A PASSION FOR ANGLING - AUTUMN GLORY

A fishing series showing at a peak viewing time on BBC2 has to appeal to the widest possible audience. It also has to appeal to what we hoped would be our main audience - anglers, so catching sizeable fish was the challenge for our star anglers, Bob James and Chris Yates and this had to include a two pound roach.

I have loved roach fishing since childhood, catching a good 'un from the Great Ouse at Ely when at school and suitably intoxicated by roach, have gone on to catch hundreds of two pounders from around the country.

this one only went 1lb15ozs - so many do don't they!

More than a few of these two pounders have come from still waters and as my good friend and river keeper at the famous Britford Fishery on the lovely Hampshire Avon Stuart Wilson says 'they only count half and I have to agree'!

A river two and especially a three pounder are the true monsters of the freshwater world ... this roach weighed only 1lb11ozs, just in case you were wondering. I couldn't catch him a two for this happy snap - must try harder!

Like many of my generation, I had been inspired as a child by Bernard Venables and his creation, 'Mr Crabtree Goes Fishing', so we were very keen to include Bernard in our film. 

Autumn perch fishing seemed the perfect subject. 

How could anyone forget Bernard's wonderful painting of a shoal of perch attacking minnows. 

Filming with Bernard was one of the highlights of my fishing life - catching big roach has been another.

I've been lucky enough to catch eight three pounders - so far! - to a best of 3lb11ozs and one of these was from the Hampshire Avon, so our quest for a two pounder in our autumn programme was right up my street. It felt like I’d spent half of my life trotting its' crystal waters and this was to be our location for this episode of our six part series.

Luckily Bob, Chris and I lived close to its’ banks and were members of the Longford Fishery below Salisbury, so we knew where and how to catch big roach, or so we thought, but after a week all we had to show for our efforts were too small.

As all roach anglers know, roach have a habit of rolling on the surface at dawn and dusk and in spite of a week of failure I was still on the bridge at Longford Castle before dawn, looking for signs on this hallowed stretch of water.

Just as the light increased slightly I thought I saw a slight furl in the main flow upstream and suspected a big roach so without waiting for a second invite, I grabbed a rod and cast into the spot with a large lump of breadflake. The line had hardly settled before it tapped, then pulled tight and several solid thumps told me we had at last found the big roach shoal. That fish weighed 2lb6ozs and on the next cast I landed one of a bit over 2lbs10ozs, then two more two's.

I had slipped these fish back while starting to think about not calling Bob and Chris and carrying on compiling my greatest ever catch of big roach but duty prevailed, the lads were summoned and Bob went on to make a historic catch of ten two pounders, the best an ounce short of the even more magical three pounds.

It was a perfect overcast day and the roach simply wouldn’t stop biting, even when Chris and I punted out over the shoal to get shots of Bob casting towards us. Chris held the boat in position in the shallow swim by sticking an oar in the gravel and when I asked Bob to cast closer to the camera he couldn’t because he had hooked yet another big roach from right under the boat.

It was just one of those days when dreams come true and even when we had finished filming, I couldn’t get back in my swim as Chris grabbed a rod and promptly caught his biggest roach for twenty five years. At two pounds five ounces we were all very happy, so we retired to the pub for a pint to celebrate a days fishing for the history books.

We had to catch a big Avon barbel too of course and Chris lost a monster on our first evening of trying. Upstream of his swim was the hot spot under an oak tree and it seemed only fair that this should be competed for, so instead of a coin toss, arm wrestling or tiddlywinks, Chris and Bob chose a conker fight as illustrated by Rodger McPhail. And what a privilege it was for us when he agreed to add his wonderful works of art to our book.

Bob won the contest and did splendidly by also winning his
fight with a superb barbel of 11lb13oz. caught from this book cover spot ... I know that isn't big by today's standards but it was twenty years ago.

We had invited our ace artist Rodger McPhail down to put the finishing touches to our Passion book, promising him a fish for his troubles and he caught a feisty little mirror to end our  celebration with some fun.

If you enjoy the programmes on YouTube you might like to purchase the boxed set of six films from us at: http://www.passionforangling.info/order.html

Sadly we have run out of copies of our film following Chris's carp fishing adventures "Caught in Time".

UK NATIONAL FISH VOTE

a lovely brace of River Kennet biggies while filming 'Catching the Impossible' with Martin Bowler - the best went 2lb5oz

I’m going to nail my flag to the mast and vote for the roach because I believe it should be the national fish. Thriving in every sort of water in Britain and available to all, it is not only beautiful but if you’re seeking a big one, a real challenge ... so please excuse me if I show a few too many pics of the rare moments when I got lucky.

a scale perfect roach and close to three pounds

roach live in some beautiful places too

Many of you will be aware that there is a vote in progress that is going to lead to a decision on what is to be the nations favourite fish. It might not be as important as deciding whether to leave Europe or stay but it sure is worth a moment or two of your time.

The idea and initiative has been created by our very own underwater hero Jack Perks. He is masterminding an attempt to raise awareness of our fishy wildlife and we owe it to our watery critters to get behind him and VOTE. After all, the birders among us recently chose the robin as our national bird and we don’t want them to think we don’t care about fish.

So this is the link which will enable you to get behind the venture and make the general public sit up and pay more attention to our fishy wildlife and the places they live ... and who knows, they might even respect us anglers more too.

http://www.btwlfishproject.com/#!uk-national-fish/gus4w

Jack has managed to gain the BBC’s support by having the vote publicised on the ever popular ‘Springwatch’ so several million will be aware of his initiative.

Ely Cathedral was the place I grew up and thanks to the Great Ouse nearby, also became a fanatical roach angler

I chose the roach because it chose me, for when fishing in the Great Ouse at Ely as a child, I caught a big one by design. We normally caught  just small fish, a few roach along with gudgeon and perch off the wall at the Cutter Inn but one day I cast a lump of flake to a large bed of cabbages and fluked a 10oz lump which to this small boy was a monster. I was hooked for life and have been trying to catch big roach ever since.

a Hampshire Avon two from the good old days

Luckily I grew up in the glory days of the H.Avon and Stour when two pounders were the expected catch and I had dozens, even managing a three pounder from both of those rivers and all on trotted bread flake. I even managed two pounders from the Broads, notably from the River Bure and Wroxham Broad, often using cheese paste as bait. This was in the 50’s when it seemed big roach thrived everywhere.

To catch the Broads roach I’d cut up Kraft cheese slices into small particles and scatter them around the float and it worked a treat ... but not before I’d used a quant pole from our cabin cruiser to poke around the bottom to find gravel runs. There was a particular patch on the start line of the sailing club in the middle of Wroxham Broad and though I irritated the sailors at race starts I caught many big roach from the spot, especially in the middle of the day, perched in my little 8ft plywood dingy. Happy days for sure ; I wonder if they’re still there?

2lb6ozs - fat as butter but not taken on cheese

I learnt the cheese technique when fishing with the old boys on the Regents Canal at Paddington in the school holidays. It was good roach fishing and if using cheese paste using a small porcupine quill, we’d avoid the small ones and catch them to over a pound, my best going one pound two.

The bait also worked well on the Serpentine where I caught numerous good roach but never as big as a pound. Unfortunately the bait also attracted eels and when struggling to unhook an above average wriggler, an old lady ran up and angrily telling me I was a cruel boy, beat me over the head with her umbrella!

I’ve tried the cheese technique in notable roach water several times since and never had a bite, though this is one of the joys of roach fishing. You can never be sure where or when you are going to catch a big ‘un, if at all!

good mate Trevor Harrop of Avon Roach Project fame with an Avon two pounder

We all know about the dramatic declines in roach due largely to the invasion of thousands of non-native cormorants but I’ll spare you a rant and simply celebrate the apparent recovery in several rivers, even in the iconic Hampshire Avon, not least because of all the work by the Avon Roach Project.

Trev releasing the future into the H.Avon and hope for keen roach anglers

Britford still produces two pound roach, largely because of the tireless work of river keeper Stuart Wilson in protecting them from the 'black death' .... that's cormorants if you hadn't guessed.

the LAA's river keeper extraordinair Stuart Wilson with one of his precious Britford roach

Still waters are providing some great roaching too, especially when they thrive under the radar, fattening up on carp anglers bait. Sway is just such a water, though Stuart thinks still water roach should only count as half and I kind of agree!

what massive roach those Linch Hill beasts were ... this one went 3lb3oz. caught while fishing with friend Gary Newman

The famous Willow Lake at Linch Hill produced amazing roach, even if they tended to be caught on 'unsporting' bolt rigs. I am guilty of trying the technique there too, just so I could see one of those huge roach you understand! I became known as a ‘jammy bar-steward’ because in only four visits I was lucky enough to catch a three pounder every time. In defence, I did try a sliding float and caught a few two pounders but never a three on the float.

admiring my PB of 3lb5oz - caught on a float too

I had roach to 3lbs4ozs at Linch but my PB came from Sway, just an ounce heavier but caught ‘properly’ on a delicate float. I also had my PB pole caught roach there too, an ounce under three pounds, so a much desired three on the pole is still out there to achieve. However, in my book any roach of a pound or more is a big fish and makes me a happy man and even if I’ve wasted a lot of my life in a quest for big ones I’ve loved every minute of it - well almost!

the pole can be deadly for really big roach

a gorgeous early morning two pounder - what beautiful fish they are

Sadly, a two pounder is now a distant dream on several once famous fisheries but the challenge remains and for me and many of my best pals, roach are still a constant cause of much head scratching and effort. So please get voting ... and if roach are the species that pulls your string, good on you ... but if not then still vote. I could easily have chosen tench or barbel, perch or pike, sea trout, mullet or bass, even carp for I love them all but as the saying goes, my favourite fish is the one I'm fishing for at the time. I just need to go out and fish more often!

beaut. 'nuisance fish' - carp are quite a struggle on roach gear!

As for my wife Sue, she loves tench, as I do ... but she says her favourite fish is the last one she eat!

time for tench

END OF SEASON BLUES

what a lovely place to start the day

There must be one of those sad Country and Western songs with a title like “End of Season Blues” but if not I’d better write one … ‘my girls left, my dogs died, my river’s shut down, now I can’t even fish no more’… I’ll find a tune later. However, on thinking about it, is the end of the river season sad … or a relief?

the river looked perfect - but was it?

It’s certainly a relief not to have to agonise over all those imponderables that we’re told might make a difference. The air pressure, the phase of the moon, the water temp. rising or falling, the colour and height of the river, the wind direction, the strength of flow … or whether someone has beaten you to your favourite swim! You shouldn’t have a favourite of course but base your decision on the conditions and that ‘sixth sense’ … sometimes called ‘watercraft’, whatever that is.

doesn't look promising today - hard frost overnight

Anyway, enough of the quandaries of fishing. Just being out there is often enough but being a roach fanatic, I badly needed to catch a good ‘un before it was too late, so chose to spend a day or two at the end of the season on the LAA’s stretch of the Hampshire Avon at Britford. It was busy of course, as you’d expect of a water that still has a good head of big roach. But there’s a lot of swims out there in the water meadows and plenty of choice.

the main carrier and roach heaven

the water meadows are a reminder of old English landscapes

I tried the Old River for the first time in many years and caught some lovely fat dace, good grayling, some beautiful brownies up to 3lbs and several chub, the best going 5/8ish. [I was roving with just rod and landing net so didn’t have scales, but it was larger than the 5/4 I’d caught the previous week.]

The scrap this fish put up was memorable because of where I hooked it. River keeper Stuart had pointed out the swim to me as a possibility for a big roach, a hollow under the far bank trees followed by a float-losing run alongside densely submerged willows. The cast to the far bank had to be arrowed through a small gap in the overhanging alder and the floats hanging in the branches served to stress the need for accuracy.

First trot produced a nice dace, followed by a small roach and a minnow. Then I managed to manoeuvre the float alongside the downstream willows and as it scraped past the branches, it dragged under. Assuming the hook had snagged on a sunken branch I pulled to free it but the branch pulled back. Violent thuds deep under the trees left me in no doubt that I’d hooked a large chub and all I could do was bend the rod to the butt and pray. Given the dense branches and the fast flow I hadn’t a hope of landing it but the seemingly inevitable parting of the ways didn’t happen and once the chub lost ground and plunged in mid stream I felt I had a chance. It tried to snag me on the nearside brambles, as they do, but in the end, despite it’s large mouth dragging in the fast flow like a drogue and taking the thin line close to breaking point, it succumbed to the net. Classic chub fishing.

a colourful grayling off to fight another day

Wandering the banks, it’s fun simply spraying maggots, trotting a float down the fast stream and seeing it disappear. Those grayling and their colourful dorsal fins certainly provide some entertaining resistance when hooked.

Most of my time was spent searching for the big roach but generally they were proving elusive for most of us, especially as the minnows had reached plague proportions. Add to that the pressure from numerous anglers and it was hard, so I was pleased to catch one or two roach to 1/5 and a great big chub on a last cast at dusk that convinced Trev and I that it was a huge roach. When hooked it rolled on the surface in true roach fashion and repeated the trick a couple more times before revealing its true identity. We were disappointed of course but at 5/4 it was still a fine fish.

a chunky chub - it would have weighed more than 5/4 if an otter hadn't eaten half it's tail

a beautiful dawn and feeling lucky today

On my second visit before seasons end, which proved to be my last, I tried to find a place where the big roach might seek refuge from the  angling pressure and arrived at dawn. As the sun rose I flicked my half sweetcorn bait under a far bank tree and caught a 1/11 first cast. This bait is reputed to be useless at Britford but at least using a bait other than maggots avoids the minnows and I always worry about the disturbance to shy roach when minnows are hoicked out of the swim.

river keeper Stuart and 1/11 of pristine roach

I wanted a picture of ace river keeper Stuart with one of his treasured roach, for it is due to his relentless efforts to protect them from cormorant predation while also providing good habitat that the roach thrive there in the first place. If only all river keepers were as hard working as Stuart, tireless in his mission to try to ensure anglers have a good day on his fishery.

So with a good roach photographed it was job done … though I still felt I was in for a good day, having started so well. Eleven hours later I caught my next fish, a big fat dace at dusk … but as if to prove I had waited in the right place, a roach rolled alongside my float as it disappeared into the gloaming.

the magic hour ... and sometimes it is

No two pound roach this time but I considered it a successful end to the season, for on the three days I fished in March I had enjoyed seeing 53 species of bird, along with water voles and wonderful views of a stoat hunting the river bank alongside my swim.

numerous roe deer decorate the meadows

Non of the birds were rare, though you can never tire of watching the glorious colours of bullfinches, admiring a tree creeper mousing up a tree alongside you or the floating beauty of a barn owl. Stuart and I saw one out in the meadows every day at around lunchtime. You’d expect to see it at this time if it was feeding young but they never breed in the winter. Perhaps it’s a result of last years productive breeding season, one of the best since records began. Perhaps this bird was just learning the ropes. The previous years breeding had been a disaster so it proves once again that nature has wonderful powers of recovery when given a chance. Let’s hope the Avon Roach Project and Stuart’s efforts prove positive for roach. Meanwhile, seeing a barn owl is always a treat.

our barn owl never came as close as in 'A Passion for Angling'

Birding is just as rewarding as catching another roach – well almost … and I’m always reminding myself that ‘there’s more to fishing than catching fish’.

So sadly, that’s it for another season, one full of happy memories of days spent with friends and their fish by the waterside. It's been an unforgettable one, for I managed three PB's - a 3/5 roach, a 3/9 rudd and an 11/2 barbel. Must try harder comes to mind and I will ... but now it’s on with the gardening and with luck, a tench or two.

a spectacular sky to end my season

BRITFORD BEAUTY

you've got to be there before dawn, even on a 'no hope' frosty morning - magic

If you are a mad keen roach angler like me there is one place you have to visit before the river season ends and that is the famous Hampshire Avon … and if you hope to catch a roach, your best bet is at Britford.

there are still shoals of big roach at Britford

a pair of mute swans with just one cygnet left - the others got 'ottered'

Dawn is always a magical time and there is nothing better than to watch the sun coming up and the wildlife starting to stir. It is also a good time to see rolling roach ... and if you know where they are you might just catch them, though I never hold my breath.

what beautiful creatures they are - don't you just love 'em

Those who fish for roach will be well aware of the demise of the once legendary shoals of Avon roach and there are now very few places on the river where you stand a chance of making contact. The Britford stretch is probably the best river in England for a big one and that’s thanks to the relentless protection they receive from the LAA’s river keeper, Stuart Wilson.

guardian of those glorious redfins - Stuart Wilson with camera shy Misty

predator eats predator © Stewart Canham

once only a coastal bird - not any more © Tunnicliffe

near two pounder damaged by a cormorant downstream of Britford

Tireless in his pursuit of the ‘black death’, Stuart is a diamond, as hard working, friendly and helpful a guy as you could ever wish to meet … and his attitude rubs off on those who visit, for the atmosphere is one of camaraderie among those who seek the elusive silver ghosts. So the friendly character of those around you is one of the best reasons for just ‘being there’.

what a lovely chubby spot

a sad end to our 49 year old Monterey Cypress

it was a magnificent 70 feet tall - what a crash!

I couldn’t visit much this last winter due to the gales ripping eight huge trees out of the ground in our garden, so lots of clearing up to do. But when I was beside those crystal clear waters I did manage to catch a few, including a beautiful male grayling of 1/11. It took a long time to recover from the violent fight it put up, so if you’re lucky enough to catch a good ‘un, do take your time in releasing it and only do so when it is strong enough to swim off strongly.

grayling recovering in the flooded shallows

And while I’m banging on about fish welfare, why is it that so many who visit feel compelled to use a keepnet? We love our roach but then subject them to the cruellest imprisonment. Many of the roach I saw caught were missing many of their scales and had frayed fins … and no surprise when they have been trapped in the strong flow for up to eight hours.

cormorants or keepnet damage - what's the difference

There were several anglers too who commented on catching roach that weighed 1/15 instead of the magical 2lbs. Now if those roach had been free to feed instead of incarcerated, maybe many of them would have put on that extra ounce and become fish of a lifetime! The LAA are never going to ban the use of keepnets for roach, even if they should, but we could all do our bit by not using them, or restricting their use to a few minutes while waiting for Stuart to come and take a trophy shot. I no longer use keepnets because they damage the very creatures that we treasure most. Ask yourself why you use them. Why?

classic Constable country

Enough of that. I had a great few days on the river and not just with the fish, which included several roach to a little short of the magical two pounds, along with that bonny grayling and a fat chub of 5/3. Apart from some warm friendships, the other highlights were of the feathered variety. A peregrine in full stoop, kestrels, buzzards, sparrow hawks, a red kite and that rarest of sightings, a goshawk circling above the Downs. Unlike so many species in the UK, they are increasing ... but only slowly due to illegal persecution.

powerful hunters © Tunnicliffe

I spent two years making a film about gowhawks for ITV and the Americans called ‘Phantom of the Forest’ so was able to assure Stuart that it was indeed a gos when he suggested I was wrong! What powerful birds they are, so impressive when they bring down male pheasants in full flight, a highlight of my film.

called the 'seven whistler' after it's call © Ching

There were plenty of those delightful water rails creeping about, snipe and lapwing on the flooded water-meadows too and I was surprised to hear whimbrel calling from the marshes so early in the season. They were on their way from West Africa to their breeding grounds in Scotland or Scandinavia but the birds that surprised and excited me most were a pair of hawfinches, spotted in the trees opposite my swim on the final day of the season. They are getting increasingly rare, their breeding numbers  having fallen by 75% in the last 25 years, so I counted myself extremely lucky to have seen them, even though Stuart has seen hawfinches there in the past.

you don't want to get bitten by that beak © Ching

Just as ‘the magic hour’ was gloaming and to put the icing on the cake, I caught a roach of over a pound trotting to the tail of my swim on the ‘last cast’ … though a few more casts followed after that success!

the perfect end to the season

There wasn’t a mark on this immaculate roach, almost as if it had never been caught … and to put the season to bed I saw two barn owls and a tawny owl on the way home. Now how long is it to June 16^th - I can’t wait.

a perfect sunset to end the season