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. 

River Blythe - Fun Police and Futurology

Sadly getting back to work and the daily grind came round quicker than I thought, even though I maximised my fishing time I was looking for that next fishing fix like any angler does. I was in the office at Mira in Nuneaton and would be seeing my mum afterwards (half an hour drive) to check in on her when I suddenly had a rare brain wave.  

You see there is a freebee section of the Blythe not a millions miles away that I did fish many moons ago if I recall, where it was more of a reccy after one time blogger Bazal Peck fished in from time to time. 

I blanked that time if I recall but arriving just before dusk could I winkle out a fish before I had to get back to one family commitments ?

I suppose it was another reconnaissance trip to be honest but armed with my Avon quiver rod, some liquidised bread for the feeder and some bread for the hook, could I winkle out a Blythe Chub before ones mother was on the blower to wonder where the heck I was.

She has always one to clock watch, I don't know why but it came be very frustrating sometimes as I pride myself on punctuation and it's very one sided lets put it that way, but if I'm 10 minutes late my ears are already burning.

 

But 'time and tide wait for no man', got to do what I have to do to keep oneself sane !!!

Time and tide wait for no man. Time will never wait for anyone. No matter if it is a good time in your life, or if you are going through a bad phase, time flies.  It won’t wait for you, despite anything! Everything has to happen according to its own clock. Many a time, we neglect the flowing time and we think that it is going just like that! Time has to flow, and it will! You cannot help it anyway.

The only thing that you can do is to make sure that you take an opportunity that remains folded in each and every moment that you miss! Hence, you must respect each and every moment that comes into your life, and thus, welcome it with all your gratitude.

The term basically means that just as the waves do not wait for anyone; in the same way, each and every moment has got significance, and it wouldn’t wait for anyone by any chance. This is why it is taught from our early childhood that we should learn to take benefit from each and every moment. Many a time, we waste time and think that it is not a big deal until and unless that moment is already gone and we have no other job to do but to regret. 

As a result, you should behave wisely and make sure that you are capable of taking advantage of each and every opportunity that comes along your way.

Anyway enough of that spiel, better get fishing hadn't I, as I'm expecting a call any minute !!!

I had a trick up my sleeve you see to get some extra pungency to the bread not only was the liquidised bread flavoured with garlic (and cheese) but I'd spray some Fry Light Garlic Oil (£1.75 in B&M) on the hookbait too. Any leg up the potential big Chevin ladder would be needed to just get a bite let alone bank a fish.

A message to Sean before the start of the session a seasoned Blythe angler, he mentioned about the gate at the start of the lane that is locked at a certain time to prevent the 'Doggers' come sundown which apparently is advertised online as a popular spot 'for all sorts of fun'

Naturally as a 50 year old married man I'll be up for some of that if there wasn't fish to catch so I got on with my mission. I managed to get a proper bite within a few minutes of getting the bait out in the bridge pool, but then the next bite was an roach esk really fast pulls and snatches. 

Unmissable really but then as the light was going and about the 8th cast eventually a proper pull round and a fish was on. A blank avoided because this little scamp was on the end on the line, almost a swinger but not quite so at least I got to use the landing net. And that was that, I got on my way before Stan Collymore showed up and asked for directions !!!!, on to the next one !!!

River Blythe – Flake and Flamethrowers

Many moons ago I lived in Cape Town, South Africa, the two and a half years seemed to last a lifetime as a kid growing up there but a few things that stuck in my mind when we returned was, the proper biltong which was nothing like the mediocre stuff you get here, the kids coke drinking from hollowed out loaves of white bread and the heavily armed security guard keeping the ‘White ’ areas free from the roamers from the townships as part of the Apartheid regime.

Thankfully Apartheid ended, however the freedom of movement that came with it, as a consequence crime exploded, and in 1998 8000 car jackings happened in Johannesburg in 6 mths alone.Such a beautiful country tarnished by high crime rates. The murder, assault, rape, and carjacking rates per capita still are among the highest in the world. This was when one inventor, by the name of Charl Fourie, had an idea; why not attach a flamethrower to people's cars?

The Blaster, as it was named, was designed to provide a fiery defense against carjackings, which were rife in the country at the time. The flamethrower had two attachments either side of the car that hurled out continuous flames to deter (and most likely harm) the assailant.

The inventor claimed that it would be unlikely that it would kill, but "definitely blind" anyone caught in the flame's wrath. In South Africa, it is legal to use lethal force when done so in self defense while in fear of one's life.

There's no restriction on owning a flamethrower. The flamethrower proved controversial in South Africa. It has been claimed that the devices may even cause more harm than good, because the criminals may choose to murder the driver first, rather than merely threatening them.

Apparently Only a few hundred of the devices were sold, largely due to the high price tag. However, there are reportedly still cars in the country that have the attachment.

Now talking of flamethrowers and South African’s recently Elon Musk's new ‘Boring Company’ put a limited stock of 20,000 Flamethrowers on sale.

The tech magnate posted a picture of the newly developed 300 quid gadget to Twitter with the caption: "Say hello to my little friend.", "Obviously, a flamethrower is a super terrible idea. Definitely don’t buy one. Unless you like fun."

A photo from a recent trip to the River Severn

Now where do I sign because I’m sure they will be easily modifiable and would help move things on that are starting to annoy me. I’ve got my name down for one anyway, I’ll keep you posted.

As per a previous post the amount of predators I see in the areas I fish has exponentially increased in over the past year, apart from those hairy ones with four legs, and the fishing nicking black bag over shoulder users with two.

The growth in cormorants numbers particularly that I've seen with my own eyes has been frankly quite scary. Areas that were largely devoid of them, now are not. I'm not talking stocked lakes with their easy pickings either, I'm talking flowing water.

Thinking about it considering the varied places I fish, from small brooks, to big rivers, I don't think there are any areas that I've not seen them, and that's most trips too. They really are everywhere. 23 of the huge birds nesting in one tree, that were feeding from dawn to dusk, That cannot be good surely ?

A 'brook' Chub

On particular stretch I've fished for 5 years now, this season predation has properly given it a kicking and it probably won't be the same again.
Feedback from others on this stretch and surrounding areas  have come to the same conclusion.

Hey maybe if I squint a little, the problem wouldn't look so bad....?

I enjoy wildlife, the outdoors, witnessing the bird life, you only have to look at my blog to know that but there is an imbalance at the minute in my opinion, but then as an angler I'm seen as a litter dropping, line leaving, fish hurter'er and my opinion should be taken with a pinch of salt.

The reality is as anglers we spend an obscene amount of time waterside and that gives us an massive advantage over others to see the changes that are happening to our environment. The minority leave litter and we all know who they are, and I urge you to pick it up when you see any, doesn't take much time, and it is to the benefit of us all.

James and Brian being two advocates of sorting out their own patch, just look at their recent efforts here. which if it wasn't for them, it would have never been sorted.

So enough of the ranting, Mick get back on track, and back to the fishing, this session was down at a section of the red signal crayfish infested River Blythe I’d not fished before, Shanghai AC match organiser Brezzy is a member on the stretch and invited us just to have a look to fish it during the winter months to see what we could pick up and a reccy to maybe becoming a member. Dave Roberts, a friend, big fish chaser was up for it as well, so the regular Friday lunch meet up down a lake with the seat box sitters and pole holders was disbanded for a go down the river.

So Breezy what’s it like then ?

“The stretch we will be on is very similar to the Leam above Radford Semele. Typical small river species, Chub, Roach, Dace, Perch and Gudgeon”

So with that in mind and Google earth consulted tactics employed were to be the same as a recent successful trip down to another section of the Blythe.

Travel light, roving approach, rucksack, light rod, landing net.

Bait, well the default bread, worms and cheesepaste which works so well at small rivers like this. Keep it simple is the key at these sort of venues.

A cormarant was spotted straight away, yes they are here too. We walked towards the bottom of the stretch and would make our way down. To be honest, I didn't quite gel with the water. The fishing was tough, a near 3lber first cast to cheesepaste which was a right minter I thought we'd be in for a good afternoon, but fishing flake, no bites whatsoever came, all very odd. I fished probably 6 or 7 swims and walked more than the other two I would say, but I wanted to have more of a look.

Above the bridge looked much better than below, it was shallow on the most part and with the sun out and the river clear, I knew it would be tough. But swims where there was Chub there wasn't.

Hmmmmm....

Brezzy's 3 lber

Like many waters, I'm sure a bit more colour it would fish differently. I'm sure they were ignoring a static bait or tucking themselves away for some sanctuary. I switched to lobworm for the last hour and that seem to do the trick, another Chub and slightly bigger at 3lb and a half pound.

Breezy had a 3lb'er, Dave blanked and was even biteless on maggot.

Further downstream is a day ticket water and that looks more fishy to me, with more cover and narrower so I might give that a go when I get the opportunity.

River Blythe – Rough and Chuff

With the calendar entries ticked off, I found myself with a longer than normal window of opportunity to fish without the dictation of the diary makers.

However I was still at the mercy of my ones fishing mind decision maker….

After mulling it over, and again, and again and once more, the big Warwickshire Avon Chub and Zander could wait and I decided to fish a stretch of the diminutive River Blythe I’ve been meaning to fish for years. After a few pointers from Mark Mole I hatched a plan of attack.

I’ve dangled a maggot in this area many a times as a youth, where I’d bike down with my rods strapped to ones frame and fish one of the many pools and lakes this fishery has for anything that would bite.

Largely neglected by anglers this relatively short stretch offers classic small-river fishing with smooth glides, deep holes, shallow runs and various fish-holding features to target. The river here is lined with ageing willow trees, most with storm-battered branches reaching into the river, and this restricts the number of areas where you can fish along the three-quarters of a mile stretch. It’s winter though so with many of the forna and thicket died back it’s the best I was going to get.

So anyway the Blythe for those that don’t know is a river in the Midlands that runs from Warwickshire,through the borough of Solihull and on to Coleshill. It runs along the Meriden Gap in the Midlands Plateau, is fed by the River Cole and is a tributary of the Tame beside the West Midland Bird Club's Ladywalk reserve. This then joins the Trent, whose waters reach the North Sea via the Humber Estuary.

I fished it in other areas not far from here and managed Chub to 4lb 9oz's so decent fish are there to be had, well if our furry or feathered friends haven't got to them first.

Some blurb....

The river has a wide range of natural geographical features such as riffles, pools, small cliffs and meanders, combined with a high diversity of substrate types ranging from fine silt and clay in the lower reaches to sands and gravels in the upper and middle reaches. The structure of this river is very variable and diverse, and is important as a rare example of such in lowland Britain.

The diverse physical features of the Blythe are matched by its diverse plant communities. Botanically, the Blythe is one of the richest rivers in lowland England, with the most species-rich sections containing as many species as the very richest chalk streams. Several damp, unimproved meadows occur along the length of the river, they receive some of their water from annual flooding and are largely dependent upon the river for the maintenance of a high water-table.

Oh and by the way it is one of the cleanest rivers in England and the chub are getting big because of the signal crayfish that have made themselves home here….

I’d been watching the river levels on the net and this river can rise and fall very quickly indeed but the levels looked spot on as did the weather, so a plan was hatched.

To be honest it’s something I might try and address in the new season because it’s the sort of fishing I love. It’s the thought of the unknown that sparks my interest where anglers fail to appreciate the waters they have in their locality and without fishing them, you wouldn’t know if they contain Dace, Chub and Perch of Brobdingnagian proportions.

We live in an era of once-Cinderella pastime growing to recognitions and traditionally contemplative art has been somewhat tarnished in a commercial scramble. Angling is seen to be a way of making money, not the pastime itself. One of the greatest attractions in angling lies in the fact that there are no governing rules. No particular physical prowess is called for in order to participate, and one interprets one’s own measure of enjoyment.

It is not for the angling writers to tell anglers how best to find their enjoyment but, for me, catching fish is the only part of the parcel that makes angling almost an attitude of mind.

If anglers wish to have the convenience of parking their cars on concrete patches right reside their swims, so share somebody else’s transistor radio and to attempt to catch fish in the wash of outboard engines, then obviously, that is how it should be. I know and I believe that many anglers share the sentiment, that this is not my concept of angling.

Whilst business consortia supply angling at a level which they think anglers want, and syndicates and large organisations compete for major waters as astronomical prices, we anglers cannot justifiably complain that angling is too expensive or failing to yield the quality of sport we anticipate. Literally thousands of miles of good fishing are neglected by the angler.

This average angler thinks that, to contain good fish, the water must be deep or broad, and he has a mental picture of good fishing waters based on reports in the angling press. Too often, I hear anglers complain they do not have access to the right waters.

David Carl Forbes had it right on the money in his 70’s Rough River and Small Stream fishing book, it reads true to today, as some of that above was a small extract for what’s on the whole, a decent read.

Go and have a look what’s in your back yard, open your eyes and maybe try something new for a change. Forget donning ones seat box, forget the water slapping for a morning and fish with the minimum, get back to basics and you never know what you might find hiding in a water local to you.

Anyway back to the session, having only seen some of the stretch from the road it was a bit of a guess what some of the stretch would be like so I sort of hedged my bets a little. Santa brought me a new rod for Christmas that should well be just the ticket. The 10ft Prologic Detek twin-tip has a nice responsive-parabolic action with enough backbone to get a big Chub out a swim if it was snag bound.

The tip section is nice and sensitive too for detecting bites and the two 4lb Chub I’d caught recently were landed on it without issue. It doesn't have the quality feel of my usual rod the 11ft 1.2TC TFG River and Stream which is built on a Free Spirit blank but I felt might be a little under gunned if I had to get on top of the fish quickly before it snagged me up, it is a small river after all.

Also being a foot shorter it should also be less cumbersome and equipped with a conventional open face reel rather than a centrepin, and any tangles I got because of the windy conditions that were expected would quickly be dispatched.

Bait, the standard fare and my usually armoury, lobworms in the main, a few maggots, liquidised bread and cheese paste, and my standard link ledger set-up for easy chop and change.

So enough of the preamble, was it worth a trip out?

It sure was, weirdly I could get a bite on lobworm but I started at the wooded top stretch, fed a few swims and started downstream in a deeper area with more far bank cover. It's very shallow on the most part and in many places the bottom can be seen, but find the deeper holes, and features the Chub seemed to be about.

Cheesepaste was the order of the day it seemed with a lull period around 1.00 to 3.00pm I still managed 7 Chub, the smallest 2lb fish, the biggest 3lb 15oz.

When the sun disappeared it was very cold indeed and my hands were suffering so I made my way back the start of the stretch and walked a bit further up from where I had previously tread. There was an elevated swim that looked pretty tasty, a nice crease where the river notably slowed up and also it was home to lots of debris.

Within minutes of the bait settling the tip went properly round without any tentative nudges and a fish was on, this felt far bigger than anything else I'd hooked but it was showing me who was boss, despite me giving it as much side strain as I dared with the clutch wound up to near snapping point, it got itself downstream and among a near bank raft which was part of a fallen tree.

The best of the day 3lb 15oz

All goes tight, leave, leave, yeah stuck solid. I managed to get the whole rig back intact minus the paste cage, but it was a fish I really want to see.

Some more paste went out, but with sun down approaching, the fish didn't return....

An enjoyable session, I'll be back....

River Blythe Reccy

I went to the classic car show today at the NEC and upon returning to the train station car park at Hampton in Arden I went for a nose at a free stretch of the Blythe from information I received from a fellow blogger Bazal.

A nice wild look to it but still quite industrial looking, a worm will be dangled here in the near future, I like trying new venues and this looks like it has potential. A wide variety of fish apparently, even Trout, oh and the dreaded American crayfish.

Its cold overnight so I'm off to the Warwickshire Stour to target the Chub.