The third and final installment of our trip to the New Forest saw us make a visit to the chub fishing mecca that is Beat 2 at Throop Fishery. Thanks at this point must go to Dave Roach of UK Angling Forums for giving some advice on all-things-fishing-in-Dorset, though I must admit I feel a little like I've failed him thus far without managing to bank a single fish!
The Dorset Stour was considerably higher and angrier than the Hampshire Avon, but Dave had assured me that if the path opposite the new weir was passable then the remainder of the beat should be accessible. Having forgotten to pack my wellies, I only hoped he was correct! However 12-18 inches of water across the towpath suggested otherwise!
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| "You'll be fine" said Dave... |
Fortunately I had the wifely packhorse with me, and she had packed her wellies! So building a rudimentary bridge across the worst of it with a spare plank and stripping off my boots and socks, I waded off through the oh-so-cold water whilst my better half ferried the fishing gear!
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| Anyone for a team-building day? |
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| Giddy-up... |
With the river so high, it was impossible to discern any meaningful features. I adopted a position which should at least give me some options, positioning myself on the outside of a sweeping bend with fast water downstream and a deep slack upstream sheltered by over-hanging trees. If my judgement had failed me, there was always luck! I focused my efforts on the edge of the crease with a maggot feeder, whilst my second rod alternated between two positions - 30 yards downstream from my maggot feeder, and underneath the upstream tree. My maggot line was intending to catch anything that swims, whilst the second rod was hoping to picking up a barbel or perhaps a greedy chub, so a big smelly bait was the order of the day.
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| Ohhh... It's going to be one of those days... |
After half an hour of relentless tapping on my finest quiver tip, I had failed to register a fish. Switching to a helicopter rig, better suited to roach I started catching silvers a-fish-a-chuck. Nothing of notable size, though I did manage to catch a gudgeon, something I haven't caught from a UK river in years. Wifely packhorse must have thought I'd gone quite mad, seeing my apparent excitement at landing such a small and seemingly insignificant fish!
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| Go on.. .Give us a kiss... |
As the day progressed the stamp of roach began to improve with better fish of around 8-10 ounces. A couple of roach fisherman trotting breadflake a little way downstream hadn't managed any better. With the day wearing on and a three hour drive home ahead of us we needed to leave the river mid-afternoon. With an hour to go I packed up most of my gear and went for a rove to target some marginal slacks on a stick float. It wasn't to be.
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| Stour Roach... |
As we made the long journey back home I reflected on what had been a fantastic long weekend away, even if it was relatively light on fish. The pub was warm and cosy, the food fabulous and the company even better. The weather had been mild and sunny and I had a little more of an understanding of two unfamiliar rivers. I'd learnt a lot, and look forward to revisiting these beats in future to apply that knowledge. Oh, and I'd caught a gudgeon!
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| Another look? Oh go on then... |
Lovely pics
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed! :)
DeleteGonk a plenty in Warwickshire, we are lucky as love catching them !!
ReplyDeleteIs that on the Avon Mick or one of it's tributaries such as the Arrow?
DeleteThere are swims on the Avon that have them in numbers year or year, talking decent shoals of them but yes most rivers I fish in and around Stratford-Upon-Avon, Stour, Alne and Arrow etc contain them.
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