Rain... Glorious rain!

binka · Sep 29, 2014

According to some forecasts the current long dry spell is due to break up anywhere between the end of this week and the beginning of next, and boy do we need it!

Will it be enough though?

I read of the Wye conditions in another thread and the river's around here are no better... I've been reluctantly looking for and fishing stillwater alternatives on a few occasions and I dread to think of the effects of a sharp frost when they arrive if they're on top of the current low levels and clarity.

The fish are still there to be had if you can find some deeper water and cover but it appears that many are thinking the same and bagging the likely spots early.

Is it affecting you and your choice of venue?

greenie62 · Sep 29, 2014

Congratulations Binka,
Between us we have just increased the number of posts today by 40%, all we need to do now is increase the rainfall correspondingly and 'jobs a goodun'.

Tight lines!

Peter Jacobs · Sep 29, 2014

binka said:
Is it affecting you and your choice of venue?

Yes, my local rivers are well down on water levels at the moment.

We could use a good long flush though on the Hampshire Avon for starters. The Itchen and the Test still look okay, but are also a fair bit down at the moment.

greenie62 · Sep 29, 2014

binka said:
Is it affecting you and your choice of venue?

Yes - I'm thinking of getting a card to fish the local canal since it seems to be unaffected by rainfall - such a pity to travel a good distance to fish a river and blank when I could blank just as easily with a 10 min drive!

mg:

PS: Has anyone noticed if canals are affected by rain/drought!

binka · Sep 29, 2014

greenie62 said:
PS: Has anyone noticed if canals are affected by rain/drought!

Speaking from an occasional boaty background the canals in the main should be relatively unaffected, the bottom is always too near the top at the best of times and the only thing as a drawback might be that they are very much clearer now that the boat traffic has dropped off a lot as always happens at this time of year.

In the case of the Grand Union it's very much reliant on water from, I think, the Tring reservoirs to keep it topped up.

During the early year drought a few years ago (prior to that same year's monsoons and floods) the locks were chained shut on the GUC to prevent boat movements and preserve the water levels in the reservoirs... Imagine how much water is shifted down the canal each time a lock is used?

I don't think we're quite at this stage just yet although I very much suspect that this was a result of a drained pound and not drought...

Canals do also flood but due to the general nature of the land around them and good run off they tend to be flash floods but can certainly leave things not quite as they found them...

During one such prolonged flood the only way I could reach my sister on her narrowboat was by, erm... Boat!

john step · Sep 29, 2014

Fished the Witham today. Its full of small fish which bodes well for the future.
Bite a chuck from tiny perch,skimmers and bleak etc. Pike chasing all over the place. Noted for the winter so it was worth the trip for that alone.
However there is no flow and its chocker with weed and needs a good flush through. Ironically due to an upstream wind the masses of floating weed were moving upstream! Back to lakes for a while longer I think.

smudger172 · Sep 29, 2014

binka said:
According to some forecasts the current long dry spell is due to break up anywhere between the end of this week and the beginning of next,

Hoooooray............. Just time for two days piking Wednesday and Thursday and then spain for a week.. It can rain as much as it likes then.....

thecrow · Sep 29, 2014

Sorry to say the ground is so dry it will soak most of the rain up with very little getting into the rivers.

binka · Sep 29, 2014

thecrow said:
Sorry to say the ground is so dry it will soak most of the rain up with very little getting into the rivers.

A mate and I had this very same conversation/debate the weekend before last about the ground being dry and baked hard... This is also often blamed for excessive run off straight into the rivers.

Place yer bets, what's it gonna do...

tilly05 · Sep 29, 2014

The don at back of hillsbrough (down towards coopers car spares) is a bit low, and rather slow. I had a couple hours yesterday the grayling were feeding well but only a couple ended in my net. I ended up just trickling in hand fulls to watch them. Water was really clear. Love watching them, the speed in and out .

thecrow · Sep 30, 2014

binka said:
A mate and I had this very same conversation/debate the weekend before last about the ground being dry and baked hard... This is also often blamed for excessive run off straight into the rivers.

Place yer bets, what's it gonna do...

Can be a problem where allsorts(no not Berties

) can get washed into the river resulting in the fishing being even harder than before the rain. I suppose it depends on the surrounding area, on the small river I fish its flat meadows with plenty of grass that will probably hold the water instead of it running into the river.

john step · Sep 30, 2014

thecrow said:
Can be a problem where allsorts(no not Berties ) can get washed into the river resulting in the fishing being even harder than before the rain. I suppose it depends on the surrounding area, on the small river I fish its flat meadows with plenty of grass that will probably hold the water instead of it running into the river.

I had forgotton about Allsorts. Havn't eaten one for ages. Are they still made/

rubio · Sep 30, 2014

We are used to baked earth out in east anglia where the rivers flow more steadily as a rule in most conditions. Splash of rain last night will just about be enough to keep the leaves drifting downstream but not much more than that. Weekend forecast looks like bringing a sustained wet front. I hope the north west isn't too greedy and swallow up all the rain, and then I hope it doesn't all get run off to sea in a day. That seems to be the main focus for rivers round here. Carry water away as quickly as poss.
I have been out with a light rake already seeking to prepare acouple of spots with a decent trot thro for when the time comes.

flatsfishing · Sep 30, 2014

We really need some decent prolonged rain here in the midlands, the Severn is really low and the barbel are all concentrated in holes and very difficult to catch in the day, it is either a blank or a good few fish with no middle ground. The Avon is fairing a little better with some more flow on it.

I was hoping to try and get a salmon out of the Severn at the back end of the season but at this rate there still won't be enough water in there to make it worth the drive to the upper reaches.

Maybe we need to all dress in white and stick three sticks in the ground...that usually causes it to rain.

greenie62 · Sep 30, 2014

john step said:
I had forgotton about Allsorts. Havn't eaten one for ages. Are they still made/

Hi John,
Recently did a test between Morrisons own brand (71p) and Bassets (£1.39) - same size bag - no difference except the Morrisons tasted fresher! :thumbs:

no-one in particular · Oct 1, 2014

River was very clear on Sunday, level not too bad. Hard fishing with bright sun, high pressures and clear water. Managed one decent roach, the only bite all afternoon. I expect the rain will make things a lot better when it comes. Increased flow will excite the fish as well. However, once those cold nights set in, which has not happened too much yet. That will put a dampers on things for a spell until the fish acclimatise.

smudger172 · Oct 1, 2014

Had the traditional opening day of the pike season on Wilstone reservoir today. The picture is taken from the car park bank for those that know the water. Right the maths are 3mtrs down on full level x 125 acres = Alot of water..

smudger172-albums-fish-picture3917-20141001-175523-1.jpg

flatsfishing · Oct 1, 2014

smudger172 said:
Had the traditional opening day of the pike season on Wilstone reservoir today. The picture is taken from the car park bank for those that know the water. Right the maths are 3mtrs down on full level x 125 acres = Alot of water..

15,000 tonnes less water in fact...

Manage any pike?

smudger172 · Oct 1, 2014

No pike but caught the sun................

---------- Post added at 13:54 ---------- Previous post was at 13:19 ----------

Right tried the maths..... 1 acre = 4046 sq meters x 125 acres x3 = 1,517,250 cubic meters of water..... 1 cubic meter of water = 1 metric ton.. so 1.5 million tons of water missing.... Have I got this correct. ?????????? Its a lot of water to float the boats on the canal...

flatsfishing · Oct 1, 2014

smudger172 said:
No pike but caught the sun................

---------- Post added at 13:54 ---------- Previous post was at 13:19 ----------

Right tried the maths..... 1 acre = 4046 sq meters x 125 acres x3 = 1,517,250 cubic meters of water..... 1 cubic meter of water = 1 metric ton.. so 1.5 million tons of water missing.... Have I got this correct. ?????????? Its a lot of water to float the boats on the canal...

You are quite right...I got my decimal point in the wrong place (but I did do it all in my head honestly!)

Rain... Glorious rain!

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