Why Not Get Out On the River?

In the autumn and winter months I love to see the rivers bank high, perhaps over the banks. In my younger days when the Medway, Beult, Thames, Kennet, Kentish Stour and the Little Stour were bank high; with a water temperature around 48-50 degrees farenheight we caught a lot of fish, often big fish. If we wanted to catch of bream, the place to visit was the Medway at Yalding downstream to Wateringbury. We caught roach from Maidstone through to Yalding and beyond. Though it was rare to catch chub. Our baits were lobworms, bread flake and crust. Legering with a bored bullet was the usual way of fishing. During the fifties and sixties, many of the bream were over five pounds with the occasional six and seven pounders could be caught.

The bream fishing on the bank high river Beult was even better, Winget AC who’s secretary was Baz Hambler had a stretch of water at Hunton which offered good fishing. We used fifteen foot cane rods, centre pin reels, 6lb line, swan quill floats with a bore bullet as a weight, stopped about fifteen inches from a size 6 Alcocks Model Perfect hook. Our bait was usually lobworms; though we did occasionally use bread. We would start off ground baiting with half a dozen cricket size balls of mashed bread and bran. Occasionally an angler fishing the river would catch a bream of in excess of nine pounds. In 1960 or 61 a lady angler from Sydenham fishing the LAA water caught a bream of 8-14-0.

In these bank high conditions we also caught some super tench, including five pounders which were considered huge fish in those days. The best fish I can remember was a 6-2-0 tench by a member of Barking Kingfishers on the London Anglers Association water at Hunton. Two pound roach were not a rarity, often falling for a big lobworm. Goring on the River Thames was another favourite venue when the river was bank high, many good catches of roach and bream were taken. Often by Thames anglers fishing with their Sowerbutts cane poles with its whale bone tip. Today I still choose too fish on occasions with my cane pole.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been surprised to see so few anglers on the river bank. Even on the Kennet last week when the river was at its best for several years, I had some three miles to myself. What I cannot understand is why so many anglers have deserted the river bank, for commercial fisheries. Surely today’s anglers have realised how good the fishing can be when our rivers are bank high with a high water temperature. On all the rivers I have fished over the past few weeks the lowest water temperature has been 45, the highest has been an incredible 50 degrees farenheight. There have been enough words published in the magazines over the past couple of years on fishing flooded river. remember it’s often easier catching fish from flooded river, than low gin clear water.

Some days over the past week, the river Ribble has registered 8 feet on the gauge, it’s been the colour of a milky chocolate drink, but the fish have been willing to feed. On the rivers Calder and Aire I haven’t seen a single angler for the past two weeks and the Aire certainly fishes well with some extra water, but you must be prepared to move around looking for suitable slacks or where the water is flowing smoothly. What you don’t want is a swim where it looks like a giant washing machine. Though I have had the odd good chub, fish over five pounds from such spots, it’s a rarity.

Passing over the Ribble this morning on my way to the studio I stopped and checked the water level and temperature. It was about six and a half feet up with a water temperature of 46 degrees. At 5 o’clock I’m in the BBC Radio Lancashire studio getting ready to interview Brian Whitlock of Lostock Tackle Box, Brian was on time as usual. After the interview, he was off to his tackle shop leaving me with three pints of red gentles. An hour later Alan Roe and me recorded an interesting chat for the listeners of At the Waters Edge programme, then Alan then went off home, I had some breakfast, then worked through until one o’clock. I then headed off to the river Ribble.

I chose to fish the middle reaches of the river, where yesterday Mick Holgate and I had a short session, that day the gauge was reading eight feet, but we still got bites. I hooked and lost two fish on crust, while Mick had a bite off using sausage meat. Today the river had dropped a foot or more overnight, conditions were spot on. With three pints of red gentles; two loafs of extra thick sliced bread and a box of lobworms I expected to catch.

I had two outfits, an Avon action rod, centre pin reel, 6lb line with a size 4 hook, a Pallatrax Stonze was stopped five or six inches from the hook. I also had a thirteen foot rod, centre pin reel, with six pound line. Using double rubbers a 6AA cork on quill Avon float was fixed on the line, the AA shot were bunched about a foot from a size 12 hook while a BB shot was pinched on about four inches from the hook.

My first swim was a few feet downstream of a big oak where the water slowed up, baiting with a chunk of crust I dropped it into a small crease, immediately the tip moved an inch, I hooked a chub about three pounds, in the next fifteen minutes I had two more fish of the same size. With no more bites for twenty minutes it was time to move, I went downstream to fish the inside of a bend, it looked ideal for trotting. After baiting with three droppers of gentles, I plumbed the depth; it was just over three feet. First trot through a trout, three grayling quickly followed, then another trout.

As I was thinking of changing to legered crust, I had a chub about four pounds. Four droppers of bait were put in the swim; in six casts I had three chub and a grayling. Changing over to a small bit of bread flake, I had three nice chub in five casts. A blank spell followed I just couldn’t get a touch. Putting in six droppers of gentles I rested the swim, while I made a brew. Fifteen minutes later on my first trot I had a “goer dace” followed by several more averaging ten ounces. I then hooked a better fish, for several minutes I didn’t know what I had hooked, slowly the pressure I exerted on the fish worked as a chub rolled on the surface, “That’s a good chub” I said to myself. It weighed 5-12-0. Another brace of chub quickly followed averaging 4lbs. Fifteen minutes later without a bite with the light fading fast I called it a day. Tomorrow after an early morning start in the studio, I would head off to the Kennet in search of a big perch.