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AnglersNet fish-in, Lower Itchen Fishery


Rusty

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What a great day, it did not start to well as I missed the turn off from motorway twice and so ended up going around in circles twice and ended up being held up by loose ponies on the road holding up traffic and so arrived late and most people had arrived and were spread out along the river.

 

I caught plenty of small Salmon Parr, Trout and Minnows and managed a number of Grayling to around 1lb, I was well and truly beaten by smiffles in the biggest and most Grayling caught with a good number of hers being 1lb plus.

 

I totally agree with what has been said about the fighting power of the Chub on the Itchen. I borrowed smiffles light feeder rod and put on a very light hook length to have a go for a specimen Minnow and soon regretted it when the rod slammed around and I was in to a good fish, I had high hopes of it being a good Grayling but as the fight went on hopes faded and I though it must be a Chub or small Barbel. For the fight it gave me I was sure it was a very good fish but it was not as good as I hoped and went 3.12 but still very good fun.

 

So very pleased to catch a few Grayling, a new species for me and nice to add a few more faces to names.

Stephen

 

Species Caught 2014

Zander, Pike, Bream, Roach, Tench, Perch, Rudd, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Eel, Grayling, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout

Species Caught 2013

Pike, Zander, Bream, Roach, Eel, Tench, Rudd, Perch, Common Carp, Koi Carp, Brown Goldfish, Grayling, Brown Trout, Chub, Roosterfish, Dorado, Black Grouper, Barracuda, Mangrove Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Tarpon, Red Snapper

Species Caught 2012
Zander, Pike, Perch, Chub, Ruff, Gudgeon, Dace, Minnow, Wels Catfish, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Roach, Bream, Eel, Rudd, Tench, Arapaima, Mekong Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Marbled Tiger Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Thai Redtail Catfish, Batrachian Walking Catfish, Siamese Carp, Rohu, Julliens Golden Prize Carp, Giant Gourami, Java Barb, Red Tailed Tin Foil Barb, Nile Tilapia, Black Pacu, Red Bellied Pacu, Alligator Gar
Species Caught 2011
Zander, Tench, Bream, Chub, Barbel, Roach, Rudd, Grayling, Brown Trout, Salmon Parr, Minnow, Pike, Eel, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Koi Carp, Crucian Carp, F1 Carp, Blue Orfe, Ide, Goldfish, Brown Goldfish, Comet Goldfish, Golden Tench, Golden Rudd, Perch, Gudgeon, Ruff, Bleak, Dace, Sergeant Major, French Grunt, Yellow Tail Snapper, Tom Tate Grunt, Clown Wrasse, Slippery Dick Wrasse, Doctor Fish, Graysby, Dusky Squirrel Fish, Longspine Squirrel Fish, Stripped Croaker, Leather Jack, Emerald Parrot Fish, Red Tail Parrot Fish, White Grunt, Bone Fish
Species Caught 2010
Zander, Pike, Perch, Eel, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Siamese Carp, Asian Redtail Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Rohu, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Pacu, Long Tom, Moon Wrasse, Sergeant Major, Green Damsel, Tomtate Grunt, Sea Chub, Yellowtail Surgeon, Black Damsel, Blue Dot Grouper, Checkered Sea Perch, Java Rabbitfish, One Spot Snapper, Snubnose Rudderfish
Species Caught 2009
Barramundi, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Wallago Leeri Catfish, Wallago Attu Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Mrigul, Siamese Carp, Java Barb, Tarpon, Wahoo, Barracuda, Skipjack Tuna, Bonito, Yellow Eye Rockfish, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Black Fin Snapper, Dog Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Marble Grouper, Black Fin Tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Mutton Snapper, Redhind Grouper, Saddle Grouper, Schoolmaster, Coral Trout, Bar Jack, Pike, Zander, Perch, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Common Carp, Golden Tench, Wels Catfish
Species Caught 2008
Dorado, Wahoo, Barracuda, Bonito, Black Fin Tuna, Long Tom, Sergeant Major, Red Snapper, Black Damsel, Queen Trigga Fish, Red Grouper, Redhind Grouper, Rainbow Wrasse, Grey Trigger Fish, Ehrenbergs Snapper, Malabar Grouper, Lunar Fusiler, Two Tone Wrasse, Starry Dragonet, Convict Surgeonfish, Moonbeam Dwarf Angelfish,Bridled Monocle Bream, Redlined Triggerfish, Cero Mackeral, Rainbow Runner
Species Caught 2007
Arapaima, Alligator Gar, Mekong Catfish, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Pacu, Siamese Carp, Barracuda, Black Fin Tuna, Queen Trigger Fish, Red Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Honeycomb Grouper, Red Grouper, Schoolmaster, Cubera Snapper, Black Grouper, Albacore, Ballyhoo, Coney, Yellowfin Goatfish, Lattice Spinecheek

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Just got back (we stayed last night at a pub in Havant and then had a day's bird-watching on Pagham Harbour for Norma's benefit)

 

Well done Anderoo for the roach.

 

I had five small roach and a dace early in the morning about 100 yds above the motorway bridge, Trouble was, they only weighed about a pound in total :rolleyes: . It was the first dace I have had from the Itchen though.

 

Moved higher up to try for grayling when the roach bites ceased, and got lots and lots of small salmonids. One or two had red adipose fins (trout) but most had grey or brown adipose fins and were probably salmon parr. The grayling proved difficult until yet another move late afternoon to Lower Stone-something-or-other brought me a couple.

 

I didn't set out for a species hunt, but ended up with five. No sign of the minnows which pestered Budgie though.

 

Enjoyed the day, even if I caught nothing very big. Norma also had a good day, watching little grebe, buzzards and a Marsh Harrier. She also reported that the nature reserve had a poster up about "two very important species in the Itchen" - Bullhead and Stone Loach. Had to chuckle - if a chalk stream lacked those species then something would be seriously wrong! Contrary to popular belief both are still very common in reasonably clean streams - we have them on the Ashdown Forest.

 

I will add my thanks to Rusty for organising this event.

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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Thankyou rusty for a truly great day and one i wont forget for a long time.

 

It is a stunning looking roach , really bright silver

 

Im having trouble getting my photos on this site , when i go to upload them nothing happens , im not very good at this kinda thing , can someone guide me on how to do it cheers.

 

I spent all the day on the upper stretches and had 6 chub to 5lb 5oz and the smallest was 2lb 13oz which was already a pb then they just got bigger 3lb 7oz 3lb 13oz 4lb 3oz 4lb11oz then after 10 final casts :rolleyes: and the light fading i hooked my biggest fish which at times seemed like it was snagged and just hugged the bottom and it took me 15 mins to land on a 0.12mm hooklength.

A few others have commented on the power of these fish and i really thought that last fish was gonna be a barbel but im completly made up with these chub

Also had 5 lovely graylings the biggest of which was 1lb 11oz and 2 others over 1lb and these fish really scrap as well , lovely fish

I was worried about one of the grayling as it didnt seem to recover even thou i held it in the water for a bit before letting go but it just floated upside down down the river and i followed it and feared the worst until it just suddenly righted itself and shot off which was a relief

Thoroughly enjoyed today and the peace and beauty of the place and good to meet everyone .

Back to match fishing in the morning on a snake lake which wont quite feel as good as today, but ive got next year to look forward to :D

 

Finally figured out how to get the photos from yesterday on to here , i was only allowed to put 5 on as otherwise it took me over 500k of upload size but these are the best fish , grayling 1lb 11oz and various chub to 5lb 5oz , im not sure which was the biggest but i think it was the last one.

Once again thankyou to rusty and also the man who gave me a lesson at casting on his browning revolver centre pin , he made it look ridiculously easy but when it was my turn i found it was not :rolleyes:

sorry i cant remember your name but it was nice to meet you and thanks again

 

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I'm so glad everybody had a good time. My own tally was less than mediocre but when you look around at what others caught it was a very successful day out. A 2lb 9oz grayling, a 1lb 11oz roach, several decent chub mugging those 2lb hooklengths (I did warn you) and a number of debutant grayling catchers.

 

Brilliant fun!

 

 

2lb? Wouldn't catch me going that heavy mate it was 1.7lb as usual for me! More than enough for those plodding Itchen Chub..........................................mind you I was in more or less slack water!

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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Sorry for the late reply on this thread - I have been v busy for the past few days, sadly not fishing related.

 

Anyway, what a wonderful day Saturday was, fine weather, obliging fish, amazing venue and great company. Big thank you to Rusty for taking the time and effort to organise everything. Really enjoyed meeting everyone on the day, my only regret being that I think that there were still some people who I somehow missed during the say but hopefully the opportunity will come on the next fish-in. Two remarkable fish were caught - Anderoo's fine Roach and Arbocop's massive Grayling, both cracking fish - well done!

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure Arbocop's Grayling must be the largest Grayling caught at the LIF this season and possibly even in recent years! It seems now a 2lb fish from there is quite a rarity which puts Arbocop's fish in context.

I managed my best Grayling from the LIF (weight varied from 2lb to 1lb13oz depending on whose scales it was weighed with!) which I was pleased with along with a nice 4lb Chub but despite trying to emulate Anderoo and catch a large Roach it wasn't to be, I will certainly be putting in a more concerted effort next time! N

 

p.s. Great catch Tony - was that you I met at the top end of the fishery - you had just received a soaking after jumping into the river to land a nice Chub? - dedication!

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope. ~John Buchan

 

Fundamentally fishing is a philosophy. A philosophy of earth, and growth, and quiet places. In it there is a rule of life, a recognition of permanences. It makes you notice the little things of nature, wherever you may be. ~Bernard Venables

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Sorry for the late reply on this thread - I have been v busy for the past few days, sadly not fishing related.

 

Anyway, what a wonderful day Saturday was, fine weather, obliging fish, amazing venue and great company. Big thank you to Rusty for taking the time and effort to organise everything. Really enjoyed meeting everyone on the day, my only regret being that I think that there were still some people who I somehow missed during the say but hopefully the opportunity will come on the next fish-in. Two remarkable fish were caught - Anderoo's fine Roach and Arbocop's massive Grayling, both cracking fish - well done!

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure Arbocop's Grayling must be the largest Grayling caught at the LIF this season and possibly even in recent years! It seems now a 2lb fish from there is quite a rarity which puts Arbocop's fish in context.

I managed my best Grayling from the LIF (weight varied from 2lb to 1lb13oz depending on whose scales it was weighed with!) which I was pleased with along with a nice 4lb Chub but despite trying to emulate Anderoo and catch a large Roach it wasn't to be, I will certainly be putting in a more concerted effort next time! N

 

p.s. Great catch Tony - was that you I met at the top end of the fishery - you had just received a soaking after jumping into the river to land a nice Chub? - dedication!

:lol: Yea i threw my landing net out sliding it along my hand and forgot to grip the end and it launched out into the flow and i went into the water like a shot before it dissapeared down river , amazingly i still landed the fish which was my second biggest at 4lb 11oz , when i saw you or the person you were with i saw one of you had just landed a nice brownie i think :)

 

Like you say i only managed myself to meet a few of the people that were there as we seemed to have an amazing good amount of room between us , i only manage to fish the upper sections and when i was driving back down at the end i passed alot of water that i should have tried , but i think i was spoilt enough at the top and couldnt have enjoyed it any more than i did.

Again thanks rusty for an amazing day and thanks to whoever it was that gave me a lesson on his browning revolver pin , i sort of learned a lesson in casting one of those things , you made it look very easy :rolleyes:

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Well done Tony, a great result, loads of great big PB chub, fantastic!

 

Plus of course Arbocop's big grayling :thumbs:

 

And not forgetting Budgie's awesome specimen minnows :D

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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I'm just back too, but unlike Mike I'm sipping rather a nice single malt :)

 

The weather was fantastic and the river looked in decent condition, and I had a really nice day. It was great chatting to the ANers (always a good bunch) and I was very glad to hear of lots of good fish being caught. Chris and I spent our time on the lower section, first trotting maggots down from the mill pool and then quivertipping bread by the road bridge. The trotting was great fun, and we had a few chub and a couple of trout which gave us the run-around in the fast water. It sounds like quite a lot of chub were caught, some big ones too (I heard of at least one over 5lb).

 

We then did a bit more trotting on the bends above the road bridge and had another chub (quite a good one at about 4lbish which was very stubborn and put up a hell of a scrap) and a small grayling of about half a pound. Then the cloud cover came and we decided it was roach-o-clock.

 

Armed with the big guns, we put in some bread mash and fished flake over the top, in a deep, slow, steady bit of water that had a very roachy feel to it. Immediately there were some fast, inquisitive jabs on the tip, a couple of which were hittable and tuned into pristine roach of half a pound or so. I was so pleased, this was the first time EVER that I've actually caught a roach at any of the Itchen or Test fish-ins, and not for want of trying! The next one caught me by surprise though, another sharp jab that I managed to hit, and a clearly bigger fish jabbed away in the flow. Nervously (in case it was a big roach) I brought it in across the current, and then up through the deep water, and, oh dear, it was indeed a big roach. Doing my best to stay calm I walked it back to where the net was and, very relieved, scooped it up.

 

It's been so long since I've seen a decent roach that I really had no idea what it might weigh. I said to Chris, this is probably over a pound but smaller than I think! We popped it in a plastic bag and hung it on the scales, which settled at 1lb 11oz - my biggest roach ever caught by design, and one of my most pleasing captures ever. It just looked stunning!

 

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I thought we were in for a bonanza, but after that they got very spooky, and all the little jabs were unhittable. Very frustrating when you know there are quality roach in front of you! I was hoping Chris would have his turn, but sadly it wasn't to be this time.

 

So another great fish-in. Thanks again Rusty for organising it, it's one I won't forget in a while.

 

Well done, so it was you that managed the 1lb 11oz roach! We need to get name badges next time, so we can easily identify people :)

 

I still have not got the picture off the camera yet of the 1lb 7oz roach I had, but will try and post it here when I do.

 

Had a really enjoyable day, lots of small grayling and about 7 roach with 2 over the 1lb mark. Hard fishing though!

 

Your 1lb 11oz fish looks like it would go bigger as its not got much of a belly on it, lovely looking fish a perfect specimin. All you need now is to catch her next year when she will be 2lbs :)

 

Thanks to Rusty as expressed above for organising, next time I might even stray away from the other side of the motorway bridge and chase some of those specmin minnows further up stream!

Edited by Simon Fell
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Well done, so it was you that managed the 1lb 11oz roach! We need to get name badges next time, so we can easily identify people :)

 

I still have not got the picture off the camera yet of the 1lb 7oz roach I had, but will try and post it here when I do.

 

Had a really enjoyable day, lots of small grayling and about 7 roach with 2 over the 1lb mark. Hard fishing though!

 

Your 1lb 11oz fish looks like it would go bigger as its not got much of a belly on it, lovely looking fish a perfect specimin. All you need now is to catch her next year when she will be 2lbs :)

 

Thanks to Rusty as expressed above for organising, next time I might even stray away from the other side of the motorway bridge and chase some of those specmin minnows further up stream!

 

Oh that was you! Sorry Simon, I didn't recognise you, I reckon name badges are a good idea! Well done again on the roach, looking forward to seeing the pictures. Two over a pound, fantastic.

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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