dezza
Well-known member
I grew up in a small village, near to Worksop. It wasn't in Nottinghamshire but only just in Yorkshire, but there, only a cycle ride away, were the Rivers Ryton, Idle, Roche, Maun, Meden and Poulter.
Today, due to aquifer abstraction, a couple of those streams are mere trickles, however in my youth, they contained good fish of several species, the most notable being the roach of the river Idle.
However even this river paled into insignificance when compared with the Hampshire Avon and some of the other Southern streams. But due to distances and cost, the ability to fish these rivers was forbidden to myself, and still is now.
But something has happened, even to rivers like the Hampshire Avon. In most cases the roach are not there, not in reasonable quantity. And where are the big roach of the Wensum, and the other Norfolk rivers? Even the Severn, that maginificent waterway, the river that gave me my biggest ever roach is not what it was. Why in the early 90s you could fish a light link leger or stret peg with a stick float and catch up to 30 lbs of prime redfins, some of which went over the magic 2lbs mark. Men like Bill Leavesley and Des Taylor, both of Bewdley put me onto some marvellous roach fishing. As Bill Leavesley once told me, a 1 1/2 pound Severn roach is worth more than a hundred Borises.
But today, the fabulous catches are no more.
Thank goodness we few roach enthusiasts in the north have The Don, The Idle, the Rother and of course the mighty Trent.
2 pounders might be rare from these waters, many brilliant roach anglers of the past never even topped 2lbs from the Idle, a river known for producing very big roach. But I think that the realists amongst us are prepared to set our sights a little lower and appreaciate that a one pound roach is a thing of true beauty, magnificence, and a "gentle giant" as John Bailey describes them. And when you think about it, just how many one pound roach are taken from rivers today?
Are you planning a roach campaign this winter?
Today, due to aquifer abstraction, a couple of those streams are mere trickles, however in my youth, they contained good fish of several species, the most notable being the roach of the river Idle.
However even this river paled into insignificance when compared with the Hampshire Avon and some of the other Southern streams. But due to distances and cost, the ability to fish these rivers was forbidden to myself, and still is now.
But something has happened, even to rivers like the Hampshire Avon. In most cases the roach are not there, not in reasonable quantity. And where are the big roach of the Wensum, and the other Norfolk rivers? Even the Severn, that maginificent waterway, the river that gave me my biggest ever roach is not what it was. Why in the early 90s you could fish a light link leger or stret peg with a stick float and catch up to 30 lbs of prime redfins, some of which went over the magic 2lbs mark. Men like Bill Leavesley and Des Taylor, both of Bewdley put me onto some marvellous roach fishing. As Bill Leavesley once told me, a 1 1/2 pound Severn roach is worth more than a hundred Borises.
But today, the fabulous catches are no more.
Thank goodness we few roach enthusiasts in the north have The Don, The Idle, the Rother and of course the mighty Trent.
2 pounders might be rare from these waters, many brilliant roach anglers of the past never even topped 2lbs from the Idle, a river known for producing very big roach. But I think that the realists amongst us are prepared to set our sights a little lower and appreaciate that a one pound roach is a thing of true beauty, magnificence, and a "gentle giant" as John Bailey describes them. And when you think about it, just how many one pound roach are taken from rivers today?
Are you planning a roach campaign this winter?
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