Tag Archives: angling

Horse & Groom Fishery, Lea Bridge.

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by in The Lea Valley

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the horse and groom public house Lea Bridge

Back in the day when ‘snatching’ or ‘dragging’ for salmon on the Lea was forbidden from the last day of February to the start of November, the Horse and Groom Fishery was one of the best fishing stations to join, if one was to angle. Mr Teale, the landlord of the Horse and Groom charged the sum of ten shillings and sixpence for the annual subscription or a shilling for the day. At that time the Lea was quite remote for anglers to visit, so taking a stage-coach via Clapton or Walthamstow and disembarking at the Lea Bridge was the main option to get to the river. Crystal clear water would flow over shallow gravel runs perfect for monster barbel to congregate, while views could be enjoyed across the Hackney and Walthamstow marshes and beyond toward Epping Forest. These were good times for the River Lea, before any urbanisation had set in from the near by encroaching villages. Thereafter the river slowly became polluted by domestic and small industrial waste. By the late nineteenth century the Lea was heavily polluted and fish stocks decimated. Thankfully now the river is recovering especially after a big clean up operation for the Olympics in 2012 which has stopped any sewage entering the Lea Navigation at Tottenham and getting washed down into the natural river at Lea Bridge.  The marshes still exist today although reduced in size and drained of its water so that locals can enjoy the open space for football, cricket, or the various nature reserves that are dotted around this area. The natural Lea still has a personality that can be recognised from a book written over 150 years ago, the  ‘Anglers Guide to the Horse & Groom’, although the abundance of fish species have diminished.

The Lower Lea – A neglected river & her anglers.

17 Wednesday Jul 2013

Posted by in The Lea Valley

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Since June 16th I’ve not been out fishing due to all sorts of things getting in the way, but I have managed to spend some time observing the Lower Lea, my disguise is my daughters pram and a pair of Polaroids, laden below the perambulator are some free bait offerings and a catapult just in case I come across some feeding carp.  The Lea around Hackney doesn’t really get fished that much although I have seen a few regulars all fishing for a different quarry. It is now mid July and we are having a proper heatwave, the river is running clear and the fish are probably only biting at dawn and dusk or in the night.

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You may ask why am I pointing out these anglers to you on a fairly average stretch of river? Well, the Lower Lea is not an easy place to fish, with past pollution outbreaks and now a dominant presence of the cormorant, the poor old fish population has suffered but there are plenty of above average fish still in the Lower Lea, I know because I have seen them and on the odd occasion caught them. To be a Lower Lea angler you have to be resourceful, banks are over grown and the fish are hiding below the over hanging branches and under-cut banks from the ever-present cormorant. Getting to a swim can be quite demanding although now in mid July long dry trodden grass reveals the routes taken by anglers to the rivers edge. Once a swim is cleared of the Giant Hogweed and the burning blisters subdued, a session on the river can commence, as I said the Lower Lea angler is no ordinary piscator, he has to take his fishing just a little further.

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The rover…

A frequent visitor is the quintessential rover searching for perch and pike, armed with a rucksack, short spinning rod and a few soft and hard lures, he does quite well, I’ve seen some photos of his catches, including a huge perch of 3lbs plus. I’ve seen him walking a good stretch of the river and canal covering a good few miles each time while I dart between glides on a mountain bike, a simple approach but with results.

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The specimen hunter…

This chap reeks of the Jim Gibbinson era with his camouflage jacket, aviator Polaroids and shoulder length hair, he starts fishing at around midnight, no bivvie for him just a thick jumper and the shelter of a overhanging bush. I came across this guy one morning tucked away oblivious to many a dog walker as he sat in wait for one of the huge carp that cruise by in the streamer weed. He told me of monster bream he had caught that night, up to 10 lbs! I’m used to listening to anglers tales of monsters but this guy sounded ok to me, his approach and knowledge of the river seemed pretty sound and his captures matched with my own observations of where the big carp and bream lie.

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The fly-fisher

On the better dressed side of angling I came across an angler sporting a pair of waders and a red beard in search of chub or possibly an elusive London brownie. After climbing down the side of a broken wall he was seen wading out into the head of a weir casting up into some faster flowing water. I told him of some chub further down and he soon departed and disappeared through the tall grass.  A spirited challenge I thought as I moved on pushing the pram.

IMG_1012The Lower Lea has a fascination, quite different from the Walton days and the three hundred years of industrial abuse it has endured afterwards, now I feel that this short stretch of river has reclaimed a sense of being natural again, wild and left to its own. Dog walkers, joggers and pram pushers all pass by, oblivious to the nature and the anglers that lurk, all hidden away.

Behind the boats.

23 Thursday May 2013

Posted by in General fishing

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A few weeks back I was camping with a group of friends in Sussex, my main responsibility that weekend was to organise a little fishing trip for some of the youngsters, so I booked six of us in to a commercial day ticket water for some assured bagging action! Well we succeeded in the sense of catching some fish but my heart sank from the moment we arrived with the usual carp brigade all bivvyed and brewed up. Commercials have no place in the Tuesday swim, an antidote was needed well away from these piscatorial dogging ponds.

A trip to the sea was needed and a search for a spring bass on the prowl.

Dungeoness is a place I have know for thirty years or more since I was a teenager and each time I visit this place it greets me un-changed, a reassuring feeling that puts you at ease from the start, just like sliding on an old pair of jeans. On the way into Dungeoness via the Romney Marsh a visit to Seagull Angling for some last-minute advice, some rag worms and a few spare weights is a must. Just like Dungeoness, Seagull Angling has changed little, stuffed with plenty of terminal gear and a few rods and reels, tackle shops that deal primarily in sea tackle by nature have not been affected quite so much by the carp epidemic, the smell is not of Scopex squid more but more earthy worm and tobacco smoke, believe it or not this is my favoured smell.

After some sound advice we set off to the point named ‘Behind the boats’ just down from the Dungeoness point where Derek Jarman famously had his shack with the flotsam and jetsam garden at the front. The shack is still there along with other wooden houses that gives the impression of a Mississippi delta rather than the garden of England.

On the beach we cast out three ounce wired leads on rather under powered carp rods but just managed to get the lugworm out far enough and hold for an incoming bass on the hunt. We were fishing an hour before low tide and then planned to fish on for another three or four hours on the rising tide. Prime time would have been an hour after high at around 7.00pm as the light levels were starting to drop but we didn’t have that luxury of time.

IMG_0004Despite this the weather was quite favourable, a blanket haze was cast over the whole area and the wind was moderate, we now had to wait with a re-cast every 10-15 minutes to check on baits and terminal tackle.

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Just on the turn of the tide my rod started to twitch in a manner that didn’t match the rhythms of the waves so I struck with the end result of a silver sea perch, enough for two fillets for our supper that night. Sea bass really are magical and now I’m thinking about a moonlit hunt for these wonderful fish.
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Angling Auctions spring 2013

28 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by in Tackle

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Twice a year The Tuesday Swim and Andrews of Arcadia meet for the biannual Angling Auctions at Chiswick town hall, West London. Viewing is available from Friday lunchtime and the main show commences at twelve noon on Saturday the 6th April.

This not so un-likely pairing shall as usual be holding fort on the rod section, please come along and re-arrange the rods from their allotted places and enjoy our anguished faces as said rods are moved back INTO THE CORRECT ORDER!

If only the military was organised with such efficiency and precision.

Auction rods

Within the Streams by John Hillaby

04 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by in Reading

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Continuing on with the theme of old classic angling books, Within the Streams was found on EBay a few years back but strangely through the seller recognising my EBay name as a fellow professional photographer a dialogue started up which has now become a friendship and almost ended up in a few fishing trips, alas so far they have been aborted but we will go fishing one day…Nick!

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Back to the book, first published in 1949 it covers a mix of a dozen or so coarse and game stories with a winter codling addition to complete a picture of a complete angler. The first chapter – Colliers and Carp at Dawn is a magical twenty pages that recalls the authors early days of angling and the realisation of the existence of carp, the coal miners who fished for them and the realities of working the mines and using carp fishing as an escape. This is not a flowery tale, it is a basic and raw story of strong men who at times have been broken by the pits and haunted by death. The principles of angling and its antidote to the daily grind hang heavy throughout this chapter, but it is excellent…

‘Mist, fish, the metallic call of the water birds and the prospect of a day with a rod was a splendid and never to be forgotten pleasure.

At dawn the miners would arrive.

Many of them came straight from the pits, unwashed and tired. They stretched out work-stiffened limbs, bent over the banks on their bellies and splashed the cool water into their eyes until it ran down their faces, making chalky channels in the grime. They loved the place too, and many of them were excellent fishermen.’

Within the streams 1

Within the streams 2

Fishing & Flying.

14 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Reading

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Currently there appears to be a trend for publishers to fill the market with angling liturature written by anglers who like to tread in the hallowed steps of anglers/writers like Yates, Walker, Venables etc etc. These books on first inspection can be beautifully produced, normally with some very fine photography and illustrations but when one starts to read these books I get bored very quickly.  These fishy tales seems to come from a very familiar yarn of searching for lost ponds and time spent pouring tea and eating cake while slagging off the ‘bivvy brigade’ (an easy target if there was ever one to have a go at!) and talk of a bygone era that has never been experienced first hand, these books never seem to have a direction they just meander just like the rivers they fish. Also these authors tend to run out of steam quite quickly so the final few chapters have the presence of the publishers cracking the whip to get the book finished in time for the ‘launch’ so a moribund account of angling tales conclude these titles. Then you have the launch, men queueing up to a get as many limited editions copies signed ready to load up onto the Bay of E!

There are some great current angling writers out there at present, Chris Yates’s almost child-like and enthusiastic view of the world and angling to crafted literature like Luke Jenning’s ‘Bloodknots’ and John Andrew’s ‘For Those Left behind’. Luke’s book is a real page turner due to the intreguing plot and characters while John’s book has a far more personal touch but both of these books have been written with care, time has been spent, each sentence  has been considered very carefully, these are not rushed books. I think this is why we are still waiting for another book from both of these authors! Another good ‘page turner’ that springs to mind is Jon Berry’s ‘Benneath the Black Water’ which takes the reader along a journey of obsession with catching ferox trout at the expense of his personal relationships and the financial demands. Jon has written some other books and I have heard good things but I have not yet got around to reading them. Dexter Petley is another fantastic author who has penned many books but has only really touched on angling with articles for Waterlog magazine (when Waterlog was a credible publication). I wish Dexter would write some more on angling, his pieces on fishing the Walthamstow reservoirs in the 1980’s are as dark and brooding and the reservoirs themselves…superb.

There is an antidote to the ‘fruit cake’ authors as I like to call them by tracking down angling liturature from the era that most of my old fishing tackle comes from, the pre and post second world war era. One such book is Fishing and Flying by Terence Horsley with illustrations by T F Tunnicliffe.

Fishing and Flying starts off with a whirlwind tour of Britain in the air from the cockpit of his Spitfire, yes Terence is a World War II pilot and a keen fisher especially for sea trout at night. Every page is rich with descriptions of his experiences in the air, by the river or simply his encounters with people like the poacher in the local pub over a pint. At this time of year a good pile of books is required for fireside reading, there are plenty of books out there at present that can be used to feed the fire, I hope to list some books here over the next few months that are good to read!

A pair of Allcocks Aerial C 815 3 & 3/4″ centrepins.

01 Monday Oct 2012

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I have always fancied owning an Allcocks Aerial, some models do command a very high price amongst collectors which has put me off but many are quite reasonably priced especially the post war models which are excellent users.

This weekend was an early start as I was working at the Angling Auctions in Chiswick, while browsing through the cabinets on the friday I spotted an Aerial C 815 which was a good ‘user’ and I had a thought that it may just pass by the bidders who seem more focused on Speedias (currently very much the reel of choice amongst traditional users) or the more elite centre pins like the Coxon and the earlier Allcocks that the collectors favour.

Lot 192 came up, a starting bid of one hundred was announced and the room fell silent, my hand raised and the hammer fell, Neil at Angling Auctions does not like to hang about when the room becomes a little sleepy, a few quick lots normally wake the hall. It happened a little later on with a pristine Mark IV thats also fell at the hammer for a £100!

Coincidently, this weekend I had my eye on a EBay lot marked down as a selection of sea tackle, pick up only. Within the single group photograph lay what suspiciously looked  like another Allcocks Aerial. I contacted the seller and my suspicions were correct after two new images were sent. Sunday night, a last-minute bid with a few seconds to go and another Aerial was in my possession for £30, plus a fishing bag, cardinal reel, some sea rods, a fly waistcoat and a fly box! The lot was up in the west Midlands somewhere but this is where my cunning plan came together, I’m heading there this thursday to fish the Wye at Hereford for my annual week after barbus maximus, and possibly a Wye pike to celebrate the start of the pike season. In the meantime the reel pictured will be loaded with 8 or 10 lb line (I can’t decide yet) and hopefully the other Aerial when picked up will get the same treatment as I take it down to the Wye.

Angling Auctions September 2012

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

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Myself and John Andrew of Arcadia take on the bi-annual task of donning a tie and looking after the rod section at Angling Auctions at the Chiswick Town Hall, London. Twice a year we carefully un-wrap the cling film from the bundles of rods, assemble the rods while avoiding the old light sockets dangling from the town halls ceiling in wait for an excitable bunch of traditional anglers.

I do this twice a year because of my interest in old tackle, I like to hear the tall tails from some larger than life characters and generally listen to John having a moan, wouldn’t miss it for the world! If you are in the area I urge you to drop in either for the viewing on Friday 28th September and Saturday morning or try the auction from noon onwards. Each auction is an education and beyond the usual displays of Coxon’s and Silex’s are the boxes that lay under the tables, old collections of tackle and potential gold. Prices are up and down but there is always a bargain to be had, even without a penny in your pocket it is well worth a visit but don’t tell Neil I said that!

If you like the smell of old tackle shops then pop down this 28th and 29th.

Tackle boxes part eleven…the artist tackle box?

31 Friday Aug 2012

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Finding suitable receptacles for fishing tackle can be a challenge, perhaps nerdy but ultimately good fun. Artist boxes are a good option as the outside finish is normally well polished which keeps the rain off in more extreme outdoors situations when angling.

Here I have an example of a small artist box that takes a modest tackle collection and will accommodate some floats where once brushes would have laid. Pictured here the box has some old tackle along with a collection of past fishing licenses. Dabs of oil paint cover the lid from a previous artists journey into colour and composition, brightening the greyest of days while out on the river.

Tackle boxes part ten, the rod box.

09 Thursday Aug 2012

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Like most fanatical anglers buying tackle is an addiction especially those with a taste for cane rods. In an ideal world a rod room would be appropriate but with my current moving from one abode to another and roving small hands, a safe but fitting way to store cane rods is in an old Victorian or Edwardian rod box.

Back in the day one would lift the solid pine box laden with salmon rods onto an awaiting carriage and there onto Paddington station, then take the night-sleeper to the North West of Scotland in anticipation of a salmon or two. Well those days are long gone but these well-built boxes still exist and you maybe lucky enough to find one still covered in the old transportation labels of yesteryear and possibly the initials of a previous owner. The ends are normally reinforced with metal on the outside and internal brass fittings on the inside, the hinged lid held down with leather straps buckled around each end and a built-in brass cabinet lock to secure it, these boxes were built to last!

The insides are plain apart from some retaining leather straps to hold the rods in place.  These days a Cordura covered aluminum tube have put these old boxes out to grass, but may I suggest for home storage these boxes are beautiful to look at and perfect for the task of storing old rods. For the purist, one can place brass hooks on the inside so to hang your beloved cane rods but I gently pack them full so that they stay together in a neat straight bundle.

I have two rod boxes, both with leather handles just like an old suitcase, one is five feet six and can take all my ten foot two piece rods, the other box is a bit of a monster at seven feet but comfortably takes all the longer two piece eleven foot six rods I possess. The larger of the two have the monogram ‘O C B’, I’m afraid I have no idea who that person was but he or she must have owned some seriously long salmon rods, possible spliced rods?

The smaller box which is a really nice size and still has the Paddington station railway label stuck on the box from many moons ago.