I need help

[Jimmy5098]

Afternoon all.

I have just had my first trip Barbel fishing and after being carp lake fisherman most of my life I have caught the bug for more river fishing.

Whilst i would love to join up to where we went it was a long trip and really requires you staying over night unless you could be bothered to spend 6hours of the day on the road, and that is not possible to get away with mainly because her indoors will not be best pleased with me disserpearing every weekend.

I have just moved to Stratford east london and wonder if any of you could point me in the right direction of somewhere to river fish near here. The thames seems a bit scary and i would have no idea where to start.

There are parts of the river lea, bow locks etc very close to me but to be honest i walked down the three mills part of bow locks the other day and unless your going for specimen sainsburys trollys then it looks like a waste of time.

I wouldnt mind travelling about and hour to get somewhere so im hoping someone on here might be able to give me some advice. Species is not particulary important but i dont want to be catching 6oz roach all day long and whilst its a long shot, the less bream the better :bonk:

Cheers lads

.

[Thames Steve]

Jimmy you've got one of the country's best rivers - the Thames - down the road.

I know you think it looks scary (it does :) ) but learn how to fish it and everywhere else will seem easy. Aim low first sesh - do a daytime and start on those 6oz roach or whatever fish bites. Getting used to the tides and what fish bite at what stage of the tide. Get used to the tackle control quite close in - then build up from there. Now there's not much flow is a good time to learn. And if you start between Richmond and Teddington it's only semi tidal to make it easier. I think that might be do-able from Stratford in just over an hour.

And go down at low tide on the full tidal so you can see what the bottom is - a few hours later will have 4 metres of water over it.

Once you've got used to the tides/flow and know a few spots then you can set up for proper sesh knowing you can control your tackle, what the bottom looks like and what stage of the tides produce the goods.

Monsters lurk in the Thames Jimmy...and more variety in species than anywhere else you could fish in England. Do you hear the Thames calling you Jimmy :D

[adrian hoare]

agreed , richmond to teddington the best place to start . Big fish of every species along there , thrown in also are things like brownies and sea trout , along with mullet and bass . Prebait a few spots and fish them in the evenings and early mornings , but be warned , you dont want bream , then you dont want pellets ! Best of luck mate , hope to see some catch reports from yourself !

[fishmaster]

don't let the shopping trollies put you off jimmy, there are some cracking fish in that stretch of the lea, though if you do go take a mate as there are some 'undesirable' elements of society along there, crackheads, winos and the like. big carp, tench, roach and sea fish as well as that part is tidal. i've had flounder, smelt, etc and watch out for the mitten crabs which can be a right pain, good luck.

[petermartin]

it can be hard but there is a day ticket streach at dobbs wier Hodderson and barble have been known to come out in the last few years right by the weir and to double figures at that. the river needs to be tanking through which is not what its like at the moment.

[brandon1]

The weir at Kings Weir is on day ticket it's about three miles up the A10 from the M25

[Lee Fisher]

Then there is the old Lea at Fishers Green (just downstream of Kings Weir) - a natural barbel river that produces double figure fish to those that put in the time and effort.
Most of the regulars are happy to pass on tips and advice to newbies on the river.

The ex Cemex venue is now run by the - Fishers Green Consortium.
There are 11 clubs in the consortium, details on the FGC website.

For the price of 4 or 5 day tickets you could join one of the consortium clubs and have as much barbel fishing as you like at FG.

The venue is just north of Waltham Abbey, Essex, about 45-60 minutes drive from Stratford depending on traffic.

[Jimmy5098]

Thanks lads this is really helpful.

Im glad you agree the Thames is a scary place. Having walked various parts of the thames all my life i have always looked at it and thought what if i just threw a line in there but have never had the balls to do it.

I think the scariest thing is going out on your own with no clue as to where to start as i have heard thames fisherman are notorious for not giving anything away :)

Thanks for the info on teddington/richmond i have heard about this area before. I might give it a try, maybe a few dutch courages to make me set off? :)

@Fishmaster - I would be interested to know more about the bow locks, three mills area As i can walk down there with a rod when ever i want. As i said i have walked down there and it looked very weedy and with alot of trollies and general rubbish. I walked along from behind the big tescos on bow roundabout.

I phoned the baliff and he did say you would be better at pondersend/enfield lock (at least thats what i though he said)

I was under the impression that the bow lock part of the lea was no longer tidal? I dont really understand how it works so im not going to pretend i do but i thought they had shut off the tidal flow somehow? The water did seem very static when i was there.

Any more info on this would be great.

Thanks again guys, i will pluck up the courage to go on thames at some point promise :)

Tight lines

[Jimmy5098]

Out of interest what are the areas to park to get access to the richmond - teddington stretch of the thames? I have had a look on google maps but wasnt really sure as there didnt seem to be any immeadiate access points that jumped out.

It just so happens that a mate of mine who lives in surrey has just had a baby so when we go to visit i might persuade her indoors to leave earlier have a walk down there.

[Thames Steve]

Jimmy, Ham Street car park will put you half way between those points (opposite Eel Pie Island). If that's full try River Lane. Both on the south bank.

[Jimmy5098]

Thanks Thames steve i have spotted that on google maps. Can you fish anywhere along that south bank? Im sure there will be plenty of people there on the day i can chat to.

[Thames Steve]

Some parts are overgrown Jimmy but essentially, yes you can fish much of that stretch. If you're into float fishing, loads of swims towards Teddington you can wade out into, with firm gravel underfoot. Just be aware it's semi tidal so watch you don't get water over your wellies when the tide turns. :thumbs:

[Jimmy5098]

Again thanks Thames steve. Ill have spend a few hours down there sussing out the situation, i think thats the best way forward rather than jumping in at the deep end as the saying goes.

Im not really into my float fishing but as this would be my first time there i will probably have one on a large swim feeder and one on the float so i can always try for some small roach to keep me entertained whilst i try out various different areas/baits etc with the swim feeder.

I remember someone saying dont bother with pellets as the bream will move in, does this mean any carp/tench/barbel that might be there are not interested in pellets? The only pellets i use are upwards of 18mm hallibut pellets anyway so that should stop those pesky bream right? :)

[Thames Steve]

Jimmy first sesh while you get used to the flow/tides etc I'd fish for bites and enjoy whatever comes along and if that means bream happy days. Some big lids there that most people would be happy with.

If you decide you don't want bites from bream then yep, give fishy pellets a miss.

Also, I'd do days to start with as the mitten crabs will have your bait at night and that's a hassle you don't need if you're learning the water. If you've never fished the Thames I doubt you'll have reeled in of those monsters yet. Nocturnal though so days you'll be OK.

PS you mentioned tench - don't expect tench. Few miles upstream yes but the tidal isn't their natural home and not seen one with my own eyes there.

[Jimmy5098]

Thanks alot. Appreciate the help.

Hopefully ill grow a pair and get on Thames soon :)

[Thames Steve]

No problems Jimmy - it's a big river and half the battle is knowing where and how to start. Post up here or PM me anything else you need mate :thumbs:

[Jimmy5098]

Yeah sorry TS i do have just a couple more questions now i think about.

Is the gear i use for carping suitable for fishing here?

I have two 2 1/2 test curve carp rods and two 1 1/2 TC barbel rods. All have Shimano bait runner reels and whilst i haven't used them for a couple of months or so i believe they all have 10 or 15lb line on them at the moment.

I also have some various float rods knocking about that i havent used for years.

[Thames Steve]

That gear is fine Jimmy. In fact, for a lot of the fish you'll be overgunned if anything. What you've got will be perfect for any big barbel and the carp there though.

The only thing you'll need on the tidal that's any different is heavy leads or feeders when the flow is really going - up to 8oz maybe after heavy rains. You'll be OK at the moment with 3 or 4 oz. Be aware the further out you cast, the more drag on your line, the more weight you need so if you haven't got heavy leads stick close in.

[Jimmy5098]

Ta very much. Im sure ill be hassleling you again soon :)