''Where would it be''

Derek Gibson · Jun 3, 2015

Like many of a certain age, I'm given to reflections. Not that I don't look forward to future outings, but given the many ''negative'' aspects today affecting the sport I love, I often find myself reflecting on happier days of great humour, old friends and remarkable catches, and the venues from where they were taken. As is the way of things, I would doubt that today many would be but a shadow of what they once were.

So, where would I go if I had the luxury of a time machine to revisit in the company of my old mates, in the years 1959 to 1988.

1- River Swale, for Chub and Barbel.

2- River Great Ouse, particularly the Relief Channel, for Pike and Zander.

3- River Witham, Pike, not many lumps but loads of action.

4- Dam Flask, back in the day one of the finest Pike waters it has been my pleasure to fish. With some incredible fish, our catches were mind blowing. Prompting the late Barrie Rickards to say, ''Were the results you were achieving known it would set the Pike world on its collective head''. Huge Perch there too.

So, as the title suggests, given a time machine, where would you go.

Titus · Jun 3, 2015

Great question, I would be back to 1974 and whispering in my earhole telling myself to buy a house because they will never be cheaper and take your driving test because it will never be easier and never mind the language barrier, that stunning girl in that club in Germany (the one which got away) is well worth the effort.
While having a chat with myself I would also mention that it might be an idea not to try and take a certain 60mph corner at over 90mph, especially on a borrowed motorbike and no matter how much he winds you up it is not a good idea to smash a blokes glasses into his face; especially when he has just told you he's a solicitor.
I could probably think of another 100 things but you have to have a bit of mystery and excitement in your life.

I would also tell my dad to get that persistent cough looked at and my favourite aunt to have a word with the doctor about that sore throat and difficulty swallowing she has been having for a while.

Peter Jacobs · Jun 3, 2015

Oh so many places, some for the fishing and some just for the nostalgia:

1. The Hampshire Avon of the 60's and 70's for the fabulous fishing, Roach, Chub and occasional Barbel

2. The Longwater in Hampton Court of the 60's and 70's when those magnificent tress were still standing - sadly lost in the "non-Hurricane" in 1987 - thank you Mr. Fish

3. Canbury Gardens, River Thames at Kingston, some fabulous hemp seed Roach fishing again in the 60's and 70's

4. Skandaborg Lakes in Denmark in the early 90's before the ruddy stupid" only three kilos" groundbait "rules"

5. The River Guden, Denmark, again in the 80's and 90's for some of the finest river Roach fishing ever.

6. Last, but not least Christchurch Harbour, long before the infestation of gin palaces that sadly ruin the place today - some of the best estuary fishing avaialable . . . . . back then that is . . . . . .

barbelboi · Jun 3, 2015

The Kennet for roach (terrific LAA pile on the coach river matches) & Billing Aquadrome for the great comradery between the few that stuck it out for the occasional large carp in the 60’s

Marlow weir for barbel/pike and the Kennet/Loddon for barbel/roach/chub/pike in the 70’s

The Yateley complex from the 70's till the 'disappearance' of RMC/CEMEX for carp/tench/crucians together with Burghfield lake for carp/tench and the adjacent Burghfield river (Kennet) for barbel/chub..

john step · Jun 3, 2015

Just about any of the old venues of my youth if I could take with me..

My current tackle
My patience acquired through age.

I would also whisper in my young ears that "you will never be able to keep up with the other lads regarding alcohol consumption and if you try do do so you will make a complete arse of yourself"

The bad one · Jun 4, 2015

To revisit the 3 counties Meres (Cheshire, Shropshire & Staffordshire) of the late 1970s and early 80s with the knowledge I have of them now and before the ruination of them by carp. To fish for the native fish they contained with a lineage going back 10,000 years.
Also to campaign at the highest level for their uniqueness to be recognised (still isn’t in the main) and protected from non-native fish stocking of any kind.

chub_on_the_block · Jun 4, 2015

Where to start?

Witley Park for Crucians before it became inaccessible to anglers in late 1980s.

Hampton Wick Pond (or Long Water) for Tench in Home Park before fishing was banned (in 1981 at HWP) or turned into a barren carp fishery (LW)

Thames at Tadpole Bridge for Chub bags before access and stocks changed

Thames at Romney Island, Windsor for chub, bream, barbel before it was syndicated

Wensum for chub and barbel before it was ottered

The Thames at Kingston where the Hogsmill joins it, wading for 50 yards behind old high walls to get to a long gone landing stage for winter roach bags of 10-20Ib under the rod tip just where the tributary joins. The best swim i knew on the Thames for this - as a teenager in early 1908s. This bank now comprehensively redeveloped since 1990s and inaccessible due to hordes of public.

Last but not least..anywhere on the meandering lower Mole prior to mid 1980s trotting for chub, roach, dace etc before it was transformed into a straightened and security fenced awful flood channel with 45 degree banks between huge weirs.

etc etc

itsfishingnotcatching · Jun 4, 2015

Prior to returning to fishing (Forty plus years later), as a kid, the closest place within walking distance was a stretch of the Dudley canal which ran through Leasowes Park. There were plenty of Gudgeon, Roach, Perch a few decent Carp and probably more species we never discovered. Many years back, the bank subsided draining it all bar a few inches, it has never been restored. I would love to go back with proper tackle and slightly more knowledge and try for some decent Roach, we knew they were there, we just couldn't catch them.

maggot_dangler · Jun 4, 2015

itsfishingnotcatching said:
Prior to returning to fishing (Forty plus years later), as a kid, the closest place within walking distance was a stretch of the Dudley canal which ran through Leasowes Park. There were plenty of Gudgeon, Roach, Perch a few decent Carp and probably more species we never discovered. Many years back, the bank subsided draining it all bar a few inches, it has never been restored. I would love to go back with proper tackle and slightly more knowledge and try for some decent Roach, we knew they were there, we just couldn't catch them.

There are rumours floating around that there is going to be another attempt at making that leak proof again and re-connectin it to the Bull fisheries stretch the other side of mucklows hill (one of my fave places to fish ) ..

PG ..

itsfishingnotcatching · Jun 4, 2015

maggot_dangler said:
There are rumours floating around that there is going to be another attempt at making that leak proof again and re-connectin it to the Bull fisheries stretch the other side of mucklows hill (one of my fave places to fish ) ..

PG ..

If that's true MD I'll definitely support it in any way I can, we used to walk the length of that stretch to Manor Way (jumping the lock to fish the other bank on occasion

mg

Lots of happy memories.

Peter Jacobs · Jun 4, 2015

I hope I am not alone when reading the above to see a theme developing in nearly all of these venues.

Namely, that the fishing in the 60's to the 80's was far superior to what it is today, and that "improvements" together with the introduction of other species have combined to wreck some previously pretty great venues . . . . . .

maggot_dangler · Jun 4, 2015

itsfishingnotcatching said:
If that's true MD I'll definitely support it in any way I can, we used to walk the length of that stretch to Manor Way (jumping the lock to fish the other bank on occasionmg Lots of happy memories.

Keep an eye on the press if i hear anything it will be posted . I know of one stumbeling block the marina has now expanded to claim the actual canal as well as the basin it was once in they dont like anyone that aint paid for the privelidge to enter in there .. a rather obnoxious bunch .. we have the rights to fish there but the moment a line crosses their fence the hoots go up no fishing allowed in here get out ect ect ect ect ..

PG ..

Derek Gibson · Jun 4, 2015

Peter Jacobs said:
I hope I am not alone when reading the above to see a theme developing in nearly all of these venues.

Namely, that the fishing in the 60's to the 80's was far superior to what it is today, and that "improvements" together with the introduction of other species have combined to wreck some previously pretty great venues . . . . . .

No, you're certainly not alone Peter, not only the fishing but also the surroundings in which we fished. In many cases the years have taken their toll on most of these so called improved fisheries.

To use a quote from none less than Mr Walker,''It is often a mistake to re-visit the scene of angling triumphs many years later''.

It would seem then, that only wine improves with age.

itsfishingnotcatching · Jun 4, 2015

Derek Gibson said:
It would seem then, that only wine improves with age.

You speak for yourself Derek

---------- Post added at 08:37 ---------- Previous post was at 08:33 ----------

maggot_dangler said:
Keep an eye on the press if i hear anything it will be posted . I know of one stumbeling block the marina has now expanded to claim the actual canal as well as the basin it was once in they dont like anyone that aint paid for the privelidge to enter in there .. a rather obnoxious bunch .. we have the rights to fish there but the moment a line crosses their fence the hoots go up no fishing allowed in here get out ect ect ect ect ..

PG ..

Thanks for that. From memory while you could always access the length from Mucklows Hill to Manor Way, there was no access to the stretch from the basin to Mucklow Hill. I'm going to have to pop down and have a look.

flightliner · Jun 4, 2015

The Witham and its connecting drains in the sixties, wonderful places full of fish, sadly nacked by nitrates. .

The Trent when at times float fishing was impossible on account of foambergs forcing an angler to use the lead, it was wick with quality roach and black with gudgeon, a dry net was unheard of.

A couple of local ponds to the north west of town where I loved to spend my time learning the whys n wherefores.

A couple of notts pits that were stocked with carp from a flooded river Trent that for a couple of years were a must go to fish venue before the crowds arrived.

The odd lake/stillwaters that are sadly only a shadow of what they once were.

The fenland drains for the bream and pike.

The tiny river Bain for long summer evenings with floating crust for some truly big chub--

binka · Jun 4, 2015

I've really struggled with this question.

Ideally it would be on the Trent in the stick float hay days of the early to mid eighties but that would also mean I would be in my early to mid teens which meant I was reliant on somebody else's transport.

The early to mid nineties were very good to me with the pike fishing especially out in the far east Lincolnshire drains and I was also very pleasantly surprised around the turn of the century (how old does that make you feel eh?) to find I could run a stick float down Newark Dyke and once again catch good bags of roach week in week out and I'm pleased I milked it whilst it lasted.

Maybe my ideal would be the late seventies when I would run home from school on a summer afternoon taking a shortcut through the quarry and then be dashing quickstep to my local lake and the mysteries it held until dusk and the next school day forced me back home again, only to repeat the very same the following evening.

smudger172 · Jun 4, 2015

As a boy the only waters available to me was the grand union canal and the river Thame. Most weekends and school holidays would find me at one or the other. Peddling there on my trusty bike was my only option, carrying the tackle/seat box that my dad made me from plywood and rods tied to the cross bar. Finding sticks with a v to use as rod rests. Wonderful days out from early mornings but must be back before dark.!!!!!!! Catching what seemed monster gudgeon, chublets and roach from the very small river and learning from the bailiff how to to catch bigger and better fish from the canal. Happy Days indeed.

Titus · Jun 4, 2015

maggot_dangler said:
Keep an eye on the press if i hear anything it will be posted . I know of one stumbeling block the marina has now expanded to claim the actual canal as well as the basin it was once in they dont like anyone that aint paid for the privelidge to enter in there .. a rather obnoxious bunch .. we have the rights to fish there but the moment a line crosses their fence the hoots go up no fishing allowed in here get out ect ect ect ect ..

PG ..

Arrange a meeting with the Admiral to discuss the issue ensuring you have all relevant paperwork and maps, if you still get no joy organise a match and invite them to chuck you off. So long as you are in the right the police will treat it as a civil manner. As for the right of access you could well find they are blocking a public right of way with their fence which is an offence.

Jim Crosskey 2 · Jun 5, 2015

I would happily go back in time, as long as the same reversing process happened on me and I could be that 12 year old kid again, setting off on foot comfortably carrying all the tackle i owned (no great feat!) and maybe a sandwich if i was lucky to fish the river Ock in abingdon.... it wasn't picturesque, there was dog c**p everywhere and you had to dodge the glue sniffers (we're talking very early 80's here)... but - the water of this little river and the relief channel alongside ran clear, and unlike the much bigger thames that it joined up with in town, you could actually see the fish. I don't think i could have possibly stuck with it had this not been possible, but somehow being able to see the quarry meant that if you didn't catch something then it had been your fault and you had to adjust what you were doing. That said, there were minnows pretty much everywhere, dace and roach shoals danced over every piece of gravel and wherever you found an undercut bank or weed raft, chances are there'd be a larger chub (sometimes all the way up to two pounds!) lurking underneath. Add in some very aggressive pike and perch that would often appear the moment you started to retrieve a smaller fish and you had a perfect nursery ground for my angling.

It's a shadow of its former self now, the biggest single thing seeming to be a considerably reduced rate of flow - abstraction? However, i did spend a very enjoyable couple of hours fishing a confluence of the main and relief channels on the last day of the season this year, trotting maggots under a stick float, something i certainly wouldn't have attempted then!

Bob Hornegold · Jun 5, 2015

It would have to be the Warren Pond in the late 1950s, where I met and was taught how to fish and make fishing tackle by a group of older lads, some of them went on to become well know specimen hunters.

Then the North Met, where we would build small platforms out in the reeds, wait until midnight on June 16th to fish a float illuminated my the light of a cycle lamp for those beautiful Tench.

Next would have to be the Old River Lea, huge bags of Dace and Roach caught on the float using a match brought from a shop at the bottom of James Street.
And later of course the Chub and Barbel.

The River Rib, a place I cycled to from Chingford, 1lb Dace and 2lb Dace, plus of Course those Trout that had escaped from the Trout fishing beat above Wades Mill.

The Hampshire Avon and the Gallon of Maggots, I used my Triumph Tiger Cup to get me there, those Roach, Chub and Barbel were amazing.

An estate lake I joined in 1967 at Wormley, where I caught my first double figure Carp and I was still fishing up to last year !!

Lovely memories, best of all I'm still fishing the Lea Navigation and catching fish.

Bob

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