Fishery of the Week Bristol Avon
We visit a river that’s on the way back
The Bristol Avon is a river steeped in history, and has long been a popular haunt for anglers.
while not perhaps quite the river it once was, it is very much on the way to returning to its former glory days – when its big barbel and roach would grace the news pages of the angling press.
one of the many prolific stretches where this resurgence can be witnessed is the beautiful stretch of water just outside chippenham in wiltshire, near the village of kellaways.
this week angling times news reporter and venue regular chris haydon headed to the stretch with his fishing apprentice Ben Garrett to sample some of the great sport on offer.
SHALLOW AND SNAGGY
this stretch of the avon is in a truly wild environment where the narrow and shallow river weaves its way through the surrounding farmland.
it’s a typical crabtree-style river where nearly every swim is not far from some sort of feature – be it an overhanging bush or a big reed bed.
You will certainly not have a shortage of swims to try and that often begs the question, what do you target?
CHOOSE YOUR QUARRY
a wealth of species inhabit this section of the river with chub, barbel, dace, roach, bleak, perch and pike all possible targets for the visiting angler.
however, due to the shallow and snaggy nature of the stretch it is the chub that dominate, and you will find greedy fish in almost every swim you try, some of which grow to impressive sizes of 5lb-plus.
A SIMPLE APPROACH
this session saw chris ditching his simple and effective roving approach as he sought to teach young Ben how to fish a stick float for chub, roach and dace.
the swim had great pace as shallow water swept round a bend, creating a deep glide – the perfect holding spot.
one of the joys of the avon is that it’s alive with small fish, as Ben found out when every saw the float bury midway down the swim to either small chub or roach around the 4oz-8oz mark.
this was before one of the better roach was snatched off the hook by a marauding pike – an exciting sight which showed the nature of the river in its truest, wildest form.
after just a couple of hours Ben had caught a net of 50 fish including roach, chub, bleak and gudgeon – just the sort of action any youngster wants when spending time on the banks in the colder months. Location: Kellaways, Chippenham, SN15 4LR contact: Premier Angling Ltd, 01249 659210 Prices: £6 per day in advance from tackle shop, £40 per year, £23 (over
65s), £20 (disabled), Chippenham AA
RULES: Two rods maximum, no livebaiting, no tins to be brought on to the bank FACILITIES: Parking in layby at Kellaways road bridge