Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
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Rino Morisini shows how to tame wild, tumbling water in his quest for barbel and chub on one of the finest stretches in Yorkshire
THANKS for purchasing this issue of IYCF.
Another school summer holiday has flown by and, although we seem to be enjoying a late heat wave as I write this, it very much feels like we’re starting to transition from summer to autumn.
It’s dark by 8pm and by the time this issue goes on sale we’ll only be a few weeks away from the clocks going back an hour. It doesn’t seem five minutes since I was convincing myself that this was going to be the summer that I catch a personal best tench and spend many an evening floater fishing for carp off the surface.
Of course, life happens and while I’ve caught a few tench on the waggler and the odd carp here and there, it certainly hasn’t been the summer of fishing I planned earlier in the year! My other aim this summer was to catch a decent rudd. I’ve never caught one bigger than a few ounces before and every time I see a picture of an angler holding up a stunning golden specimen I tell myself that I really need to catch one myself. The rapidly shortening evenings gave me the kick up the backside I needed and I’ve arranged a trip with our art editor Tom after this issue has gone to press to a stretch of river where he’s had some great success with the species.
In fact, I’m so excited that as soon as I’ve finished writing this, I’m going to disappear into the garage to get my kit together. Fingers crossed, I’ll be able to report back with chunky 1lb- plus rudd next month.
After that, it’ll almost be time to start thinking about perch again. I’ve already eyed up a section of river which I think could provide some decent perch sport from autumn onwards.
I hope that whatever you’ve got planned over the next few weeks that this month’s issue helps you have a fish- filled end to the summer. Make sure you drop us a line to let us know about any fish you’ve caught on the tactics we’ve outlined.
AS A RIVER for fishing, the Yorkshire Wharfe pretty much has it all. From deep in the limestone hills of the Dales it rises and for, most of its length, is a game river – shallow, wild and rocky.
There are weirs, untamed rapids and the dangerous ‘ Strid’ section at Bolton Abbey, where the river is channelled into a narrow, 15ft deep gorge which has claimed the lives of almost all those who have fallen in.
But from the market town of Wetherby, the Wharfe becomes a coarse river. And a very good one at that. Chub and barbel are in abundance particularly in the downstream towns of Boston Spa and Tadcaster, which arguably offer some of the finest running water sport in the county.
Tadcaster is a firm favourite with Spotted Fin coarse team member Amorino ‘ Rino’ Morisini and a glance over its iconic old stone bridge suggests why. The nearby weir, against the backdrop of the impressive eleven arch viaduct, provides a constant main flow of welloxygenated white water down the whole stretch. On a bright summer’s day you can often see shoals of fish as they pack into the shallows to spawn.
“The best session I’ve had here recently is 30 barbel and four chub in an evening,” said Rino.
“You couldn’t feed enough! My mate was giving them a scoop of hemp every run through to keep them feeding. When they’re really ‘ on it’ you’ll see them flashing in the current to get at the bait. There’s no finer way to catch them than putting a float through. In water this fast it’s exciting stuff. I can wade out and keep my float tight to the far bank trees where they live,” he said.
Luring them out
A pair of waders is essential to fish a float in a swim like this and Rino had fixed a bankstick in the middle of the river on which to hang his bait bucket and landing net.
The main flow is diverted to the far side here so it’s no surprise that most fish are likely to be holed up underneath those overhanging bushes.
“The river has come up 6in in the last few days so it’s really flying through now. If I wade any further out it’s a struggle to keep balanced – the cameraman has tried it and is struggling! The last thing I’m going to do is to actually fish. No, it’s far better to stand here and just feed, feed and feed some more. I want to attract the barbel from underneath their lairs and get them confident on the bait. It might take a while, but they will usually come out and have a munch,” smiled Rino.
His feed choice was Spotted Fin Natural hemp, a very large grain of particle which sinks quickly in the fast current and it can even be straight hooked. To this he adds a bit of sweetcorn and occasionally a few cubes of meat.
With the swim primed after half an hour of regular feeding, it was time to introduce a hookbait, which to begin with was three maggots on a thick gauge size 16 hook.
Rino was obviously well practised in this type of underarm cast as his rig plopped deftly next to the branch at the top of the run before it was mended and on its way along the tree line. Small chub were first on the bait but in this flow each one felt three times its actual size!
After several runs down a nice grayling added variety, its trademark jagged scrap again fooling the angler into thinking he had hooked something much larger.
Barbel wars
The smaller fish are the reason Rino prefers to hold off from feeding loose maggots and casters plus, in his book, “the barbel in this river just love hemp”. So, were the famed Wharfe whiskers prepared to play today? We didn’t have to wait much longer for an answer.
“With the swim primed after half an hour of regular feeding, it was time to introduce a hookbait – three maggots on a thick gauge size 16 hook”