Fishing4Funs Tom Legge headed down to Hertfordshire to see members of one of Britain’s oldest clubs enjoying amazing bream sport on the little River Colne.
Mark Cotterell impaled three lively red maggots on his size 14 hook four feet beneath a distinctively shaped ‘lollipop’ float.
Dropping it in the edge, he shipped out 11 metres of his pole in a downstream direction then raised the tip to swing the one gram rig out in a straight line, settling heron-like on his seat box to hold it steady on a tight line.
The Colne’s mesmeric flow swept early autumn leaves - plus a few surviving bubbles from the weir some half a mile upstream - past the float’s tall red bristle. After two or three minutes without any indication, Mark raised the pole to lift the rig’s anchoring shot off the gravel bed and ease it two feet upstream before allowing it to resettle.
This time the float’s tip had barely stabilised when it bobbed then sunk steadily from sight. A firm lift of the pole produced the pleasing sight of several feet of green elastic surging away. Another bream on. And another good one, as a large boil on the surface near the downstream limit of his swim quickly confirmed.
Two keepnets? A common enough sight on a commercial stillwater, but on the Colne? Yes, Mark was well on his way to a ‘ton-up’ haul of river bream. A rare enough occurrence even on bigger, deeper rivers where heavy groundbaiting and feeder tactics can be employed. But something which Uxbridge Rovers members are growing accustomed to on their intimate little river.
The REAL Colne Valley
Also present on the banks of the Aquadrome stretch in Rickmansworth on a dull but mild late October morning were brothers David and Ben Bartram, plus Rovers chairman Bob Lane.
Before a more detailed look at their tackle and tactics, a brief profile of this little-known river seems in order. After all, any mention of the Colne Valley makes most anglers think of massive carp, bream and tench.
Big lakes such as Savay, Harefield, Wraysbury and Farlows are part of UK specimen angling folklore, and rightly so. But it’s easy to forget or overlook the fact that there’s a river flowing nearby which was there long before their creation.
The Colne starts life at Colney Heath in Hertfordshire’s Chiltern Hills and eventually discharges into the Thames near Heathrow Airport in the London Borough of Hillingdon, some 30 miles south-west of its source.
In its lower reaches it branches into three channels - the Colnbrook, the Frays and the Wraysbury River. But today’s feature was taking place a fair way upstream, where the local council’s name is ‘Three Rivers’. But in this case it’s taken from the main Colne plus the rivers Gade and Chess which converge at Batchworth, between Watford and Rickmansworth.
The Grand Union Canal also cuts through the valley here. And within the Aquadrome country park where our foursome fished there are also several large stillwaters including Bury Lake, where Gordon caught a 14lb-plus tench which held the British record between 1993 and 2001. Fishing is no longer permitted on Bury, but Uxbridge Rovers now manage neighbouring Aquadrome Lake on behalf of the council. Alongside club permit holders, juniors and disabled anglers can fish here for free.
The Colne is fairly well known as a barbel river, with specimens to 15lb-plus documented. “We don’t shout about it, and I’m not saying they go that big in our two stretches - though they will one day, and bigger still,” disclosed Bob Lane. “It does amuse us though how some anglers from round here go chasing up to the Great Ouse when they could be fishing on their doorstep.” More about barbel later - but for now, let’s take a look at how to catch these Colne bream…
Cralusso lollies can’t be licked!
It was noticeable that all four anglers were using lollipop floats. More specifically, lollipop floats from the Cralusso range.
“I hardly ever use any other type nowadays. The body shape makes them sit far better in the water than the disc versions we were using a few years back,” noted Mark.
On his line was a 1 gram Cralusso Torpedo, which has a scooped profile on the body with a thinner section at the top.
“To hold back hard with a traditional round-bodied float would take at least 2.5 to 3 grams, and I’m sure you’d get iffier bites as the fish would feel the extra weight on the line, plus you’d miss more and probably lose more through poor hook holds,” he added.
David Bartram fishing downstream of Mark and using a Cralusso Bubble rather than Torpedo, pointed out another important factor in the success of this float.
“Because the tip is at an angle rather than a direct line with the stem, you must ensure that you fix the top rubber some way down the stem as the line shouldn’t touch the float’s body. A lot of anglers push the rubber right up underneath and that ruins the way the float sits. Think of the line like an isosceles triangle,” said school teacher David, going all mathematical on us!
There’s a geography lesson the be had here too - the Cralusso is a Hungarian invention, and that nation’s World Championships team used them to win gold medals back in 2003 in Slovakia.
Hemp draws the barbel
“In July and August I caught 16 barbel from my back garden, the best weighed 11lb 9oz,” admitted David. “If I like, I can sit in my conservatory reading a book with the rods on alarms and still get to them in seconds.”
David really rates hemp as a means of attracting barbel, even though he fishes mainly for them in specimen style with hair rigged halibut pellets. But today, given the extra water which had gone into the river following heavy overnight rain, he fancied there’d be an outside chance of one or two coming to play amongst all the bream.
While the others cupped in mainly maggots and casters as feed, he opted to open up with a large cupful of hemp and casters. Lo and behold, his white Hydrolastic was soon shooting out of the pole as David hung on grimly to a bearded battler which had grabbed his double caster hook bait.
Eventually, against the odds really on 0.14mm line and an elastic rated as grade 6-10, a near-5lb barbus came splashing to the net. The hemp ploy certain worked then, David?
“This fish must have been in the swim anyway, the bite came so soon. But I think I’ll stick to catching them on proper barbel gear, it’s less hair raising,” he smiled.
Heading for the magic ‘ton’
After his early bonus barbel, David Bartram added a couple of big bream from his swim towards the bottom end of the top half of the fishery, marked by a footbridge beside a kids’ playground. Ordinarily, 15lb-plus would be a fabulous small river catch in the opening hour - but all eyes are instead on Mark Cotterell in the record-breaking peg immediately upstream. Mark’s got eight bream already!
Indeed, it’s clear that all the Rovers are not frightened of putting a bit of bait in. By the end of the five hour session, David reckons he’ll have gone through two pints of maggots and a pint of casters. Mark reckon on two and a half pints of maggots, but then he’s too busy catching to have time to feed!
Why no groundbait or chopped worm? After all, these are big hungry bream. “We find worm attracts too many perch which can unsettle the bream. And I don’t like to put groundbait in on shallow river swims as no matter how stiff the mix, there’s still a cloud that gets swept away and may take the fish with it. Regular cupfuls of maggots are all that’s needed,” asserted Mark.
Having moved on to 16 bream by the three hour stage, the magic ‘ton’ was definitely looking on. Meanwhile, David had pouched a couple more slabs and 2004 club champion Ben managed one to prove the aren’t all just in the one area. He also landed a jack pike - a species which his club mates reckon follow him everywhere!
Upstream trotting?
Mark’s club mates favoured shipping out their rigs straight out in front then holding back hard before, if no bites were forthcoming, easing them a foot or two downstream before applying the brakes once again.
However, Mark’s ploy was the total reverse- partly due to the swim being no more than two feet deep directly in front of him, but more than three and a half feet at the lower end. “That said, I tend to always do it this way on the lollipop because I’m fishing ten inches to a foot overdepth with a No.4 shot well on the bottom and a bulk of larger shots just off the deck. It’s far easier to work the rig back up the swim than down it, and a lot of bites have come straight after it settles again,” he noted.
Downstream, David was into a very lively fish. Another barbel perhaps? No, it turned out to be a 2lb-plus chub which attempted the usual near bank trick of diving under his keepnet. The white hydro had just enough leverage to foil it.
The session wound to its end and a catch picture was planned, with all hands on deck to ensure Mark’s catch would be returned promptly and safely. Ben had added one more bream to claw his way to a total of around 12lb, but lost a far bank chub in the reed roots. Bob had around 20lb and David getting on for 40lb. Mark finished with 21 bream which totalled 101lb on Bob’s official West Middlesex Winter League scales. A river ton to remember for the vastly experienced Harefield Tackle worker. “I’ve had plenty of match weights over the ton on commercials, but never done it on a river with bream either here or in Ireland,” said Bob. “Next time I hope it’s in a match.”
Want to fish the Colne?
Formed around 1884, Uxbridge Rovers Angling and Conservation Society were founder members of London AA. And when Bob Lane became chairman in 1979, all their matches were still rovers! “People used to be here there and everywhere, with three keepnets all along the river. It was chaos really, and we soon made the move to pegged down matches instead,” he recalled. “We have good relations with the owners of our many waters including the council here at the Aquadrome, plus a golf club and the EA. There’s something for everyone, with big fish on the lakes for the specimen hunters and a river which as you’ve seen today has got to be one of the best in the South,” added Bob. Annual membership is £70 seniors, £71 senior and partner. Accompanied under-13s fish free, with 13 to 18s paying £25, intermediate students (18-21) £52, pensioners £41 and registered disabled £31. Night permits are available for the Colne at Rickmansworth. Check out the club website www.uracs.co.uk for full details.
See below for more images from this feature….
Notify me of followup comments via e-mail
Home
Contact
Forums
RSS Feed
Tom
