Fishing big rivers like the Thames

[davedave]

Ive always wondered how people fish big rivers such as the Thames.

 

When i see a big river like the Thames on telly or whatever it always makes me wonder just how people fish them.

I mean it must be so wide that you can only cast so far, it must be so deep that it must be impossible to fish dead bottom with a float or pole rig, and with such strong currents how do you tell when you have a bite?

 

Do you leave these large stretches of the river alone and fish smaller tributarys?

 

And im guessing you cant walk through the middle of London and cast in, there must be limited areas?

 

 

Ive never really done a lot of river fishing, and what i have done has been on very small rivers, so just out of curiosity could you please explain the methods, tactics, tackle etc that are needed to fish large rivers.

 

 

 

 

Please inform a curious fisherman!

 

Thanks

Edited October 18, 2010 by davedave

[JV44]

Ive always wondered how people fish big rivers such as the Thames.

 

When i see a big river like the Thames on telly or whatever it always makes me wonder just how people fish them.

I mean it must be so wide that you can only cast so far, it must be so deep that it must be impossible to fish dead bottom with a float or pole rig, and with such strong currents how do you tell when you have a bite?

 

Do you leave these large stretches of the river alone and fish smaller tributarys?

 

And im guessing you cant walk through the middle of London and cast in, there must be limited areas?

 

 

Ive never really done a lot of river fishing, and what i have done has been on very small rivers, so just out of curiosity could you please explain the methods, tactics, tackle etc that are needed to fish large rivers.

 

 

 

 

Please inform a curious fisherman!

 

Thanks

 

[1] buy a boat

[2] dont take anyone with you as they will allways catch all the fish

[3]Dont let your rods dissapear over the side of the boat this is bad...

Only joking Steve

Seriously on the bigger bits you can do far worse than try the feeder with maggots or in the winter good old Cheesepaste or small bits of Mackeral are good for Chub as well as Worms and mashed Bread/Bread flake attack .

Float fish in the side/margins and in the summer you will most likely get Bleaked out and in the winter nothing coz they all seem to emigrate .

Different mindset to a big river like the Thames but most tactics that work on the smaller ones will still catch fish on bigger rivers .

In the winter they can seem very hard fish barren places but you just have to use a bit of watercraft and trust to luck Steve.

[davedave]

thanks

[Steve Walker]

 

My advice is to find someone who has a boat and knows where the fish live!

 

Otherwise, it's just like any other kind of fishing - first, find your fish! Even big rivers are not usually featureless, and the same kinds of structures attract fish everywhere. Use your eyes, walk the banks, ask around, spend some time trying different areas. Turning up blind on a big river and hoping to do well is a big ask and while you might get lucky, you might not!

[Anderoo]

The Thames in and around central London is tidal, and so not many people fish it at all. There are some interesting bits around the marinas, but access is rather tricky...

 

Above that it's not a difficult river to fish. Even somewhere like Richmond/Kingston it's only about 55-60 yards wide, and you wouldn't try to cast across it anyway. Where I am, the Thames is nothing like people imagine, with an average width of about 25 yards.

 

It's also not as deep as you'd imagine. Average depth on my bit is about 6-8ft with the odd deeper bit here and there.

 

I don't know much about the lower river (I lived in Kingston for a few years but never fished there - aaargh!) but around me it's very simple stuff, waggler or feeder/straight lead. The vast majority of the fish I catch are from very close in.

 

As Steve says, a boat opens it right up. The actual fishing part is not hard, the main problem (and probably why I see so few people on the river) is easy access and parking.

[Thames Steve]

You do the same as you'd do on a smaller river - look for features and flow variations, plumb around your swim, maybe run a marker lead over the bottom - it's no different.

 

Depth on the lower Thames is usually around 9 - 13 foot and the flow is normally slow so comfortable float fishing.

 

When you first go and have decided where to fish, resist the temptation to cast to the far bank - you don't need to - just focus on the bit of water in front of you out to halfway.

 

If you're legering with 2 rods, you could do worse than put one at the bottom of the shelf and one midway out in the main navigation channel.

[Dick Dastardly]

Dave have a trip to the Po,Ebro,Saone in fact a lot of the European rivers with me and the Thames wont worry you any more!

 

Or we could try this narrower strech of the Potomac River in Washington D.C-

 

Edited October 20, 2010 by BUDGIE