River Loddon June 2024

 It's always great to fish a new stretch of river, the anticipation and excitement can only be tempered or enhanced further on first inspection, so I was pleased to see a river which had a mix of shallows and deeps, twists and turns, overhangs, lush weedbeds, reeds and rushes. It had everything but did it hold fish? I was eager to find out.

I was sceptical having fished a similar looking stretch of Kennet recently which was hard, so I set up on a wonderful looking bend looking for signs of fish but saw none. I'm pretty sure this doubt lead to me losing a good chub first cast as the float buried next to a tasty overhang, this submerged bush went a long way back and so did the chub leaving me to curse my lack of faith and lack of awareness.

With a new hook on I am ready to give the next fish some stick from the get go but all that followed were small chub and dace, I was happy though, whilst it was hard work bites were coming and I was catching, I was even happy to lose that first chub knowing that there's good fish in here.

A rove was on the cards so I made my way first up then down, trotting swims that were  mix of awkward, almost perfect or a touch too weedy or overgrown, but that's summer fishing on natural rivers. The club had strimmed a few swims however and I was grateful for their work. 

The second swim I tried was a tricky affair but it looked so good with a gap in the weeds under an overhanging tree, once again a decent chub is on but there's not much I can do other than try to keep it  in the clear bit, either side of me was trees and in front was some submerged wood, I just hoped it wouldn't see that or the lush weed beds above as I played it with the only angle I could apply which wasn't ideal, an upright rod

I imagined a soon to be snagged chub or a float pinging into the tree above me to add to the insult but neither happened, as I slid the net from the high bank under a chub of around 3lb I was happy I made the decision to bring the 6m net handle right then. Ok this chub is no looker but was so welcome.

I stopped for a coffee to soak up the new river experience, had a look at a really large red kite landing in the meadow behind, all the time eager for some more chub action. Dropping my float in and once again action is instant and although it's a small one the net is used once more.

Aside from a dace no more bites followed in the little clearing so off I went trying more of these lush looking spots, getting a few chub and dace here and there. It was another bright sunny day and although it wasn't super hot it was perfect for sitting on the deck under a tree, whilst the river drifted by. In other words time for lunch.

The afternoon was more of the same with the silvers, not many bites but a few fish in each spot, even managing a few roach and perch to add the the species caught. The only other anglers there on arrival had long gone leaving my car looking a bit lonesome in the car park, I wandered along the bank, looking at the lake as well, being the only person there and not seeing or hearing a single soul was amazing.

I struggled a bit with the new hook lengths I had tied, looking for a decent replacement for my Shimano line that looks like it's discontinued, the chub lost first cast pinged too easy as did a snag so this is a work in progress with the line used today failing the audition.

What cut the afternoon short was noticing my hand was all red and sticky, for some reason I put this down to either the handful of pellets I tried feeding or red maggots popping not noticing that my thumb was cut open and it was blood congealing with maize flour, I washed it with anti bacterial hand wash but only after I had blindly wiped it on a dirty rag and been fishing with it like that for half an hour.

Like a trouper I carried on before losing a hook too easy on a snag, time to pack in if there's little confidence in the hook length and your susceptible to an infection, the cut wasn't big more a paper cut type but in the worst position, not painful but annoying knowing it was there, perhaps the adrenaline of fishing somewhere new lead to my obliviousness.

All in all I was only an hour away from calling it a day anyway and it was a nice one too, to a stretch of river I will look forward to returning to, I had drawn first blood after all.

A Date With Vera on The Thames

 I hadn't even got to the river when I had to kite away from the footpath, sneaking as well as I could having plopped the gear down, I got as close as I dare, they are common place around here but to get a shot of a red kite on a tree would be a good start to the day.

I wasn't sure if it was my size 10 waders stomping through the high grass or another kite that flew close but it took off, one kite soon become two, then three, as an aerial ballet took place overhead akin to a WW2 dogfight, naturally I snapped away and of course I missed every shot, at least I got one of it on it's perch and given the amount of bleak in this part of the Thames it may be the only perch I see all day, see what I did there? Let's go fishing.

This was a new stretch of Middle Thames for me having only fished the weir upstream many decades ago, it looked good with chublets visible and plenty of swirls on the surface, I knew these were likely to be bleak but it was a stark contrast to the lifeless looking Kennet I fished a few days ago, I was eager to get going and picked a good looking spot between some trees.

I was less enthusiastic when my first handful of feed hit the surface and was immediately smashed by a shoal the silver hordes, even by bleak standards this was impressive and showed far quicker reactions than I had with the camera ten minutes prior. I set up a heavy stick with bulk shot but even with caster it was all blade bleak save for an initial first cast roach.

A regroup and move was on the cards and I'm glad I did, ok it looked like bleak everywhere, figuratively speaking of course, the weather was glorious the river looked great, walkers, joggers and the odd boater were enjoying the river, so I stayed positive, then I got to this spot, I just had to fish here.

Normally old pillboxes have some bad graffiti but this was art, Vera Lynn and two brave yet happy soldiers either side flanked by poppies, kind of puts bad fishing days into perspective doesn't it?  The other side has a drawing of a spitfire which made me think of the red kites earlier. Then a military helicopter crossed low behind it showing the contrast of old and new.

Vera looked on as I balled in two lumps of mashed bread in my new swim as a change of tactics, this was instantly hit by bleak but it's a much better bait to have on the hook, I started on a crease two rod lengths out which was a good 10-11ft deep.

First cast the float bobbles around like a lunatic, I wait for a proper bite and naturally the first few fish are chublets but it's a start, then I get a silver fish, not a bleak this time but a cute little silver bream.

The bleak were still causing problems but I was able to get through to a few roach now and the chub were starting to get a bit bigger.

There wasn't too much boat traffic although every one noticed the pillbox art as did the walkers behind me, this saved me from being the topic of their conversation like we often are when fishing, so it was nice to just blend in unnoticed as I netted a slightly larger silver bream.

A reed warbler fluttered back and forth between the vegetation that offered me a sun trap as by now the wind had picked up but it was the perfect direction upstream and across helping me to edge the float through picking up slightly better chub which was fun.

I then thought I spotted a deer in one of the gardens opposite as I just caught a glimpse of something dark disappearing behind a bush, only for it to emerge as one of those robot lawnmowers! "Times have changed" I said to Vera, clearly in need of a swig of water.

When I wasn't seeing imaginary deer or talking to our Vera the roach were decent size but I imagined a lot of the bleak bites I was getting were smaller roach, although by now I was on an even heavier float as that wind I was lauding earlier got a tad too blowy.

A growing rumble signaled the helicopter returning, once again crossing low on it's way back perhaps ferrying someone more important than Jeremy Clarkson who I saw driving towards me on the way here, it really has been an eventful day I thought.

As the afternoon wore on kingfishers zoomed by more frequently sometimes under the arc of my cast as the heavy float flew through the wind landing perfectly, albeit with the mighty plop of that bulk shot and a bleak proof sized piece of bread. 

By now I had stopped feeding as with bread you don't always need to if you keep striking off the previous cast's hook bait. My one loaf was reaching it's last slices but I knew it was almost time to pack up anyway, however I will likely bring two next time, or some worms for those perch, there was still time for another chub, not big but the largest of the day and just perfect.

It was time to go home, it turned out to be a really nice day where the fishing was hard work but really enjoyable, the wildlife was great, the scenery wonderful. As I packed up I said farewell to Vera and the chaps as I know we'll meet again some sunny day.

River Kennet Upper Benyons June 2024

 The River Kennet has had problems over the last few decades so much so that the club describes this stretch as 'In transition' however I was willing to give it a go, as there was worse places to spend another gloriously sunny June day fishing. 

This river has fond memories for me as the first time I had fished the Kennet I caught a 20lb 2oz pike on grayling gear whilst on a trout beat with Dad, this was a few decades back but I never tire of seeing this fish.

That was further upstream and a long time ago now so I was in no illusions that today would be harder, my expectations were to whittle out a few dace or perhaps a grayling as they had seen some stocking, although I thought bleak or minnow could be a problem, I was about to find out, one thing for sure was the river looked beautiful and the surroundings were great, I was eager to set up and get started..

I parked up the top and tried several swims around the car park without getting a bite, what struck me was how fast the river was, not like the Severn or Teme but a heavy sort of water pushing through which made it feel different, the river was also much deeper than I thought it would be. My enthusiasm was starting to wane into the second hour, so much so I imagined a fish on briefly at one stage although It could have been weed, we've all done that, a sign usually that a pause for lunch is needed.

After eating only half my food I moved the car downstream eager to crack on, rod still made up in the back but broken into sections, the line in between making my float bounce like a marionette, my landing net hanging off the head rest of the passenger side like some sort of net hoodie. I was the epitome of disorganization desperate to catch a fish and by now anything would do.

I worked my way upstream trotting different spots looking for a bite, searching for signs of fish, I would have expected some bleak or minnow by now, or see some swirls but nothing. In contrast the flood meadows were alive with bird life, lapwings were making a noise in the middle as a kestrel dared hover above, cuckoos and pheasants added to the audio, but what I needed to hear was the splash of a fish.

Every spot I tried looked amazing including one run under some trees where it was shallower, here the float finally goes under and it's not bottom, some good resistance is felt and finally after four hours a fish is on, I dare not lose it, a typically crazy scrap sees a trout of around 2lb in the net and a blank avoided. The following trot through brings another bite but this time it's a small graying in this little hotspot.

Two in two was the reward for all that walking and suddenly the river and meadows were a more glorious place to be, it was beautiful after all, a kingfisher came by as if to say I had been doing it wrong all along, maybe I was however I've done fine on the other 100 rivers I've fished, you can tell when you've fished that many when something isn't right.

I had the whole stretch to myself and could see no one, not even walkers, hear no one except all those birds. No more bites came from the hotspot that was anything but and I took time to finish my half eaten lunch, the brief period of action compensated for the next couple of hours which once more were also bite less as I worked my way back to the car.

It was still an enjoyable day but I did wonder where all the dace and chub were as I finished by the car park. I was just about to pack up when my bait was attacked on the surface whilst retrieving the float, there's only one fish doing that I thought and next trot down saw the culprit soon in the net, the third and final fish of the day, a trout of around a pound which made for a nice photo as I held it upright by the tail to recover on the gravels.

The small trout didn't take long to ghost into the deeps whence it came, drifting across the shallows that should be alive with small fish or fry. The fishing club Reading and District AA are proactive in addressing issues this river is suffering and have even started their own fish hatchery, so hopefully the future can be brighter as the River Kennet sure has some wonderful scenery to be wetting a line within.

River Thames Sandford June 2024

 It's not commonplace to start the river season below hydro electric turbines and it certainly showed the change in times from the last time I wet a line here many decades ago. It would have been remiss of me not to start below these giant screws, which turned and whined causing waves to pulse down the stream. I didn't catch anything here perhaps down to it being too choppy for my standard stick approach although I'd like to think I was distracted by imagining how large a bottle of wine those corkscrews could open.

A few swims down was more my thing, fast and fairly shallow around 4-5 feet, I knew bleak would be a problem here though, this was confirmed by a quick chat with a friendly overnighter who had been here since the 16th, telling me how he shone his torch in at night and saw a whole sea of them, whilst my mind imagined this sea of fish glinting romantically in his torchlight it wasn't the sort of shoal I would want to engage with.

With nothing initially showing In my new swim I thought I could have a decent day when the first fish hooked was a roach, trouble was this soon turned into a pike which in turn saw me tying on a new hooklength after a bite through.

A few fish later I hook something a bit better, perhaps a bigger roach or a decent perch, but with a deja vu resounding thump of solidness it was ambushed by yet another pike, this time much larger and after a battle where it went up and down before going mid stream and holding station the hook just pulls, unlike the first jack pike I never saw this one. I stayed positive as it sure wasn't boring, I usually get a ratio of one in three pike in like this so the next one was going to get it, I thought optimistically.

Naturally the pike disappeared for the day which lead to some nice trotting, the float went through like a dream and everything was caught in that sweet spot downstream where it just slowed, a nice hour or so of half decent roach, perch, dace and chublets, nothing big but fun.

Then the bleak arrived, the tricks that I learned on the Warwickshire Avon last year to negate them had held them off for a while but I knew this was futile long term, even so I was able to pick off a few more fish close in whilst feeding further out. However an attempt at drawing the bleak away using hemp backfired, I have often thought the drill of the hemp hitting the surface just draws bleak in, their lateral lines must just send impulses to their tiny brain saying "FOOD" the same way giant corkscrews scream "WINE" to mine .

I needed an excuse to explore anyway so after finishing off the coffee and devouring lunch like a maggot starved bleak I was off on a rove, typically one of the first things I see is the pub by the lock, there's got to be a corkscrew wine related joke there but I was thinking how I had a touch of envy about the couples enjoying a nice afternoon drink, yet if I was over there I would sure be jealous of someone going fishing on the opposite bank, with that thought my glass was half full, although it was water and a not a glass but a two litre bottle which was more than needed on the first warm day in ages.

After pausing to view the lock cut and drink more fluids I happened upon the overflow pool which had no flow but loads of lilies and froth from bubbles coming up everywhere, although I don't think they were fish as I imagined it to be very silty, however I did catch quite a few pristine roach here.

I would have stayed longer and perhaps should have but It always feels a bit wrong fishing somewhere where the water is stationary on the first trip of a river season, instead I roved on, finding bits of inaccessible bank in places or stomping through nettles in others, this is what the start of the river season is all about, sweating buckets, going through high grass and nettles, getting stung, arms in the air, rod tip catching on brambles, all to find somewhere that is 99% likely to be naff, but it's that 1% that gets you doing it every time.

Before my drinking water was gone completely I did find quite a few chub and I'd love to say they were all clonkers, but that was never what this trip was about, although they did need the net, just.

Next time I'm down here I may take the missus and we will be one of those couples in the pub, the rods of course will be to hand as it would be rude not to wet a line on the walk after.

Chub and Bream on The Canal

 I had fancied a float session on the canal for a while hoping it would now be on form having been sketchy all spring. However on arrival I noticed my pre planned spot (tucked away in the bushes on Boxmoor) to be gin clear and bottom visible more or less all the way across, no fish could be seen at all and even the surface was lifeless. I gave it half an hour of watching my maggots drift aimlessly through the clear weedy water before moving on.

No silvers could be seen anywhere before I noticed a shoal of a dozen bream milling about on the surface. I threw in some of the old bread I had left in my bag which seemed to illicit some movement, so on went a piece squeezed on to my size 18 the best I could, just to see if said activity was fish hurrying away or unable to resist the temptation of bread well past it's sell by date. I of course hoped for the latter.

The float dips I miss, re bait and connect second time round with one that twisted and turned giving a decent account of itself like canal bream do. I knew this was likely to be a hard day so I was happy to have mugged a good fish early on, a nice looking bream too.

I was right to be sceptical although I hadn't envisaged a couple of hours of walking and catching nothing after the bream. The water was clear and even the odd boat failed to colour it up for long, very few fish could be seen topping and the my float and bait remained untroubled by any fish. So much for a sit down, catch a dozen roach or perch sort of morning.

Trying a spot on the way back to the car I was pleasantly surprised to hit into a chub which I was desperate not to lose in the snags, like the bream it cheered me up no end, a scale perfect chubby chub, glistening beautifully in the sun.

Then a cormorant surfaced right in front of me making me jump, no doubt the reason for the absence of silvers, there's always been cormorants over winter here but I suppose all it takes is one too many and the balance can be catastrophic.

Fortunately the chub here were far too large for avian predators and the next one was much bigger than the first with an even more hectic tussle.

At just under 5lb it would be a quality fish for the upcoming river season and it really made a potentially bad day good, also a bonus was how lucky I was that the hook held.

I bumped one further chub but couldn't bemoan my luck, the sun was bright and a howling downstream wind made for low expectations especially with the silvers all missing.  I did endeavour in this spot managing a chublet, small perch and a bleak to add to the three larger fish.

The walk back saw a few small fish spotted below a lock which was spilling out water, I hope they were all in the current there breeding but I am worrying about the canal this year.  It was a poxy total today but some quality fish so I'm very grateful that my local knowledge was able to help me dig out a few good ones, to make the best of a challenging morning.