Redmire its still a Paradise

I've just returned from 5 days at Redmire Pool in Herefordshire and can say with all honesty its still offers the magic and romance of the place as it did many years ago. Given the choice I would choose Redmire Pool before any other location worldwide including the Caribbean and its great fly fishing for bonefish. I shared the pool with 3 great guys Dave Whyte, Will Carter and Lyndon Barrett; no way could I have chosen a better team. Lyndon was our teacher; he had so much knowledge to impart to Dave, Will and myself. In fact carp fishing has grown in leaps and bounds since I was doing it seriously back in the 50's to early 80's.

After arriving on Sunday and slowly walking around the water, a big thank you must go to Les Bamford for ensuring the lake retains all its glamour, this word sums up Redmire. It’s mysterious, elusive, fascinating, bewitching and charming. Without doubt the icing on the cake is the new wooden hand rail on the dam. I reckon the wildlife is improved with the addition of the Little Grebe or dabchick with its 2 youngsters which resembled small balls of black fluffy cotton wool. Occasionally I would see a group of carp cruising to and fro. An occasional fish would dig its head in the soft red silt, quickly the water resembled tomato soup. After a brew on the dam, I made my way to Keffords, there with the help of Lyndon I erected my bivvy, which I have owned for several years but never used. I then set about baiting my chosen spot a small shallow area of weed free water some 3 rod lengths out from the bank, with 6 pints of dead red gentles, 4 pints of hemp and 4 pints 2mm pellets.

I left the swim alone for a few hours while I sat drinking tea, reading and watching the water surface for cruising carp, feeling at peace with the world which in many areas was in turmoil. Time stood still at Redmire. The only problem was the swans. I reckon the water is far too small to have a parent bird and 6 cygnets. In fact they turned out to be a major problem when fishing the shallows. As soon as I put down a carpet of bait they were quickly rooting in the chosen spot. Sadly I had no answer for dealing with them.

Around seven o'clock I put together two rods with small bait runner reels and 12lbs bs line to which I tied on a short hook link of braid, then with the help of Lyndon who baited a bait clip for me with some gentles and imitation gentles which he fixed to the very short hair, I was ready to go. It was thanks to Lyndon that I could fish the bait clips, having no feeling in my finger tips I couldn't open and close bait the bait clip. My second rod was slightly different in that I chose to fish boily bait on a long hair. With both baited hooks in position I sat back and enjoyed a salad tea. As dusk settled over the water I sat listening to the Little Grebe calling along with a tawny owl. This pastime doesn't get any better.

Chub and Barbel

Monday morning Dave and myself left the pool at eight o'clock for Ross, after breakfast at Nature's Choice in Broad Street, we made our way to Backney Fishery on the Wye as a guest of the owner, The previous day we had met Keith Maddox the bailiff a charming man who was a hive of information also Keith is an avid salmon angler so we had a lot in common. Keith also has a house in Kendall so I was a able to offer him some salmon fishing as my guest on the River Ribble when he is up north.

Our baits were sausage meat and crust, on my second cast I had a nice barbel of around 8lbs, as I was wading it was easy to unhook the fish in the water without causing the fish any distress. I must say a big thank you to the canoeist who when asked to move to the far bank did so we thanked them and they in return often quietly stopped to ask what we were catching. I have always said the river is big enough for both canoeist and anglers with a bit of give and take. As we have some slobbish canoeists we also have our share of slobbish anglers.

Dave and I fished the same swim and didn't feel at anytime we should try other spots. The chub were in excellent condition and many of the fish were hitting the sausage paste or crust on the drop. In between catching fish we had several breaks for tea, then at lunch we shared some freshly made salad sandwiches. Around four o'clock with the rain sheeting down we called it a day returning to Redmire. Both of us agreed it had been great fishing the River Wye.

The Carp Had Paid a Visit

On our return to Redmire Pool David and myself were greeted by our swims looking like tomato soup, the carp had been in feeding avidly. Lyndon come along and said "The carp have been feeding in your swims for several hours, I was able to throw in bait and watch them feed" Had we made a mistake in leaving the water for the Wye I don't think so, its one of the many mysteries of Redmire. While the carp had been rooting in our swims, Will had lost two fish in Cranstoun's including one at the net. We all felt gutted for Will I reckon no one deserves a Redmire carp more than him.

As I sat slowly sipping tea the colour was going out of the water, within an hour I could see the silty soft bottom between the weed, and not a fish could be seen. It was time to prebait again with another load of dead red gentles, hemp and pellets, while I rebaited one rod with a 6mm pellet on the advice of Lyndon, he baited my other rod with both imitation and live gentles. After casting out both rods I clipped on the indictors then sat back to wait for some action. At seven o'clock I had dinner of steak, vegetables, potatoes and gravy followed by some fresh fruit. I sat back in my chair admiring the pool in the fading light thinking of the angling giants who had walked the banks, many no longer with us. I thought of BB and the times I was privileged to spend in his company. I remembered the book Quest for Carp by Jack Hilton and how I had travelled from the north of England on the train reading the book. It had such an effect on me that on arriving home I had to pack all my gear and go off carp fishing for a few days. I also remembered some of the days when Jack Tom Mintram and I hunted the chub on the River Beult during the winter months. The last thing I remember before dropping off to sleep was the moon shining brightly into the entrance of my bivvy.

I suppose it was around eight o'clock on Tuesday morning when I crawled from my sleeping bag, not once did the alarms sound even a single bleep; it was time to get ready for breakfast. After a combat strip down wash in cold water, a change of cloths, then a shave and polish of the teeth I was ready for breakfast. Half an hour later David and I left the pool for Ross and Nature's Choice, Dave had a full English breakfast while I chose scrambled eggs and tomatoes on wholemeal toast.

After breakfast we paid a visit to Wye Angling for a chat and some bits and pieces of tackle, no doubt tackle I already had, but it’s rare to visit a tackle shop without picking up the odd item of gear. I then visited the Crusty Cob for some fresh baked wholemeal bread, while Dave purchased a small Lardy cake which he had never tried before. In fact he enjoyed it so much the following day he purchased the largest Lardy cake the shop had on sale.

Back at the Pool we had a chat with Les, having known him for many years I can say this you want find a nicer guy and one who has a vast knowledge of carp fishing. Back at the pool I went in search of feeding fish, it seemed as if the pool was devoid of carp. After spending an hour or more looking for signs of feeding fish I went back to the bivvy then put the kettle on. Soon Dave and I were enjoying a fresh brew, for about two hours we talked about carp and carp fishing. I told him about some of the anglers who had fished the pool in the 1950's 60's and 70's. Being in Keffords I started by telling Dave about Dick Kefford a veterinary surgeon from Suffolk. Who I had privileged to meet many years ago at his Suffolk home where Dick regaled me with stories from his visits to this renowned carp fishery. In those days it was a long drive with no motorways, Should Dick have broken down he would have had an AA man come to his assistance on his motorcycle and sidecar. I was also able to tell Dave some stories that BB and Jack Hilton had told me of their visits to the pool. We discussed my visit of many years previous with the Late Len Head and Dougy Wood.

After Dave went back to his pitch I baited my spot with more gentles hemp and pellets in the hope the carp would pay a repeat visit. I then cast out my baited hooks clipped on the indicators and got stuck into a book. The only thing to happen was the swans that kept coming into my swim. I really did get fed up with these creatures. About four o'clock Lyndon caught a nice common carp weighing 18lb 14 ounces from the Willow swim now knows as 'Walkers'. Lyndon caught four other good double figure carp during his stay. He really is a good angler.

Soon it was tea time; I chose to have chicken vegetables followed by fresh fruit. Still no carp appeared. As dusk settled over the pool I settled down for the night. Dawn on Wednesday morning I still hadn't had any interest in my baits. I decided I would change swim. I chose to move from the west bank to the east bank and fish the Thirty Five Pitch where Jack Hilton caught his 35lb mirror carp.

Choosing not to use my bivvy in the new pitch I packed it away, then over the next hour or so I moved my gear to the other side of the pool, After a brew, I had a strip down combat wash in cold water which certainly makes you feel good, Having put on fresh cloths I was now ready for a very late breakfast. When I look back to how we looked after ourselves, I reckon we have been molly coddled over the past 30 years with modern living. It was just after noon time when Dave and I turned up at Nature's Choice. Dave had his usual full English breakfast while I chose scrambled eggs tomatoes wholemeal toast and a few new potatoes. Breakfast today lasted about an hour; we then visited Wye Angling, Morrison's for the Anglers Mail and the Crusty Cob for fresh bread.

Back at the pool I had a chat with Les where we discussed the 60th anniversary in 2012 of Walkers record carp, Even today I can vividly remember reading about Dick Walkers record fish as if it was yesterday. I then made my way to the Thirty Five Pitch, I fed three spots, one area forty feet out from the bank, one close to a willow bush on my left the other spot was about twenty feet out slightly to my left. An hour later 7 carp moved up onto the shallows, then circled over my baited area before slowly cruising back down the pool. As I sat waiting for the kettle to boil Mike Evans said "The tip of your Allcock Wallis Wizard has just pulled down" I quickly picked up the rod which was baited with a lobworm then pushed it forward to give some line, as I waited for the line to tighten, Lyndon suddenly appeared as he did so the line snaked across the surface, as it tightened I set the hook the fish was on. Lyndon picked up my cane armed landing net saying "I will christen your net with that fish" then it was off. Nothing big perhaps 3lb. Later in the evening I had 2 more takes missing them both. As I checked the hook after the second missed bite I noticed some slime on the line close to the hook. I reckon they were bites from an eel.

From about eight o'clock until about nine o'clock next morning, I didn't get a single bleep on the alarms. Winding in the tackle I put the hooks in the keeper rings then put the kettle on for a brew. I sat there scanning the surface for signs of a fish nothing, I couldn't see any signs of feeding fish on the shallows. Grabbing some fresh cloths and my wash bag I headed off to the small cabin for my normal morning strip down wash, followed by a shave then polished my teeth. Ablutions over it was time to head off to Ross for breakfast which was a slow leisurely affair. After reading the Daily Mail and enjoying another big mug of tea we paid the bill then headed off to the Crusty Cobb to order a few loaves of bread to take home.

Back at the pool I made my way to the end pitch on the eastern bank, looking in the water towards the willow tree on my left I noticed a couple of small carp, flicking in some pieces of bread flake I watched the carp intently to see if they might be interested, a minute or so later one tipped its head to hell tail to heaven, a minute later I noticed a spot of cloudy water. I reckon the fish had picked up one of the free offerings. Baiting my Allcock Wallis Wizard with a piece of flake the size of a five pence piece I made a cast the bait landing with a faint plop.

An hour later I changed the bait to a lobworm, within ten minutes the line snaked across the water. Picking up the rod I waited for the line to tighten, as it did so I set the hook. The rod arced over line was taken from the 1951 Mitchell 300 reel as the fish tried to reach a weed bed but the well balanced tackle was equal to the task. Soon I was able to net a nice mirror carp about 5lbs. After admiring the fish I set it loose hopefully to grow into a 20lb fish perhaps even bigger. Later in the day I lost another fish as it moved across the pool the swan went into the line causing the fish to get bumped off. I didn't get another chance of a carp but did catch 2 eels. That's a brief write up of my time at Redmire. I must pay tribute to the Richardson Family, Les Bamford and Mr Fox for keeping the pool looking so good and ensuring many anglers have a chance to fish in Paradise. Lyndon, Will and David thank you for having this old wrinkly one along with you and helping me out at times.