''Enduring swims''.

Derek Gibson · Apr 2, 2016

By that I mean areas that have remained productive over a number of years for whatever species.

I have known a number of swims/areas that would easily qualify over the years. And surprisingly they hold no special feature that would have you thinking ''oh yes this is a winner'', and yet the fish seem to favour them often for many seasons.

You could argue, this being a consequence of anglers often feeding the swim and holding them. There may be some truth to this, but I have in my minds eye a number where that does not apply.

So we are talking structural features or a source of natural food. Whatever the reason, I am grateful of their existence.

robtherake · Apr 2, 2016

I used to fish a pool that holds a good head of spectacular golden tench; not huge - the biggest wouldn't have topped four pounds - but exceptionally beautiful. The odd one could be caught anywhere on the uniformly deep venue, but one swim in particular was always good for a netful. It's a good peg with several features to fish to, but no different to the eye than many others on the same lake. The hot spot was in open water a rod's length out. Shame the management is so bad, otherwise I'd still be catching them.

thecrow · Apr 2, 2016

I once belonged to a small syndicate on a Carp water of about 3 acres, it was lightly fished and at times extremely difficult, One swim on there was nearly always productive, the "hot spot" was a cast of no more than 40 yards into what seemed the middle of nowhere, it was in fact the middle of nothing as I investigated it more than once from a boat and found nothing unusual but the fish liked it there for some reason

Neil Maidment · Apr 2, 2016

Interesting observations and yes they certainly exist.

I had my first ever chub 50+ years ago, only less than a pound, but plenty more much bigger came over the years. The same swim produced my first ever "7" on the float just a few years ago. That swim is just above School Bridge on Throop and has remained pretty much the same all that time. It is absolutely brimming with features, mostly depth and flow related, and in certain conditions can hold a huge head of chub.

Another Throop spot has produced fish for a much longer period. It was a popular salmon/sea trout holding spot back in the 40's/50's/60's and, although changed by the construction on the New Weir, somehow retained it's fish holding properties. More flow and height related features rather than anything else, and again holds big numbers of big chub. A lot of anglers walk straight past it but I find it very hard to ignore if it's empty! Had plenty of big chub from it and it produced the 7:11 I had at the end of the season.

Graham Elliott 1 · Apr 2, 2016

I think I know them both Neil!

One swim on the River Loddon always held my attention. It was unique to me.

It was a swim where there would always be a barbel or two.

What was suprising was that the fish would always be midwater most of the time.

Different fish over the years. They would always seem to be enjoying the flow and cavorting in the water.

I formed the opinion there actually was an underground spring below them.

the opposite bank was often populated by up to 30 pure white shetland ponies.

A good place to while away a few hours waiting for dusk.

john step · Apr 2, 2016

On my local club lake there are several spots about the size of a dinner table where the ice forms "thinner". These are quite visible until all the ice gets progressively thicker. It thought these are springs.
They are often the spot to fish over in summer.

barbelboi · Apr 2, 2016

There was a swim on a very lightly fished (private)stretch of the Colne that I was fortunate enough to fish for a great many years. The river narrowed just before a drop off to a depth change of some 6’ where it then widened somewhat. There were bushes to the far side and a mixture of ‘cabbages’ and streamer weed to the nearside with integrated marginal vegetation. The bottom line is that, for some reason, a ‘vortex’ was created where the flow went around and round for some 20 yards before the downstream current again took over. One of the consistently best fish holding features I can remember. Unfortunately the ‘pic’ won’t do it justice – you had to be there to appreciate it.............

Just found the 'change of ' pic to the right of the original shot that may make more sense of the above....

binka · Apr 2, 2016

I'm certainly familiar with such swims and have often wondered why they seem to be holding spots.

Maybe there is a difference but something far more subtle than physical in terms of structure or a changing depth, such as a gap in the far bank trees that allows the sun through at a certain time of day and creates a micro climate of slightly warmer water temperature?

flightliner · Apr 2, 2016

I know a swim on the river Trent where the flow comes off a large bend that is something in the region of twelve foot in depth. As the river straightens off the bend the water shallows up at an alarming rate forming a steep underwater slope that acts as a food trap where fish shoal up for the easy pickings, over the years I,ve had some bumper catches of fish from the spot.
For a long way below its a pretty barren reach of water , presumably on account of the "slopes" food trapping qualities.

Ray Daywalker Clarke · Apr 2, 2016

Over the years i have found three different venues that have a hot spot.

One is very well known, the Conker's on the Lea, years ago a well used match venue. The swim always held good Chub, and to this day, it still does.

It was always said that the swim was a good one because the boats moored there, but over the years, it has still produced the Chub without the boats.

Second
A seven acre lake that had two fingers going out, the first had a slope going down to around 21 feet only three of rods lengths out, great swim for the sliding float, never had a blank in that swim. The second finger was very much the same, but only around fifteen feet deep, yet at times was void of fish even when the first finger was full of them.

Third,

A swim on the river Ouse, around four feet deep, when not in flood. I have had many Chub from it over the years, along with a few Barbel, Perch, and Roach now and then. It didn't seem to matter what the weather was like, it always held fish. Plenty of other swims just like it, but there was something there that held the fish, just what it was, who knows. In the summer, you could see clear to the bottom. Nothing but gravel.

Keith M · Apr 2, 2016

I have two swims in mind that have always been kind to me.

The first is on my local stream which always holds a few Barbel, Chub and large Dace and Roach (see pics below)

Most of my biggest fish have come from directly under the overhanging branch or just where the water squeezes through the narrower bit at the head of the swim.

The second swim is just in front of a partly hidden man made cave on my local estate lake
Where the Carp seem to go in and out of the cave especially during warmer months (see pic below).

Behind that curtain of hanging vegetation is a man-made cave where we used to store our boat, and on a warm day it can be literally full of Carp trying to stay out of the heat.

Keith

no-one in particular · Apr 3, 2016

The two most enduring river swims I know is where people feed bread to the ducks; always fish near them.

Lord Paul of Sheffield · Apr 3, 2016

On the reverse
There are swims that scream fish but rarely produce

Keith M · Apr 3, 2016

john step said:
On my local club lake there are several spots about the size of a dinner table where the ice forms "thinner". These are quite visible until all the ice gets progressively thicker. It thought these are springs.
They are often the spot to fish over in summer.

One of the lakes owned by one of my clubs used to be water cress beds till it was bought by the club and dug out and landscaped.
There are several underwater springs feeding the lake which become visible once ice starts to cover the surface.

The link below reveals four of these warm under water springs during the 2012 freeze up.

During the winter the springs provide a little respite from the freezing cold temperatures and during the summer they provide a respite from the heat as the temperature of the spring water is virtually consistent; so these swims can be good both in winter and summer if you make a note of exactly where they are.

< warm underwater springs 2012 >

Keith

Bob Hornegold · Apr 4, 2016

There are swims where the natural features lend themselves to being good swims, a deep hole after shallows, a patch of gravel, a sunken branch or raft of debris.

The Car Park Swim, the Dustbin, the Green Bridge, the Concrete, the Secret, the Pylon, the Steps, I'm sure everyone has similar swims with names similar ?

Bob

Derek Gibson · Apr 4, 2016

Bob, throughout the length and breadth of the country on both river and lake there are legendary areas or swims. Some of these have ''names'' that go back many, many years. On the mighty Trent some of those celebrated swims are as popular today as they were back in the mid 1800s, and many are still identifiable by the ''names'', as you so rightly point out.

But the thing that has always puzzled me are the hot swims that have no ''obvious'' visual features, shall we say the ones that most pass by. There have been one or two suggestions put forward to account for some of these, and I find it most interesting.

Dare I suggest that the reason for such swims longevity is directly linked to them being less obvious to the casual angler and less pressured.

flightliner · Apr 4, 2016

Derek Gibson said:
Dare I suggest that the reason for such swims longevity is directly linked to them being less obvious to the casual angler and less pressured.

----and they will be found so much quicker using float tackle.

theartist · Apr 5, 2016

I prefer the two swims above the one shown in Keith's photos - sadly I can't get up early enough in the morning to get them.

Used to be a classic swim on the Gade called the pole swim where a metal pole sticks out the water, the pole is still there but on some days it isn't the only pole and the fishing is a shadow of what it used to be. A swim that's enduring if only in the memories of my youth.

Found a swim on a free stretch of the Colne that was untouched and gave me my first ton up of barbel on the float. Then the tree they were under got removed and they all disappeared. Another great swim further up changed overnight when a tree came down above redirecting the flow completely away from the old bridge stanchion it used to push up against, so the hole silted up and it was another swim that was confined to memories.

Whilst it could be true of stillwaters and big rivers I think the term enduring should be used loosely on smaller rivers and streams as they can change oh so quickly and be gone forever.

''Enduring swims''.

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