What's the best river in England?

[Peter Waller]

God was a fisherman, and I'm convinced he'd choose the Broads as his 'acre' on earth!

 

That said, I have fished the Avon, once, I think that every angler has to, at least once in their lives!

[tincatinca]

Although I've fished many rivers around the country, the most beautiful is the Dove, but I'm biased as I only live 15 mins from it. Not only that the mighty Trent and river Derwent are even closer.

 

Like you, I have fished many rivers but since moving from the midlands to east anglia over twenty years ago, the river that I miss the most is the Dove. I fished it for over twenty years and walked many a mile down its banks with the main targets then being Chub and Grayling along with the odd Barbel although the size of the latter were nothing like they are today and you also had to know where they were. There are many other rivers where the range and size of fish is far greater than the Dove but I cannot think of any that gave me the same sense of satisfaction and the enjoyment of just being there. Although I retained my Dove Valley license for several years after moving away I eventually let it lapse which I regret as now there is long waiting list but I shall certainly be looking to fishing it again in the not too distant future.

[john-d]

Hi, There is no longer a huge waiting list for the Dove valley anglers, there is a joining fee like before but that's all. To be honest there was never really a waiting list, if you know what I mean.

Although I gave up my ticket when they let a certain water go with out any explanation to the membership, I've many fond memories of the fishing on the Dove.

I remember catching 33 grayling on one December afternoon at Langridge's farm, and one day in early March, having a small grayling taken by what I first thought was a jack of around seven pounds, and it turned out to be a huge brown trout which I lost at the net.

[tincatinca]

Hi, There is no longer a huge waiting list for the Dove valley anglers, there is a joining fee like before but that's all. To be honest there was never really a waiting list, if you know what I mean.

Although I gave up my ticket when they let a certain water go with out any explanation to the membership, I've many fond memories of the fishing on the Dove.

I remember catching 33 grayling on one December afternoon at Langridge's farm, and one day in early March, having a small grayling taken by what I first thought was a jack of around seven pounds, and it turned out to be a huge brown trout which I lost at the net.

 

Thanks for the information John, I will try again on the DV website. I used to fish at Langridges a lot and that was one of the areas where you would likeley find some good Chub and a few Barbel long before they became a targeted species on the Dove. Also good was Aston bridge but you needed to walk downriver past the railway lines to the big bend. I know what you mean about occassionaly connecting with with one of the bigger Brownies . I often used to park at Aston bridge and walk the far bank upstream to Marchington weir. A guy called Fred Shenton used to be the club secretary and many years ago I recall him catching a large Pike from that area. Wonderful river where the mobile approach pays dividends and you could walk for miles without seeing a soul but you did need to carry some waders to get out to some off the gravel patches to fish the glides dependant on the water level at the time.

[Alan Stubbs]

I have to say my favourite river is which ever one I'm fishing at the time.

 

I used to fish the River Penk outside Stafford, but it was a 75 drive each way, and my health wasn't up to the slog. In all the time I fished it, I had a couple of small bream and a 2lb chub...and I lost count of the minnows I had. I even caught minnows on cheese paste on a size 4 hook - the frustration was immense. The bait was bigger than the fish and I was trotting trying to draw a couple of chub out of the undercut banks, repeatedly upping the size of the tackle to deter the minnows.

 

I've fished the Len outside Maidstone with Leon Roskilly and had a truly amazing time picking up a couple of small perch and a fair few roach. It was the first time I'd ever used a 'pin and just loved the whole trip.

 

Since then, I've fished the Weaver and had fun there legering catching roach and bream. It's a deep river and legering is about all I could think of.

The Mersey free stretches around Warrington have been really good to me - a 7lb mirror scraps far harder than a lake double!

 

As my health improves, I want to have a go at the Ribble around Preston, although not for the barbel. Being the 'vogue' fish always seems to be a bit of a disincentive. A friend of mine reported decent perch and roach.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Alan Stubbs

[Dick Dastardly]

Been considering the initial question for a month now and still cant come up with an answer! Most rivers are very different and thats what i suppose I like about them.

 

Just cant see how its possible to compare and therefore choose over rivers as diverse as the ones we fish in this country! well I cant any way!