Thames in winter

[The Flying Tench]

The last 2 weeks I have deserted my local Kennet to visit the Thames (middle reaches last week, upper river today), and both times I made a mistake as I failed to realise the river would be very coloured, today actually in flood. I guess the Kennet, being a chalk stream, has less extreme variations than many rivers, but I was surprised today that there was so much water coming down as I didn't think we have had exceptional rain. (Though my rainfall figures are local to me in Newbury, so maybe there has been more a bit further north?)

 

Last Monday there had been no rain for 3 days before my trip, though 5mm per day the 3 days before that. This week there were 16mm on Friday (quite heavy, admittedly) and 5mm over the weekend. I guess I should have realised this time - misguidedly I thought that because I was going to fish a backwater it would be OK though, naturally, the backwater had the same colour as everywhere else. I'll start a related thread about what to do when the water is coloured.

 

I wonder if those who fish the middle and upper Thames have any guidelines about how much rain it can take for it to be worthwhile to go fishing? Based on last Monday, it made me wonder how much of the winter the river is in good nick for fishing.

[Kappa]

The last 2 weeks I have deserted my local Kennet to visit the Thames (middle reaches last week, upper river today), and both times I made a mistake as I failed to realise the river would be very coloured, today actually in flood. I guess the Kennet, being a chalk stream, has less extreme variations than many rivers, but I was surprised today that there was so much water coming down as I didn't think we have had exceptional rain. (Though my rainfall figures are local to me in Newbury, so maybe there has been more a bit further north?)

 

Last Monday there had been no rain for 3 days before my trip, though 5mm per day the 3 days before that. This week there were 16mm on Friday (quite heavy, admittedly) and 5mm over the weekend. I guess I should have realised this time - misguidedly I thought that because I was going to fish a backwater it would be OK though, naturally, the backwater had the same colour as everywhere else. I'll start a related thread about what to do when the water is coloured.

 

I wonder if those who fish the middle and upper Thames have any guidelines about how much rain it can take for it to be worthwhile to go fishing? Based on last Monday, it made me wonder how much of the winter the river is in good nick for fishing.

 

I fish the Thames quite a bit not usually for species that I'd expect to feed well in flooded conditions. I'd say you can still catch when its high or coloured but you have to approach the river differently. If it is really pushing through the fish will be in slacks away from the main flow. Assuming you can find them this can lead to great fishing.

 

In Oxford we've had a lot of rain recently (loads on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so I'm not surprised the Thams is in a state ) plus the ground is absolutely saturated so any rain at all ends up in the river! Its really annoying at the moment as everytime I find fish or a likely looking spot by the next weekend the river has changed completely and the fish have moved! I'm sure Anderoo will post tomorrow on this but I think this weather is driving him nuts!

 

I think I'll abandon the perching and try for some chub and bream and perhaps the odd bonus carp.

 

Rich

[Anderoo]

I'm sure Anderoo will post tomorrow on this but I think this weather is driving him nuts!

 

If only it wasn't true!

 

Yep, it's looking like last winter again unfortunately. There was a great 2-week spell of low, clear conditions a while back which for various reasons I missed out on, and which I am now seriously regretting.

 

The trouble with the Thames is that it's the main waterway, with loads of tributaries all feeding into it. After heavy rain, it usually takes 2-3 days for the river to be at its worst, because all the water from the upstream tributaries have to work their way down. So, even if the bit of river you fish doesn't have a drop of rain, if an upstream bit plus a tributary or two gets a hammering, it'll make its way down. Very difficult to predict!

 

When it is up and coloured I don't like fishing it, but if I do, I try to find near-bank slacks/creases with a decent depth.

[Steve Walker]

When it is up and coloured I don't like fishing it, but if I do, I try to find near-bank slacks/creases with a decent depth.

 

Same here. I used to fish out-of-sorts rivers more often back when I didn't live near to decent river fishing and had to travel. Now that I live close enough not to have to plan too far in advance, I tend to avoid fishing under hard conditions. John, what about that bit of the Bristol Avon at Malmesbury? That seems to remain fishable even after heavy rain.

[The Flying Tench]

Same here. I used to fish out-of-sorts rivers more often back when I didn't live near to decent river fishing and had to travel. Now that I live close enough not to have to plan too far in advance, I tend to avoid fishing under hard conditions. John, what about that bit of the Bristol Avon at Malmesbury? That seems to remain fishable even after heavy rain.

Interesting - true also of some bits of my local Kennet. Helpful to hear from Anderoo that it takes 2 to 3 days for the rain to work fully into the system in the Thames - that , and not realising that they'd had more rain in Oxford were partly where I got it wrong. I also think I'm getting the message that in winter for the Thames you want it as dry as possible - something I'll look out for!

[Chuck D]

Interesting - true also of some bits of my local Kennet. Helpful to hear from Anderoo that it takes 2 to 3 days for the rain to work fully into the system in the Thames - that , and not realising that they'd had more rain in Oxford were partly where I got it wrong. I also think I'm getting the message that in winter for the Thames you want it as dry as possible - something I'll look out for!

 

I'm new here, and pretty new to the Thames/Kennet area.

 

I'm used to fishing places like the River Lea, so when I arrived to fish the Thames at Whitchurch I was stunned to see so much water in it. Almost as much as when I tried - note tried - to fish Abingdon at the back end of last season.

 

I've never seen a three gram pole float, let alone used one...

 

Where on the Kennet behaves itself in the Theale area? I live about 8 miles from there, so I might head that way!

 

Thanks in advance...

[JV44]

I'm new here, and pretty new to the Thames/Kennet area.

 

I'm used to fishing places like the River Lea, so when I arrived to fish the Thames at Whitchurch I was stunned to see so much water in it. Almost as much as when I tried - note tried - to fish Abingdon at the back end of last season.

 

I've never seen a three gram pole float, let alone used one...

 

Where on the Kennet behaves itself in the Theale area? I live about 8 miles from there, so I might head that way!

 

Thanks in advance...

The kennet at sulhampstead just outside theale is a calpac day ticket strech and when the river is up the canal section where the river splits above the weir can be very productive.

There is a big slack where the canal bit starts just out of the flow and this section goes all the way down to the next lock.

The thames at goring by the bridge can be good in a flood but only if the river has been up and pushing for several days for both chub and pike.

Have fished there with a sea grip lead and left a bow in the line whilst keeping as much line out of the flow as poss ie rod vertical.

You get some strange looks casting a sardine into that raging torent along with the [are you after great whites] jibes by other anglers' The bites as such are mega drop backs with the rod tip going from bent round with the flow to dead straight.

You have to hit them at once to connect with the pike and in that flow they take some landing,Give it a go you may be shocked.

My biggest pike from the thames came to this tactic steve.

[The Flying Tench]

I can't add any info about the Theale area, but my experience of the Kennet generally is that there are different bits of river of greatly varying speeds, ranging from fast shallow waters to canalised river to flowing canal. My impression from what I have seen of the Thames recently is that the slower bits of the Kennet will take a fair bit of rain much better than the Thames. Also it doesn't go so brown. That's not to say that it always fishes OK, of course. I can think of times like a snow melt when all the salt from the roads goes in - and I guess nowhere would fish well after that! In some bits, though, it is the cold clear times when there is no rain which pose the problem rather than, say, 5-10mm of rain.

 

John

[Dick Dastardly]

I was out piking the other day on the Thames and despite carrying some colour it still fished reasonable.Im still on my first season on the river so can hardly put any sucsess Ive had down to "local knowledge".But what it most likely is down to is experience of fishing various rivers in not ideal conditions.Searching out areas where the conditions "push" the fish to is the same on all waters.In fact it could be argued for someone in my position that "bad" conditions have actually helped me locate fish! certainly in that they have helped narrow down the possible areas to try.

 

I think the same strategy can be applied to most species.