Big Fish Column: A mixed bag and a lot of dry nets for anglers

THE BIG FISH COLUMN

Inconsistent weather tends to bring inconsistent fishing, and so it proved last week with barbel disappearing from river reports and mixed bags - and a lot of dry nets - from around the local fisheries.

Chub catches

With cooling water temperatures, chub were always going to be the dominant species for river anglers and so it proved with a few fish showing from all local venues, including a good fish of 5lb 14oz to Taplow’s Dickie Price who visited a section of the River Loddon near Twyford.

Dickie fished a roving session, alternating between bread and cooked and peeled prawn tipped with a red maggot on the hook, to tempt three fish over 4lb, topped by the 5lb specimen. A feed of bread mash with a few prawn pieces was the groundbait and Dickie employed a size 8 hook to a 6lb fluorocarbon hook length and 8lb main line.

Also weighing in a 5lb plus chub was Big Fish Column regular, Justin Beale, who fished the Thames near his Cookham home to bag a fish of 5lb 4oz. Justin used a pellet paste bait and also netted a fish of approximately 4lb.

The Thames probably remains the most consistent of the local rivers at present but sport is patchy, as it is everywhere at present.

Pike capture

Pike reports have been relatively thin on the ground so far this winter but Andy Davies took a nice fish from one of the Reading and District Angling Association pits last weekend when a 16lb ‘snapper’ picked up his popped-up smelt bait.

Andy presented the bait across the mouth of a bay on size 6 semi-barbed trebles to 24lb wire and 15lb main line. He netted it after a short fight just after daybreak.

Have your close season say

I have discussed the merits of the river close season in this column on numerous occasions and the EA are now canvassing opinion with an eight-week consultation running through to March 11th.

Only some 5,000 anglers responded to the initial close season survey, the majority favouring maintaining the status quo of a break from 15 March to 16 June but the EA are also looking at an option of an altered closure between April 15th to June 30th. All rod licence holders will receive an e-mailed request to respond to proposals, so if you want to have a say now is the time to do so.

Trout returns

Despite the return to colder conditions local trout anglers did enjoy some decent sport, although Chris Hayward reported that it was something of a mixed week at Haywards Farm Fishery. That said, both bank and boat fishing proved successful with cracking fish of 12lb and 13lb landed.

The majority of fish were showing in the top 4ft of water and differing retrieves was the trick to get amongst them. The classic ‘strip and pause’, used by many anglers, didn’t produce as well as a ‘mess them about’ approach – with small quick pulls followed by long draws and then a steady retrieve to alter the way the flies behaved. Black tadpoles and black and orange Montanas were the key patterns but for those with a more imitative approach, buzzers or Diawl Bachs fished very slowly on what little wind there was, or static under an indicator, were incredibly successful.

Chris advises everyone heading to the fishery to use a minimum of 8lb breaking strain tippet, to keep moving and to concentrate on the top 4ft of water.

The week ahead

The forecast for the week ahead suggests a continuation of the cold spell but with improved consistency I suspect we shall see a slight uplift in returns, with chub once again the key species for river anglers.

Any anglers wishing to report catches may contact me at ian@bigfishtrail.com