River Thames, Sunbury

[SimonT]

Hi,

 

Jumped on the Anglers Mail bandwagon & checked out the Thames at Sunbury this weekend.

Arrived at first light to find Kings Lawn looking more like a campsite than a genteel stretch of Thames riverbank. Went on to the Sunbury backwater instead.

 

Had a superb few hours on the stick, forgotten just how many dace there are in the Thames, plus a few roach, perch & chublets. Not a pike man myself, but given the cover & quantity of dace it must be heaving with them?

 

Looking forward to trotting other Thames spots this season - anyone recommend any other sections which respond well stick float tactics, in the same rough area - upstream of Sunbury?

 

cheers,

Simon

[bungral]

Well I know Richmond Lock is good for float on the semi-tidal side when the gates are down. The river is quite wide there but a nice lil spot under Twickenham bridge. You'd expect it to be a bit crap seeing as the bridge is a road bridge but it doesn't seem to effect the fish.

[SimonT]

Nice one - despite walking over Blackfriars Bridge every morning I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to tides - what times / tides would be better?

[bungral]

Well like I said the Thames is semi-tidal at Richmond Lock so an hour or so after high tide the gates go down and make the Richmond / Twickenham bridge side non-tidal so you can fish as long as you like... Well until the tide goes out and comes back in and the gates are raised again. A little further and you can fish the back of Twickenham High Street by Eel Pie Island or even further to Teddington and Kingston.

[andyml]

Bungral

 

there was an excellent article on fishing the tidal Thames in IYCF a little while a go by Keith Arthur...surely an expert on his home ground.

 

IIRC he said that if fishing for silver "bits" an ebbing tide was best but if fishing for carp an incoming was better....

 

I often cycle along the Thames here.....and often think I ought to give it a try....i usually like to fish spontaneously...and given the vagaries of tides would need to plan in advance.

 

carp haver been taken as far downstream as Chelsea Power Station - as seen in Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall's Cook on the Wildside.

 

brgds <')Andy<

[bungral]

Hiya Andyml

 

Various stretches produce different results with different tactics obviously. The few miles near me are very wide and would be pretty hard to fish for carp. I have seen 1 taken in all the times i've been there (a common at 12lb). Most of the people I see on the stretch by Richmond ledger a mostly catch Eels or the odd large Breem. Float produces a lot of Perch and silvers. Never actually seen a pike or heard of one being taken from there until you get to Teddington.

 

I would like to try further stretches but I don't drive at the mo so will just have to wait

 

Marc

[andyml]

hi marc,

 

maye we'll bump into each other one day

 

don't let not driving put you off...loads of folk in holland go fsihing witn trailers on their bikes.....long sessions too..

 

tight lines <')Andy<

[chuby]

Sunbury weir used to produce some decent pike-would assume that is still the case.Also used to get some decent bream bags there as well.