Two men (and two dogs) in a boat

Entry posted by Rusty October 15, 2011

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River Thames, 6th - 9th October 2011

A bit of a long blog entry this but the trip was such an eventful one I don’t want to miss anything out.

The plan was leave the mooring on the K&A canal at about 9:00am, head towards Reading and turn left onto the Thames at the confluence. Our goal for Thursday was to moor up at Goring-on-Thames some 6 boating hours away, ironically I can drive to Goring in about 45 minutes from my house but that would have been missing the point. We were pretty flexible about moving on from there, we had other options but it really depended on how good the fishing would be and the choice of eateries available to us. The crew consisted of me, Steve, and the two German Shepherds Robbie and Gypsy. Steve drove, I roped & locked and the dogs were assigned boarder repelling duties;

The gentle cruise down the canal towards Reading was very pleasant, the locks were all self service and the minimal boat traffic gave me a chance to learn the job without too much hassle, heaving on a rope trying to stop 15 tons of narrowboat was an interesting first time experience. As we got closer to Reading the surroundings became much more urbanised and culminated in a trip through the Oracle shopping centre. Some of the restaurants were preparing for the day's trade and had fired up the ovens, just what I didn’t need at a time when I was hungry and we hadn’t yet taken provisions on board.

With the Oracle behind us we arrived at the point were the K&A Canal loses its identity and joins the Thames, a quick blast upstream and we were moored at Tescos. We had no intention of cooking evening meals on the boat so bacon, bread and tea bags were bought, loaded and stashed in the hold….well the kitchen cupboard actually.

From there we continued upstream heading through Caversham, Mapledurham past Purley and through Pangbourne until we arrived at Goring some 3 hours after we’d loaded up at Tescos. We moored at the uppermost point of the free moorings so that we had assured access to a couple of features, namely a bridge and a small sitestream outlet. Almost immediately we noticed fish topping fifty yards downstream of us and wondered whether we should move the boat. Eventually we decided not to as it was well into the afternoon and we wanted to get on with the fishing, besides the features we’d chosen looked inviting so we stuck to the plan for the first night.

So fishing commenced with some pre-baiting for the night rods, maggot drowning for the livebait and drop shotting when we got bored. This is the only picture you’ll ever see of a Yeti drop shotting;

The predators weren’t really showing at that point but a few small roach were caught enabling Steve to set up a couple of livebait rods. The tiddler bashing continued into dusk and the livebait bucket gradually filled with conscripts, we were just thinking about where to have dinner when one of the livebait rods went off. The culprit was a 10lb 6oz pike and as it turned out the only pike to be weighed throughout the trip. Alex, Steve’s partner, arrived shortly after this great start to the weekend so we packed up the rods and went for dinner.

On our slightly oiled return the night rods were cast to the pre-baited areas, boilies on one and halibut pellet on the other. The target were either carp or barbel both of which are known to frequent this stretch of the Thames. I would be sleeping at the front of the boat nearest the rods so took charge of the alarm receiver. I didn’t really need it, my inflatable mattress kept deflating so I was up most of the night anyway but in the event there wasn’t a bleep to be heard. I awoke early (I never really slept) and thought a shower would be a good idea prior to some dawn fishing. You can guess what happened next, mid-shower the receiver went off and by the time I’d realised and grabbed a towel Steve was already running down the boat in his Calvin Kleins.

We missed the bite and on reflection it was a bloody good job too. Neither of us were in a position to play and land a fish of any size, the only saving grace being that there weren’t any people about at that time of day. After that close call we decided that night rods weren’t a good idea and retired them for the weekend.

Friday beckoned, a whole day of fishing and the mouth watering prospect of being able to fish into darkness without having to pack up and go home, the only dilemma facing us was that of a curry or pub dinner later on.

Conditions were as perfect as they could get, mild and overcast with a gentle breeze which only sometimes would get a bit more enthusiastic. As light levels rose the fish started topping again in the same area they had the afternoon before i.e. not where we were moored. A couple of other boats had moored by then so we had to stay put but it was no big deal, we could walk along the towpath downstream to fish and on one occasion I wandered further down to a short grassy section where roach, chublets, bleak and perch were all shoaled up and very hungry.

The second pike to fall for the livebait was a very lucky fish indeed. On unhooking it Steve found the remains of two other traces in it’s throat, they were only accessible via the gills with me holding the short line tight and whilst it was obviously a delicate operation it was clear that whoever was previously responsible hadn’t even attempted to remove the trebles. I suppose giving them the benefit of the doubt they may have been bitten off but either way it was irresponsible angling. Helping the fish recover meant there was no time for proper pics or weighing, just a quick snapshot as it was lowered into the water. After a few minutes of holding the tail and moving the pike backwards and forwards the gills started working sufficiently for it to regain some strength and a short while later the pike slid off into the depths under its own steam, well done to Steve!

The fish;

And the end tackle removed from its throat;

Friday’s story was one of several more pike falling to Steve’s livebaits, the perch were noticeable by their absence and it was while I was trying to winkle them out on drop shotted lures that the rod suddenly hooped over and the tiny Mitchell Avocet clutch started screaming. I was praying that it was a huge perch but I knew really that the odds were against it. After an obstinate struggle and a couple of powerful runs the miniscule DAM rod got things under control and Steve netted a beautifully conditioned pike hooked neatly in the scissors. Looking at the pictures now I think we should have weighed this magnificent specimen but she went back straight after the pics. Maybe just a double?

My first drop shot caught pike;

As if that wasn’t enough action for the day a second pike was fooled into taking my dying minnow and again the clutch was called upon to do its job. I am very impressed with this rod and reel combination, I’d never have thought that it’d be man enough to deal with a decent sized pike but it coped admirably. This fish was a bit smaller than the first but still in wonderful condition and again hooked in the scissors so ghillie Steve had little trouble unhooking it….and holding it for the pics you’ll notice.

A few pics of Steve’s fish, I wandered off for a walk so didn’t get to see all of them;

A nice riverside place previously owned by Bobby Moore;

And a very pleasant little dining room;

It was getting on for late afternoon and there were no more catches during that day but on two occasions I witnessed a large pike following my lure back to the boat, it turned away just as I lifted the lure out giving me some real heart stopping moments.

Friday night was curry night, it’d been an eventful day and after a couple of glasses of wine I was ready to turn in, this time I remembered to push the plug into my inflatable mattress so I had a comfortable bed but I hadn’t anticipated an alternative cause of insomnia. Steve’s boat has a cast iron wood burning heater and the thought of kipping in a snug cabin heated by this device was quite appealing, it sort of fitted with the whole rustic boaty experience. He did warn me that it can be difficult to control and on reflection I should’ve taken the pint glass of water he placed on the nearby table more seriously.

The curry;

Once fired up the heater soon took the chill off the cabin and for the first couple of hours everything was cozy as I snoozed and desperately tried to re-join my May 2011 Wingham/Kylie/Lottery dream. At about 2 am I awoke to find my T shirt dripping with sweat and my throat feeling like I’d just eaten a doner kebab. The cabin was like an oven and the air was stifling, the glass of water was downed in one and the front doors opened to let some heat out. I closely followed the heat and stood on the front section of the boat trying to cool down, it was very tempting to just jump in the river. My word it was hot but thankfully most of it was residual heat, the stove was running out of wood and so once the temperature had subsided I resumed snoozing activities.

Saturday morning provided us with the opportunity to move the boat down to where the silvers were topping again. It was slightly narrower there and it seemed as if the fish were being funnelled into that area, hopefully the predators were there too. Trotting maggots again provided ample livebait stock, this one escaped the bucket though. We thought it was a roach but it looked too fat for its length so maybe a hybrid?

The big difference in this swim was the obvious presence of perch. Lots of tiddlers but a good number of decent sized fish too and it was while trotting lobs that I had my Chris Yates experience. I’d hooked a reasonable perch and as it was being brought to the near bank there was a ‘thump’ and it suddenly surged off back from whence it came, it only lasted 5 seconds but I couldn’t stop it during that time. The poor old perch weighed about a pound and looked decidedly the worse for wear once I’d landed it, fresh wounds on both flanks in a perfect tooth pattern confirmed that a pike had grabbed it on the way in.

Unfortunately lobs weren’t very selective in this swim, trotted or ledgered the tiddlers got there first usually as soon as the bait hit the water. Drop shotting produced a slightly better stamp of fish and so we decided to have a competition from each end of the boat. In terms of numbers it was pretty even but then I sealed the weekend bragging rights (or so I thought) with this magnificent 2lb 8oz perch.

With two decent pike and the biggest perch surely I was the Drop Shotting God of the weekend and every time Steve started to catch more than me I’d shout “TWO POUNDS AND EIGHT OUNCES” to the other end of the boat. I was so smug.

The rest of the Saturday disappeared in a flurry of perch and roach with a few more pike from the livebait rods also making an appearance. The Thames Path was a busier place on a weekend and it wasn’t long before landing a pike coincided with a few people passing by. I helped out by providing the unhooking mat but felt I could make more of a contribution by recording the event. No pressure on Steve then.

So the decision to move the boat was vindicated and as the light faded we made the boat secure (easy with two big dogs locked in it) and headed to the pub for dinner. Suitably refreshed we decided to re-live our youth by playing a game of bar billiards, we’d both been a bit handy with a snooker cue in the past and wondered whether we could still cut the mustard. This photo suggests that Steve at least remembered that the pointy end hits the ball;

However, anyone who knows how to play bar billiards will realise from this pic that the game wasn’t going well and any skill we may have had in our youth had long since deserted us;

Saturday night was probably the best sleep I’d had for the entire trip, with no rods out, the heating sorted and my mattress staying inflated it was bliss and I woke just before first light to get first dibs on the fishing, we were due to leave at about 9:00am so there wasn’t much time. Sport was a little disappointing compared to the previous evening so after catching a few small perch I went for a walk into Goring and took some pics of typical English country pubs;

Steve was preparing the boat for lift off so I suggested that he used my rod while I was away. On my return he was on the phone but frantically pointed to his vast landing net as I boarded. In it was a big perch, about the same size as my 2 ½lb’er I thought initially but on weighing it proved to be 8oz heavier. The catch of the weekend without any doubt, well done again Steve;

That about sums up the long weekend’s activities. Boating holidays are quite energetic, being in the fresh air all of the time and working locks/ropes etc can be tiring but the prospect of sailing to a wonderful location like Goring and then pitching up for the night has a quite special appeal. I can understand why people invest large sums of money in their craft and use them at every opportunity.

Thank you for a brilliant long weekend Steve.

I’ll sign of with a total contrast to Steve’s 3lb’er, the smallest perch of the trip;