TBird
New Member
Posts: 29
|
Post by TBird on May 21, 2005 9:34:05 GMT -5
I was so excited that I fished badly and manged to (ahem!) fall in....... As soon as the rain stops this moring i will be nipping off down the river again........ Pond321, I guess it was you who I met this lunchtime. I was finishing and you were just going out after the rain had stopped. How did you do? Fished for an hour and a half this morning - dodging rain showers. Some mayfly hatching and had 2 fish on size 12 Grey Wulff. One small one and one of 15" (my best yet on the Whitewater) just upstream of Torstens. Magic TBird
|
|
|
Post by Pond321 on May 21, 2005 20:02:34 GMT -5
Hi Tbird,
Yup- that was me. Hope you dried off OK during the footy!!
Had an interesting afternoon. The sun came out but it started blowing a bloody gale. The wind was coming downstream and it was a nightmare trying to get a fly where you wanted it to go!! My first fish came above the farm cattle ford - it was a big stocky, 13 or 14 inches. I caught the same fish about a month ago and it had a big wound on its head. I am glad to say the wound had almost healed. The next fist came further up - in a back eddy that is usually really hard to reach. The wind today just blew the fly in to the eddy - so I finally caught a fish I have been after for a couple of weeks. I then took another trout under the top road bridge - this was a big fish - about 1.5 pounds. My final fish alsocame from under the bridge -it was chub of about 3 - 3.5Lbs. Will post a photo I took frommy mobile. The chub fought bloody hard!! During the afternoon I also hooked and lost about 3 other fish - as well as misssing the strike with 4 others.Oh well....By the timeI left the river it had risen about 6 inches and was chocolate brown in colour as a result of all the rain earlier in the day. There were masses of mayfly hatching though
|
|
|
Post by ben wynde on May 23, 2005 3:46:22 GMT -5
Sunday 22nd May. Arrived to fish just before 17:00, and from the habitual smoke whilst leaning over the bridge it was clear that the Mayfly hatch was in full swing. I also scared the life out of Alex who was under the bridge at the time. He was just coming to the end of a great session with a lot of fish caught, most of a good size. I got my stuff together and made my way downstream. The fish were certainly βonβ with splashy rises all over the river.
However I was soon experiencing problems casting a Mohican Mayfly into a seriously strong and gusting downstream wind. Some tweaking of the leader left me with 7 feet tapering to a 5 lb point and I was in business. Casting only to rising fish I made my way up river and ended a short session with 7 trout landed, all bar one over 12β long with the biggest 16β. Absolutely great sport. One of the fish careened upstream pulling line of the reel - not a regular occurrence! After about 18:00 the hatch petered out and the fish switched off. Great fun while it lasted.
|
|
|
Post by FlyBri on May 27, 2005 13:39:47 GMT -5
I'll be breif as my wife is standing over my shoulder telling me it's time to bath the little one.
But I had to tell you...
10 TROUT AND 3 CHUB!!!!!!!
Photo of huge clonking chub to follow when I get a chance to upload it. Mayfly still in full swing. Full report to follow when have more time.
My wife has just called my her 'lovely cyber fishing geek'...
How the mighty have fallen
Bri
Bri
|
|
|
Post by FlyBri on May 28, 2005 5:15:56 GMT -5
Ok - many rising fish and a good abundance of mayfly. I had the pleasure to witness a trout leaping clear out of the water to take a mayly which was flying a couple of inches above the surface! It's a trully magical time of year on the river.
I parked at the most upstream bridge and wandered upstream using a largish mayfly imitation which had a surgical tubing body. Although I had about 6 offers, none stayed on to be brought to hand. Dejected and feeling like it was just not my day I wandered downstream of the road bridge to try the old casting upstream under the bridge lark. After another handful of missed takes, there was an almighty 'slurp!' and I set the hook into something which had serious weight. Initially I thought as I could not pull this fish out that it was the mother of all trout, but as it finally succumbed and I managed to coax it into the sunshine I could see it was a Chub of some size. I'm not exactly sure, but would have thought it must have been in the 4-5lb size. Photo to follow.
At this point changed my fly to one of Chris' elk hair paraduns and wandered downstream to work my way up from the pool which is on the dog-leg just upstream of the backstream juncion (you know the one - dead cert corner). Suffice to say that on this fly and a smaller black paradun, I managed to secure a further 2 smaller chub and 10 trout workin the pools from here up to the farm bridge. There were ome pools which were literally delivering a trout a cast at some points with the most productive being the shadedd pool adjacent to the cattle sheds. The last trout I took was all the way under the foot bridge at the farm.
With sport like this I seriously worry for my mental health in the closed season...
Bri
|
|
TBird
New Member
Posts: 29
|
Post by TBird on May 29, 2005 0:42:47 GMT -5
Went down yesterday evening at 5pm for - what is likely to be - my last visit for a couple of weeks owing to work / family commitments As I was tackling up I met FlyBri coming off the water with family in tow (he'd managed to wangle 45 mins in the middle of a family outing - top marks!) Anyway, tied on a size 12 Grey Wulff in anticipation of a good mayfly hatch and wandered downstream of the Farm Bridge as far as the Heckfield Bridge looking for rises and casting to likely spots. Surprisingly, not a lot doing. Pricked a fish in the Reed Pool at the start of the Copse and missed another take nearby. By 7.45 - having snagged the fly for the umpteenth time in the undergrowth and running out of fishing time - I'd come to the conclusion that today was not my day and was walking back to the car. BUT, when I get to the top ford below the Farm Bridge the water was "boiling". I could see half a dozen rises amidst a cloud of hatching mayfly. I quickly tied a Wulff on again and cast out. Second cast I hooked into something meaty, which turned out to be a chub of about 3lbs. The next 10 minutes saw me land a couple of trout of 14" - 15" inches - one appeared to be a very hard fighting wild brownie who did NOT want to come to the net! Would love to have stayed and fished on until last light, but I was already running late, so called it a day - went home, happy though. This was (I think) my fifth visit to the river and apart from one blank session I've caught on each occasion - and all on a dry fly! Nothing against nymphing, just (like most of us, I suspect) I prefer casting to rising fish when I can. Keep the river warm for me boys! TBird (Paul)
|
|
Alfly
Full Member
Posts: 105
|
Post by Alfly on May 29, 2005 7:08:37 GMT -5
I have just stumbled across this thread and i have to say i am completely flabbergasted. I actually lived in riseley about 15 years ago for a time and although i know all the areas you are talking about i had no idea there was a wild natural trout fishery there !! How do you get to fish the water ?? if its like any other trout stream in the south its a thousand pounds to look at a photo of it and you have to be lord so and so and best friends with jesus. For years i have been looking for affordable natural river fishing in Reading and surrounding areas and i have failed miserably so good luck to all you guys fishing the whitewater. I have never fly fished on a river before and i am green with envy. Good fishing to you all and keep this fascinating thread going. Cheers. AL.
|
|
|
Post by FlyBri on May 29, 2005 16:00:06 GMT -5
As promised here's the photo's of the Chub - excuse the qwality as they're on a phone: and Good to meet Paul albeit on the hoof back the car with a crying bairn. I managed one good sized stockie in one of thelarge, still pools above the top road bridge after failing to secure around 6 or more offers. Not bad for a quick 45mins grabbed whilst on a trip to Odiham (oh with my rod in the boot wouldn't you know). As I said to Paul it'd be good for the Whitewaterers to blow the froth off a couple of cold ones and compare notes on the river and the sport. If anyone can start the ball rolling with a free Friday night (weekdays no good and saturdays are usually booked up months in advance) then we should pencil something in. We can meet in a pub if a central venue would be good or I'd be happy to put on a bbq with a few beers if people would fancy it. Still owe Ben a beer for introducing me to this river, which BTW knocks the socks off the Farnham Angling Society's stretch on the Wey (which is double the price!!) Bri
|
|
|
Post by Paul Boote on May 29, 2005 16:00:14 GMT -5
Just in after an invited "day on the Mayfly" on a river not unlike the Whitewater.
11.30 arrival for a 12.00 pm start with my host, an old pal.
First duns coming off and pretty well, too.
12.25pm: my 'limit' of four caught (the first two duly despatched), my host yelling at me then: "Carry on, Paul..."
So I did.
Barbless.
Then 'experimental' ("Surely they won't have this...?) patterns (they did).
And then 'extremely silly' (as above).
Even sitting down and going 'on strike' (birds and bees watching), and refusing to fish for long-ish periods...
Result!
60 to 70 trout - minimum - rainbows and browns, some of the latter valiantly remnant-wild - by close of play (it was like the recent Test Match, only easier).
My host 'did' pretty much the same.
I'm back here now, feeling a real hero.
Nice river, too - ONCE.
PS - a little later: just the initial brace kept, I hope you understand. The English Home Counties Sport Police (whose jurisdiction extends as far as commutable Devon, these days) can be pretty ugly, I hear...
|
|
|
Post by donald on May 30, 2005 3:48:02 GMT -5
I see that the spirits joined you early Paul.
Understandable if you lost count.
|
|
|
Post by Paul Boote on May 30, 2005 4:37:46 GMT -5
I see that the spirits joined you early Paul. Understandable if you lost count. Low spirits, nowt else, donald; I never let wine or owt else get in the way of my fishing. Which gets me started now on the two fishing-huts I saw yesterday crammed full of empties - chablis featured well, though champagne wasn't doing badly either... Aargh!
|
|
|
Post by donald on May 30, 2005 10:02:54 GMT -5
Oh please don't do yourself down Paul. You are too modest about your accomplishments with the 'low spirits' as anyone who has read your evening missives will know.
Too bad about the Chablis, very Tory. I'm sure that you stuck to the Chateau Islington Chardonnay. Rather too well I would imagine.
|
|
|
Post by Paul Boote on May 30, 2005 10:21:12 GMT -5
Oh please don't do yourself down Paul. You are too modest about your accomplishments with the 'low spirits' as anyone who has read your evening missives will know. Too bad about the Chablis, very Tory. I'm sure that you stuck to the Chateau Islington Chardonnay. Rather too well I would imagine. Oh well, back to the old sort of FFF 'side' and side issues stuff - and I thought you'd changed. I'll leave you once again to your unprofitable spinning.
|
|
|
Post by donald on May 30, 2005 12:08:55 GMT -5
Oh well, back to the old sort of FFF 'side' and side issues stuff - and I thought you'd changed. I'll leave you once again to your unprofitable spinning. I'm sure that you'll be back in some re-incarnation. After all you're nearly always here in spirit if not in mind. Must have been quite a shock discovering that I'm a shadow of the reflection of the real donald and have always been an imposter!
|
|
|
Post by Cothi on May 30, 2005 12:21:07 GMT -5
Low spirits, nowt else, donald; I never let wine or owt else get in the way of my fishing. Which gets me started now on the two fishing-huts I saw yesterday crammed full of empties - chablis featured well, though champagne wasn't doing badly either... Aargh! I wonder what people found after the Boote's visit -a couple of bottles of Sanatogen tonic wine perhaps ;D Ah c'mon Boote, don't be sucha primadonna.
|
|