trotting - holding back

[Steve Walker]

Dunno - when were you at Speen - I fish it 3 or 4 times each winter - not been this winter yet though..

 

Last Winter - we wandered about catching bits and bobs, no large fish showed but it was a pleasant day's trotting.

 

Off with his head!! I had a stonking little grayling session yesterday - and in the spirit of this thread caught most fish with no shot on the line at all - just a maggot sinking under its own weight - though it didn't have to sink far the grayling were nailing it as soon as it hit the water!

 

Ah, but I caught mine on the upstream nymph, which I believe carries even more purist points!

[Chris Plumb]

Ah, but I caught mine on the upstream nymph, which I believe carries even more purist points!

 

 

You are forgiven then!

 

C.

[Phone]

All,

 

I'm "up to speed" now. Thx.

 

Phone

[Anderoo]

Ah, but I caught mine on the upstream nymph, which I believe carries even more purist points!

 

Steve, I must ask before allocating your purist points - were you using a sight indicator?

[lutra]

That's when using a line that doesn't sit too high on the surface comes in Brian. The resistance from the line trying to cut through the water, means you don't have to take up the slack to set the hook. The only problem I've found is, if you are trotting neat a snag, you have more line to take up before you have full control over the fish.

 

John.

Yes i agree John and thats why i sneaked the word "sometimes" into my post. It's really something I only end up trying when i find i just can't connect with them lightening fast dace and roach at range. Big fish like chub and barbel tend to bury the float and give you an age to take up the slack to set the hook.

Edited November 26, 2011 by lutra

[lutra]

Good post Brian

 

...and as you fish the Ribble, you get a good upstream wind from the SW more often than not. (brings rain too, I can only remember one day on the Ribble when I didn't get soaked.)

 

By contrast, fishing the Upper Medway, if you get an upstream wind its from the Northeast, which means it tends to put the fish off. When the wind is good for fishing (SW or W) its a downstream one.

Yes it is true that I'm blessed with a local river that in general (there are plenty twist and turns in it) runs into the prevailing westerly wind and i often think about the wind direction before deciding which stretch to head for as there is no point in making it to hard for ones self.

[Steve Walker]

Steve, I must ask before allocating your purist points - were you using a sight indicator?

 

A slanderous implication! The 8 inch length of well greased fluorescent orange braid between my leader and tippet was purely there for aesthetic reasons!

[lutra]

Mark many years ago I came back to England to do a Draughting course at Hermitage (near Newbury) I was very much into the match fishing then.I was lucky enough to be introduced to a couple of local lads who used to regularly fish the Bristol Avon Opens. I tagged along and fished them every weekend for the few months I was there.Never managed more than a section win (twice) but I was quite happy with that.

 

Biggest thing though was that for the first match I didn't actually fish (had only fished the Bristol Avon once (Keynsham) and then as a very young lad) but went along to watch.The lads introduced me to Topper (who was flogging floats at the draw) and told me he was a good one to watch. I learned a lot about using an Avon float down the middle in deep water that day (just as Mark has described).

 

Where it really helped me was back on a German river (R. Lippe) where closed season (UK) "International" matches were often held ran by the Army but most of the top UK match teams and groups would come over. On one of these matches I was pegged next to Dave Vincent (who later went on to get an England cap) After the weigh in he asked if I was a Bristol boy as he could tell I had been taught by Topper!

 

Please excuse the reminisce!

Is the Bristol Avon a river or a still water? I just spent a few minutes on google earth and couldn't find any significant flow lines gravel runs, .............. I think it would be called a canal if it was up here and i think i can now see why you like your wagglers Budgie.

[Dick Dastardly]

Is the Bristol Avon a river or a still water? I just spent a few minutes on google earth and couldn't find any significant flow lines gravel runs, .............. I think it would be called a canal if it was up here and i think i can now see why you like your wagglers Budgie.

 

 

Yes in general it is a quite deep and slow flowing venue (all though maybe "steady" rather than slow is a better description) and yes indeed the waggler fished down the middle (same line as you would fish a Crow Quill Avon) was an equally winning (on its day) method on both Avon and Germany's Lippe!

 

We often forget the major differences in the different venues we fish and how they affect our choice of tackle and tactics!

[Steve Walker]

It's a lowland river, so slow, deep and steady for much of its length, but the upper reaches are more interesting. This has some pictures of the Lacock area:

 

http://www.artfulangler.co.uk/blog/robfish...=48&page=14