Wading into Trouble

Not for the first time, I have stepped over a line or two this past week, spilling a few maggots in the process. The feedback and hit count on my last blog post "Fishing Media in Crisis?" was quite a surprise. I’m glad most of you enjoyed the piece anyway. My only slight annoyance is that it takes something more incendiary and, to some, offensive in order for people to actually get reading and talking about some home truths.

But for now I’m going to take cover, leave that particular bundle of ragworms in the fridge and hope my other half doesn’t notice the smell. Because there are casts to make and other things to get on with.



Lately I’ve been rediscovering my love of lure fishing on rivers and canals, but with some pretty dodgy spots involved. The banks of so many of my local club waters are in a rough old state these days, decorated with Himalayan Balsam, nettles and, in more than one case, the detritus of takeaways and supermarkets.

But if you’re prepared to be brave, make a fall or two and get stuck in, there is some fantastic water to explore. Perhaps the best tip I could give any angler frustrated by a lack of underfished water is to get yourself a pair of waders. Find the rough bits, get used to the feeling of cold water up to your bollocks and I guarantee you will find water that is seldom ever touched. Like the lovely swim I found down a six foot drop.

Tackle has to reflect the need to travel light and unimpeded through tight spots, so for me it is almost always a straight up choice between lure and fly gear. My latest toy is a seven-foot nothing ultralight lure rod that will cast tiny lures, dropshot rigs or even flies.

I don’t really miss bait on these excursions either, because most species can be caught between these methods: pike and perch readily take the lures, while flies will always catch chub and dace. But it is the perch that have really captivated me lately. And autumn waters have been littered with fry, minnows and bleak. When you see this sort of thing you just know you’ll locate predators too:


Things are so different once you’re actually in the water! Usually we hover several feet above it, but for those who don’t wade often I can only describe it as a sensual experience. You can actually feel how strong the current is. You get a much better idea of depths too- and often I’m amazed to discover how what looked like inches of water right by the bank is actually a nice depth of three feet or more.

The other great thing about wading is that you can tease a lure or fly into small gaps that were inaccessible from the bank. I am finding small, soft lures absolutely deadly for the perch. Nor is it rocket science- and for all the dazzling array of lures and Formula one style outfits of the modern lure angler, it can be a devastatingly simple and easy method.

With tiny jigs, I have been using quite slow retrieves but really shaking and twitching the rod. Smaller perch throw themselves at the lures and a light rod makes every one of them good fun. Bonus chub really spice things up too- but tend to like a steadier retrieve higher in the water:


The light tackle approach is really delightful and when you’re in the water, the rod really smashes around and a better perch looms up, you think “bloody hell, it’s… not as quite as big as I thought.”
No matter, I think for any true angler it is virtually impossible not to be happy catching perch. And once they’re a pound or more they really fight gamely.

I’ve also been fishing with my pal Russ Hilton, who is about the most modest, least assuming character you could meet, but a very adaptable and extremely capable angler indeed. We quite often fish different methods and it’s fun comparing notes (for the record, his Tales From the Towpath blog is always a nice read).

Wobbling is something he does a lot of in the autumn, and it proved as effective as ever for the pike. Those of you who have a copy of Tangles with Pike will know how much I rate the method. Perhaps the nicest thing of all is fishing the method in clear water. Quite often the pike will follow but not take, and you then have the fun of watching the fish approach it static, daring to make another twitch. We both stood and watched this one take- interestingly, Russ's bait was lying right in the weed and we saw it casually suck it out. Had we not been watching, the line would barely have moved- a sobering thought for deadbait anglers:


We hopped from drain to river to canal, losing count of the number of jacks and perch we caught, but perhaps the most interesting and bizarre spot of all was a tiny ditch we came across.


Despite being no more than eighteen inches deep, there were several small chub at the surface and a small lure was immediately whacked by little perch. Even the General caught one, that looked suspiciously bigger than mine. Small things entertain small minds I guess.

Ultralight poaching with Peter and Peter

As far as different branches of angling go, ultralight lures and fly fishing for predators are pretty close cousins. Both are active, intimate methods that suit smaller waters perfectly. They also suit the fidgety angler who constantly wonders if there's a better spot waiting just a little further along the bank. When conditions are tough, as they have been lately, that's no bad thing either. I always fancy if the fish aren't especially hungry my best chance is to simply show a fly or lure to as many eyes as possible.

Joining me for a couple of roving canal sessions were the two Peters, Wardle and Higgins. It started in pretty urban style as Pete Wardle and I tried around Bridgwater, flipping flies and jigs around likely structures. The fry were present in spades, but the only perch that gave a solid take was a fish of perhaps a pound lured by Pete that came adrift. Other small fish followed or nipped, but it was a bit underwhelming on the whole, a sudden explosion of fry and a rolling pike the most exciting moment. Why is it that these attacking fish quite often seem hard to tempt I wonder? Maybe amidst a mass of living prey fish, a lure or fly is suddenly not so appealing?
Never mind- we soldiered on and ventured out in the sticks to find incredibly clear water and plenty of visible life. We both stuck it out on the really small stuff, because I quite fancied one of us to connect with a decent perch following my pole fishing session on the Taunton to Bridgwater a couple of weeks earlier. The theory was nice, but the fish that came at my fly was more in the small but cute category (what brilliant colours these clear water fish have!):

With polarising glasses it was easy to spot perch and jacks, but less easy to wake them from their lethargy. Were easterly winds and high pressure to blame? Pete thought it was more a case of clear water and light levels- and the fishing definitely picked up in the last hour. I managed to hook and lose a rocket powered pike after switching to a black streamer, while Pete had the last laugh with this cracking perch guesstimated at around a pound and a half on a tiny soft shad:

Peter Higgins joined us nearer home the following day for another testing canal session with similarly chilly, clear water and rather lethargic fish. The place looked beautiful all the same- and it's certainly a confidence booster to be able to spot fish, even when you can't always tempt them. I think Pete Wardle, used to fishing busier, murkier cuts, found our canals a very different prospect and swapped the ultra light lures for a fly rod, so that all three of us were fly fishing:


And so the tricky fishing continued. Even the tiny jacks were a bit nervous or disinterested, sport only really picking up in the afternoon. I kept ringing the changes during lulls, and while the takes didn't exactly come thick and fast a black fly worked best for me- a Black Beast, to be specific, that Turrall will be producing early next year for the new "flies for coarse fish" range. It's not the first time this has been a get-out-of-jail pattern for me by any stretch and also tempted the best fish of the day:

This was a strange creature, big mouth but not much bulk. The take and ensuing fight were both rather lazy and bloodless too- although it did manage a sudden thrash on the bank as I retrieved the hook, giving me a bloody thumb as a thank you. Mind-blowing fishing it hasn't been of late then, but interesting nonetheless and perhaps what I like about fly or ultralight fishing is that it makes every fish an event: every bite is earned and you don't need to hook anything spectacular to put a decent bend in the rod. After all, fishing should be about fun rather than bragging rights shouldn't it?

Fun-sized lure fishing

Lure fishing doesn't get much cuter than an ultra light outfit and a box of pint-sized special lures. The little works of art certainly catch anglers as well as fish- but when it comes to tempting a wider range of species such as chub, perch and trout, besides the usual pike, these little devils really come into their own. I had been meaning to grab the camera for a trip with Ian Nadin for a while now to capture the fun of an ultralight session.

The handmade Polish specials he imports (above) are about as appetising as they come. For my money they just cried out to be used for chub and so he took up the challenge of a bash at the River Tone on the outskirts of Taunton. In many ways it is perfect ultralight territory here: narrow, clear waters with a good number of chub in the 1-3lbs bracket, as well as other surprises in the form of pike, perch and even trout. It's rather urban looking, but in some places if you squinted you might fancy yourself out on a little chub stream in the sticks; until you spot the shopping trolleys and the concrete bypass that is.

You could run a stick float through much of this and catch all day, but somehow lure fishing -like casting a fly- offers visual kicks and a special thrill. The big issue with small lures is always how the heck you cast them and do them justice. The only answer for little plugs and spinners that might weigh only a couple of grams is to use a fine, tippy rod and light braid of around 10lbs strength. You do wonder if you might catch more without one, but with jack pike present a light wire trace is essential.

In the streamy, cold waters it proved real cat and mouse stuff. The chub are certainly interested in lures, but painfully easy to spook. A little Mepps earned some action with smaller chub, but the better ones seemed to favour the dive and wiggle of a baby plug on this occasion. It was totally absorbing watching the fish tailing the lures- often switching on when a little burst of movement was added. Is this a feeding response or pure aggression? Like Ian, I believe it to be more a mean streak than a feeding response. After several near misses and spooked fish, a lean two pounder gave Ian's little lure a mouthy response and his 1-5g rated rod smashed over.

Conspicuous by their absence were the pike however, although Ian later added a pretty jack. Aside from this we saw all sorts- nosey perch, a trout, roach, dace and even the odd grayling. Perhaps the strangest happening was Ian's capture of a minnow however, hooked fairly in the lips on a tiny spinner! A predatory minnow- what next? The fish may not have been big, but I could happily spend every weekend fish spotting and casting a lure when the fun is so instant and so visual. Chucking about small lures in clear water is basically pure play -as fishing should be. For those curious about Ian's devilishly cute little lures and ultra light lure tackle, take a look at his site (www.microbaits.co.uk) or see the links section at www.dgfishing.co.uk

And on the subject of exciting, visual fishing I hope some of you can join us on Tuesday for the PAC meet at 7pm, Mill on Exe. I'm doing the first talk, and the focus will be exactly this- the thrill of close quarters fishing with a special emphasis on flies. Besides the actual fish, I spend much of my time trying to capture inspiring images and I hope to share plenty of unseen highlights on the night.

Back to the fishing itself, apart from a lost pike on the canal, the only other action of late has been at Exe Valley Fishery. The fishing was funny- slow in much of the lake, but absolute dynamite in one or two "hotspots". Along with four solid rainbows, I also took a grayling of about a pound on a buzzer! I'm not in the habit of cooking them, but this tasted pretty good.