River Thames - Chiswick

[davidP]

The fishing in St Catherines Dock is supposed to be excellent - if you can get permission to fish! I've seen a couple of articles about it (I think the last one was Bob Nudd & Keith Arthur fishing it), but it does seem to be one of those places that only gets fished when someone famous wants to write an article about fishing on the Thames in London!

 

Having said that, it does give an indication of the potential that the Thames offers, particularly on the backwaters. The difficulty is the access.

[Matt P]

Haven't made up my mind yet, but seriously considering fishing at Chiswick either tomorrow or Monday. Certainly intend to fish it soon. The Thames at Isleworth often features in AM reports: roach, dace, big bream, carp etc. and that's only a few hundred yards upstream of Chiswick. Chiswick's easier to get to by public transport though.

 

Interesting story - I was fishing the Lea Navigation at Old Ford the other day and the bailiff told me that a tagged carp that the Lea Anglers' Consortium had stocked somewhere up round Tottenham had been caught in Teddington Lock. So either it must have swum down the Lea Nav into the Hertford Union canal, then into the Regents Canal, then into the Grand Union Canal then into the Thames at Brentford and thence upstream, or it must have swum all the way down the Lea into the Thames at Bow Creek (which is seriously estuarine - practically pure seawater at that point) and then all the way upstream. Either way it's a journey of over 20 miles.

[Martin Salisbury]

Don't forget to tell us what you catch Matt

 

My god, you don't go through the centre of London using public transport to carry your tackle do you? what hell!

 

[ 23 February 2002, 07:42 PM: Message edited by: Martin Salisbury ]

[Andrew]

Have any of you's fished the thames at Abingdon?got a report today of a friend of bream to 9 1/2lb have been cought,roach to over a 1lb on breadflake.

Before you ask yes i got the location but i'm not telling you just playing

Here go'es RIVER OCK WHERE IT JOINS THE THAMES

BY THE BRIDGE.

Thats all i was told.

Tight lines to all

Jangar

[Adrian]

Most of the fish I see coming from the Thames around Putney and Wandsworth, (couple of miles D/DS of Chiswick) are those pulled out by Cormorants!.

 

There must be quite a head of fish though, I have seen Eels and flounders. An old boy told me there were some good Bream to be caught near the Fulham Football ground.

 

Pick your tide well, there is quite a range here. Oh, and look out for things that enter the river through sewage outfalls!.

 

Adrian

[Sevinpies]

Hi martin,

a couple of seasons ago a carp of 38lbs was caught at chiswick by an angler fishing for bream,a picture appeared in angling times and it was definitely at chiswick

[Martin Salisbury]

I'm staying with my friend weekend 8th Nov and to cut down on tackle was thinking a taking the lure rod and lures - anybody think it would be worth a go?

[davidP]

There's actually a spread in Anglers Mail this week about fishing in cities although there's nothing too specific about the Thames - just generalities. Says there are now over 100 species recorded in the Thames around South Bank, but there are so few people fishing it's difficult to work out the potential. Does mention perch and I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were some good ones about, but I don't know how pike get on in tidal waters as they're a bit more sedentary than perch.

It's got to be worth a couple of hours though

[Matt P]

Funnily enough, I was thinking of having a go with lures next time I go down there. Since my previous post (see above) I've been 3 times to the Thames at Chiswick (Strand-on-the-Green). First time had 7 bream to 5lb, second time 10 bream to 6, the third time only dace. Massive shoals of bream if you can find them. I used groundbait feeder with casters hookbait and fished 3 hours before low tide to one hour after. Locals report big carp, perch, chub, trout, pike and roach as well, with patchy reports of barbel. I must say, if and when barbel get more established here, it will be a top class fishery for them I should think, with its strong flows and gravel bottom. And although I haven't tried, good coarse fishing is to be had in the tidal Thames a lot further downstream than people think - they've been pulling carp out at Battersea and even further downstream. The further down you go however the stronger the tides.