River Blythe - Doggers Gates and Dontopedalogy

Where to go for that fishing fix for a quicky post work before darkness arrives ? I was working from Horiba MIRA (formerly the Motor Industry Research Association) you see and the Anker isn't far away, this free stretch (Google says so) looks like it might be worth a dabble with the trotting gear and maggots. Any blog readers recognise it ? and if so, worth fishing this river stretch of two halves ? A nice meandering river on one side, a monstrous industrial estate on the other 🙈

To he honest the footpath looks well trodden probably from the constant stream of landmine creators ,and as a self confessed misanthrope probably not the right stretch for me, however the only fish picture I can find from this stretch was a rather nice plump roach, and looks a nice un too !!, so it would be rude not to try it, wouldn't it. 

Anyway for this session that might have to wait until I do more half-hearted research, so with the tackle in the car and belly loaded up with a MIRA canteen spicy Goat curry, I decided to kill two birds with one stone. Some fishing first then I'd go and visit my mum a couple of miles down the road. Now it certainly doesn't seem like over a year since I was last fished the Blythe but apparently it is, looking at my last blog post from this small Midlands waterway.

The 'doggers' gates thankfully were left open that early evening when I negotiated the road back after catching that chublet just before 'when those things comes out at night'. I'm sure my Kingfisher Blue Jimny would have had some curtains twitchings I'm sure, because it stands out much like those that participate in the illicit 'pastime' that has blighted this small community (upset the posh people that live here basically.)

Can I just go fishing please, I don't want an finger pointing my way !! "See, I've got some maggots and a fishing rod !!"

Now as with many British river SSSIs, (A Site of Special Scientific Interest) sadly physical modification to the watercourse and the riparian zone has impacted the functionality of the River Blythe. As a result, the River Blythe SSSI is currently in an 'unfavourable no change' condition, due to physical habitat modification, namely weirs, dams and other flow obstructions, and invasive non-native species. 

Oh and the fact the water companies use them as sewers that won't help now will it, you see Top of the Poops has some grim reading and a reason why I rarely visit these pages where the 'Consent to Discharge with Conditions' is all there to see as it just depresses me if I'm honest. You would think a small waterway like this would be off the radar for the Severn Trent Tyrants, but no sadly not. I looked up the Tiny River Alne too, 'cus that won't be on the list now would it', same story here as well 💩

A stones throw from where I was fishing for this session HS2 will be a nice blot on the landscape adding to its woes too because a 475 meter viaduct will be built over the floorplain at Hampton in Arden and will cross the Blythe changing its outlook for ever. 

Anyway when I got to the river it was very clear indeed and probably a good foot or so lower when I was here last time. The problem was the bridge swim where I caught the chublet from the last time was probably not much more than a foot and a half itself, hmmmm.

A quick lead about the bush to my right was slightly deeper so I primed that with some bread slop and then fed the main swim with small amounts throughout the session to allow it to drift down.

A fished around an hour and a half and the last forty five minutes of that with the torch illuminating the 1 ounce quiver tip but sadly not a sausage. I was expecting at least a bit of action but there was nothing doing whatsoever on the bread or cheesepaste.

Even the snag swim to my right didn't produce and it looked perfect for a bite as it was next to cover and a nice slack away from the main flow. I could have stayed another half an hour or so but I think the outcome would have been the same. Oh well, on to the next one.