River backwaters

[james barbeltench]

i went fishing yesterday on a backwater of the main trent it was cold very very windy and i acught! i caught 4 small roach and skimmers but i was wondering whether theres any point of settign up a ledger for anything big or are the backwaters to slow fro bigger fish i dont mean massive 1-2lb or so chub or bream is there any point because i really like fishing these backwaters but i wouldnt mind some slightly bigger roach chub or bream! any tips for big fish on the backwaters ? its directly off the trent and about 3ft deep in certain places and abotu 2 meters wide cheers jbt

[chris mc]

Iam no expert or anything.But me and my brothers fish a small stream (not sure were runs into)its about 12ft wide and 4 ft in the deppest parts (average 2-3ft).The best methored on this water for me is just walking down the bank with a stick float,Trying each peg i come across (find the depper runs) for about 10 min (on magort).Only time used a led/fedder is in the bason were sit down for a while (bason about 20 ft wide) were the sticky still usally gets the better chub/grayling.

[Steve Burke]

Hi James

 

Backwaters can be particularly good in times of flood. However, in normal conditions I find a slight current much better than a dead slack for most species. Often best of all for finding feeding fish is to fish the "crease", the division between the main flow and a slower current.

 

OTOH, if your backwater has a slight flow it could definitely contain some good fish. The most important factor here is stealth. On such narrow streams the bigger fish are very easy to scare. So move slowly and keep off the skyline. Good luck!