''My Nemesis''

Over the years I have fished most of the Trent weirs for Pike and Perch, and have had a good degree of success. But for some inexplicable reason one weirpool has thwarted my best efforts, and that is despite fishing it in varying water and weather conditions. I have no logical answer for this, but having given the place a good ''going over'' for a couple of seasons decided to give it best and move on. Of all the Trent weirpools this one stands out for all the wrong reasons, and needles me to this day.

My question to you guys is, ''Have you ever come across a water that has defeated your best efforts, whatever the species''.

Most weirpools have been my nemesis, i can only think of a couple where i ever did OK - usually on smaller rivers. I never caught anything of note from any Thames weirpool and i fished a few on many occasions back in the day.

A big gravel pit in the Colne Valley. Others had bags of good tench but I only ever had a maximum of 4. I would go the next week, same conditions, same swim then blank and blank again.

I do not know if this will apply to you Derek, I have found on occasions the best fishing for weirs is not actually in the weir but far down, even 2 or 300 or 400 yds.
Its only a theory but I think food being washed down will have a collection point where the water slacks off sometimes quite a way off from the weir.. And fish wanting the oxygenated water will still get that far of the weir.
Don't know if that will help you in any way, perhaps you have already tried several lengths below the weir, a lot depends on the size of the weir and the flow but, I used to go and fish weirs and not have much success and then I discovered a lot better fishing in this way, sometimes very good fishing. Most anglers go for near the main water and find it not very good, a good walk downstream can be rewarding.

Let me tell you about my old enemy water, Billing Aquadromes Marina lake, its open to the river as the name suggests and holds very large carp in sufficient numbers to warrant a serious inspection. There have been big fish taken from the lake over the years, the last recorded, lump was 36 pounds back in the eighties, but bigger fish lurk beneath the boats and so far all my efforts have drawn a blank. I prebaited heavily last year, my spot was taken several times by opportunists, who suffered the same fate, the one run i did get, the fish was sucessfully turned away from the boat moorings only to slip the hook in open water, this lake is 500 yards from my home and has had much attention over the years, but the only notable captures have been large Bream, but i am not complaining.

From a match fishing perspective I suppose my all time bogey venue was when I lived in Newcastle and one or two rounds of our local summer league were always on this gravel pit at Longtown near Carlisle. Blanked in my first two matches there, third time had an eel which for some bizarre reason didn't count under the leagues rules, fourth time another blank and then, on the fifth and final match I fished there, started as usual on a big piece of flake cast to the horizon for one of the lake's semi mythical chub which you were told would show right at the start or never. Put rod in rest, tip flew round and I missed it. And blanked again.
More recently it has to be the Slough Arm of the GUC. Back in the 90s when I used to run opens on it I would generally do at the very least OK in what would be a very strong field, and in Winter Leagues there only once finished below second in my section in probably a dozen matches. And then a few years ago we started fishing club matches on it. If there's a wrong end to draw on the day (and there usually is) that's invariably where you'll find me ,and if not, I just seem to be off the pace anyway and can't for the life of me work out why, whether its the feeding, decision making or what.
Having said that, my decision making may have taken an upturn. Hadn't been able to fish for a couple of weeks for one reason or another but had intended to go to our match there last Sunday. Then saw the forecast cold easterly, straight in your face on the towpath there, remembered how it had fished the last time we had those conditions and decided to give it a miss. Good decision ! Winner had one perch for a very generous half an ounce and everyone else was second,,,,

A local pit near me is my Nemesis. I have had the odd Tench, but can't for some reason get more than one.

I have done the pre bait, rake the swim, fished just about every swim a few times over.

I either get a fish in the first hour, or at last knockings. I won't give up, I will crack it, one day.

A little concrete reservoir behind a small cement works with the wiliest chub I've ever come across. No matter how stealthy I was it wasn't good enough. It was surrounded by bushes and herbage that came right up to the concrete apron so it wasn't possible to cast from a hidden position. I sat down with rod ready one afternoon and waited for several hours, flicking pellets of bread that were eventually taken with gusto, but as soon as I reached for the rod (moving at a snail's pace) there were swirls everywhere and they were gone. Night fishing would have been the answer but the place was locked up at night. It was the weirdest place; obviously operational from the changes you'd see from one visit to the next but I never saw a living soul. I must drop by next time I'm up that way and see if it's still there.

---------- Post added at 22:47 ---------- Previous post was at 22:39 ----------

markg said:

I do not know if this will apply to you Derek, I have found on occasions the best fishing for weirs is not actually in the weir but far down, even 2 or 300 or 400 yds.
Its only a theory but I think food being washed down will have a collection point where the water slacks off sometimes quite a way off from the weir.. And fish wanting the oxygenated water will still get that far of the weir.
Don't know if that will help you in any way, perhaps you have already tried several lengths below the weir, a lot depends on the size of the weir and the flow but, I used to go and fish weirs and not have much success and then I discovered a lot better fishing in this way, sometimes very good fishing. Most anglers go for near the main water and find it not very good, a good walk downstream can be rewarding.

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I had a section win in the ICI National (early 80s) on a similar swim on the Trent. I think it was Collingham and the peg I drew was maybe 200yds downstream. I could have won the (low weight) match but I got my hook straightened whilst having a pee - such is life. mg: I think I had about 4lb: a couple of bream and a fair-sized eel.

A tiny holding pond behind a paperworks just north west of Sheffield in the late seventies. It held some humungous roach along with biggish chub and smaller cousins of both.
It was pretty easy to take the smaller fish and the bigger chub but no matter how hard I tried those big roach were the wiliest I ever encountered.

chub_on_the_block said:

Most weirpools have been my nemesis, i can only think of a couple where i ever did OK - usually on smaller rivers. I never caught anything of note from any Thames weirpool and i fished a few on many occasions back in the day.

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It's funny how it goes Dave which make angling so interesting - weirpools have always been a 'magnet' to me and Marlow weir was a regular meeting point for our small specimen group of the time until 'elf 'nd 'effin safety closed it down for anglers in the late 70's..........

barbelboi said:

It's funny how it goes Dave which make angling so interesting - weirpools have always been a 'magnet' to me and Marlow weir was a regular meeting point for our small specimen group of the time until 'elf 'nd 'effin safety closed it down for anglers in the late 70's..........

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I would find that shopping trolley in 16ft of water or catch nothing but eels. I did alright maybe 300 yards below a big weirpool, just not within one. Exception being smaller rivers of course which had smaller snag pits to contend with.