Opening Day Of The 2023 River Season

 The main worry for the start of the season was the temperatures and lack of rain. The levels weren't the lowest I've seen and I had it on good authority the the water temperature had been hovering around 14 ℃, so things weren't too bad. While I didn't get down to the river until mid-afternoon some had been down there ready for 00:00 hours. Personally I don't find early mornings on rivers to be that productive. As usual for the first week or so of the season I was just going to be trotting maggots over hemp for whatever comes along.

By the time I'd got to the swim, kicking up clouds of grass pollen on the way my hay fever had kicked in. I tossed out some hemp and maggots over a largish area and boiled up the kettle for a cuppa waiting for my nose to stop streaming. It's not easy tackle up in that condition. Once things had settled I setup the, now, 13' 6" float rod with centrepin. 0.14mm mainline and a 0.10mm hook length with a B560 size 16 hook. A 4 №4 alloy stemmed stick float shotted shirt button style with № 6 shot. A quick plumb and a few runs through with no bait on to get the depth and we were underway.

 

The first fish of the season was a dace taken on the third trot through to double maggot. I soon got into a rhythm. A few grains of hemp downstream, some maggots in front of me, cast. While the dace were of a reasonable size there was clearly some smaller fish in the swim as chewed maggots often came back. These turned out to be bleak when I managed to hit the bites. Things went quite steadily with fish coming in a regular intervals. Dace in the main with the odd chublet, roach, and bleak. With a simple counter app on the phone I'd had 48 fish in two and half hours. Then the pike showed up. I'd managed to get one fish out of the water before it snaffled it, but the next was grabbed some way down the swim and I got bitten off. I took this as a hint to have a cuppa and sandwich. I did keep the feed going in while I had my repast.

Re-rigged and back in action the dace were still present. After a couple of fish I latched onto something a tad heavier which slowly trundled towards the semi-submerged dead tree. With out doubt a barbel and the 0.10mm hooklength was not going to stop it getting there. I upped the hooklength to 0.12mm and continued on. A few more dace and the odd bleak followed, but a lot more chewed maggots also occurred. Strangely single maggot hardly got any bites.

Everything went quiet for a while which I suspected may be a pike in the swim. Next fish up, though, was another barbel. This one was kind enough to stay out of the snags. Initially it came towards me quite easily before making a 20 yard dash downstream. Slowly I cranked it back before it did the same thing again.I managed to crank it back then it just sat in the current just upstream of me. It then circled round a few times. each time I got it closer to the net. When it finally got close enough I made a bit of a hash of getting it in the net, but it let me have a second go. A fish around the 5½-6lb. I wanted to unhook it in the water but couldn't reach it as the mud next to the bank was thick and deep as I'd found out earlier. A bit of a rest, on to the mat, unhooked, and photographed took very little time. A further rest in the net, which it didn't seem to need and all was OK.

 A couple more roach followed but things ha gone very quiet. Around 20:30 I hooked another barbel that shot straight into the overhanging trees opposite and smashed me up. I pondered getting the heavy trotting gear out but decided to call it day. It had been pleasant enough with some 74 fish and the barbel. I'd enjoyed my bit of stick and 'pin fishing for whatever. The barbel being a bonus. A bit more water obviously won't go amiss and we're being threatened with thunderstorms on Sunday, and some light rain/drizzle through next week. Hopefully this will come to pass.

Moving Baits Only

Looking at the river gauges the only rivers to show any significant movement from Tuesday's rain were the Derwent and the Nidd. I decided to had to the Nidd, mainly because forthcoming roadworks would mean me having to go the long way round for any rivers in that direction over the next month. Not that there isn't enough road works to contend with already. Unlike last week, it was warm and sunny as I arrived in the car park. Surprisingly there were two cars already there. I have no idea where they were fishing as I didn't see anybody as I headed to one of the deeper but fastish flowing swims. The bright sunshine made me think the shallower swims wouldn't fish well, especially as the water was nearly back to normal level and with very little colour in it.

After an hour in the first swim either trotting or feeder fishing maggots over hemp I hadn't had so much as a chewed maggot so moved to a slightly shallower swim upstream. I got a small gudgeon first cast on float, but nothing else after that. I did manage a couple of chewed maggots on feeder. 

The next swim up was the swim I was in last week. I decided to give it a go despite the bright sunshine. A couple of trots down I was into gudgeon. Every one the same size. After half an hour or so a large perch followed one of the gudgeon in. I put the feeder rod out with a lob worm on and took the opportunity to have a cuppa as I was a tad thirsty. The rod sat there for half an hour with some much as a nod. I transferred the worm to the float rod, but still couldn't get a bite. A change back to maggots resulted in a feisty perch around the pound mark. The next trot down produced a slightly smaller one around twelve ounces or so. 

A few more trots and I started picking up dace around the 4-6oz mark. I'd had a couple of dozen dace by the time it got too dark to see the float.

I fished an hour and a half in the dark on the feeder rod. alternating between maggot and worm on the hook. This produced one missed bite to worm. I'd have thought the bit of rain would have encouraged the barbel to feed, but no. Not in this swim any way. During the darkness there was a lot of noise on the far bank, crunching undergrowth mainly. I assume it was badgers as they don't seem to worry about sneaking up on anything or keeping quiet so as not to attract predators.

 

As I walked back to the car a barn owl swooped through a gap in the trees not a yard from me causing me to start. Another one (the same one?) was perched on the gate as I drove down the lane and only took off when I got out of the car to open the gate.

Thunder and a New PB

Given the weather warning for thunderstorms I kept looking at the rain radar to see what was heading my way. It looked like rain may arrive at tea time, but knowing whether it was going to be a light shower or something far worse was another matter. Sod it I'm going fishing. I head down to the Nidd where the farmer was gathering in his straw bales in. I had maggots, hemp and pellets with me. The intention being to float fish maggots over hemp and if the rain came I'd change to feeder fish pellets.

The first hour was mainly chewed maggots and the odd tiny dace along with the constant buzzing of bees as they take the last of the pollen from the Himalayan balsam. Occasionally  a seed pod would explode scattering seeds everywhere and triggering others seed pods to explode. 

Steadily the thunder got louder and louder. A look at the rain radar showed something horrible heading my way. As it got closer it looked like I may be on the edge of it. Even so the rain was really heavy and my light weight summer brolly isn't as waterproof as it could be. While the rain came down I chucked the feeder rod out with a 8mm pellet as bait. Not expecting much to happen I partook of a sandwich and cuppa. The heavy rain brought down a lot of willow leaves so when it eased off I stuck with the feeder but with a couple of maggots on the hook. This produced some real rattling bites on the barbel rod and resulted in several decent dace and the odd chublet.

After the worst of the leaf debris had past I went back on the float and rather than the dace I was expecting I was straight into gudgeon. One dace did show up just before everything went quiet. As I contemplated going back on the feeder I got a couple of strange bites where the float shot sideways across the water, but I didn't contact anything. Continuing with the float I got a bite right at the bottom of the swim and was clearly into something reasonable. At firsts it felt like a chub, but then it suddenly had a turn of speed which made me think a pike had grabbed what ever I'd hooked. As I turned it I felt the unmistakable head shaking of a perch and clearly a good one at that. After a little while and an attempt to get into the weeds under my feet it was in the net. It didn't look quite as big as it had fought, but it did feel heavy. At 3lb 1oz and 43cm it was a new PB, for this country, and my first 3lber.

I had a few more trots down, but the fading light and cloud cover was making the float very hard to see. While I could still see the rod tip I put the feeder out with a couple of maggots on. Just into dark, as the drizzle started, the rod hooped over and I was into what was clearly a barbel. Strangely it made no attempt to head for the snags but stuck resolutely to the bottom of the the river. After a brief battle, and the usual palaver near the net I had a barbel around the 4-5lb mark on the bank.

As I had no desire to be packing up in the rain I decoded to end the session there. The next problem was getting out of the swim. The precipitous bank I'd come down in the dry was now rally greasy with only nettles or thistles to hang on to. With the aid of the trusty storm pole I managed to get out and up the flood bank using the old two steps forward, one step back technique. The walk back to the car in the light drizzle and mist seemed a lot longer than the third of a mile it was.

Not a bad session at all, even with out the new PB. The river at this point still has a reasonable bit of water in it. I have seen it a lot lower.  I reckon if I'd fished at the other end of the fishery I'd have missed the heavy downpour as the farm track quickly turned dry with no water in the potholes like earlier.

A Bit Less Balsam

With reports that the Nidd had cooled down a bit and contained extra water due to the recent thunderstorms I decided to pop down to see if I could catch a barbel on float. I don't often use a 15' rod on this little river, but with a gusty downstream wind I thought it may give more control. A 3.5g loafer was all that was needed in the shallow swim. A size 12 hook to 6.6lb hook length finished the rig off. After a few trots down to get the correct depth and see if there was any snags I flung out a goodly helping of hemp and a few red maggots, I left the swim alone for awhile and took the machete to a large stand of Himalayan Balsam. Some of it was over six foot tall, but it was very satisfying to see it crash to the ground.

After few trots down with a bait on it soon became apparent that there was a lot of small fish in the swim as I kept get chewed maggots. I dropped to a 18 on a 4.6lb hook length to see what they were. Straight away I was into gudgeon. Half a dozen later and I hit something bigger. At first it came towards me easily, which suggested it was a barbel. This was confirmed as it shot back down stream and the hook length gave. The hook length looked like it had been cut by scissors so it may have been a pike.

Back to the 6.6lb hook length and a size 14 hook. A couple more gudgeon came in before hitting something heavy. Again it came towards me fairly easily before shooting down stream. Again the hook length parted in virtually the same spot, and again it was a clean cut. I had a wander along the top of the bank with the polarising lenses, but because of the the coloured water could see anything. I carried on with the same rig and stated to pick up a few chublets. One or two had mouths full of maggots which I'd started to feed quite heavily as the barbel had moved in.

I put a lot more hemp and maggots in, but closer to me in the hope the barbel would move up and I'd have time to stop them getting to whatever was cutting the line. I partook of a cuppa and sarnie while the hemp did it's magic. First cast after the break and I was in. Whatever it was shot straight towards the "cut-off point". I just stuck my thumb behind the handle on the 'pin and hoped. Again I parted with the fish, but this time retrieved a couple of scales. Looks like I'd foul-hooked one. After a few more gudgeon and a couple of chublets I was again into something bigger. This time it made no rapid runs and stuck doggedly to the middle of the river. Apart from one half-hearted attempt at getting into the tree roots opposite it stubbornly came upstream. When it got opposite me I thought it had snagged as it went nowhere. Then suddenly it gave up and came to the net. A barbel around the 4-5lb mark. As the water was still not cold I left it in the water as much as I could and with the minimum of handling.

A few more chublets were caught before it started to spot with rain. With mission accomplished I packed up and headed home. I'd love to know what was cutting the line. I've never had that problem before in this swim. Normally it's the tree roots opposite you have to worry about. Which is why I tended to play the fish downstream in the hope they would be too tired to make a dash for the roots once I got them up to me.

 

I'm now half way to my target of catching a barbel on float from the Derwent, Nidd, Ouse,  Swale, Ure and Wharfe. I suspect the Ouse will be the hardest as I've never landed one on float from there. I've hooked them, but on roach gear and never really stood a chance.

Second Trip of the New Season

The weather forecast for Friday had varied all week. Rain was definitely on the cards but how heavy and what time was still a bit of an unknown. My own prediction was that it was likely to be rather light and intermittent. This turned out to be not far from the truth. As I drove to the river there was quite a heavy downpour, but it eased off as I arrived at the rather full car park. One angler's car, a couple of vans and two humongous tractors with mower attachments. The EA had were cutting the grass on the flood bank. According to a couple of dog walkers I talked to the rain had been a blessing as it it damped down the huge clouds of pollen.

I selected one of the shallower and pacier swims this time. Usually this swim requires the bait to be dragged along the bottom, so a small 5X4 avon was to be used despite it been only three and a half foot deep. The shot was bulked  a foot above a small link swivel to which a nine inch hook-length with a size sixteen hook. By the time I'd got set up the drizzle had got heavier so up went the brolly. I don't like float fishing under a brolly, but I dislike getting soaked even more. The lack of wind allowed the brolly to be set quite high so it wasn't too bad. This did mean that I couldn't film proceedings as there was now where to place the camera.

After a few tots down to get the depth set right I laid out a tail of hemp down the swim. But half a dozen maggots in with each trot down I was soon suffering chewed maggots before finally picking up small dace right at the bottom of the swim. The shoal didn't stop still. After six or so fish I had to trot down one side or the other of the feed in order to get bites. The dace were of a smaller stamp then Wednesday's. Occasional I'd pick up the odd very small, but tubby little gudgeon near the top of the swim, along with some fair size bleak. Despite chucking the maggots upstream I couldn't get the dace to move closer. After one of the short heavy bursts of rain, during which I caught nowt,  I did get five nice dace around the half pound mark and a pound plus grayling. A few more of the small dace followed before everything went quiet.

As  the rain had all but stopped I decided it was a good time to pack up. A couple more species added to the tally along with the nice dace made for a good session. I was surprised at the lack of chublets though. next week's weather is all  up in the air, but i hope to get out everyday.

First Day of the Season 2021

For some years now my preferred start top the coarse fish river season has been a spot of stick and 'pin on the River Nidd. I'm not bothered what I catch it's just nice to do. A pint of maggots and some hemp was all the bait I took. I rarely fish rivers early morning as I've never found it to be as productive as the evening.  I arrived at the car park at three to find it empty, apart from the remains of a bonfire in the middle. While the arrival time was nice for avoiding the traffic it wasn't the best for humping tackle along the bank as it was the warmest part of the day. The breeze was a menace though as it was blowing the grass pollen about. By the time I'd selected a swim my nose was dripping profusely.

This swim I picked was around six foot deep, one of the deeper swims at the top end of the stretch.  I had hoped to run a float under the tree down stream, but it was very saggy so just stuck to the middle of the river. A couple of handfuls of hemp were chucked down the swim and half a dozen maggots every trot or so. The hemp was topped up every few casts. After a few casts and some chewed maggots the first fish in was a small chublet. It then took while for the next fish to turn up. A bleak was the next in. I suspect these were the ones responsible for the chewed maggots. For the first couple of hours I only got the occasional chublet of bleak. Around sixish the first of the dace showed up. By now I was getting more bites. While not a fish a chuck the bites were steady.

I was getting a few chub then a quiet patch then a few bleak then the dace would show up. The dace seemed to be at the top of the swim, while the chub came a bit further down. The bleak would just show up anywhere. The bites continued until nineish when everything went quiet. I fished on until I was struggling to see the float. Apart from the odd chublet I did manage to bump off a couple of decent perch rather annoyingly.

A pleasant and generally stress free start to the season. The fish were nothing to write home about, all very much a similar size. Previous seasons I've had more species, but that didn't matter. There is just something rather satisfying about trotting on a river.