Your Favourite Coarse Fishing River.

[cg74]

At the request of Jerry (barbelboi), see quote below:

Maybe a new thread should be started entitled 'My favorite coarse fishing river'
Jerry

But this is not to be confused with, the best, most famous, most prolific/productive, or anything else:
It is a simple enough question......







........ But a complex answer (I sense).

My favourite is the Cherwell. I caught my first minnow, bullhead, stone loach, dace, chub, barbel, pike and grayling.
Certainly not the river it once was (with three of the list gone or very close to being gone and two others in perilous decline), but the big chub keep luring me back.

 

[chub_on_the_block]

The Trent - pure class all round.



Sorry didnt mean to type that. Meant to type Dorset Stour. Some geezer with a cloth cap and a south african accent was threatening me with some black pudding.

 

[andreagrispi]

River Mole. Very intimate river which you are always guaranteed to catch from. Set in beautiful surroundings and contains some massive fish of a variety of species.

 

[red creel]

The Kennet no hesitation, yeah i know i am so predictable!

 

[chub_on_the_block]

River Mole. Very intimate river which you are always guaranteed to catch from. Set in beautiful surroundings and contains some massive fish of a variety of species.

That was my favourite, before they did the flood alleviation scheme on it in the 1980s. The lower river at Hersham / below Esher Mill was like an accessible version of the Dorset Stour when i lived in South London.

 

[sam vimes]

The Swale, mainly for reasons of familiarity and proximity. It helps that it's one of the more productive Yorkshire Ouse rivers.
However, next on the list would, genuinely, be the Trent. It's just within reasonable range, and there's little point in crossing it to go further. I can only wish it were closer. Still have a soft spot for the Warwickshire Avon at Evesham due to fishing a few matches and having a bit of success there in the early nineties. Never say never, but I doubt I'll be going back. I doubt I'll ever travel further than the Trent to fish again.

 

[Sean Meeghan]

The river Tr....

Nah, the river Swale!

 

[barbelboi]

A hard call between the Loddon and Kennet with the Loddon coming out top (Sorry Andy) Two rivers that I really enjoy fishing but both so different. The Loddon tends to rise very quickly after heavy rain, on the other hand the Kennet is slower rising so local knowledge/timing is an advantage as when to fish the rising river for barbel. IMO the Kennet is the easier river with the Loddon requiring more thought and consideration – especially for the bigger barbel. I was fortunate to live in Chalvey during most of the 70’s and fished the Loddon either side of the ford by my then local pub, The Lands End (now famous as a fishing/book signing pub). The roach and chub fishing then was unbelievable memories...................
Jerry
PS I've just noticed a couple of mentions for the Mole - for a fun days stream fishing the Mole and Ember at Ember Court either side of the Thames relief channel is great for stalking dace, roach and chub.

 

[mol]

I grew up in Wigan and the river Douglas flows through the middle of the town. When I was a lad the river was completely dead but since leaving Wigan the river had been cleaned up and does now contain fish in certain sections. I quite like to catch one. So for that reason my favourite coarse fishing river would be the Douglas

 

[peter crabtree]

I have lived in the Three rivers area for all of my fishing days, the Gade, Chess and Colne are all close favourites, but I have my real favourite in the Old father anywhere from Abingdon to Richmond no more than an hour away.

Thames for me....

 

[Mark Wintle]

Thames for me though it's 80 miles plus to the nearest bits. First ever dace, bleak, chub, ruffe, perch, gudgeon and silver bream from it. Yet to do more than scratch the surface yet draws me back time after time.

 

[Simon K]

I've spent all of my fishing life on the Lea, mainly at Fishers Green and still feel it has many more seasons to offer. It's the closest to home, of course, but it has lots of variety in scenery and species with the FG river section, the Weirs, the Navigation and the Flood Relief Channel.

I've also become enamoured of several less-known and underfished stretches of the Ivel. I'd fish it more if petrol gets cheaper again. :wh

 

[maceo]

Well I've fished a few rivers over the years depending on where I've lived. The Medway in Kent, the Severn in Tewksbury, the Colne in Herts and the little Windrush near me now.

For me, none can match the upper Thames. A lovely quiet mainly unspoilt river almost anywhere upstream of Oxford with decent pubs and (depending on its mood) great fishing.

It's picturesque, tranquil, you can see all sorts of wildlife and not many people fish or even walk there dogs in the remoter parts and there aren't that many boats going past.

 

[Philip]

The perfect river for me is the sort of river that when you picture it in your minds eye it would be the ultimate river for a days roving for Chub. You could wander along with 1 rod fishing lots of different swims each with its own character and full of mouth watering features. Every few yards you would come to yet another spot screaming to be cast into and always the chance of an extra special fish turning up.

That river is the Kennet and why its my favorite...its literally Crabtree in reality in places.

 

[Neil Maidment]

The Dorset Stour, specifically the tidal stretch from around the Iford area downstream. Not a patch on what it used to be but it's where I learnt to fish under the close stewardship of my uncles. The scene of my first ever solo trip, occasional success in junior and senior matches and over the years caught just about everything that swims in it.

Just a few miles long, I eventually knew where to fish in just about every condition imaginable. A river that provided for all seasons, all weathers and conditions.

That stretch of river taught me an awful lot! Definitely my favourite.

 

[Steve Pope]

The Wye is simply majestic, The Kennet is still stunning, The Teme has its tigers and The Lea will always be special but Sabrina cast her spell many years ago and I remain captivated by her charm. It may be the mystery, it may be the scale but all I know is that whenever I cast a line into the depths of the magical River Severn my level of expectation is taken to a new height and at any moment a mythical giant will be gracing my landing net, the ultimate river of dreams.

 

[Fred Bonney]

The Upper Great Ouse for me and it's tiny feeder the Tove.
Many a relaxing wind down after commuting, and some real suprises to boot!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

For me it has to be the Hampshire Avon.

I have fished this river ever since a young teenager on the coach trips down from my London club, and even had to suffer the sitting outside the Bull at Downton after the fishing hoping that one of the seniors would bring us out a drink and some crisps.

I've fished the river in all of her glorious colours in all seasons and in all of her moods too.

Great fishing if and when you catch the conditions just right, but can be terribly difficult if you've not 'done your time' as an apprentice.

This river has all of the attributes to satisfy most river anglers, both coarse and fly, given the more or less natural separation in Salisbury.

So, for me, there is only one real favourite and that is the Hampshire Avon.

 

[no-one in particular]

If I was only ever allowed to fish one river from now to eternity it would be the Kennet but, I would an half miss all the Avons, Thames, Brede, Tillingham, All the Stours, Frome, all the Rothers................

 

[simon dunbar]

The Dorset Stour , in the nineties on the Throop section , where I caught my first barbel and chub ,then around Iford , nowadays Canford School and above ,much quieter stretches ,not easy fishing but some good pike , chub and perch.