| 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. |
Chub and Cheese PasteTWO YEARS AGO, when I started these articles, one of the potential subjects was fishing with cheese. But how could I find out about the bait and where to fish?
Through our deliberations (troublemaking’, some would say) on the BRFC I’d kept in touch with Andy Nellist earlier this year, and knew that he was having plenty of success with cheese paste on the Thames around Oxford. What finally made up my mind was that in his previous 10 sessions on the Thames he’d had 49 chub with half going 4lb+ and the largest 6-4. His biggest chub on cheese paste from that area is 6-10. A weekend away not too far from Oxford gave me an opportunity to meet up with Andy for a short afternoon session on the Thames. He would supply the bait and expertise, and I’d take care of the article; job done! Andy had been having plenty of chub, including some crackers over 6lbs, in cold, clear conditions, often fishing after dark, but also catching during daylight. Andy had no problem in meeting up on the Thames at Oxford for the afternoon so that was sorted. I had to be back at the hotel by 6pm (it was my wife, Valerie’s, birthday, so I could only push my luck so far!), and therefore wouldn’t be joining him for the evening fishing. Heavy rain midweek soon changed the cold clear conditions. When I looked at the river in Oxford on the Friday it was two foot up, very coloured and pushing through. With no significant rain predicted for the next forty-eight hours, I was confident that the river would drop in time for Sunday, and saw no need to panic. This is where local knowledge comes in; it is always worth understanding the effect of heavy rain on your local river, and this can help you make the best decision when it comes to choosing a venue. In contrast to the Thames, the Kennet looked spot on the Friday with the extra tinge and flow.
On the Saturday we went exploring the Kennet valley, moving on to the middle Thames. It was an opportunity to take plenty of river shots, and check out the conditions. Though the Thames was still pushing through, the colour was improving, and that given another 24 hours would be fishable. Final port of call was next to the bridge at Clifton Hampden. Leaving Valerie in the car, I walked across the bridge to hear someone toot a car horn at me. A minute later, as I entered the gate to the towpath, Andy shouted from his car. He was going fishing nearby, and had spotted me. I’d wondered what the strange niff in the air was, but it was only his famous suit. After a chat, Andy went to fish further downstream, whilst my wife wondered if I had pre-arranged to meet Andy by mobile but it was just one of those coincidences. Sunday dawned several degrees colder and much windier than the pleasant late winter sunshine of the previous afternoon. A bitter north-easterly gale with light rain had set in, and once we’d met up, we decided to find some swims with at least a modicum of shelter. The current had moderated enough that we would be able to fish virtually where we wanted though the wind might make bite detection difficult at times. The tactics were simple. Using suitable rods with heavy quivertips and lines around 8lbs (Andy likes to use W B Clarke 7.9 straight-through, whereas I used Daiwa Sensor 6lbs, with W B Clarke 7.9 as hooklink). Link legers were by using swan shot which gives the ability to increase or decrease the weight quickly. The hook was a Drennan Specimen size 4 with a tail of around a foot. A sizeable chunk of cheese paste is wrapped around the line and slid down onto the hook leaving the hook point proud. That’s the easy bit over, the next bit is understanding the river well enough to identify likely holding spots, and then figure out how to fish them. On the narrower part of the river here it was easy enough to cast across to the far side working around the overhanging trees. The object is to get the lead to just hold for a while, then shift, then hold, so that the bait explores the swim. Once the bait has moved well down and in, it is struck off and the operation repeated. It is the classic rolling leger method that Peter Stone was writing about over forty years ago when fishing this same reach. This method has to be an all-time classic in that it still works. Our first choice of swims was disturbed by the antics of four kayakers on the old weir pool behind us, just twenty feet from where we were fishing. The river is complex here, with the river split into two channels that are joined by another channel with a footbridge. It’s the site of the last flash weir on the Thames, removed in 1932, though there are still two deep pools. The disturbance did Andy’s concentration no good at all so we upped sticks and moved onto a quieter part where it’s much wider. Although we could cast right across, we settled for fishing just past middle, again allowing the current to roll the bait through on the hold and shift principle.
After telling me that the bites may be subtle Andy got a strong pull and connected with a chub. With a powerful current to assist it, the chub fought well but was soon in netting range. At a wind assisted 4lbs (actually 3-15), it was a decent fish in excellent condition. With no more bites in this area over the next half hour we gave the narrower channel another shot but apart from a 12oz fish from the Nursery swim for Andy we continued to struggle. I’d only got half an hour before I needed to pack up so we decided to put in the last few minutes on a couple of good swims further upstream. It was facing the full force of the icy gale but for half an hour it was bearable. Despite our best efforts we had no further action. Though I’ve blanked I’ve learnt plenty. I lack Andy’s confidence in the method, but I know that with more practice I can catch fish using it. It wasn’t dissimilar to how I recently fished the Stour using flake on a size 4 when I lost a big chub. When I tentatively started fishing boilies for chub I was only half convinced they’d work though I knew full well just how successful they could be for chub, and so it is with cheese paste. The smell in itself is part of its attraction that can coax chub into finding the bait. It has been good fun fishing with Andy as we’ve put the world to rights regarding record fish, catching chub, canoes, and trying to understand one of the most challenging and enigmatic rivers in England. Despite its problems the potential for amazing catches from the Thames is as good as ever. As for record fish and the BRFC; let’s just say you haven’t heard the last from us!
Conclusions Cheese paste remains a deadly bait; sometimes the best winter chub bait in many conditions, both clear and coloured. As with all chub fishing, the ability to cast accurately and quietly cannot be overstated. Don’t be afraid to use substantial gear to fish it either. I shall certainly give it another go in the future. |
