A tale of two rivers

Sunday 20th November

Trouted out on the Dove

I wasnt sure where to go on Sunday until i had a phone call from Phil who was planning a day chasing Grayling on the River Dove . I decided to tag along with a mind to catching some Chub and maybe a Perch if i could find one.
As we headed up the A50 at first light it was apparent that it was going to be a very murky day indeed with a lot of fog about and no wind, Good conditions i thought hopefully. Once we arrived we went our separate ways, Phil to his favourite Grayling swim and me to the nearest Perch swim.
Nothing happened whatsoever for me in the first swim so i moved and after taking a Trout and a Crayfish in the new swim that too went dead. After that i decided that Chub might be a better bet and chose my next spot accordingly, i also switched from Lobs to breadflake.
It turned out that the Trout seemed to be really switched on to the bread and i just couldnt stop catching them! everywhere i went i caught them and i lost count in the end . By the time we packed up id probably caught around 20, mostly Brownies with a solitary Rainbow chucked in for good measure . No Chub materialised for me although Phil reported catching one of about 3lb aswell as a load of Grayling. Interestingly Phil fished maggots and only landed one Trout all day so the lesson is, if you want Trout, get on the Hovis!

Tuesday 22nd November

After dark dangling on the Derwent

Whilst at work earlier today i was thinking about that swim i caught the Barbel in last Saturday and i decided that it certainly warranted some more attention . When i finished at the workhouse i headed home with great plans for an evening session and after digging out my last tin of Spam from the back of the kitchen cupboard i made my way through the rush hour traffic to the river .
Once out of the car and walking across the fields i was surprised at how cold it felt, the sky was very clear and the air felt like a frost could be on its way. I setup, got cast in and almost straight away i started getting twitches as the fish got straight on the bait. Within a few minutes the downstream rod buckled over and a fish was on, unfortunately it found a snag and after a horrible grating on the line the inevitable happened and the line parted .
I retackled, recast and rebaited thinking my chance had gone . After an hour or so of total inactivity the same rod went again and after some hard bullying i soon had a small Barbel of 6lb exactly in the net. Upon closer inspection i was delighted to find that the hooklink i had lost earlier was embedded in the fishes lip next to the new one. I released the fish safely, pleased in the knowledge that the lost fish from earlier was no longer trailing my rig around.

Once i got settled again i had another bite, this time on the upstream rod . The line was truly hissing off the baitrunner and as i struck i felt the fish bump off the hook. Cursing my luck i recast and decided to commit all the bait i had left into a final all or nothing push.

It paid off because at about 8.15 the downstream rod went again and a fish was on. This certainly felt bigger than the one earlier and so it proved as a nice fish of 10lb2oz was soon posing for a pic on the mat .



I packed up after that as i had no more bait with me. I had been there less than 3 hours but the new swim had well and truly proved itself and i shall certainly be heading there again very soon . Im really getting into my Barbelling at the moment, i dont normally fish for them much after October but from my results of late i think ive been missing a trick . The fish are really starting to bulk out and are in great condition at the minute so i think ill be sticking with them for a while yet............ 

Blenheim blank and some Dove respite

Sunday 16th October

As i mentioned in my last entry i had a boat booked at Blenheim palace lake for this weekend with my old mucker Phil. We set off from mine at 5.15am with the intention of arriving lakeside at around 7ish and despite being very foggy all the way down there we made good time. The punt was fully loaded and cast off by 7.30 but if anything the fog had got thicker and we couldnt see more than 30yards ahead of us. Because of this we opted to head for some snags just up the bank from the boathouse until we could see a bit more and work out our options. There was 13 boats out in total so competition for spots was quite high.

A foggy start

The lake slowly began to reveal itself as the fog lifted and what a view it was! Blenheim is an absolutely stunning water and im sure anybody else who has visited it will surely agree. The only thing which marred it somewhat was the seemingly hundreds of Cormorants adorning pretty much every tree around the lake. The waters biomass mustve been huge at some point to support that many birds but ive a feeling the place is all but denuded of small to mid-sized fish nowadays. Ill certainly never moan about seeing the odd Cormorant on the Trent again after seeing the size of  Blenheims population! 

Once we anchored up and commenced fishing, it didnt take long for another of the lakes problems to manifest itself as Phils floatfished lobworm was quickly snaffled by a bloody Crayfish,  this was gonna be another grueller........

I wish Cormorants would eat these buggers!

Phil missed a couple of other bites and i still hadnt had a sniff by the time the sun came up proper so we decided upon a move. All the well known areas were occupied by other boats and there was even two groups of anglers bank fishing so we headed to the bay on the opposite side to the boathouse away from the crowds. After another Crayfish and having some other chaps move in on us we saw that the area around the grand bridge had become free so we headed there.

The Grand bridge

Although ive fished the lake before ive never fished around the bridge as its always been stitched up and upon our arrival there i was struck by how shallow it is. We moored to the right of the main arch and the lakebed was clearly visible.

The sun was now well and truly up and it was actually starting to get really warm. The fishing wasnt though and we sat there for a biteless couple of hours, not even seeing the slightest sign of a fish, before we decided to head back to the area we had begun in. At least the grebes had been catching the odd tiddler back there!

We moored up in the same spot and commenced some hard fishing, floatfished lobs to the snags and floatfished deadbaits along the bank either end of the boat.

The boathouse in the afternoon sunshine

We both had a few suspicious crayfish type knocks and twitches as the afternoon wore on . My pike float eventually went under  at about 4ish but i struck into nothing, the bait looked like the crays had been at that too. As the light began to go and the other boats began to come in i finally had a proper bite on the worm, the float shot away and i went to strike only to find my line caught under the rope-tie thingy on the edge of the boat and i promptly missed it!

We fished on until dusk for no more action so we headed back in. We were the second from last in and the guy in the boathouse told us that only one 9lb Pike had been caught all day from all the other boats that had already come in. It had fished pretty tough then by all accounts but im looking forward to going back next year already!

Monday 17th October

I had today booked off work as a backup plan to catch something should Blenheim not work out. It didnt so i decided to head out for my first Perching trip to the river Dove this season . After last seasons results there i was fully prepared for another grueller but im a glutton for punishment and theres something about fishing for Perch there that really gets my juices going.

Last season taught me a great deal about the areas where Dove Perch tend to frequent and im convinced, certainly in the areas ive been fishing, that there are only several small groups of  fish in any given stretch. They certainly arnt in every swim like they are in the Trent, Derwent and Soar, there just isnt enough of them in the Dove.

With this in mind i decided to start in a swim ive caught from before and work my way from there. Out went the worm and after about half an hour of steadily feeding maggots over the top i had a bite which nearly pulled the rod off the rest! I couldnt believe i missed it! the fish had switched on though and, on my next put in, another wrap around bite resulted in a fat Perch which was just shy of 2lb. I missed one more bite over the next half hour before deciding a move was in order.

I headed just upstream and i had a 2lb fish before id even put any loosefeed in! No more bites were forthcoming after that so i upped sticks to look for another swim.

2lber

My next swim was one ive fished several times before yet ive never had a bite there. It looks bang-on for a Perch and ive never understood why its never produced for me but on this occasion the wind was howling down the river and this swim offered me a bit of shelter.

I was only going to give it half an hour, more to give me a break from the wind than anything else, so i was more than surprised when the tip pulled around and i hooked what felt like a decent fish. Unfortunately the knot on the hook went but i was soon cast back in with renewed enthusiasm for the swim. A couple of gentle taps had me striking into another Perch and there was no mistakes with this one, the scales read 2lb6oz.

2lb6oz

I returned the fish about 40 yards downstream and after hooking two in the swim already i expectantly made another cast. I trickled in half a dozen maggots every couple of minutes until once again the tip juddered slightly before gently pulling around. Another one in the net, 2lb4oz this time.

2lb4oz

The rest of the shoal had obviously melted away after that because i couldnt get another sniff . The weather too had closed in by now and, not wanting to get a soaking, i headed for home.

The Cray twins!

Sunday 10th October

Firstly, apologies to followers of this blog for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks. Headquarters demanded that i do some decorating which basically wiped out any chances of me wetting a line at all last weekend. In other words i havent been fishing at all for two weeks, nightmare!
With the DIY all but complete this weekend i decided to get out on the bank sharpish before i went stir crazy. I had to get back on the rivers urgently so a trip to the Dove with my mate Phil was hastily arranged. Id been looking to get back on this river again for a while but with all the rain of late, conditions havent been to my liking down there. The dryer weather over the last week gave me hope that the river would be somewhere near cock-on and upon arrival we werent disappointed. It looked to be carrying around 2-3 inches and was running fairly clear with a slight tinge of colour.

My intention was to use quivertip tactics and worms in the hope of a Perch or two whilst Phil went for stickfloat and maggot gear to fish for Grayling and Trout. Starting off near a weir, Phils tactics proved to be a winner from the off as he took a procession of Grayling and Trout to around 10oz. Me on the other hand found myself struggling a bit, the slightly increased flow on the river meaning my usual spots were pulling through a bit too quickly for Perch to be holed up. The minnows were like pirahnas attack my worms as soon as they hit the deck but i persevered and eventually landed a Perch after a good couple of hours hard fishing. Not a big one by any stretch of the imagination but it was my target species and a handsome reward for some hard fishing.
The sun was coming out by now and Phil sarted to catch some larger Grayling including 3 gooduns at 1.8, 1.12 and 1.14. A large signal Crayfish also put in an appearance to Phils rod proving to us beyond any doubt that this highly invasive species is now well established in the river.

After a while of no more bites i decided upon a move and Phil fancied one too so we headed for the lower end of the stretch. We both doubled up in a peg on a relatively slow stretch so we could have a chinwag . It proved to be good decision for us both because i went on to land a new pb Grayling of 1.12 and Phil had a 4lb Chub which was one of the fattest ive ever seen (probably due to the Crays) and a 1.10 Grayling. I also landed another Crayfish.
Well thats it for another week, definately gonna be out next weekend, not sure where yet though. The Trent could well be on form after the recent high water, maybe the dreaded drifting weed has been washed away, we can but hope!

Into Autumn

Friday 3rd September

Barbel Blues

Todays session was planned as quick overnighter on the Trent in pursuit of some Barbs. I was somewhat pushed for time and didnt want to go through the rigmarole of setting up a full-on camp so i headed for an area where i could set up and fish from the back of the car. The car itself was to be my bivvy for the night which meant all i had to do was throw a sleeping bag, a pair of rods, a net and my kit bag in the back and i was ready to go.



I was on the bank and set up in no time and i began by droppering in 2 pints of hemp and a pint of casters. Both rods were cast along the same line and i sat back to begin the wait. Despite getting several bangs and taps on the rod tips i didnt get any proper bites until darkness descended whereupon a small chub of about 2lb was banked. This was followed by another slightly bigger sample around an hour later.

Sadly that was all the action i was to get for the rest of the night and i packed up in the morning feeling quite dispondent and wondering what id done wrong. There was some decent fish in the peg because i heard several good crashes out in front of me during the night and the peg has got past form for producing Barbel in numbers. I did have a recce of a couple of other possible areas after id packed up and saw a couple which look well worth a future visit. Im gonna head there for an evening session one night this week i reckon.


Sunday 5th September

Perch Power

After my last trip i was in need of a bit of a pickmeup so rather than heading back out after Barbel i thought id give the Dove a go with the lures. Id never lure fished this river before and apart from that Perch i caught last week id never caught a predator of any discription from there (unless you count Trout and Chub?) so i was totally unsure of what to expect.

When i arrived about mid morning i was most surprised to find that i had the entire stretch to myself, thatll do me i thought, pukka! I made my way to the first likely looking spot and made my first cast. After a couple of cranks on the reel handle the tiny Mepps was hit by a fiesty Perch of a pound or so. It was as broad across its back as it was deep and had obviously been gorging itself on the vast shoals of minnows which inhabit the Dove. A lovely fish, now all i needed to do was to catch its dad!

A couple of casts later and i was in again and a slightly larger Perch was soon angrily flaring its gills and shaking its head at my feet. I could get used to this i thought. After returning it in the peg upstream, i made another cast into the same peg and unbelievably found myself connected to another Perch! This one was a fair bit bigger than the other two and required me to get the scales out. At 2lb4oz it was a nice fish and another step closer to a real biggie.

A few more casts into the same spot told me the fish had moved on which also meant it was time for me to move on too. Id love to be able to tell you stories of a real red letter session after such a promising start but the reality is that i never had so much as a touch over the next three hours! I packed up without any more pulls whatsoever. I must have just landed lucky with the first spot thats all i can say. The river is really starting to intrigue me with its Perch potential now, next time i may have to go in with the liveys ......

Expanding Horizons

Sunday 29th August

Todays session was to be on an area of the Trent which i hadnt fished before. I was to have a companion for the day in the shape of my mate Phil whos idea it was to fish the new area. Hed fished it before with some success and it sounded well worth a go.

We arrived to find the river fairly coloured but running at its normal level, there didnt seem to be much weed and rubbish coming down it either which was a bonus. My intention was to fish for Perch during the morning and early afternoon before switching to Barbel later on into dark. Phil was going all out for Barbel.

I started off with the baitcatching rod and was getting a fish a chuck from the very first cast although all were too big to be of any use as livebaits. The wind had picked up considerably too and was causing real problems with regards to casting and baiting let alone presentation. Then to add insult to injury the heavens opened and at that point i gave up on the Perching idea and moved to the comfort of the brolly and set up the Barbel gear.

The afternoon passed uneventfully with nothing more than a couple of half hearted bangs on the rod tips and soon it began to get dark. At about 9oclock a shout from Phils peg told that hed hooked a fish and i quickly made my way over to lend a hand with the netting and weighing. At 11lb8oz it was a stunning Barbel and a new pb for Phil aswell.

Soon afterwards we packed up with nothing more to show for our efforts but Phil was well pleased and for me the fish more than highlighted the potential of the area. I will be back soon! I would have put a pic of the fish up but i havent managed to get one off Phil yet.

Wednesday 1st September

I found myself with a day off work today and once again decided to join Phil for another river session. Todays adventure was to be on the river Dove near Uttoxeter, an area we had fished before but never during the warmer months and never when the rivers been at its normal level.

It was running clear with a very slight tinge of colour but there was lots of fish topping and rising when we arrived and we were looking forward to a productive day. Having not seen this stretch in these conditions before i was struck by what a stunning piece of water it actually is, Shallow fast riffles next to deep slow moving pools and lots of lovely overhanging trees, heaven!

Our plan was to rove about with float gear and maggots just to see what came along. After tackling up and donning my bait apron i arrived at my first spot, a lovely deep boily run on the outside of a bend coming off a shallow area. Within minutes of starting i found myself connected to what felt like a decent fish in the flow and sure enough a pristine fat Perch was soon netted. It was around the pound and a half mark and was a bit of an eye opener for me. Id never associated the Dove with decent Perch before and this got me thinking about what else might be lurking in there Perchwise.

After that me and Phil really started to get amongst the fish and we spent the rest of the morning moving from spot to spot taking a succession of mostly Trout and Grayling with the odd Roach and Dace thrown in for good measure. All the fish were truly pristine specimens the highlight of which be a Grayling of 1lb10oz which fell to Phils rod, another pb for him, the mans on fire!

The Fearfullest of Fishes

Monday 26th July

Having booked today off work in order to fish i decided to head back to the River Dove in search of some Chub . The title of this entry is how Isaak Walton described the Chub in his book the Compleat Angler and i was soon to find out just how right he was!

The river was extremely low and clear today not great chub fishing conditions but i was hopeful of getting a few especially as the weather was overcast with a slight drizzle in the air. As i walked the stretch as was struck by the lack of fish normally visible in the gravel runs between the streamer weed, there wasnt even any Trout rising which is unusual.
My tactics were to be quivertipped luncheon meat on a tiny straight lead to minimise casting disturbance. I tried several spots along a stretch of around a mile or so over the course of the morning to no avail. The whole stretch looked pretty dead with only a couple of small fish topping here and there. A change of stretch was called for so i went back to the car and headed a couple of miles upstream to an area which i knew a bit better.

It was a similar story here to the previous area with not much visible although there was a few Trout rising so at least there was something moving which gave me a confidence boost. I decided to start right at the top of the stretch and work my way down. The first pool is an absolutely stunning spot which screams Chub so i wanted to spend a bit of time there and get some bait down. After about an hour of careful feeding and recasting i finally had a tentative pluck followed by a firm pull on the tip which i promptly missed! I was a bit gutted but the feeling was to be pretty shortlived because about 10 minutes later i had another bite and connected with a nice Chub of 4lb, finally!


After that i moved and tried a couple more spots downstream and even though they looked cock-on i could only manage one bite which was missed. By now it was about 3pm and i was starting to get low on bait. I headed back upstream and noticed a couple of fish ghost across a gravel run and into a deeper hole where i couldnt see the bottom. With the distinct lack of any better offers i decided to chance a cast into the hole on the offchance of a bite.
Im glad i did cos within 5 minutes i was connected to a lively Chub of about 3lb which was duly landed.

This was the signal for me to call it a day, the fishing had been extremely tough with only 4 bites in about 7 hours of fishing and around 2 miles of riverbank covered. I can only put the lack of action down to the water conditions but at least i caught a couple.

Dog Days on the Dove

Saturday 10th July

I havent much chance to fish this week due to various work and family commitments but i had already decided on a bit of a change for my fishing this week. Saturday was to be fishing day for me and with the weather being so hot and dry (as the title of this piece suggests) i opted for a spot of early morning Chubbing on the river Dove.

It was around 4.30am when i arrived at the river and i decided to walk down to the bottom of the stretch with a view to working my way upstream back to the car. The river was painfully low but at least the sun wasnt up yet and it was still nice and cool.

My main line of attack was to be quivertipped breadflake with a small feeder full of liquidised bread. I made my first cast and straight away the tip pulled around only to be missed as i wasnt expecting it so soon. The next bite wasnt missed though and soon a lively little chub of around a pound or so was in the net. This wrecked the spot so i moved on upstream.

The new spot took a bit longer to warm up and after firing in a pouch of maggots and a couple of balls of bread, a couple of taps on the tip had my hand hovering. Seconds later it pulled around and i connected with a fish that went berserk. It repeatedly leapt out of the water but soon enough i had it netted. A nice Rainbow Trout of about 2lb.


Its the first of its kind ive caught for about 10 years so it made a nice change. I moved onto another spot and despite getting loads of knocks i only got a couple of hittable bites which were missed. Eventually the Sun got up and its heat could be felt getting stronger by the minute. This coincided with bites suddenly drying up so i soon found myself headed for the car and home.
That evening i headed for the Trent and hopefully some Barbel action but it quickly became apparent that the drifting blanket weed was horrendous, so bad that it was probably the worst ive ever known it. Needless to say i didnt last long and decided to cut my losses and leave.
Im at a bit of a loss as to what to do with my fishing now. So much of my early season plans revolved around the Trent but that weed is making it a nightmare to fish. Im not really fired up by anything anywhere else at the minute so ill just have to go with flow and pray for some rain.