Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service
Kenny's Angling Guiding Service

March 8th and 9th D. Stour Throop

I was up at 4am having packed the car with all the gear the previous night. I was down to Throop to see if I could catch a few chub before the season end. There had been a frost during the night and as I headed down through the roads of Wiltshire and Hampshire the dial on the car showed the temperature getting lower and lower -5c was about the coldest it got, buurrrrrr!
I arrived in the car park at about 6.25 and already there were 3 cars there.

Spring is not far away

 

I loaded the tackle on my back and walked to Pig island and found the swims I wanted to fish already taken. I’m not too worried about this as there are plenty more available. I was soon down at school bridge and found a nice glide where I could trot a float through. The sun was bright and sky bright blue. It was going to difficult.
I used my 15ft Hardy Marksman float rod to trot the float through the swim. I was using a 4 bb avon style float size 18 hook and 2.5 lb hooklink.
I fed about 20 or so maggots through every other trot down.
Sure enough it was difficult and throughout the day I had 3 chub with 2 fish going just over 5lbs.
This didn’t compare to the previous days fishing on a swim just above me where someone had four over 6lbs and several 5lbers and 12 chub in total. What a catch.

What was worrying was that almost every swim was taken and moving around the fishery and fishing different swims was almost impossible. I think everyone’s thoughts were the same low clear water = big chub. I felt uncomfortable fishing like this as it seemed like match fishing.

After a good nights sleep I was again on the fishery at 6.30am and fished a swim on pig island. There I met Steve and an angler who I had met before Paul Martin. Paul had been very helpful a few years ago in showing me some good swims.

Paul told me that a guy had taken a good haul of three 6lb plus chub from my swim the previous day. I was’nt quite sure what to think of this. If they were there though my chances would be good. I firstly started to trot the swim but no joy and even with neoprene waders on the cold began to bit at my toes and legs. I changed to the feeder and moved to a swim on the opposite bank where I ledgered a short hooklink swim feeder with a single maggot on a size 18 hook. I didn’t fair too well for the day. Missing a couple of pulls and landing two chub of about 4lbs. Steve on the opposite bank land two 5lbers and lost 2 others. Paul on the other hand was having a red letter day he landed three 6lbers and two five pounders a 4lb and two 3lbers. All on the short hooklink swim feeder rig. Paul and I chatted for ages with him telling me he was fishing Chew for the pike the next day. Paul is a top angler who has many large barbel and chub to his credit. He showed me a session he had with Gary Newman on Throop that was in the Anglers Mail.

As I said Paul is a mind of info and idea’s and he is willing to share this too.

I should have stayed on until the end of the week, however with the number of anglers around and the competition for swims it was not ideal fishing. And since I had caught my 7lb 12oz that season plus many 6lbers the urgency was not there. So I decided to return home and fish the Bristol Avon for some of the bigger chub there and see if I could increase my pb from that river.

Share

Comments are closed.