If you could only fish one river...

[George387]

Ive fished in many far flung places around the world but Id have to say the river I learned to fish on as a boy "The Clyde" It has everything that I want it to have, no monsters but who's bothered, certainly not me, The scenery just bowls you over.

[arbocop]

Some on this board have argued that the Kennet is not the river it once was for coarse fishing with roach being in particular decline.

 

Fair or does the Kennet still have a special magic?

 

 

It definitely has that 'magic' for me but I'm a relative newcomer to the river. However, it appears to be distinctly lacking in weed, and the high banks due to river 'engineering' eg Benyons, don't suit my style of fishing. As regards big roach, none that I have ever managed to catch. In fact where I fish, I scarcely catch any roach at all.

 

I would say it's probably not the river it once was (coarse or game) but it's still up there.

 

As for the original question - I couldn't say. Currently, from where I am sitting and where I fish most often, the Kennet it would be, but can I move it so that it becomes a tributary of the Avon? Oh, and create new channels so the canal was not linked. That way it would reinstate the salmon and there would be less silt.

[tiddlertamer]

The Tees

 

Its got the lot

 

I have regularly crossed over the Tees on the railway bridge outside Middlesbrough. The scene did appear a touch industrial... I imagine its best parts are well upstream of there or are there in fact some surprising great urban stretches.

Edited January 26, 2010 by tiddlertamer

[George387]

I have regularly crossed over the Tees on the railway bridge outside Middlesbrough. The scene did appear a touch industrial... I imagine its best part are well upstream of there or are there in fact some surprising great urban stretches.

The full length of the tees even down by middlesborough has a very good head of fish, plenty of matches being won with over 50lbs of bream and roach.

[tiddlertamer]

I'd make a cup of tea first, then try these.

Vagabond in Brazil 1.

Vagabond in Brazil 2.

Vagabond in Brazil 3.

Vagabond in Brazil 4.

Factfile.

 

I'm still hooked on your story though glad our chub don't have as vicious teeth as their Brazilian lookalike - the Mantrinxa? - or indeed the piranha...

Edited January 26, 2010 by tiddlertamer

[Rusty]

Some on this board have argued that the Kennet is not the river it once was for coarse fishing with roach being in particular decline.

 

Fair or does the Kennet still have a special magic?

 

I haven't fished it long enough (or enough of it) to know really but there is a body of opinion which says it's not as good as it used to be so probably fair. I wonder what is was like 20 years ago then.

[Brian Carragher]

I have regularly crossed over the Tees on the railway bridge outside Middlesbrough. The scene did appear a touch industrial... I imagine its best parts are well upstream of there or are there in fact some surprising great urban stretches.

 

Its one of the few rivers in the country where you can catch 4lb perch, bags of 100lb of bream, 12lb barbel and 20lb pike, 2lb grayling,chub in excess of 8lb and a growing head of rudd plus other species of specimen sizes

[Guest bbamboo]

The Tees and if its scenery you like try upper Teesdale.

 

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...t%3D20%26um%3D1

 

 

Gary

[Chris Plumb]

Easy...the Kennet.

 

Most species are in it and it has the most delightful places to fish.

 

Kennet for me too (no surprise there I hear you cry) - if only cause it will take me 20 years to 'learn' another river in its entirity! Not as good as it was? Well apart from the roach - and they were always somewhat elusive - the barbel, chub and perch are a much bigger average size than a decade ago - thank the signals for that! The grayling aren't as far down stream as they once were - used to be common at Speen - and you had a realistic chance of them as far down as Brimpton (I'm talking early 80's here). There is certainly more turbidity and less weed growth than 20 years ago - much of the blame for that has been attached to re-opening the K&A canal in the 90's. Overall though I'd say it was a mixed picture!

 

 

C.

[Worms]

I think I'm going to plump for the Teme, I've fished it on and off since I was about 7 or 8, it holds barbel, bleak, bream, carp, chub, dace, eels, flounder, grayling, gudgeon, lampreys, loach, minnows, perch, pike, roach, ruffe, salmon, shad, trout and possibly in the lower reaches, zander.

 

It's a beautiful river and has its own challenges (like reaching the water in a lot of places!). You can trot a float, ledger or swimfeed, fly fish, lure fish, dead/livebait, just about any method really. There are a few oxbow lakes about as well so it even covers still water! The only thing missing is an estuary as it runs into the Severn just below Worcester.

 

If you run out of bait, hooks or anything else you can sit and watch the wildlife and let the world go on somewhere else, my idea of heaven.

 

When it's at summer level there are numerous places you can ford it. When it's in full spate beware, it rips through (and over) the banks an angry orange monster