[Anyone else out today?]

Managed a couple of hours out this morning, spent most of the time salivating over the roast leg of lamb lunch that was to come (in the oven now) but was able to focus on the fishing long enough to land these two chub.

 

2lb 7oz;

 

 

and 2lb 9oz;

 

 

I lost a much larger one on red maggot second trot and thought I was in for a really good session until the gudgeon moved in soon after and kept snaffling the bait. A switch to whole lobs produced the chub, even then a particularly ambitious gudgeon still went for it, god knows where he put the worm.

 

Nice result - it seemed like perfect conditions today (for once :-)) I spent the afternoon at the Madejski watching Irish being beaten by one point in the last seconds of the game. I wish I'd been out on the Kennet! M

[First fish of 2011]

Mild, overcast, a river back at its winter level with a good flow, and good company - it could only ever be a good day!

 

It did look coloured, but actually it wasn't far off perfect. It's pretty obvious now that when the water is clear, it's very hard work. With about a foot visibility (and no suspended particles) and a couple of feet of extra water, the chub aren't anywhere near as spooky, and a few bites are on the cards. It was so nice to be out in normal clothes and to not feel cold.

 

I saw another chubber at the top of the stretch who claimed to be biteless, so I gave him plenty of space and dropped into a nice little spot downstream of him. A big overhanging bush creates a huge long crease along the near bank, and the banks are sheer drop-offs into deep water. The flow along there looked just right and for the first time in weeks I actually felt confident. Several generous balls of bread mash went along the crease and I leisurely set up.

 

 

First cast with a big lump of flake and like most bites here (if they come at all), the bite came within a couple of minutes, a lovely confident pull. I struck and the rod bent more than it has for a while, and something powerful swum upstream and hung deep in the flow. I was starting to think I'd hooked a rogue carp, but it then stopped it's sullen plodding and started diving for the tangle of brambles and old vegetation under my feet, the rod really doubled over... luckily I managed to heave it out and there on the surface waiting for the net was a chub of PB proportions

 

A wonderfully conditioned (if rather fat!) winter chub, and a new PB, of 6lb 7oz! This is the one I have been fishing for.

 

 

Rich then turned up and we walked right down to the end of the stretch. I was hoping to fish a nice section where a side stream runs in, but it was filling the main river with horrible cold muddy water, so we turned around and did the 'bait, rest and cast' along all the nice looking spots there. This was very interesting as I hadn't fished that section before, it was too overgrown before the snow flattened everything. Rich hooked a big chub straight away but his luck - and his hooklength - didn't hold. The chub buried itself under his feet in brambles, and the hooklength was severed. They are brutal under the rod tip, you can't stop them getting into the weeds and just have to heave and hope. I know he'll be back for revenge though

 

I had another little one of a pound and a half from the next spot, and then a better fish of 4lb 3oz from the one after that. The rain then started and the sun went down, so we beat a hasty retreat, chatting about chub, bream, and all things nice.

 

What a great start to the year

 

Nice fish - not the fattest chub I've ever seen - but bloody close! Well done, bet you were chuffed.

 

Matt

[River Kennet - Any truth to the rumours?]

I've seen the EA do a couple of stretches: on the Lambourn a couple of years ago - loads of small roach, and some perch surprisingly, and about 3 grayling plus a reasonable pike; and at Colthrop - mainly small silver fish again, a few trout and a couple of chub. The point is on each occasion they only did a small stretch, maybe 100 yards. So I guess a key question is which stretch at Padworth they did.

 

Someone told me he was catching good roach at Padworth about 4 years ago, and then the next year they weren't around. His theory was that they had stayed down on the Benyons. I roach fished the year he said they weren't around. I still caught plenty of small ones, but nothing decent.

 

Thanks FT,

 

My understanding is that it was immediately above the bridge on the TAA stretch. I am new to the Kennet this year and have only fished this bit for barbel - so I would be interested in anyone else's experiences this year with trotting. Certainly the Lodon hasn't been producing for the past couple of years - which is why I am tyring the Kennet!

 

M

[River Kennet - Any truth to the rumours?]

Thanks - I never knew it was selective for longer fish - hence the barbel! I wish I had stuck with plan A - I went further upstream for my sneaky session and spent 3 hours drowning maggots at thatcham to absolutley no avail!

 

M

[River Kennet - Any truth to the rumours?]

Dunno if they've done that stretch but they have been electrofishing large swathes of the Kennet catchement this winter so wouldn't be surprised. However the haul you itemise above seems tiny - that stretch is stiff with barbel - I'd have expected many more that 20 to turn up. Doesn't sound like they've been very 'effecient'! I've not trotted it for a while so don't know if the dace have disappeared...

 

 

C.

My thoughts on the barbel Chris, but no dace or roach is worrying - especially as I was planning a sneaky couple hours this afternoon!

 

You would expect the roach/dace to outnumber the barbel by a large margin on that stretch. What have been the results elsewhere do you know?

 

Thanks

 

M

[Swingtip Revival]

Not many rods have the screw tip these days, but I think they are brilliant especially where you can't get your quiver tip at the right angle which these days with concrete swims is quite frequently these days. Just harder to cast than a QT.

 

M

[River Kennet - Any truth to the rumours?]

Hi,

 

This is one for fellow Kennet fishers. I just heard that the EA recently electrofished the Padworth stretch upstream of the bridge and came up with 20 barbel (good), a few perch, the odd chub, one roach and zero dace (very bad).

 

Anyone any idea about this - is it true? Anyone know what steps the EA are going to take to reverse this ecological disaster?

 

M

[morning or dusk?]

Dusk for me - I can't get up!

 

Seriously though, I have had so many dawn sessions that turn out disappointing that I don't bother any more. My feeling, backed up by nothing scientific is that if I want to target predators I should target dawn and dusk is evens for the rest.

 

M

[this weekend]

I plan to christen the new centrepin!

 

Maybe the Kennet or maybe the Loddon backstream or the Blackwater. Not made my mind up yet! Loddon is the nearest, but the Blackwater is the only one I have fished before this way. Got a pile of maggots and will leave the 'tip at home so I am not tempted.

 

Matt

[The river Kennet]

Grayling must definitely do jump although it's not that common. As far as I can recall it has only happened to me when using fly tackle and not when trotting, not sure why. Given that you were fishing BC which has an abundance of Rainbow Trout and seemingly no large Grayling (any more) I would bet your lost fish was a Rainbow Trout!

 

As Matt has eluded, barbless hooks are becoming more and more popular in fly fishing, I know rarely ever use barbed hooks. They make releasing fish much easier and although it took me a while to fully believe this, you lose far less fish (particularly Trout and Grayling - even when they jump). All in all it's a win win situation.

 

Matt, where you fly fishing the Avington stretch as part of the syndicate there? I've only glimpsed the water from the bridge at the upstream end on BC but it looks a lovely stretch, you're a lucky guy! N

 

Nicholas,

 

Sorry for the tardy response - work commitments!

 

Yes its a stunning piece of water and I was really priveleged to share a rod there with a friend - we had a day each weekend - each! and it wasn't silly money either. Then the estate put the fishing in the hands of agents who banged the prices up and I couldn't justify the cost anymore. Also the membership changed from a few really nice local retired people (who preferred to fish during the week - result) and the place became overrun by unfriendly city types in chelsea-tractors with poor skill levels and even less etiquette.

 

The keeper used to let the local club (not sure which one) have some coarse days after the trout season - but some anglers abused the privelege and he stopped doing it. I know that as a paying rod I could have had the odd day but I never had the time. When I fished there, the keeper (top coarse angler himself) ran it very much as a mixed fishery - coarse fish were not definitely not nuisance fish then, and there were some mouthwatering specimens. I personally had roach to over 2 on the fly and the chub were like like donkeys!

 

If anyone wants to contact the keeper, please PM me and I'll find the contact details - but I think a rod is over £1200 now.

 

Matt

 

PS having suffered a barbed longshank 6 black lure in my earlobe once - I would definitely say that there are other benefits to barbless! Cut the leader and bled like a stuck pig until I'd finished obviously! But I would always use barbed for fish I intended to kill and eat, and barbless at all other times.

[The river Kennet]

Do grayling ever take the aerial route and leap into the air when hooked? Or is just trout that do that?

 

Do game fishermen use barbed hooks in a bid to stop losing fish when they do leap out of the water?

 

I have fished the Avington beat - thats the one immediately above BC - and taken many grayling there and on the Wiltshire Avon, Wylye, and Test from 2oz to over 2lbs. None have jumped! If it was large and silver I would think it was an escapee rainbow - there are a few on the Kennet thereabouts - my largest on the Avington beats was 9.8. on a #16 nymph.

 

I have used barbless hooks for flyfishing for 20 years and probably lost 6 fish that threw the hook. I think though that the drag of the line in the water maintains gentle tension on the hook hold when they jump. If you hook a trout on coarse tackle this wouldn't happen.

 

Matt

[Day Ticket Waters in Herts]

Yes that's what it is called (Stanborough Lakes)

 

Thanks guys - really helpful!

 

Tight lines yourselves.

 

M

[Day Ticket Waters in Herts]

this is a good day ticket fishery in hertfordshire.

 

http://www.ribvalleyfishinglakes.com/Welcome.htm

 

Thanks Peter,

 

I checked out the link and it looks perfect - even has tuition if they need it!

 

Where do you fish - I am a coarse fisherman, converted to fly about 30 years ago and just converted back when my boys got interested - and then I discovered barbel ........

 

Regards

 

 

Matt

[Day Ticket Waters in Herts]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can recommend a day ticket water near St Albans. I am not familiar with the area being a Hampshire boy but I have a friend who wants to take his 11year old lad to an easy water. The important thing here being lots of bites to fairly agricultural tackle and techniques! I took my 2 to Gold Valley down here - not my cup of tea but the boys can't get enough of it and thats the sort of place I think will fit the bill for my friend. But I don't get north of the Thames without a passport and the correct jabs ....

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Matt