Small Brook Fishing Pt.9 – Ribroasts and Rum Culls

Moving water has a fascination all of its own. It provides constant stimulation for river anglers who must face a whole of challenges if they are to catch consistently throughout the year. River fish undoubtedly have to be work for far harder than their still-water counterparts for, unlike the inhabitants of lakes, the fish of streams and rivers cannot be expected simply to turn up in a swim in time.

Flowing water anglers need to he hunters and go in search of their quarry. They must learn all about the behaviour of fish to understand why, where and when they choose their places to live.

For instance, what in high summer can be gently flowing, crystal clear stream requiring the ultimate in a cautious approach and delicate bait presentation can, with winter rains, be transformed into a raging torrent, possibly flooding surrounding farmland for scores of acres.

If regular success is to be achieved with river fish it is vital for the angler to understand where they will under the extremes of conditions and everything in between. Also, bait size and its presentation will regularly need to be varied even for the same species, depending on water temperature, the degree of clarity, flow rates and time of day.

All in all, stream and river fishing is a constant challenge requiring a real insight into the behaviour of fish, an ability to use a wide variety of fishing methods and, just as important, knowing when to employ them. And, because you are working that much harder at your fishing, it makes it all the more satisfying when the rewards come in the shape of a good bag of fish or the capture of an exceptional specimen. 

A previous capture !!!

Sam and I were back chasing Bullheads, now over the last few trips do this diminutive waterway, bites a plenty but the Miller's Thumb suspicious in their absence.

They thrive best in clear running water and often lead solitary lives under large stones or in miniature caverns which they hollow out with their big and powerful heads among small stones.

If I look back at my blog though, those that I have caught on rod and line have all been when the stream is coloured, or at least when the water had been up.

When we got to the stream despite the recent rain, it didn't look that the levels had increased that much at all, but just enough to go and explore another small section we'd not fished before. The problem was, an hour in to the session, it was going to a trout day. 6 or 7 caught, the biggest not far off a pound and with some lovely summer colours that varied between fish considerably.

Dace up to 5 ounces were also caught as was a solitary perch, but again, sadly no bullheads. An enjoyable session for sure because using tackle a bullhead could register a bite any fish give a good fight.

Some of the trout taking line and making the drag scream is a delight for Sam who like me loves this sort of fishing. We cut the session short after the last trout caused carnage in the swim, but don't worry, we'll be back.

I really am amazed at the quality of the Dace, and I cannot wait for winter to see how big they can go. I'm sure there are some specimens to be had. Oddly the new section was devoid of fish, one of the swims looked a banker as well. I'm sure we explored it at a bad time, I'm sure of it.