| MARK WINTLE |
| Mark Wintle, an angler for thirty-five years, is on a quest to discover and bring to you the magic of fishing. Previously heavily involved with match fishing he now fishes for the sheer fun of it. With an open and enquiring mind, each week Mark will bring to you articles on fishing different rivers, different methods and what makes rivers, and occasionally stillwaters, tick. Add to this a mixed bag of articles on catching big fish; tackle design, angling politics and a few surprises. Are you stuck in a rut fishing the same swim every week? Do you dare to try something different and see a whole new world of angling open up? Yes? Then read Mark Wintle’s regular column. |
| TRAVEL LIGHT, KEEP WARM – WINTER FISHING ON COLD CLEAR RIVERS Now that winter’s here it’s time to change my fishing habits. No more static sitting legering, and instead plenty of active trotting. The onset of colder weather in late November this year failed to curtail my fishing (the floods at the start of December did though!) but it was how I went about it that made it endurable, enjoyable and successful.
Having spent much of the summer and early autumn patiently fishing boilies for big chub, a static form of fishing, I have no qualms in setting my sights much lower during the winter. Whereas in the summer I could get out several evenings a week, this is much restricted in winter to Saturdays, and some Sunday afternoons. The river gods are no respecters of when I or anyone else can fish, and so it is down to the vagaries of British weather and the resultant conditions that dictate what my prospects will be each weekend. Putting it bluntly, with only one day a week fishing to look forward to, I want some action. So many conditions can upset prospects; frost, snow, floods, gales, the river’s too high, too coloured, too clear, too low, or too cold. And yet… It has to be pretty grim to stop me getting out and catching altogether. The easiest get-out clause is if it’s mild but the river is really badly flooded. It that case, it should be easy to find a stillwater that’s worth fishing; might even have a chance of a tench or carp. But let’s look at how I got on last month on the river to see what can be learnt from it. Late November’s conditions were a dropping, normal winter level river with a slight tinge of colour, hard frosts, and biting Northerly winds. The river was in better condition the first weekend than the second, when it had dropped another four inches and had less colour. The first factor in finding some sport was choosing where to head on the Stour, my local river. With thirty miles of water to pick from, it is a seemingly impossible task. But I’m looking for somewhere that has a good head of fish, not necessarily monsters, that will fish in these conditions. Experience has shown that faster water seems to be better than really slow stretches. The tidal reaches have the head of fish but can be very poor after a frost (seemingly devoid at times!). Other parts of the lower Stour like Throop and the waters above have the big chub but it will be patchy and I’m looking for consistent sport. The middle reaches around Wimborne can produce in the cold though it is many years since it was really productive in adverse conditions here. No, it’s the upper reaches above Blandford that seem to be best. There is such a variety of water here to choose from, with long deep, slow reaches as well as much more natural stretches with pools, runs, and shallows. And it is in conditions like these that I look for faster water around three to five feet deep running over gravel. In conditions like these it will be small chub (plus the odd better one), dace and roach that make up my catches, and so it has proved. It was too cold for perch and gudgeon, the other two main species found here.
Tackle set-up is simple. A float rod, small fixed spool loaded with 2.5lb floating line, a small crow quill Avon shotted with a bulk of around 5BB plus a couple of droppers, terminating in a size 18 Drennan Carbon Chub hook. If the fish are really shy I’ll drop down to a 20 though that’s not usually necessary. Much of this part of the river is boily and only if I am trying the really smooth glides when the water is low would I prefer to use a stick float. This is still a fairly light yet well balanced set-up. It’s versatile enough to fish anything from three feet of fast water to the deepest holes which are around twelve feet deep and it is stout enough to handle the chub that are found hereabouts, fish of two to three pounds, especially now virtually all the weed has gone. It lacks the finesse of the gear I use when targeting the big roach on this water; that’s bread punch fishing and needs better conditions than this.Note to river gods: river up a foot, nice tinge, dropping, mild, gentle Southerly wind, overcast, please. I don’t encumber myself too much either; I carry two reels, two rods (float and quivertip). Bait is usually two pints of maggots, plus several slices of bread and a modest amount of groundbait. I don’t bother with a chair or box. I can fish most swims standing up no problem, and it’s less to carry. It’s active trotting work in the main, and it’s surprising how warm this keeps you.
But you do need to keep warm. I’ve never liked one piece suits, preferring lots of layers. Unless the banks are really icy I stick to waders but use Skeetex liners instead of thick socks. I do avoid standing in the water if I can help it. A hat is essential, and a hooded top no bad thing despite Ron’s aspersions on the forum. The twists and turns of the river help in that even with a Northerly wind it’s possible to find shelter in the lee of the high banks and clumps of trees. These spots are sometimes sun traps as well which makes it more bearable. So to sum up:
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