Winter on the Dorset StourChristmas JoyIt all began on Christmas Day. One of the better presents I received from my wife was membership of Ringwood & District AA. I was well pleased with that but she appeared to be less than ecstatic with my gift to her, a Boots Special Boxed Perfume Set (reduced by 50% – with price tag intact!). Must try harder next year.
Anyway, back to more important things. My new membership opened up all sorts of fishy challenges as I leafed through the venues book. An abundance of waters assaulted my eyes, many of which I knew from when I used to live down that way. Definitely some good looking lakes and pits which will receive my attention once spring and summer arrive. But it was the various stretches of the Dorset Stour and Hampshire Avon that really caught my eye, particularly Throop. New Year ResolutionIt had been a long time since I regularly fished Throop, having lived just a few hundred yards away for 20+ years. My rare recent visits had revealed a very familiar looking river but its inhabitants had changed dramatically. My New Year resolution was to give those inhabitants, particularly the chub and barbel, some serious effort. I also resolved to try for them with my favourite way of fishing, namely trotting a float. I wouldn’t ignore the feeder or other static methods but would enjoy the challenge that this pacy river in full winter flow would provide.Too Much RainThe first trip was a washout! Despite swapping emails and various phone conversations with my angling relations and a certain Mr Wintle, I totally ignored their good advice and drove the 70+ miles to find the Stour in raging mood and fast emptying into the fields. Even the most hardened barbel anglers stayed at home as, although fishable in some areas, most access points were downright dangerous. I ended up on an Avon sidestream trotting for some nice dace and chublets.The second visit was a little better. Still high and mighty but at least some parts were accessible. It was reasonably mild and some barbel were landed but not by me. I did learn a lot that day, particularly; get up earlier if you want the ‘prime swims’! Weekends are popular on Throop and when swim choice is restricted by conditions, competition can be fierce. On a more positive note, I met and talked to a couple of the regulars. They were extremely welcoming and helpful and some of their advice was to stand me in good stead in the coming weeks.
At LastThe final week of January and at last the Stour was fining down nicely. But I struggled for most of the day. I did manage a couple of small chub on the float and a few even smaller roach but the big boys didn’t seem to want to play. I had already decided to fish into the first hour of darkness and I was glad I did. Still trotting my Avon float amid the gathering gloom, I finally found myself attached to a decent chub. I was very happy to see the scales settle on 5lb 6oz. I kidded myself that there was enough light available for another trot and hey presto, another chub. This one was only 12oz bigger but that put it over the magical 6lb mark, 6lb 2oz to be precise. I had a very satisfied look on my face as I drove home.A Red Letter DayI was back the following weekend and found the river in near perfect winter trim. I had arrived early and had time for a good chat with another early riser. I hardly saw another angler all day and even checked my book to make sure the fishery hadn’t been closed for a ‘shoot day’. But no, we were OK. We were both about to enjoy a tremendous day with the chub!I decided on a ‘known swim’ just below a rocky tumbling weir and chose to start off with the maggot feeder. A selection made with the aim of getting regular but small amounts of feed into the swim and then maybe switching to the float, any loose feed would have been swept down to Christchurch harbour before it hit bottom! Within 30 minutes the tip flew round and I had my first fish of the day. Had I lost that fish, I would have sworn it was a big barbel but when a superb chub eventually slid into the net, I was very happy indeed. At 6lb 6oz it equalled my PB from many years ago! Throughout the morning I switched between feeder and float and by 12 noon I had two more chub. One fell to the float and the other to the feeder and pulled the scales round to 6lb 3oz and 6lb 4oz! To say I was happy is an understatement. I fished on through the afternoon and evening and landed a further eight chub between 3lb and 5lb 9oz plus a solitary 1lb roach. Most fell to the float. The guy I met earlier stayed on the feeder all day and had, I believe, six ‘6’s’! This chub fishing bears little resemblance to the old days! Other DistractionsI was keen to have another go as soon as possible but had previously booked an appointment with the Bristol Avon in the company of Messrs (and Mrs) Spiller, Nellist, Williams et al. Far from being a distraction, I had a superb weekend and sharing a B&B with Andy was ‘interesting’! It was a properly cold weekend and not a lot was caught!
A Midweek SocialNormal service was resumed as I managed a day off work to meet up with Dicky who just happened to be down that way. It was Valentine’s Day and somehow Dicky had got a pass from his lovely partner and my wife hadn’t spoken to me since Christmas Day! We ended up sharing a swim made for one and during a bright but cold afternoon we put the world to rights. I did fluke a nice 4lb 8oz chub and we each had a lively sea trout apiece. An enjoyable day out.A Blank With FriendsThe following Saturday, after my tales of ‘chub heaven’, I was joined by Mike and Claudia. Full of optimism and overflowing with confidence, we met very early in the car park. Twelve very cold hours later we trudged back to the cars having blanked in fine style. Except Mike, whose last gasp monster bullhead caused much merriment and at least got things back into perspective. It was all Mark Wintle’s fault; he came round mid afternoon doing his David Bailey impersonation.So There Are Barbel There Then!On the last Sunday of February I miserably failed the challenge of walking past the ‘tumbling weir swim’ but almost had some more prayers answered. I had to wait until very late in the afternoon but found myself attached to what felt like a very decent fish. It turned out to be a barbel of around 9lb but as I was playing it, fully under control, or so I thought, it just came off! To cap it all, a short while later, I lost another, bigger, barbel. To lose one, OK, but to lose two, that’s careless! I did land a fine 5lb 10oz chub which gave me some consolation but the 70 mile drive home took hours and hours.That’s How To Do It!The first weekend in March saw me a couple of miles further downstream seeking sanctuary from the howling westerly gales. That invariably means blowing straight downstream on most of the fishery. It also turned out to be sparsely populated by fellow anglers with only one other to be seen. Unfortunately he was in ‘my’ swim!I wandered about a lot, tried several areas but could not settle. Eventually, with permission, I ended up an almost decent distance upstream of him. We were both trotting, he with a big wire stemmed stick, I with my trusty cork on quill Avon. I did manage one rather scruffy chub of 4lb 15oz which was one more than the guy below. But he excelled with the barbel as I had the privilege of witnessing two doubles (11lb 10oz and 12lb 3oz) both caught on single maggot on a 20! That was some feat of angling and whilst both took an age to land, they both swam away fully recharged and very healthy. Food for thought! Last Chance SaloonWhere had the last two months gone? This was the last weekend of the season and my final opportunity until mid June! I was very happy with the chub results but I was still missing the barbel. Strong winds and driving rain did little to boost the confidence but it was mild and once I’d glimpsed the river and saw a little tinge of colour, I was up for it.
Once more I went downstream and sought shelter from the worst of the gusting downstreamer. This time I had the river to myself although it soon became a bit like Piccadilly Circus. Even if I do say so myself, I fished well, trotting with the Avon and quickly contacted a very sizable sea trout that only came adrift after trashing the swim with style. I then had to wait quite some time, not helped by a few ‘sky liners’ on the opposite bank, but constant drip feeding a few maggots worked as I hooked a substantial fish. I tried not to rush but was keen to see it, sure it was a barbel but I needed to see the fish! Indeed it was a barbel and when it finally slid over the net I let out a very audible sigh of relief, an immaculate barbel of 8lb 13oz. As the afternoon ticked by, I added a few chub with the best weighing in at 4lb 15oz together with another sea trout, although somewhat smaller at around 3lb. As the light faded, I switched to the feeder. The tip was continually dancing in the wind but just after 6pm it dived towards the water and another solid, dogged resistance was felt. Although now on stronger gear, this one went really well but finally slid into the net. I thought it might just be a ‘double’ but was more than pleased with a final reading of 9lb 10oz. Well satisfied that I had at least achieved my targets, I didn’t notice the howling winds and torrential rain as I headed back to the car.
In SummaryAfter nine trips and more than 1,300 miles of mainly motorway driving I was well pleased with the results of my efforts. I had netted some superb chub and barbel and had learnt so much more about that stretch of the modern day Dorset Stour. Even the somewhat sobering thought that none of those fish met the minimum qualifying weights for the RDAA Specimen Trophies (barbel 11lb & chub 6lb 8oz) hasn’t dimmed my sense of achievement!Roll on June 16th!
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