Ribble: River Ribble Fishing Reports

[john conway (CSG - ACA)]

Date:.. Saturday 27/07/13 5 hrs. Session 771

Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...18:30hrs 23:30hrs
Weather conditions:... Bright slowly becoming overcast, last hour of session heavy rain.
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.28M and falling.
Air temperature:... 23.1C dropping to 20C
Water Temperature:... 25.1C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, 3B-Pellets
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Sweetcorn then Bread Flake at dusk – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – 3B-Pellets – PVA bag with micro pellets. After one hour, float fished until dusk then one rod touch ledgering with bread and cheese paste
Results:... Blank
Brief description of the session & remarks:… It’s about four weeks since I was last on the Ribble. I thought I'd risk a trip before the forecasted bad weather disturbed all the weed, however the weed was a problem before the bad weather, which hit the river at dusk. It was almost impossible to keep my bait in the water for any length of time. After one hour, I float fished until dusk then abandoned one rod and started touch ledgering with bread and cheese paste. To lessen the effect of the weed I sat on a large boulder a third of the way out in the river, which wasn't the brightest of ideas in the dark when it started to rain. Our Lass rang me just before midnight to tell me it was raining hard in the Dales. I packed in at midnight and if you look at the EA River Level graph of the flood pulse that came down shortly after, then the big boulder I was sat on would have been 1 metre under water.

 

[Fred Bonney]

You take it easy John.
I've been invited up "when the weed has gone" so your report gives me hope it will be soon...ish!

 

[john conway (CSG - ACA)]

Date:.. Saturday 03/08/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...18:00hrs 24:00hrs
Weather conditions:... Changeable with the odd spot of rain and sunshine, quite breezy
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.48M and steady.
Air temperature:... 18.8C dropping to 13.5C
Water Temperature:... 20.8C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Sweetcorn then Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese and or hot curry paste – PVA bag with micro pellets.
Results:... Blank
Brief description of the session & remarks:… The river looked good. Only one bite but I lost a good size Chub as it came to the net. I had the river to myself and perhaps I should have stayed another hour or so but after losing the big chub I was a wee bit deflated, but that is how it goes on the Ribble.

Date:.. Saturday 10/08/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...17:00hrs 01:00hrs
Weather conditions:... Light cloud with sunny intervals, light breeze. Heavy shower during the last hour.
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.33M and steady.
Air temperature:... 21C dropping to 14.7C
Water Temperature:... 17.3C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Sweetcorn then Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese and or hot curry paste – PVA bag with micro pellets.
Results:... 9lb-10oz Barbel
Brief description of the session & remarks:… The river looked good but no bites up to midnight. However, as I was starting to pack up at midnight one rod slammed over but I struck into nothing, this time I decided to stay on for another hour. I had another couple of good bites but each time I lifted into nothing. Then as I started to pack up again my downstream rod slammed over and stayed over, and this time I netted a 9lb-10oz barbel in very good condition. There were some guys camping out further down the river, lighting a fire and banging about but the rain kept them quiet and away from me. I did think about having a word with them but I was on my own and at 69, I can't run as fast as I use to.

BTW Fred, the weeds gone now so its worth a trip, if the EA river level is above 0.3M @ New Jumble Rock then you may have a good trip.

 

[john conway (CSG - ACA)]

Date:.. Thursday 15/08/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...18:00hrs 00:30hrs
Weather conditions:... Overcast changing to steady rain up to 23:00hrs then fine up to end of session.
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.33M and steady; however it rose 6” during session.
Air temperature:... 20.1C dropping to 19.5C
Water Temperature:... 22.3C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Sweetcorn then Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese and or hot curry paste – PVA bag with micro pellets.
Results:... 3 chub to 4lb-6oz
Brief description of the session & remarks:… The river looked good and after half an hour, I was joined on the bank by two other anglers making four of us counting a lad further down the river. At dusk, everyone started catching. The lads downstream first with I'm assuming barbel, they were fishing the far bank in slightly faster water, and then I started with chub fishing slightly slower water on an imaginary crease. As soon as the rain started, the river started to rise slowly ending up about 6" up by the end of the session. I was please to register my first 4lb plus chub of the new season.

 

[Paul C]

Date 21.8.13
Section River Ribble
Time: 17:40 till 22:30
Weather conditions: Mild and dry
Water conditions : Low and NSL
Bait – pellet
Air temp – n/t
Water temp: n/t
Method: Single feeder rod
Results: 6 barbel, 1 big brown trout, 1 roach, 1 dace, 1 chublet and 1 eel

Came back off holiday and had an unexpected evening without parenting duties so managed to escape for a few hours.

Fished the same peg as last time I was on. The first hour was uneventful but it suddenly burst into life with a 1lb 7oz roach followed in consecutive casts by the chublet, dace, trout and then a barbel of about 5.5lb.

Another similar sized barbel followed 20 mins later and then nothing bar the eel until into darkness when I caught steadily with 4 further barbel, the biggest of which was 7lb 3oz.

Packed up as late as I could to beat the curfew for the stretch.

The river was alive with fish topping and crashing out all evening. There seemed to be decent salmon both above and below me but the one salmon angler I spoke to hadn't had any joy, but he'd been accidentally catching chub on spinners.

 

[john conway (CSG - ACA)]

Date:.. Friday 23/08/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...18:30hrs 01:00hrs
Weather conditions:... Overcast light rain up to mid-night, no wind
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.34M and steady.
Air temperature:... 21.6C dropping to 19.4C
Water Temperature:... 20.5C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese – PVA bag with micro pellets.
Results:... 2 chub to 4lb-0oz, 2 barbel to 5lb-8oz
Brief description of the session & remarks:… First time on this stretch of the Ribble and the river looked good. I decided to fish one rod close in and one on the outside edge of an eddy crease. Bites started just before dusk and the first chub (4lb) came at 20:50hrs followed by two barbel and one chub. These three fish came well spread out, time wise, and all from the rod fished close in. This session and the next few will be fished with a selection of my old rods, I've just sent my two FM Concept rods off to have new cork handles and reels seats fitted after ten years of constant use on the Ribble.

 

[john conway (CSG - ACA)]

Date:.. Tuesday 27/08/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...18:00hrs 01:00hrs
Weather conditions:... Hazy sun up to dusk, clear sky no moon. Mist started drifting in around midnight.
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.33M and steady.
Air temperature:... 19.3C dropping to 15.8C
Water Temperature:... 21.1C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese – PVA bag with micro pellets.
Results:... 1 chub 3lb-6oz, 1 barbel to 7lb-10oz
Brief description of the session & remarks:… The river look good with plenty of surface splashes and crashing about with trout and probably chub chasing minnows and fry. No bites until dusk most of which were just rod tip twitches. Lifted into a couple of bites and hit fresh air, also lost one as it came to the net, probably small chub. The chub came at 22:50hrs to the rod fished on the edge of the flow on bread flake, and the barbel at 00:40hrs to the inside rod on halibut pellet and cheese past. Very pleasant evening, the woods were very noisy and a bit spooky when the mist rolled down the river.

 

[Paul C]

Date 28.8.13
Section River Ribble
Time: 16:20 till 20:30
Weather conditions: Mild and dry
Water conditions : Low and clear
Bait – maggot / hemp and corn
Air temp – n/t
Water temp: n/t
Method: chubber float
Results: 34 dace, 9 roach and 2 small chub

I at last managed to get the chance of a float session although it nearly didn't happen as my alernator gave up the ghost and needed replacing. Managed to get it back in time for a short evening session on a shallow, pacey glide.

The first 2 hours were patchy with odd fish coming in short spells and the dace were hitting the bait very early which resulted in my bumping a good few.

The last two hours were much more consistent and a nice stamp of dace mixed in with odd roach and later on a couple of small chub.

No bonus fish. Biggest was a chub of about 1.25lb but it was a busy enough 4 hours with plenty of bites and action.

Caster might have brought about a few better stamp fish, but only had maggot today. No takes on corn despite feeding it and trying it periodically.

 

[Jonathan Ackers]

Date 28.8.13
Section River Ribble
Time: 16:00 till 20:30
Weather conditions: Mild and dry
Water conditions : Low and clear
Bait – pellet and maggot
Air temp – n/t
Water temp: n/t
Method: pellet and maggot on the feeder
Results: 1 grayling and 1 dace

A couple of hours on pellet without so much as a nudge. Half an hour on maggot for a grayling of about 1.25lb and a dace and quite a few missed bites. Once the duck was broken I went back on pellet and again not a nudge until it went dark and I packed up. I've managed at least one barbel on previous visits this season but the river was in better shape. I probably should of float fished but currently experimenting and learning the ropes with pellet.

 

[Paul Morley]

Date 05.09.13
Section River Ribble club stretch
Time: 15:00 till 22.00
Weather conditions: Mild and dry
Water conditions : Low and clear
Bait – small pellet ,12mm boilie halved
Air temp – around 20 dropping fast
Water temp: n/t
Method: feeder with micros and seeds
Results: 1 snig, 1 trout, 3 chub to 4.06

Hello John and others. That's a low river and limits my swim hopping - settled for building a spot where there was some dwindling flow. Real action commenced as predicted when the sun drops behind the trees, then it's chub in short order. Pleasing enough result but real success not anticipated.

 

[Jonathan Ackers]

Date 13.9.13
Section River Ribble
Time: 7:30am till 12:30
Weather conditions: Mild and dry
Water conditions : Not far off A1, about a foot up, quite a bit of weed coming down
Bait – meat, corn and maggot
Air temp – n/t
Water temp: n/t
Method: feeder
Results: 15 dace, 1 roach, 1 grayling and 1 trout

Rod 1 - forgot my pellets ! Did 5 hours on meat or corn for not one knock in two different pegs.

Rod 2 - maggot and hemp and just about bite a chuck until a cormorant bobbed up in my peg and killed it dead for the last hour. No sign of any chub or barbel on this rod either.

 

[tigger]

Jonathan, good report m8 but I think it might be better not naming the stretch of river.

 

[Jonathan Ackers]

Jonathan, good report m8 but I think it might be better not naming the stretch of river.

I'm not sure on my attitude to that. I was the only person on yesterday morning so its not exactly overun. It may well be better for the two clubs concerned to attract a few more members and hopefully preserve that length as somewhere the occasional fisherman can enjoy at a reasonable cost. If they let it go then its likely it'll get taken up by a club with a waiting list and joining fee. I'm still in mourning over the demise of Northern Anglers and the loss of Balderstone

ps. I haven't got an issue with those who don't want to name the length especially if its not a 'open' club length !

 

[fred hall]

May I come in on this one. My club, which rents several stretches on the Lower Ribble, has a strict no-publicity rule. This is because we have 3 times in the past had catches from our stretches featured in the national Angling press and each time we had almost immmediate upsurges in "guest anglers" (aka poachers). I feel it is sad but I have to agree that it is best to be vague about the location of productive swims.

 

[john conway (CSG - ACA)]

Re posting the name of the stretch and or club, my opinion is the same as Fred's for the same reasons.

Date:.. Saturday 07/09/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...18:00hrs 00:00hrs
Weather conditions:... Cloudy and breezy
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.49M and steady.
Air temperature:... 12.9C dropping to 10.1C
Water Temperature:... 15C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Sweetcorn, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread and sweetcorn in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese – PVA bag with micro pellets.
Results:... Blank
Brief description of the session & remarks:… Although the river looked good, there was very little movement. The river temp had dropped sharply after a small flood pulse and these may have been the reason for the chub not feeding. Other than the odd bat bite, my rods never moved or even twitched during the session. By the time, I had returned to my van the temperature had dropped another 4C and by the time I got home the air temperature was only 5C.

Date:.. Thursday 12/09/13
Venue:... River Ribble
Time fished:...16:30hrs 00:00hrs
Weather conditions:... Overcast with drizzle turning to steady rain, heavy at times
Water conditions:... EA River level at 04:30hrs @ NJR 0.35M and steady.
Air temperature:... 18.5C dropping to 15C
Water Temperature:... 17.1C
Bait:... Bread Flake, Crust/Chees Paste, Halibut Pellet and Chees Paste
Method:.. 2 rods. Upstream rod – Bread flake and later Crust/Cheese paste – liquidized bread in feeder. Downstream rod – Halibut pellet/cheese Paste – scalded ewe nuts and corn in the feeder.
Results:... 2lb-8oz Chub
Brief description of the session & remarks:… I was very optimistic about catching especially as a member just leaving had a 6lb plus chub on the spinner. This turned into one of the most frustrating session I've had for quite some time. After landing a small chub around 20:25hrs the drizzle turned into steady rain and quit heavy at times and although I had plenty of bites, some of them real rod benders, I just kept lifting into nothing or just a few good pulls before the hook pulled free. I tried big baits, little baits and touch legering, letting the line slide through my fingers for some time before striking but all to no avail.
The walk back to my van was a bit of a plod through very dark woods heavy with rain but remarkably quiet. My downhearted plod back to my van being more though frustration than the weather.

 

[tigger]

I'm not sure on my attitude to that. I was the only person on yesterday morning so its not exactly overun. It may well be better for the two clubs concerned to attract a few more members and hopefully preserve that length as somewhere the occasional fisherman can enjoy at a reasonable cost. If they let it go then its likely it'll get taken up by a club with a waiting list and joining fee. I'm still in mourning over the demise of Northern Anglers and the loss of Balderstone

ps. I haven't got an issue with those who don't want to name the length especially if its not a 'open' club length !

That stretch is poached to death and nearly everyone who fishes it are non members. Naming it on a public forum may well esculate the problem and spoil it for the paid members. Surely it would be better to just leave the exact locations out as the other ribble anglers do.
By the way it does get hammered so you must have dropped on.

 

[Jonathan Ackers]

That stretch is poached to death and nearly everyone who fishes it are non members. Naming it on a public forum may well esculate the problem and spoil it for the paid members. Surely it would be better to just leave the exact locations out as the other ribble anglers do.
By the way it does get hammered so you must have dropped on.

Ok, I'll keep stum on the length !

It's a pity the length can't be bailiffed and day ticket money collected if need be, I'm not volunteering and I realise the practicalities of the issue, so again I should keep quiet. I have bitten the bullet and joined the two main waiting lists, hopefully I'll get my membership at the same time as I'll be able to use it a bit more often.

 

[tigger]

Ok, I'll keep stum on the length !

It's a pity the length can't be bailiffed and day ticket money collected if need be, I'm not volunteering and I realise the practicalities of the issue, so again I should keep quiet. I have bitten the bullet and joined the two main waiting lists, hopefully I'll get my membership at the same time as I'll be able to use it a bit more often.

Good man

Might be a good idea to remove the location

 

[Jonathan Ackers]

Date 20.9.13
Section River Ribble
Time: 7:30am till 12:30
Weather conditions: Mild and dry
Water conditions : Not far off A1
Bait – pellet, meat, and maggot
Air temp – n/t
Water temp: n/t
Method: feeder
Results: 1 decent chub, 3 dace

Rod 1 - 5 hours on mostly pellet, 1 bite resulting in a 2lbish chub

Rod 2 - maggot and hemp but just the odd bite for 3 dace

Just about perfect but my results seem to be inverse to how much new tackle and how much new theory I am using. One person caught a few decent fish, others also struggled.

 

[The bad one]

OK.
so a river which is 121km long doesn't fish differently along its length, on any given day?

I've fished Red Scar Wood and bagged up on Chub, while the fellows on the opposite bank couldn't get a bite.

So what good is John's 'blank post' bearing this in mind?

I am sure John is a fine angler ( I never meant to disparage his fishing skills) but your post is utter twaddle.

(your comment about publicity bans apart. If that's the case then he has no choice)

First and foremost the coarse zone isn't 121K long, it's about 40 and above a famous point upstream it's exclusively game only.

You say you've fished Red Scare, are you a members one of the two clubs that control the wood? If not then you're poacher.

The two clubs that control large parts of the 40K, both have publicity bans in place.

Those who post on here know all to well the problems the river has with poachers of all kinds! So it would be very unwise to give more than a very general view "The Ribble" as to where they are fishing for those reasons.

And take from me the river is suffering and has suffered this year from those poachers who eat everything they catch!
And yes I do know that as fact from personal experience!