Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Bristol Avon
Keynsham, Bristol
THE rollercoaster in varying conditions endured by the nation’s rivers has been well- documented. Speak to greats including Tommy Pickering and Dick Clegg about the quality of running water angling in the 1970s and 1980s and they’d wax lyrical.
Those golden years came to a crashing end by the late 1990s when the likes of the Trent and Thames suffered a tragic dip in form.
With fish numbers dwindling due to a number of factors such as pollution, it seemed the next generation of anglers would never experience the thrill of prolific river action.
When rock bottom was hit, Preston Innovations’
Andrew Cranston was barely out of nappies and a future dominated by commercials seemed a certainty for him and thousands of other youngsters.
But nature has a way of fighting back. Fast- forward two decades and we are in the midst of another river purple patch. First it was the return of specimen fish such as chub and barbel before silver fish regrouped in epic fashion. For 20- year- old Andrew, fishing rivers is part of his angling DNA and he’s now spoilt for choice where to wet a line.
“I absolutely love fishing rivers and it’s incredible when you realise the resurgence that has gone on pretty much since I was born,” enthused Andrew.
“I’ve been all over the country to target different waterways and had lots of memorable days, but there is one that is particularly special to me – the Bristol Avon.
“There are so many fish spread throughout and it is one of those venue’s that doesn’t get the credit it deserves.”
So with that in mind IYCF was determined to give his favourite venue the pat on the back many believes it deserves and a day on the bank was quickly arranged.
Diverse paradise
Like many rivers, the Bristol Avon is much more than a one species wonder.
It is home to wide range of fish and where you pitch up will dictate what could be in your sights.
“There are stretches that can throw up 100lb of bream, others that have big barbel in them and some that have lots of pike and perch that are great fun for the predator anglers. But, for me, the ultimate day out is putting together a massive net of silver fish.”
Andrew reeled off a number of areas capable of producing fish in numbers but one in particular increased his enthusiasm – Jack Whites.
This stretch is located close to Keynsham and is packed to the rafters with dace, roach, perch and bleak.
“It’s no exaggeration to say that you can catch a fish every single chuck from start to finish. As with all styles of angling, however, it is important to get the intricacies of your approach right if you want a big weight.”
A large proportion of the area is controlled by Amalgamated Fisheries and fishable on a £ 7 day ticket but there are a select few swims between the gate and boat lock that offer free fishing. And guess what – these are often the best of the lot!
Fast and furious
It will hardly come as a surprise that fishing the float is king for silver fish on the Bristol Avon.
Pole, waggler and stickfloat will all produce lots of bites but in Andrew’s eyes, none of those are quick enough to amass the biggest catches.
“The whip is definitely the most effective approach and when you get into a rhythm you can be swinging a silver fish to hand twice every minute.”
Finding a clear run was key to getting into that momentum and with a lot of weed and lilies growing in the edge, he set up the whip at 6m.
“I make my rig so that it is around 2ft short of the full length of the whip. This makes sure that every fish swings straight to hand, increasing the pace at which I can catch,” he said.
“If I have a steady flow I will use a 1.5g float and with a bulk of shot or an olivette close to the hooklength, this propels into place with a simple underarm swing.”
The bulk of shot is important to help pick out the bigger roach and dace because there are thousands of bleak in the upper layers. If the hookbait is allowed to sink slowly it has absolutely no chance of getting to the deck where your target fish are waiting.
Bait bombardment
With a single rig set up, it was time to get down to business.
The first task was to put down a carpet of bait to concentrate the shoal in an area. Groundbait laced with hemp and casters would do just that.
“I rarely loosefeed here as the bleak eat every morsel before it gets to the bottom. Instead, I feed two or three tangerine- sized balls at the start and then top up with a tiny nugget after every four or five fish.
“All this is done by hand and I make sure the balls are squeezed really hard. This prevents them from breaking up when they hit the surface, with the contents only coming out once fish start to investigate on the bottom.”
A real racket was made by the initial bombardment but Andrew was confident there would be that many fish sat in front of him that it wouldn’t delay the start of bagging up.
And he was correct. A chunky dace was swung to hand on the first run through.
“Catching fish isn’t difficult but keeping them coming and maintaining the stamp is where things can get tricky.”
Sure enough, he was forced into making regular tweaks to maintain his high standards, shallowing up an inch or two and switching to double maggot hookbaits among the changes.
Striking at the slightest indication on the float was also key, with Andrew proving that allowing the bristle to fully sink led to missed bites. His theory is that dace snatch quickly at the bait before ejecting it even more rapidly.
By combining all his wisdom he put together over 30lb of dace and roach, with no quiet periods during the session It was action all the way.
“Today has been really enjoyable but the end result certainly isn’t a surprise.
“The Bristol Avon just doesn’t get the credit it deserves but it is one of the most reliable and diverse rivers the UK has to offer,” concluded Andrew.
“Catching isn’t difficult but keeping them coming and maintaining the stamp can get tricky”