Idle
can produce an excellent bag
As
I featured in last week’s Guardian the River Idle provided us with
a rare surprise in the form of a salmon.
No, not chucked in from the fish counter at the adjacent supermarket as
Worksop expert Mick Underwood suggested!
No, it is because this river can conjure up excellent bags of coarse fish
for the angler, providing you get there at the right time.
I suppose it is the same everywhere really – one day you bag-up,
another you struggle to get a bite.
But trust me, get it right here and you are in for some super sport with
some big fish.
My short journey took me along the free water just downstream and below
the Morrisons supermarket, guided by Idle ace Brian Marsh.
We wandered along the bank avoiding the dog mess left by pets that had
been ‘exercised’ by their owners… reminiscent of some sections
of the Chesterfield canal towpath between Shireoaks and the Manton Willows.
But, back to the fishing, one of the favourite methods on this river is
stickfloat and maggot for the few anglers who fish here, preferring the
running water instead of the popular Hallcroft ponds just a stone’s
throw away.
The stickfloat is responsible for huge catches of chub – like the
ones caught by Retford anglers Chris Salf and David Heath in the picture
right.
Chris’ first fish was a chub of 3lb-plus, whereas David is shown
presenting a similar sized fish picked from a net of fine specimens.
His fish also included some big roach, all taken in a couple of hours.
Incredibly, he lost far more chub than he netted. “They keep taking
me into a snag as soon as they are hooked because they are so powerful,”
he told me.
Strength is something Idle fish are renowned for, as well as the average
size.
Another added bonus is that barbel are making an appearance in numbers
with mixed catches in excess of 30lb, including specimens over 11lb in
some bags.
The Derbyshire County Angling Club have approximately four-and-a-half
miles of double bank fishing and one-and-a-half miles of single bank downstream
that is available to their members on this river.
There are also many other excellent venues around the country which are
well worth the fees.
If you are interested, telephone 01773 856562 or 01246 851571 for more
details.
This ‘free water’ on the other hand, is worth a chuck as swims
are easily accessible and with quality ‘stick water’ like this
on the doorstep, who can resist?
But, be warned! It can be hit or miss.
Noticeboard
Angling
Development Officer Glyn Williams, with the Joint Angling Governing Bodies
(JAGB), has been delegated with the task of setting up a series of child
protection and first aid workshops throughout the country.
One of these workshops is to be delivered at Sandhill Lake Adventure Base
on Sunday 7th March.
The workshops are being delivered by registered organisations, with the
child protection workshop taking place in the morning session and the
first aid workshop in the afternoon session.
The workshops are available to any member of the general public who is
involved in working with children or vulnerable adults (coaches and youth
club leaders, for example).
Any individual requiring further information or application forms is asked
to contact Glyn Williams on 01909 501030.
Angling Courses
Ken Stevenson’s
angling courses are continuing at the Gateford, Worksop on Wednesday 21st
January from 7pm to 9pm.
Please note, all are welcome and are free of charge.
Chemical spill
Just
as I report the cleanliness of our rivers last week, we have a chemical
spill from a local factory at Manton Wood that threatened the river Ryton.
The actions of a few mindless idiots were allegedly responsible for this
near environmental catastrophe.
A fine welcome to the returning Salmon in our area, eh?
Success on WDAA waters.
WDAA waters are still coming up with the goods. The Torksey Arm between the Trent and Fossdyke is producing double figure bags for the pleasure and match angler.
If you want to get in contact with Martin to give him any results, stories or information, you can e-mail him at martintrona@aol.com