Fishing whilst in flood.

[RPM]

Just joined a club this year which has stretches of trent from East Stoke to the A1 near newark and following the last two weeks rain it looks more like the Zambeze than it should. Thing is, I have seen many anglers still braving the elements and think that I am perhaps missing some sport.

 

Have any of you got any pearls of wisdom about fishing whilst a river is in flood. I tried and failed miserably a couple of weeks ago and have had to be contents with the club's gravel pits, which arent fishing that well for me.

[Anderoo]

I can't believe the terrible start to the river season this year - I can't remember such a terrible June! After last winter's constant flooding, this is like salt in the wound. I tend not to bother with rivers that are in proper flood but on the rare occasions I do, I will leger with heavy weights and big baits like luncheon meat or pellets in slackish areas and hope for a chub or two. I don't find it much fun though, to be honest. Give me a sparkling summer stream any day!

 

Some people on here do fish seriously in flood conditions so I'm sure you'll get some better advice than this.

[zedhead]

RPM, which club is it, I ask this because Ive got an old freind who used to/probably still does fish the trent around newark, If its the same club, I bet he would know good flood swims and flood tactics in general on that river.

[Severn Wolf]

I can't believe the terrible start to the river season this year - I can't remember such a terrible June! After last winter's constant flooding, this is like salt in the wound.

 

You`re joking aren`t you?

 

Three trips to the Severn totalling 20 hours have produced 43 barbel for me. I`m sitting here in Wolves hoping for more rain, the river only had a couple of foot on Saturday and the fish had moved back into the flow which made life tough as theres a strong current running. Still managed 13 in the first three hours........

[Anderoo]

You`re joking aren`t you?

 

Three trips to the Severn totalling 20 hours have produced 43 barbel for me. I`m sitting here in Wolves hoping for more rain, the river only had a couple of foot on Saturday and the fish had moved back into the flow which made life tough as theres a strong current running. Still managed 13 in the first three hours........

 

Nope, I'm nowhere near the Severn and the rivers here (Thames aside) are in a right state. No barbel, you see. Imagine the Severn has no barbel, and you'll get a better idea!

[Severn Wolf]

We`ve been having some decent chub in the floods as well! Not exactly ideal conditions and not the expected fish on the Severn but most have been over 3 and the best was 4.11.

 

The conditions are just perfect. Best for years.

[Anderoo]

We`ve been having some decent chub in the floods as well! Not exactly ideal conditions and not the expected fish on the Severn but most have been over 3 and the best was 4.11.

 

The conditions are just perfect. Best for years.

 

To be fair the Thames is OK - and in fact yesterday evening I managed to catch a new pb chub of 4lb 11oz (not big by most people's standards, but a good fish for me!) trotting bread flake. It was in the driving rain under a very angry sky below a weirpool, and on light gear, so very dramatic! The chub in this stretch get very big, so I'm hoping for a few bigger ones as the year progresses.

 

The smaller rivers (where I would normally be this time of year) are all over the place though

[Steve Burke]

Some of my best fishing on small rivers has been in summer floods. I still remember the summer of 1980 when Maidstone was flooded, but the fishing on tributaries of the Medway, such as the Beult, was absolutely superb for roach and bream in particular.

 

If it's a river I know well I actually like floodwater as in some ways it makes fishing easier. Location is less of a problem as a lot of water can be discounted. In rivers with little current you may no longer be able to see the fish, but flow patterns are easier to read. This was particularly useful on the Beult where it was too deep to spot the fish except on the shallowest stretches anyway.

 

In the higher water temperatures of summer the fish are more active than in winter and so a flood perhaps doesn't have the same negative effect. Having said that floods in winter often coincide with warmer water, but they don't seem such a turn on as in summer.

 

The only flood I don't like is the first of the year (autumn in a normal year!) as a whole summer's worth of chemicals gets dumped in the water all at once. This seems to turn the fish right off.

 

It's worth bearing in mind that these tributaries are usually the first to rise, but conversely the first to fall. If I weren't so sidetracked with Wingham I'd certainly be river fishing in these conditions!

Edited June 25, 2007 by Steve Burke

[dant]

I should imagine that this June will be one of the greyest if not the wettest for a few years. I've just looked at the flood warnings for East Anglia which normally escapes the worst of any rainfall to see just about every watercourse flagged up with some level of warning..

And like as has been said theres more to come.

 

The problem fishing the upper river stretches in my part of the world is that they are generally very narrow, with few tributaries and very overgrown banks. So if a river does burst it banks you'll end up fishing over top of bramble bushes and all sorts of thing which can make landing fish very difficult.

 

And without the Barbel as Anderoo has mentioned the incentive is not always there.

 

But Steves right to point out that there are some positives to be drawn from the situation..

 

I'm sure once the Azores high moves over we'll all be complaining of sun stroke and ankle deep rivers.

 

Just seen this on the bbc. Nasty!!

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6236348.stm

Edited June 25, 2007 by dant

[RPM]

RPM, which club is it, I ask this because Ive got an old freind who used to/probably still does fish the trent around newark, If its the same club, I bet he would know good flood swims and flood tactics in general on that river.

 

 

Nottingham Piscatorial Society, Zedhead, and any pointers would be great.

 

Just driven past the river again and it is literally few inches from breaking the banks and I understand that lots of people from Farndon and other river villages are on hight alert. I just cant see it being possible to fish the Trent in these conditions. Dirty, brown and very angry at the moment, or am I missing something?