's and former editor of the Field Magazine Hugh Tempest Sheringham was a great Kennet roach angler who has written many words about roach fishing on the Kennet. A book every Kennet angler should read is Big Chub and Roach John Etherington published by Waterlife ISBN 0 9510070 0 9.Its a book I can highly recommend any roach fisher to read.

During the course of a year I meet hundreds of anglers at various angling events where I am guest speaker. When I discuss the Kennet, most of the audience immediately think Its all strictly private fishing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wasing Fisheries have tickets for several miles of the Kennet also Shalford and Bottle lakes. If you want to catch some double figure bream these two lakes have an excellent track record. For further details write The Estate Office the Gardens, Wasing Park, Aldermaston, Reading Berkshire RG7 4NG Telephone 0118 971 4140 e-mail [email protected]

Every season 6lb plus chub are caught, as are double figure barbel. Big perch, quality roach and dace can also be expected. On Bottle and Shalford Lakes bream to 15-8-0 have been caught. I wouldn't be surprised to see a 17 lb bream caught in late autumn during a spell of very wet and mild weather.


Seatrout - A True Wild Fish

When deciding to have a seatrout session I chose to fish the river Ribble and not the river Lune. I couldn't have chosen a better time, the river looked perfect with an extra foot of water the colour of weak tea. What I would describe as good fly fishing water, I felt the chance of a seatrout during the daylight hours were good. Further downstream no doubt the garden gnomes would be worming in the hope of catching a seatrout or salmon. Some don't even move from there chosen spot. No wander many anglers complain about the behaviour of these people who hog the pools. I like to rules on the River Fleet Gatehouse of Fleet in Scotland where its fly fishing only unless the river is at a certain height, then its spinning or worming with no lead. This stops the hogging of pools by those with legering gear.

Anglers etiquette has certainly taken a turn for the worse over the past twenty years. My father told me in no uncertain words, that after fishing out the cast, I was to take a step downstream then repeat the process. A word of advice, don't cast, then take a step downstream.This is of utmost importance as you want be fishing the fly properly. Remember, take that step downstream then make your cast, you will present the fly so much better.

I chose to fish with a Thomas and Thomas 11 foot double handed rod for a seven weight line using an intermediate tip with an eight foot tapered leader with a 10lb tippet. Choosing to fish a yellow fly tied up on a size 10 double by Malcolm Bullock. It didn't have a name so I will call it 'The Canary' It worked, I had two seatrout 17" - 18", plus three good brown trout. What did surprise was the number of feeding trout, so it wasn't a surprise to catch those trout. Have you noticed how we often catch the better brown trout when we are using big flies for seatrout and salmon.

Next day I was back on the water with my Thomas and Thomas LPS 5 weight rod, floating line, 12 foot leader with a 3lb tippet. Fish were certainly feeding, going by the rise forms the trout were taking emergers. When fish are feeding in this fashion I find the fishing can be quite exasperating. I chose to fish a size 14 olive bodied Klinkhammer. After a couple of hours, I had just one fish for my effort, having tried several patterns of dry flies. Time for a brew, sitting on the bankside enjoying a sandwich and fresh brew, I watched several feeding fish. What were they eating? a question I couldn't answer. I was getting even more exasperated. I decided to fish a size 14 black buzzer on a four inch length of 6X Seaguar fluorocarbon tied on the bend of the Klinkhammer. It might seem a crazy way to fish but I had nothing to lose. In the next hour I had five hook ups landing three browns averaging 14"

The fished suddenly stopped feeding. I then changed over to a nine foot seven weight with an intermediate line and a nine foot Seaguar leader of 10lbs. In the peaty water I chose to fish a Snake fly given to me by James Waltham the author of The Sea Trout And The Fly published by Crowood Press. Its a book I can recommend. Working slowly downstream I fished all the likely looking areas, especially behind the bigger boulders. In about four hours of hard fishing I was rewarded with two seatrout. 18" - 20" Today I had a good seatrout, lost a salmon and caught 2 chub and 3 brown trout. It was nice fishing all caught on wet fly patterns.

Why Not Fish The River Wharfe

Recently I had a session on the River Wharfe at Addingham, I am surprised that more anglers don't fish this delightful river in the autumn and winter months. Not only does the river hold good pike, perch, barbel, chub, roach and dace, it also offers some good grayling. During the trout fishing which is from 25th March through to September 30th, fishing with dry flies and nymphs can often be good. There are five stretches on the river which can be fished quite cheaply by purchasing either a Bradford City AA card Tel Mike Briggs 01274-571767 e-mail BRADFORDCITY [email protected] The other card is Bradford No 1 AA Tel Mr Foster 01274-881851 Both angling associations offer good fishing at a cost which want break the bank, with tickets available from many tackle shops. Grayling fishing on this great Yorkshire river can be as good as any other club fishery in the country.

Chub From Long Preston On The Ribble

With bright sunshine and clear water fishing on the river Aire was extremely hard, after a couple of hours I decided it was time to move. I went off to the river Ribble at Long Preston controlled by Bradford City AA. where the river flows slow and deep. Using a roving approach, I fished all the likely looking spots with lobworms, crust and jungle paste on a size 4 hook to 6lb fluorocarbon line, centre pin reel and an Avon action rod. Catching nine good chub losing three. I suppose the average weight would have been around four pounds. I am surprised that more members of the Bradford City AA don't fish the water. I was also pleased to be asked for my card on two occasions during the day.

Hunting Brown and Seatrout

Next day I was back on the Ribble this time in the Middle reaches fishing for brown trout, not with tiny dry flies, but big streamers and bucktails down near the bottom in search of the big browns which I know inhabit the river. Also there are some seatrout in the river, who knows I might hook up to one. I chose to fish a seven weight, nine foot Thomas & Thomas Helix with a sink tip line. Condition were good with just a slight tinge of colour, I suppose it could be described as the colour of very weak tea. In two hours of fishing I didn't get a single hit.Though I did see quite a few trout taking both small dries and emergers.

After lunch I decided to wade out into the river to fish an area of water under the far high bank. Over hanging beech, alder, oak and sycamore trees created a dark secretive area. An ideal spot for a seatrout. Looking through my fly box I selected a size 6 Medicine, one of the Falkus flies which I have found so effective under varying weather and water conditions over many years.

Having tied on the fly with a non-slip mono loop, which allows the bigger fly to swing better in the current. Than the usual five turn tucked blood knot. I was ready for any action I might get. How lucky can we anglers be. On my first cast I dropped the fly some two feet from the waters edge, then made a downstream mend. Within seconds I had a hit, a good fish boiled on the surface then shot skywards, before shooting off downstream taking some ten yards of line. Again the fish rose from the water like a Polaris missile before crashing back in a shower of spray. Deciding I would try and get below the fish I waded downstream as quickly as possible. The fish then went behind a big rock and sulked on the bottom which was to my advantage and soon I was below my quarry. The fish then tried to get back to the sanctuary of the tree lined far bank, I decided to let him do so as the water was quite slow flowing. I also had an area of gravel where I could beach the fish if needed. Though I hoped I could unhook the fish in the water. A minute or so later I was able to draw the fish close in, where I was able slide the barbless hook from the mouth of a seatrout weighing about two and a half pounds to three pounds. Certainly a great prize. I decided to call it a day.

As I write the rain has been falling for several hours, which is good news as it will increase the height and flow rates on the Calder, Ribble and Aire. On the Ribble in the Ribchester area, I counted six individual salmon. I also watched the occasional seatrout leap clear of the water. At Calder Foot where the Calder flows into the Ribble, a good salmon rolled on the surface. Conditions this weekend could be good for salmon and seatrout on the rivers Lune Ribble Hodder and even the Calder these days get a few salmon and seatrout in the system. Watch we must watch out for are poachers, though I prefer the word thieves. That's what they are. If you see a person spinning and he keeps striking as he works the lure, he is probably trying to snag a fish. Its an offence to keep a foul hooked fish, they must be returned.