A Year on the St Lawrence – Part 2We had a lot of wet weather over the next few weeks, which raised the water levels 3 or 4 feet over normal. The weather was cold, but the river was still producing. I caught a lot of good fish, including 4 or 5 thirties with the biggest going 38lbs, all from the second spot. My other spot was too deep and the cold rain was affecting the fishing on the main river. But on my spot, they were still having it. I spoke to a few people who were fishing in early May, and I was the only person catching carp on the American side of the river, so my confidence was high. Once the weather was better, my mind started drifting back to my first area. Carp had been showing there since I began baiting it up every day on my route home. So I decided to take the chance and switch spots. It was a gamble, being that my other swim was still producing, but my mind was made up. I had to change. On my first fishing session on the new spot, I cast a bit of bait close to the road and some on the bottom of the shelf of the riverbed in which I explained earlier. One bucket of bait went in. On my end tackle I used two pop up pineapple boilies, one inch off the bottom, which is now proven to be a real winner of a rig for me. My first take in that swim was a belter, and 100 yards of line was ripped off as the fish tried to make it to the main river. I managed to stop this run, and after several 30 to 50 yard runs later, the fish came close. There is a ledge on the edge of the swim and it managed to find the bottom of it and stayed there. If anyone has ever been to the St. Lawrence, they will know that in May the water is still very cold. Don’t think that I let that stop me from going into the river up to my neck! I did however, managed to get the fish off the ledge with no problems. As I clambered back up the bank, it took me only seconds to get the fish in the net. On first thought, I would have guessed it to be a 40. Especially because it was nearly 4 feet long, but on the scales it only went 37 lbs.
After a change of clothes and sitting in the car with the heater on full blast, I slipped out my rods again and, believe it or not, locked onto another good fish. This time I managed to avoid the ledge and slid my net under another thirty making it two 30lb’s in only one hours fishing. I was ecstatic at my risk to change spots. The fish kept coming that day and I landed 2 more thirties and ten 20’s and they were not small twenties either the average between 25 and 29 1/2 lbs. Not a bad session really. The fishing was great there for 2 more weeks and most people were not fishing until the last week of May, so I had no competition. One day, I had decided to take along my 2 1/2 year old son Andrew fishing with me. I have never seen a kid of his age love fishing so much, and his confidence with handling the fish was astounding. At one point, he sat there for an hour just starring at a piece of corn dangling in the water off the end of his line, just thinking he might catch a fish just like his Dad. No kidding! This kid is hooked. I can’t wait to see his face when we catch him a 100lb catfish this winter with my Father on the Ebro.
I was still catching all this time off my road spot. My other spot was looking good as well. The weather had been hot and the carp looked good to spawn in the shallows. So I returned to the first spot for a few days and had plenty of action, but no big fish latched on. This was about the time that the Riverview Motel, just outside of Waddington, was hosting a crew from Sky T.V. while filming the local area and doing some fishing. The owners had asked me to find them a couple of spots for them to fish from for the next two weeks. Try as I might, I could not find any other spots that were as good as mine. The only problem with my swim was the busy road. It was just too noisy for the filming crew. I carried on fishing the road bank and still was catching plenty of 30’s. The Sky crew caught fish in their swim but no 30’s were forthcoming for them.
Meanwhile, after fishing flat out for these past several weeks, I had to take a week off to rest. When I returned, I was surprised to find the TV crew fishing the roadside. With the likes of Steve Briggs and Rob Hughes casting out over my spot, the fishing was no longer quiet. Every other angler now wanted to fish there. Needless to say, my week off lasted a little longer than anticipated. On there last day in America, I went up for a chat with Rob and Steve and learned that they would be leaving in an hour. I left them with that in the back of mind, trying to fish from another spot all the while counting down the minutes before my favourite spot would mine again. I was slowly driving myself crazy. Obsessed with getting back to the big fish, I packed up my gear and head back to see if they had left. Just as I was pulling up, they were pulling out. “Perfect timing.” I thought to myself. I could not wait to get my rods out and in the water. I hadn’t caught a fish in over a week now and I was extremely anxious. It was a hot day, Not at all good for fishing, but what the hell, I was glad to be fishing. With one bait cast out on the shelf and the other in the silt, I was at last fishing. I was just sitting there soaking up the sun when my silt rod took off. I had only been there for about 15 minutes and I was already into a well angry fish. The first run went left and up along side the road, 150 yards of line was taken out and I thought I was going to lose it. There were plenty on snags along the roads edge. During my explorative dive, I noticed a lot of tree stumps. In the past I had lost a few good fish there. The fish then decided, ‘Right’, out into the main river, which was a relief since it was deeper water with a lot less snags. As long the hook held up the fish should be mine. The fight was amazing, with the fish taking me all over the place. As the fish came in close, I didn’t want to risk the ledge, so again, I was in the river well over my chest. This worked, as it did in the past, as I managed to keep the fish off the ledge, but it still didn’t want to come up. Ten minutes under the net, and up pops a beauty. I slid the net under a fish for the first time in over a week and made my way back up the bank. As I pulled up the fish I knew it was a 40. The scales bragged out 41. It was long meaty fish built for fighting. A local angler had stopped down to see what all the commotion was about. I excitedly asked him to snap off a photo. Once he was finished, I slowly slid the beast back into the water. I sat back with a massive grin across my face.
Another hour went by with no fish, but I was more than happy with the one that I had caught. Eager to see the photos of my mammoth, I packed up bubbling with excitement. My bubbles soon began to burst one hour after I dropped off my film. Picking up the processed prints, I was mortified and aghast when I saw, that in all the photos either my head or the fishes tail had been cut off. I managed to sort of save one of the photos, but it wasn’t great. Another lesson learned. I’ve been quite adept at taking my own pictures in the past. I’m still kicking myself for being so foolish. I carried on fishing for a couple more weeks, but the full moon ebbed and the fish soon disappeared. The fishing in the summer is very hot. The humidity and the mosquitoes make for very uncomfortable fishing. You can still catch big fish, but it still doesn’t compare with the spring and autumn. This years fishing involved me catching well over one hundred and fifty 20’s, fifty-five 30’s, and two 40. Now it’s a waiting game for September, and a winter’s worth of monster fishing on the Ebro. If anyone is interested in experiencing some of this great fishing, Nick is working on the St Lawrence River in New York State, and provides a guiding service in the area. Nick can also arrange accommodation and airport transfers for your convenience. To contact Nick for a truly unique adventure on the St. Lawrence contact Andy Shattock from Ebro Valley Fishing on: Andy Shattock |
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