from Hadrian Whittle
River fish require oxygen, and the faster the water, the better they like it!
ALACK of rain has led to rivers being low, clear and running sluggishly.
These are far from ideal conditions to catch a few fish, but one thing about rivers remains true – if you can find the flow, you’ll find the fish.
Whatever peg you draw, there will be some flow to fish and you should go straight for goal, basing your attack around where the current is at its swiftest. Flow means oxygenated water, something fish will be in desperate need of, and it also makes running a float down the peg a whole lot easier!
Even powerful rivers such as the Wye can suffer from lack of current and some swims offer you just a narrow run to go at – but the fish will be there, packed into that pacey water.
Hadrian Whittle’s swim on the Wye above Eign railway bridge on the outskirts of Hereford was true to type. In critically low water he could wade out to around two-thirds of the way across and cast a float into a swift, deeper run against the far bank. The difference in pace was noticeable and far-bank trees offered cover for his target chub and barbel.
“If I draw a peg like this then straight away I can see that the far bank offers the quickest and deepest water. This will be the area to attack,” said Hadrian.
“Of course, a lot will still depend on the depth, and a minimum of 2ft is enough to work with. In an ideal world I’d want the swim to have shallow water dropping off into deeper water of an even depth to run the float down. This is where the water will pick up speed and maintain oxygen levels, and it’s the perfect place to feed.”
Happily, the Woody’s Tackle and Sensas-backed angler’s swim had just that, 18ins of water dropping to 2ft 6ins very quickly against far-bank willow trees.
It all looked perfect, but would the fish be at home in the bright sun and clear water?
FISH TWO LINES
“The swim is quite narrow, but I do have enough room to fish two lines and two different methods,” said Hadrian.
“It’s possible to fish just the one line across to the trees all day with the waggler, but I get the impression that the chub will be under the willows and will need coaxing out, so it wouldn’t be wise to keep plugging away here.
“A second swim down the middle gives me another option, and I think picking up two or three fish off each line and then changing over to rest each line will be best. By the end of the day, though, I reckon the waggler will dominate.”
RUN IT THROUGH
“Those fish will be under the willows, so the trick is to cast sideways to land just on the edge of the trees, leave the reel’s bailarm off and let the waggler go with the full flow.
“You’ll not miss a bite as it will fly under! To strike I simply trap the line on the spool with my finger and pull hard to one side. I’ll run the float all the way down the peg until the water begins to shallow up, but there should be that catching area where the bait is landing.
“I always cast slightly downstream to get the line behind the float on the run through, but it can pay to have the odd cast upstream so the bait is on the deck as it reaches the point where the loosefeed goes in. Sometimes, chub can move right up the peg and take the feed almost as it hits the water.”
GIVE IT A REST
“To avoid flogging one line to death, I chop and change. I’ll come off the waggler and on to the stick once I’ve caught a few fish. I keep feeding, though, and will only rest it for 15 minutes at a time. This can be enough to regain the confidence of the fish. It’s important to keep feeding – you can see how easy it is to get through eight pints!”
THE SESSION
Hadrian kicks off on the waggler across and catches three quick chub. At this point most anglers’ eyes would light up but he knows the value of a rest and switches to the stick float down the middle. This produces a few chub, some grayling and a surprise little barbel, while the waggler line gets a rest.
Back on the waggler, and three more chub and a barbel turn up in 15 minutes of fishing.
Changing again catches a few more chub and grayling but he sees signs of barbel in the crystal clear water on the waggler line. Chub are also moving about off bottom, so Hadrian decides to spend more time on the wag.
It’s a good move, as two big barbel and some plump chub succumb. Hadrian is then minded to bin the stick and concentrate on the waggler.
Blasting in the feed results in most runs being met with a chub or a barbel – 80lb of them in a few hours of fishing.
So if you thought that low and clear rivers are not worth fishing, think again!
Find the current, find the fish and you’ll catch well!