Small Rivers in Staffordshire

S

Steve Perry

Guest
I live in Wolverhampton,and as a change from fishing the mighty Severn,I fancied having a go at some of the smaller rivers,a little closer to home.
I was wondering,if anyone had any info,on Clubs/daytickets & species for the following rivers Upper Trent,Sow,
Penk & Blythe.

Many thanks,
Steve
 
P

Paul Kendall

Guest
Steve

The upper Trent flowing through Stone is free fishing on the town stretches. The river Sow has some free stretches, some day ****et stretches and some club stretches - depends on where you want to fish it.
The penk ... speak to Ians Tackle in Penkridge, they'll be able to give you more info & for the River Blythe speak to Tony at Riverbanks in Stone, he knoes the Blyth quite well.

Hope this is useful
 
D

Dai Gribble

Guest
Some good mixed fishing on the Sow,. Stoke on Trent As has a good stretch d/s of Great Bridgeford which is good for chub and an increasing number of bream. D/s of Stafford the Sow is a bit bigger having been joined by the Penk and is a good mixed fishery with everything from barbel and carp to roach and bream. The best ticket would be Izaac Walton which can be obtained in Stafford tackle shops. (I'm not sure of the very latest news but a lot of the Sow has been shut due to Foot and Mouth so make sure you check before fishing. There is free fishing on the Penk on the left bank d/s of Radford Bridge in Stafford - mainly roach, chub and perch. This stretch has been improved with lots of groynes installed by the Env Agency and is suited to roving. A word of warning - don't expect 6lb chub abd 2lb roach despite what some of the locals will tell you!!
 
N

Nick Lyons

Guest
Steve
I live in Rugeley,Lea Hall have a stretch at wolseley bridge (between rugeley and colwich).The fishing can be quite good usually from now to jan.We run open matches some weekends and as for day tickets we charge ?10-00 a season.The river changes alot this time of year,one day you can catch bream,the next roach,dace or chub.Chub usually win the matches with weights into double figures.For match info give Paul Brace a ring on 01889-578204.The nearest day ticket fishing is at Armitage,the BAA has a great stretch and daytickets can be obtained from many outlets.(weekdays only).
 
A

Alan Fawcett

Guest
Dai

I know for a fact that there are 6lb chub, 3lb perch 1.5lb roach & some large bream & pike plus a few trout in the Penk around Radford.

How do i know, simple the area between Radford & Acton Trussel is private fishing which is owned by 6 people & i'm one of them.

No i'm not an elitist or a specimen hunter but i do like to fish a water thats not full of litter,empty bread bags,meat tins, boilie bags, beer cans & dog mess.

As you say though the best licence for the area would be the Izaak Walton (available from one last cast browning street or holts tackle on marsden road) if you hang on a few weeks they normally reduce the price around december.

If you don't want to spend the money on a full licence you can buy a day ticket for all of the clubs water (except the pools) for ?2:50

If its Barbel you are aiming for then the stretch behind brancote sewerage works is a good place.
 
D

Dai Gribble

Guest
Alan, I don't doubt there may be occasional specimens of the size you report but it would give a false impression to a newcomer to the Sow or Penk to suggest they are present in large numbers. The attraction of both rivers is they are not heavily fished and you can rove widely without seeing more than the odd angler - you aren't likely to win the Drennan Cup with catches from either!
 
A

Alan Fawcett

Guest
Very true Dai

The Sow has become an amazing river since the EA carried out a lot of work on it, the problem being that a lot of clubs etc are now begining to buy the rights to large stretches of it.

Doxey marshes was free water for years but now the river has improved English nature have realised that they can make money from it (& quite rightly so) the licence is ?10 a year for some of the best fishing in Stafford.

One of the best stretches for wild carp & barbel is also now under club ownership (although i can't remember which club) i used to fish the stretch as a kid (never had a barbel but saw them plenty of times).

Some people have complained because they can't fish the river in places they used to, but in my eyes this is a good thing because club waters have to have water keepers (or bailiffs) so hopefully the litter problem that used to plague the banks of the Sow & the Penk will be alleviated in some way.
 
D

Dave Johnson

Guest
having caught hundreds of chub on both the Sow, Blythe, Trent and sow i reckon that the following is a pretty accurate average for them in their respective rivers.
Chub above Stafford has loads of 3+ fish and a good head of 4+ fish and occassional fish nudging 5lb. Below Stafford, particularly around Milford they are bigger generally but a 6 is a rare fish indeed, though they are there.
Trent from Stone to Weston average 1-2 lb but once you get to Gt Haywood they average around 3lb. Wolsley down , much higher numbers and a few larger specimens.
Penk at Acton Trussel and upwards there are some good fish around 4lb , but quite peggy, and around Radford to the Sow confluence average probably over 4lb. Again a few real lunkers are present.
The Blythe has a high density of chub averaging 2 1/2 -3 lb above the reservoir and about 3lb below. Again one or two better fish below Blithfield averaging just over 3lb .
The best river IMHO is the Sow from Milford to its confluence with the Trent at Essex bridge. IWAA have a stretch, the 'other' bit is travel light and be prepared to run.......not that I would condone fishing one of the landed Gentry's estates.......
 
D

Dave Johnson

Guest
Alan, just reading your post above reminds me of the pegs I used to fish behind the Stables at Rickerscote......loads of brown trout.....lol.
A lovely winter river the Penk due to its sandy bottom and Clear water at normal levels......
I used to fish at Acton Trussel a lot, as my family live that way. Also Penkridge private Anglers held the stretch from Acton up to Teddesley area, not ven sure if they still exist.

When you taking me on 'your' stretch then......? its been a few years since I fished that stretch. Used to 'live' on it as a schoolboy.
 
S

Steve Perry

Guest
Thanks very much for all the info,
At the weekend, I bought a Isaak Walton card,plenty of river to go at before the end of the
season,as long as we don't have to much rain.
I live 10-15 mins car drive from Penkridge,so I think I'll get the local OS map and see if there
are any obliging farmers with land ajoining the Penk.
Paul,in your message,you mention Riverbanks in Stone,(I presume,this is a tackle shop) I
counldn't find a phone number listed,you wouldn't happen to have one would you?
What's the average size of the Barbel in the Sow,do I need to use a 1.5 lb t.c. barbel rod or
can a 0.75 lb t.c. Avon rod cope?
On another news group I browse,someone was asking about the River Mease @ Harleston
someone replied to his message,implying that there are barbel in the river,can anyone confirm
this? I used to fish this river 10-12 years ago,spent many a happy hour, roaming its banks.
Thanks again to everyone for the information.

Steve.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top