DOWN YOUR WAY
Separating the Isle of Sheppey from Kent, this river is a hotspot for flatfish and bass
Great places to fish on the River Swale.
Often referred to as the River Swale, the true name for this 13-mile channel is The Swale, a name believed to derive from an Old English word meaning a swirling, rushing river. This channel separates the Isle of Sheppey from the mainland of North Kent, with the eastern end at Harty Ferry joining the River Thames three miles west of Whitstable, and the western end linked to the River Medway at Sheerness.
A popular area for sailing and jet skiers, the tide floods from both ends, meeting off Milton creek.
This area really comes into my thinking as we leave the cold months behind and my mind starts to switch on to fishing the rivers near me and the fun of catching flounders, soles, eels and bass that visit these waterways.
Once the temperature starts to rise from the end of March, the shore crabs start to head to the shallower water to shed their shells, which makes them vulnerable to feeding fish. From then on, the river fills with hungry fish that are gorging on the soft shore
crabs and worms in the warming mud.
I like to fish a midday tide, allowing the sun to warm the mud and induce the fish to feed. The riverbeds around North Kent are mainly made up of clay and mud. The good thing about The Swale and similar rivers is that you can get away with fishing lighter and having more fun with school bass and flounders. When it’s windy and the open beaches in the area are unfishable, you can always find some shelter and have a good day’s fishing.
Having detailed seven marks on the north coast of Sheppey in issue 559, I’m now featuring three Swale hotspots that run along the island’s southern shore.
THE BRIDGES
The first Kingsferry Bridge was built in 1860, but a newer lifting bridge was installed in 1959 so that it could rise and allow ships to pass underneath. The four-lane Sheppey crossing was opened in 2006 and carries the A249 When visiting The Swale, most people park under the new crossing near the jet ski club. It’s not the best for parking because the road is busy due to traffic visiting Ridham dock, so try not to block the gates to the club as you may upset the club members. The Swale is a relatively small river where, in the summer and during settled periods, the water clears, allowing lure anglers to have fun with the bass using small lures cast towards the bridge legs, and allowing the tide to help move your lure. The first of the flood tide is best, or just as the light is fading. You can also catch wrasse around the legs of the Kingsferry bridge, but this is snaggy, so use a single-hook rig with a rotten bottom. There’s no point losing terminal tackle. You might also catch a good bass that may be nosing around the bridge legs and underwater structures. You will need a fast-retrieve reel and a stiff rod to move your bait and terminal tackle clear and away from the snags. Both sides of the bridges offer a flat, muddy riverbed that can be fished from the saltings and seawalls. Shorter casts produce eels and bass that are working along the edges and feeding on small crabs and worms. A longer cast finds the bigger eels in the tide, and flounders moving out of the deeper water and feeding on small ragworms and shrimps. I use a two-hook flapper rig with light hook snoods and size 2 Cox & Rawle Match hooks carrying a crab, ragworm or blow lug tipped with harbour rag for flounders and bass. When the fishing is slow during hot summer days, you can try my trick of using a loop rig with a very long bottom hook snood. I tie up the long snood using PVA string that dissolves in the water. I leave it about two minutes to allow the PVA to dissolve and release the long snood. With slow turns on the reel and with the aid of the tide, I move the trace slowly, thus stretching the baited snood on the riverbed and moving it away from the trace and weight and helping to prevent spooking, shy fish. It has worked a few times for mainly flounders, but can be worth trying when the bites are slow. Shorter snoods on your flapper rigs can help increase catches when targeting eels, and small, button-sized crabs are a killer presented on size 2 hooks. I don’t use too much bait elastic as it can put off the fish, especially eels. I use the leg sockets to hold the bait on the hook, and push a couple of peeled legs over the hook barb to hold the crab body in place.
RIDHAM DOCK
Moving upriver away from the bridges and boat club is Ridham dock. You can fish close to the dock entrance, where a good cast puts you into a reasonable depth of water. A friend of mine caught a double-figure bass while boat fishing at anchor here, within casting distance of the shore. You have to be aware of vessels coming into the dock, but this isn’t a daily occurrence. The area seems to fish best on building tides. The fish like movement and, therefore, catches improve when the tide is running.
OPPOSITE THE DOCK
Crossing the river on to the Sheppey side, and opposite the Ridham dock entrance you will find some more saltings. Only fish these on smaller tides because they cover on the larger ones. Always wear waders. It can be easy fishing for school bass, flounders and sometimes pouting, but the jet ski activity can be a pain on hot summer days. Two-hook flappers and loop rigs work well, particularly with light snoods and size 2 fine-wire match hooks when using small, soft baits such as harbour rag, ragworms, and small crabs. Another little edge when bites are shy or hard to hook is to leave your mainline slightly slack and allow the fish to pick up the bait and not feel the rod. Flounders give a fantastic account of themselves fishing like this, taking the slack line and pulling the tip ferociously. Don’t retrieve immediately because flounders have a habit of nipping the tails of rag, so let out a yard of line to allow them to have a second go at the bait. Once this happens you can almost guarantee the fish will be hooked.
LADY’S HOLE
Moving towards Queenborough, there is a mark known to the local anglers as Lady’s Hole. It’s a deeper part of The Swale where good bass are caught on squid and crab baits. It’s a long walk from Queenborough, but it can be worthwhile. I would suggest a single hook rig and matching your hook size to the bait size.