How to fish a weir pool

[Zerkalo]

A few articles I've found about how to approach a weir, although from reading them, it seems one thing is clear, no two weir pools are going to be the same, and even changing in the same pool on a day to day basis. I thought they made for interesting reading.

Your guide to fishing a weir pool — Angling Times

If you're looking to catch an abundance of different species on a river this season then you really need to give a weir pool a try. Weirs are a haven for a number of species thanks to the warm, oxygenated water that’s constantly being flushed through the swim. Food items natural

www.anglingtimes.co.uk

Weirpool barbel fishing

The challenge of weirpools

The challenge of weirpools

www.blackcountryfishing.co.uk

 

[OldTaff]

That’s really useful @Zerkalo - interesting to see how many species hold up tight under the lip. Never had the opportunity to try fishing one but it looks challenging.

 

[Zerkalo]

That’s really useful @Zerkalo - interesting to see how many species hold up tight under the lip. Never had the opportunity to try fishing one but it looks challenging.

Glad you found it useful. I think people will have different opinions on where the fish are likely to sit depending on their particular pool, for instance I've read some people will say Pike are found in the slacks, but on my pool they seem to sit right by the sill! I've even caught Bream under the sill so there must be some slack water going on beneath the surface, so while they can look daunting on the surface, down below can be a different story.

 

[Silverfisher]

I don't think I've ever properly fished a weir pool either that I recall.

One of my favourite roach pegs which I discovered this season is probably not a lot further than a 100 yards or so downstream of a weir (I'm rubbish at judging distance but it's within earshot but well out of casting range unless you got a beach caster and serious skills!) and I do think even at that distance it benefits from the constant flow the weir provides. I did take my kayak up to it once and only caught a few dace but there was some impressive chub around it.

 

[Silver fan 82]

I've not fished a wierpool in ages. Used to a few years back until I moved. Used to catch some nice chub and the odd trout too. Great fishing it was.

 

[Silver fan 82]

Glad you found it useful. I think people will have different opinions on where the fish are likely to sit depending on their particular pool, for instance I've read some people will say Pike are found in the slacks, but on my pool they seem to sit right by the sill! I've even caught Bream under the sill so there must be some slack water going on beneath the surface, so while they can look daunting on the surface, down below can be a different story.

You will find that under the sill where the water is constantly flowing over the bed that this creates a gravel spot. Ideal for targeting Bream, Barbel or even Carp if present.

 

[Griffo]

I used to love fishing weir pools for barbel, I found if you fish right under the lip of the weir pool, using heavy running lead, get used to the flow and touch ledger for bites, had some great fish on this method, but weir pools being weir pools they are full of snags, one of my favourites was the near side weir pool on the Scrapyard stretch off the Trent at Newark, but it’s a bit of a S**t place to fish now sadly, but getting used to the turbulence is key, strong gear required, be prepared to loose a couple of rigs but my god get it right and the bites can be belters.

 

[Zerkalo]

Yeah the pool I fish is really snaggy, it means I've got used to the few places you can cast to by now, but that could change again at any moment. I have just watched this Jamie Harrison video and although he has a nice hybrid, he had to move pegs to find a clear spot, so it's not always easy fishing although they are usually great fish holding areas.

 

[Robwooly]

I had a Thames weir permit for a number of years - Jolly good fun it was too, throw in all the weirs on other rivers it would be so much fun to tally them up and see how many, maybe over a beer or two one day. Anyhow no two are the same and no two are the same on a different day if that makes sense.

I think you can over guess these sort of swims sometimes and forget that the fish are moving about like they would any other section of river. Sure there are some holding spots and some spots where fish feed more freely but it often they are transient, with some resident fish, some moving in and out and some relocating depending on whats been after them all day, be it us, pike, big perch or other preds, then there's breeding shoals early season that move in. Watching fish in a weir close season often sees a different set of species getting jiggy each week.

It is law that a weir has to be snaggy, and noisy and the world spins after you have been staring at a float in those swirls all day - fantastic places

 

[Zerkalo]

I had a Thames weir permit for a number of years - Jolly good fun it was too, throw in all the weirs on other rivers it would be so much fun to tally them up and see how many, maybe over a beer or two one day. Anyhow no two are the same and no two are the same on a different day if that makes sense.

I think you can over guess these sort of swims sometimes and forget that the fish are moving about like they would any other section of river. Sure there are some holding spots and some spots where fish feed more freely but it often they are transient, with some resident fish, some moving in and out and some relocating depending on whats been after them all day, be it us, pike, big perch or other preds, then there's breeding shoals early season that move in. Watching fish in a weir close season often sees a different set of species getting jiggy

It is law that a weir has to be snaggy, and noisy and the world spins after you have been staring at a float in those swirls all day - fantastic places

Great post! They are transient places for sure. And I recognise that illusion you get from the world spinning well, it can be quite disorientating! Glad it's not just me it happens too.

 

[Robwooly]

No to mention the silence as you walk our of earshot of the weir, it's like you don't realise how peaceful even a busy road is.

On one of the weirs there was a concrete sill - I swear it was the hottest place on earth, throw in the noise and the swirls you ended up going home in a daze.

On another there was a high walkway - the booklet said it was the highest on the whole river and unsurprisingly you cannot fish it anymore, never got as sunburnt as I did on a windy day up there, and getting bream into a swaying dropnet with my dad during a gale is something I'll never forget, the walkway was shaking in the wind, we were burnt and windswept and trying to net a fish in the distance below us, total bonkers - Weirs are never dull it seems