Small Rivers

[Zerkalo]

I have just been watching some Rob Wootton videos and he sometimes fishes some small streams around Northamptonshire and Leicestershire and it reminds me how much I love this kind of fishing. I grew up fishing the River Blythe for Chub and now have moved to near the Worcs Stour which I fish and report on all the time.

On the Rob Wootton vids I've seen, he catches a lot of small silvers and you really can't beat that in my opinion when lots of the fish have never seen a hook before. Unfortunately on the Stour I fish, the small fish come and go and the bigger fish seem to move about a bit and rotate species too. I'd love to have a small stream where I could regularly catch silvers but can't really complain about what I've got at the moment.

Does anyone else have a similar interest in fishing small rivers and if so what do you catch? I've also heard stories of specimen fish from small rivers too?

 

[Zerkalo]

The Stour I fish on the left next to the Staffs/Worcs Canal. Probably a foot and half deep in the stretch on the photo at normal level which is why I fish on the weir where I do. Also pronounced rhyming with hour, instead of tour or mower like other Stours.



And I think this is the BAA Stretch of it.

 

[Ken the Pacman]

I have had 60lb of Dace out of a little river called The Leet. that flows into the Tweed at Coldstream only 4 foot deep even when the main river is in flood.
Enjoyed fishing many small tributaries to the likes of the Severn when the main river was flooded and used to fish another that flows into the Dee but once they disconnected the sewage works the levels dropped a lot so its less t5hat a foot deep normally.

 

[Arry]

My local rivers are very small, Roding and Wid and are much smaller than the Stour... another river I fish every year is the Wallington at Boarhunt... it's tiny and you can step over it in places... small rivers often throw up big fish.... I lost a trout as long as my fore arm from a Wid weirpool and landed a mahoosive Golden Orfe the following week



top pic the Orfe from the Wid Weirpool
Bottom Pic the Blue Bridge on the Wid a meadow downstream

 

[tipitinmick]

My local rivers are very small, Roding and Wid and are much smaller than the Stour... another river I fish every year is the Wallington at Boarhunt... it's tiny and you can step over it in places... small rivers often throw up big fish.... I lost a trout as long as my fore arm from a Wid weirpool and landed a mahoosive Golden Orfe the following week



top pic the Orfe from the Wid Weirpool
Bottom Pic the Blue Bridge on the Wid a meadow downstream

He said a river Arry not a trickle. I create a larger stream of water when I wash my van. ??. What do you catch from there ? Tell me grayling ... got to be grayling ? ?

 

[Wise Owl]

Last year early on i walked My Albert on the River Dearn, some big Barbel have come outta there, its a lovely little River with some Cracking looking pegs, i always say im gonna give it a go but get way laid back to the Trent, May be next year.

 

[Arry]

He said a river Arry not a trickle. I create a larger stream of water when I wash my van. ??. What do you catch from there ? Tell me grayling ... got to be grayling ? ?

I wish Mick... Roach Perch Chub and the odd trout... sadly I found Otter pugmarks on the weirpool last week... it would explain the lack of bites

 

[Arry]

This is the weirpool on the Wid

 

[RedRidingHood]

I live just across the road from a river / drain very similar to this, About 13-15 years ago it was great. Me and my cousins would spend many' o days fishing along there. It was populated with no end of good pike, some lovely perch. Good heads of Roach and even the odd Bream & Tench. It was only ever about 2-3 ft deep at the deepest, And it'd eventually run into the 'ressy' which was also full of Pike and Roach.

I say up until about 10-12 years ago - Because the council decided to dredge which completely decimated it. Within 6 hours the fish would all be on the top 'gasping' for some reason (According to a friend) and by the following morning you'd walk along the bank and there would just be hundreds, upon hundreds of dead pike, perch, roach and such just floating on top. I saw this myself. Unfortunately, The Pike & Perch stocks never really recovered. Theres still Pike in there, But they're sparse. The Perch are non-existent, I'm sure nature will find a way however and they'll eventually recover. Can't say the same about the Bream and Tench however. Theres still good heads of Roach in there. Last year was insane, I walked down there and found 3 good shoals of Roach with numbers must of been nearing 500+ fish. Super spooky though. As soon as they see you they don't half dart off!

Funnily enough, Further down the River the council decided to do the same thing 2 years ago. And according to a guy who does 'Magnet fishing', The same thing also happened. Tons of Pike dead once again, As well as Silvers.

Not sure what causes this chain reaction, but it's incredibly annoying as there is a lot of keen Anglers, Kids especially round here with not many places to go.

 

[Not Now Kato]

Last year early on i walked My Albert on the River Dearn, some big Barbel have come outta there, its a lovely little River with some Cracking looking pegs, i always say im gonna give it a go but get way laid back to the Trent, May be next year.

I used to live just round the corner from the Dear many years ago, and can remember it being a cess pit like the Don that it runs into. It was cleaned up and I fished the 'inaugural' match following the cleanup and stocking. Only one fish was caught in the whole 5 hours! By our captain at the time - collected 1st 2nd, 3rd & Team Prize all by himself, though he did share with the team afterwards.

 

[NoCarpPlease]

I used to fish the River Dene a fair bit - for those who have visited the National Trust pile at Charlecote deer park - it's the samll stream that runs through that.
Not shoals of bits- but plenty of chub to a couple of pounds and a few bream to nearly 4.

otherwise - just "backbrooks" where larger rivers split around islands - they can give the same sort of experience.

 

[Silverfisher]

Not really around my neck of the woods. The Thames I guess you’d call fairly big and the Avon medium. Ouse is small in places but where I’ve fished it’s getting more into the medium territory.

Have got the cherwell on my virtually doorstep (well still a car journey but close compared to Thames) but never fished it as never seen any sign of life this far up stream although I’m sure they’re in there. Bit chub or bust apparently.

Only genuinely small river I’ve fished regularly is the Itchen navigation. Try and get on it once or twice year. All trout and grayling only ever seen a few coarse fish let alone caught them.



I do prefer bigger rivers like the Thames but only really because they tend to be easier and are simply what I’m used to. Would like to try some smaller rivers just hard to drag myself away from the Thames!

 

[RedhillPhil]

I fished the Darent at Farningham Road some years ago having hear of some decent Roach in there. Very small river, a brook really. Found a swim in a bend and trotted single a single maggot on a 16. Plagues of Minnows- some quite large Minnows too - when the float went under for the umpteenth time. Whoa, this ain't no Minnow. It turned out to be a Chub of about three pounds. Subsequent visits found Roach and Perch too. Lovely little River.

 

[Total]

I fished the Darent at Farningham Road some years ago having hear of some decent Roach in there. Very small river, a brook really. Found a swim in a bend and trotted single a single maggot on a 16. Plagues of Minnows- some quite large Minnows too - when the float went under for the umpteenth time. Whoa, this ain't no Minnow. It turned out to be a Chub of about three pounds. Subsequent visits found Roach and Perch too. Lovely little River.

One of my 'apprentice' learning grounds, this very spot and the nearby Horton Kirby Lakes.....Many happy memories...

 

[tipitinmick]

This is the weirpool on the Wid

You’ve some nice looking places to fish there Arry. ?

 

[tipitinmick]

I wish Mick... Roach Perch Chub and the odd trout... sadly I found Otter pugmarks on the weirpool last week... it would explain the lack of bites

I bet your heart sank ? I remember seeing my first set of Otter tracks on the banks of the river Swale. Two weeks later a half eaten 2lb chub floated past me and my dad while we were stick float fishing. I’ve not been to the Swale this year with all that’s been going on but, at Cundall lodge farm there was a resident dog Otter living in the large bay where the farm track meets the river. He got so confident around anglers he used to float past on his back looking at you. Up at Myton grange there were two that used to chase one another on the far bank. The Swale like the Wharfe is now littered with the damn things. ??

 

[TrickyD]

Not really around my neck of the woods. The Thames I guess you’d call fairly big and the Avon medium. Ouse is small in places but where I’ve fished it’s getting more into the medium territory.

Have got the cherwell on my virtually doorstep (well still a car journey but close compared to Thames) but never fished it as never seen any sign of life this far up stream although I’m sure they’re in there. Bit chub or bust apparently.

Only genuinely small river I’ve fished regularly is the Itchen navigation. Try and get on it once or twice year. All trout and grayling only ever seen a few coarse fish let alone caught them.



I do prefer bigger rivers like the Thames but only really because they tend to be easier and are simply what I’m used to. Would like to try some smaller rivers just hard to drag myself away from the Thames!

That bottom pic looks like the Wandle, only without mopeds,shopping trolleys, traffic cones and beer cans.

 

[Silverfisher]

That bottom pic looks like the Wandle, only without mopeds,shopping trolleys, traffic cones and beer cans.

Haha! It's the complete opposite there. It's in a village so posh that it makes Oxford seem common as muck which is saying something!

 

[BoldBear]

My local stream (see pic) is full of Chub, Barbel, big Roach and Dace, and 25 Barbel in a day is not uncommon in the warmer months if your fishing from dawn to dusk; although a mile or two further downstream it changes completely as it starts to gradually silt up and the Barbel virtually disappear although the Chub are still common.



Further upstream it gets even smaller (see pic below) and although a bit smaller the barbel, Chub, Roach and Dace are still evident but in smaller numbers.

Keith

 

[matt]

Small stream fishing is by far my favourite style of freshwater fishing.... just a float rod and centrepin, a small tackle bag and a few pints of maggots and go roving for the day.
Some of the Hampshire and Berkshire Chalkstream carriers offer amazing trotting for Grayling in the winter plus also a bit of fluff chucking in the Summer months!