Trotting on the River Test - Jan 2016

The Test at Romsey

Once the new year had been seen in and all the Christmas celebrations were over my attention soon turned back to fishing. It was decided that my friend Dave and I would make the journey down to Hampshire to fish the River Test near Romsey.

The rivers had been all over the place locally due to vast amounts of rain over the Christmas holiday period. Our thinking was that the chalk streams of Hampshire would more than likely be fishable as they are far less affected by excess water than our Sussex lowland rivers.

We planned to float fish trotted maggots in the hope of catching grayling, trout, dace, roach and chub. The Test is a fantastic river for this style of fishing and we always enjoy our days down there. However, upon our arrival even the Test was out of shape....high and coloured. We looked on in disbelief as it was long journey to make to find the river unfishable!

Salmon Parr

Seeing as we were there anyway, we tackled up and decided to give it a go. The sun was shining for the first time in what seemed like weeks anyway so it was actually a pleasure just being out in the mild winter weather. Any fish would be a bonus.

Nice size Dace

The water was pushing so fast that our floats were 40 yards downstream of us literally seconds after plopping them in. It was very hard to find any water that was of a sensible pace. Eventually, after much searching we did find a few pockets of softer looking water and some fish seeking refuge within. They seemed to be thinking the same as us......find the steadier water to make life a bit easier!

Grayling

Once these areas had been located then a few fish started to come to our nets. Mostly dace, grayling and trout. In fact, in the end we managed a fair few fish as they seemed to be squeezed in to the steadier areas like sardines. A good day was had and we trundled back to Sussex in high spirits having thoroughly blasted away the mid-winter blues. No monsters but a great day out in good company with some beautiful fish. What more can you ask for!

Sussex Perch Fishing 2015/16

A nice Perch just over 2lb's taken on a worm bait

I love catching Perch and have had plenty of 2lb fish over the years but a 3lb fish has so far eluded me. A 3lb'er is a serious fish and anything bigger the fish of a lifetime in my book. It's nice to have something to aim for in your fishing and the colder winter months see me regularly out targeting this most impressive of fish. Big Perch are truly a sight to behold and still hold as much appeal now as they ever have.

There are some very impressive Perch to be found in many of the commercial fisheries local to me. Having been stocked as the apex predator when many of these lakes were first dug, these fish are now reaching very impressive sizes with even the odd 4 and 5lb'ers a realistic target for those willing to put in the effort.

A fine looking perch from Passies Pond taken on maggots

There are host of venues worth a look at down in Sussex close to me such as Alderwood Ponds, Tanyards, Passies Ponds, Whitevane and Sumners Ponds to name a few. All can fish well for the Perch on their day.

This winter I have done a few sessions at both Alderwoods and Passies with mixed success so far. I have been experimenting with different baits and techniques. Using prawns, maggots and worm have all brought results on their day. I've also enjoyed using the drop-shot method of lure fishing. This has produced some good numbers of fish for me but nothing of any great size as yet......still, it keeps me nice and mobile on those colder days.

Best Perch of the winter so far at 2lb 10oz on a worm bait

The best fish I have managed so far this winter is 2lb 10oz and this came from Alderwoods on a lobworm fished over plenty of worm chop. There have been a few other 2's and plenty of smaller fish as well. Some very welcome Roach have put in an appearance with some going well over a pound and a half also. Nice fishing!

A fine roach taken on a maggot hook bait

So the quest for a 3lb Perch continues.......and I am enjoying every single moment of it which is exactly how I like my fishing to be. Unitl the next time.....Tight Lines!

A Couple of Articles for the 'Anglers Mail'

After my appearance on BBC2's 'The Big Fish' TV show I was flattered to be approached by the 'Anglers Mail' magazine to put together a couple of features for inclusion in their pages back at Christmas time. I have read the magazine since I was a lad and first got in to fishing so I was over the moon to finally get a chance to grace it's pages.

I was given a 'Three Species Challenge' to complete for their cameras at a local fishery and had to catch a 1lb Roach, a 2lb Perch and a 10lb carp in one session. It was a tough challenge but I did well on the day and had a great time in the process too.......which is what fishing is all about really!

I also put together a piece about my winter pike fishing and the inspiration that I have taken over the years.

The articles are all shown below. Click on the images to see them in full size, they are the much easier to read. Tight Lines :)

Fly Fishing for Grayling on the Hampshire Avon

The Upper Hampshire Avon

The day in question was the first proper frost of the year back in mid November of 2015. Perfect Grayling fishing weather as it goes. After de-icing the van I made my way down to Hampshire to join a dedicated bunch of fly anglers on the Avon in a combined quest to catch 'the lady of the stream'.

I had been invited along by the guys from 'Wet Your Knot' who run a respected web community through their facebook page and have a dedicated following now well over 25,000 members strong. Their aim is to breath new life into the world of fly-fishing and bring it right in to the 21st century by bringing passionate fly-anglers old and new together in their own unique way. Click here for their web page Wet Your Knot.

A good day out with the 'Wet Your Knot' lads

I felt privileged to be invited along and was made to feel very welcome by the founders Adam and Julian and their friends. The stretch of the Avon was owned by the Army and we had been granted permission to fish it for the day. I have previous experience of fly fishing for grayling in the traditional upstream fashion using nymphs suspended under an indicator but was keen to learn all about 'Czech and French Nymphing'.

Mark bringing a Grayling to the net

This devastatingly effective technique was put on display to great effect by some of the other anglers that morning and I was lucky enough to be under the tutelage of a couple of well practised chaps, Simon and Lindsay. 

They put me right on the technique and showed me how the team of heavy nymphs was fished on a short line with a small fluorescent in-line indicator tied in for bite detection. By flicking the team of nymphs upstream of my position and then guiding them through the river on a tight line I was able to tease the flies through all the likely looking runs and glides. 

Had a go for a pike in the mill pool too, sadly no takes that day.

It took a short while to get the hang of it but I soon got into the rhythm of repeatedly casting and running the nymphs through all the fishy spots. It didn't take too long to bring a fish or 2 to hand and I soon realised the potential of this incredibly accurate and precise way of fishing. It may lack some of the finesse and art form associated with casting a fly line in the traditional way but it more than makes up for this in it's effectiveness. On it's day, it pretty much empties the stream....as many of the guys I was fishing with proved!

A nice Hampshire Avon Grayling

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day in fine company and always good to make new friends in the world of fishing. As well as learning some new skills we also celebrated the birthday of Adam with a fine BBQ and a very fishy looking cake. What's not to like :) Thanks to the guys at Wet Your Knot for the photos and for making me feel so welcome.

Adam and his very special 'Grayling' cake