Fishing

Itchen

Managed a day out yesterday by joining the guys I cancelled earlier.
Biggest problem with the location is that it's 4 hours away and 4 hours back so a 4am start.
Anyway the fishing was on the £20 a day Lower Itchen Fishery at Gaters Mill,  West End, Southampton .
We arrived at the fishery after meeting up at Winchester services on the M3 for breakfast.
The river had quite a bit of colour in it, but was fining down almost before my eyes!
We drove to the top end of the fishery parked up, and moved upstream, or down stream from the area where no coarse fishing is permitted.

The group which was arranged by Geoff Maynard was, Martin James and Barry (who's surname I've forgotten, who drove Martin), Rick Humphreys (Thai giant stingray guide) Steven Buss (Spanish cat and carp guide) Ian Gemson ( Smartcarping carp coach) Billy O(fishing website builder) and Ed Adcock (a relative newbie to fishing) who had over 50 grayling just 200 yards downstream of my first swim, almost one a chuck when the river had fined down.
A couple of Geoff's friends had the only chub of the day the best of 3 on a pike bait, at 4lb8ozs.


















I chose to walk down stream and was rewarded with two new species for me, a brown trout and a salmon parr, trotting maggots. Many fish were caught between the eleven of us with plenty of grayling ,some sea trout and at my last count one salmon of about 4lb!

A great days fishing on a new beautiful meandering chalk stream of a river to me, with a group of guys without any edge to any of them.None from Yorkshire!
Not far off a hundred fish between us, mostly on trotted maggot, and mostly grayling.
Sky Sports were filming Martin Porter fishing the pin  close to the entrance to the fishery , something to look out for in the future.

Fortunately I had tied in with mum for a Friday visit to the hospital, so the 4 hours return was reduced to only three hours(usually two), the M25 from the M3 to Romford is almost all roadworks!



Next week
I'll be out on the "local" rivers as often as I can get away with it, also the lakes for the perch and roach mentioned earlier.



  The week after I have at least one day lined up with Martin James on the Kennet, and I shall possibly be doing another radio spot with him, to talk about this years Barbel Show.
With any luck a chance to promote and the new Barbel Society, Barbel School,which is to be run by Dave Mason and Rob Swindells. On the Teme, Kennet and tidal Trent.