Thursday 23 April 2015

Irwell Nob End to Stoneclough 23 Apr15

Went to Nob End, crossed the Croal and then the Irwell, by the canal aqueduct, and made my way down to the river. I have fished the stretch above and below the Bury Bolton Manchester Canal Aqueduct, but not for some time. The main reason for today's trip was to make my way down river to where there used to be a weir that was taken out last year.
 This is what it used to look like with the large weir pool above.

Quite a change
and of course no more weir pool. 

I had hoped the the change would bring an improvement in the fishing but the man in the distance, who fishes here quite often told me that it is not the case. The weir pool used to hold a good head of Chub, they have moved on as the river is now fast and quite shallow, some trout are still in attendance, not that I caught any in the stretch in the picture.
 I fished my way back up until I was opposite where the Croal joins the Irwell, nothing rising nothing caught.
 Where the Croal joins the Irwell I found a couple of fish rising and got one to take a look at my fly but nothing else. The structures in the distance are the footbridge that I crossed the river on, sewage pipes and the canal aqueduct.
 Looking back towards the Croal Irwell confluence, looks good but nothing to show, until I was just short of the footbridge where I hooked and lost two fish. Sorry I forgot to say I was fishing dry fly.
 
Looking back at the Canal Aqueduct.

 Up above the canal aqueduct, it looks much better but it is very hard to get to, changed rig to a Greenwells and a Iron Blue.
Where I actually managed to land a fish, it took the Greenwells.

The river is summer low and I would not have been able to access all that I did if the river rises by as little as a foot. The bottom bit where the weir used to be can be accessed from Stoneclough, not that I think I will bother to.

Rain forecast for tomorrow evening all the rivers and brooks could do with a good flush to move some of the alga, Surprised to read that it puts oxygen into the rivers in the day time, but takes it out again in the night.    

   

Sunday 19 April 2015

Bradshaw Flyfishers 19 & 20 Apr 15

Couple of hours starting by the cricket ground, after some nice days today was cold cold.

6` 6" rod for a change, Greenwell's dry behind the score board, couple of looks that I missed then this one.

From under the first tree. Then nothing even though fish were rising. 

Change fly to a Iron Blue and moved up to the footbridge, missed half a dozen before I got this.
   Missed a couple more then moved up passed the garden.
To here were I caught nothing. Until I moved above the weir.
 Where I caught this one. 
Dipped the camera in the stream again, water on the lens, good job it's water proof.
Never seem to catch anything in this stretch and today was no different.

Moved up to below the top weir, nothing on the Iron Blue, changed to a Adams, had three very small ones, called it a day, to cold to enjoy it. My fault I should have put on a warmer coat.

Monday 20th.

Went for a hour in the evening hoping for a good rise after a warm day, there were some fish rising but not many. .
This Alga is getting worse by the day and starting to choke slow moving bits. We need some heavy rain the clear it.
 Fished the same area as yesterday caught 3 fish two very small and this one


,
 Disappointed, as I expected to see lots of  fly life after a hot and sunny day.

The water is still cold as it comes out of Jumbles reservoir which takes time to warm up, so why are we are getting so much alga this early in the year.   
  

Saturday 18 April 2015

Irwell Dumers Lane Bury 18 Apr 15

I visited this stretch of the Irwell last week and confirmed that it is one of Salford Friendly Anglers waters at the club meeting on Wednesday.

Very bright sunny day but the wind was cold, the river is low and very clear as we have not had rain for a while. Tackled up with 8 foot rod, as I was starting at the top of the river, I put on a Copper John nymph and fished across and down.
 It is not the prettiest stretch of river, there used to be mills and factories on both sides of the river,
There still are factories, new housing and a new industrial area. The area with some grass will not be built on as it floods when the river is up. 

I had a couple of hits, I think, on the way down but no fish and nothing rising. Changed to a Greenwell's Glory dry and started back up. 

Where I had had the hits with the nymph a fish was rising, trying to get the the Greenwells  across fast water to the rise was causing me lots of problems. 

It was a cast that landed just below the rise that produced a take, and what a take. It went down deep and then launched itself out of the water and I knew I was into a very good fish. It did not strip line it just stayed on the bottom. With a 3 pound tippet I was not able to give it a hard time, if it wanted a couple of yards I just let it have it. 

Over thirty minutes later, with an aching arm, I was cursing my decision to only having my scoop net with me as the fish was longer than the mouth of the net. I was hoping that the man fishing further down and around the bend would come up the bank and give me a hand, no such luck.
A last I got his tail in the net and scooped him out, and on to the grassy area.
 When I opened his mouth to get the fly out, it came out without any help from me.
 It was just under 20 inches and in very good condition, which makes it over 4 pounds in my reckoning.
I had no sooner got it back in the river when my fellow angler came up the bank, never mind I had managed without him.
 As always had a chat and asked him to join Salford Friendly.
I walked down river again and then back up again to the place where I caught. There was still a fish rising, but not to my Greenwells, put on a large Iron Blue and tried that. Still having great problems with the current, finally a fish took, I hooked it, not as big as the other one, but not for long. 
Decided to call it a day    




     














       

Friday 17 April 2015

A Poor Week 10th to 17th Apr 15

Yes I know it's eight days, felt like a month.

Last Friday, 10th, I fished the river Croal from the Irwell through to Moses Gate Park.  Nothing rising and nothing caught, all I can say is that the river looks nice, in places!
  Not near the sewer overflows.
The Giant Hog Weed was only a foot high, it will be 2 or 3 feet by now. Bloody awful stuff, it's everywhere. 



On Saturday I made my first visit to the Irwell at Sion Road in Radcliffe, should not have bothered. Nothing doing again.
Most of it becomes almost unfishable once the Giant Hog Weed is up.
The Irwell looked fine but no sign of fish or flies. Gave it a good thrashing with nymph.

My next outing was on Thursday 16th to the River Roch  in Bury. Again the river looked fine, fished up river with dry fly, saw nothing, caught nothing.

Is this Fly Tipping or is it the Farmer trying to stop his field going down the river.
Sand Martin nests, did not see any birds, did see my first swallows though, spring is here.
The Winter rains have taken a couple of trees and part of the bank.

Then walked down to where the old weir used to be and started back up .
 
more erosion, surprised that that tree is going as there were piles supporting the bank. 

Not much change here has been like that for some time. I did notice that the large clump of brambles the top end of the cliff had gone.
I had hoped to catch by the cliff, it is usually good for a fish or two, but not to be.



On and up, saw my first and only rising fish up by the tree on the right. Cast to it and hooked it and lost it almost at once. Afraid that it took my fly but no line as it broke at the fly knot. Good fish to, that was the end of my luck for the day.

Today I went for for what I hoped would be a sure catch and so it was.
I fished the park beat of Bradshaw Fly Fishers stretch.
Started under the road bridge and worked up.
Caught three under the bridge and then moved up
and caught this one, the other three were pretty much the same ilk.
This one was little bit smaller.

I then moved down stream out of the private stretch into Longsight Park, I have not been down there for quite a while and I won't bother again for another while.  
 this pool looks quite good but did not produce.
 Not much you can say about this.

 or this, thank goodness it is not in our stretch. Carried on down not catching or seeing anything so I walked back to our bit.


Caught this one under the footbridge, turned out to be the last of the seven that I had.


 Had a couple of rises here and then lost a fly in one of the trees.

Just pleased to have caught some fish for a change.