How the rivers changed!

[NEWKID 26,191]

Managed a couple of hours on the tidal Exe after work last night, nice evening to run a stick through for some dace and chub... or so I thought...

I took my lad and he had the first fish, a small bass on maggot on the stick float...I've had a couple like this out of here, and caught loads a few miles downstream on traditional bass baits/gear... but last night all we could catch was small bass... had about half a dozen plus 1 chub... no dace, no roach... where have they gone?

Baby bass on the stick

when I was leaving I had a quick yap to a lad upstream...fishing lug worm! He had 7 bass the night before biggest 3lb... this is far upstream and traditionally a coarse fishery, I've fished it for over 35 years (lived right behind it) and never caught bass like this so far up the river..

Spoke with my mate who owns the fishery for the comp, he told me a 6lb bass had been caught on maggot under trews weir...the old salmon pool weir has collapsed meaning a further mile or so of river upstream to Trews weir is now tidal, the bass are right up there which is pretty much up to the city... a 6lb bass caught where  we have never caught a sea fish before!

The nursery zones in the estuaries have been good for the bass, there are thousands of schoolies in the estuary now, but with them and the larger fish moving up so far I think the coarse fish are getting battered...roach and dace are easy prey for a bass, what with the seals that are right up the river, the cormorants and now thousands of bass hitting them I dont think this fishery will be the same....weird night fishing 

 

[socks 32,253]

With all the bait fish moving upstream it won’t be long before the sharks follow ……

[NEWKID 26,191]

1 hour ago, socks said:

With all the bait fish moving upstream it won’t be long before the sharks follow ……

Hopefully!

[white van man 3,187]

There was a seal sitting on a rock up at Salmon pool the other morning. Crazy how things change 

[Arry 18,588]

I know of a lot of nice Bass caught spinning with harbour rag baited mepps fishing for thin lips last year in higher reaches of Exe and Teign Kev.

Was watching a Seal at Totnes weir the other evening White van man they are murdering every thing. Hardly a Flounder caught in the Dart now and Salmon getting hammered by them.

Cheers Arry

Edited June 27, 2022 by Arry

[South hams hunter 8,837]

Higher parts of the plym, Avon and tamar/tavi that should only produce mullet and flounder will now produce bass all year.

Lad I know well caught a smut at Kingsbridge pump station not too long ago; no rhyme or reason anymore 

[foxdropper 17,092]

Rising sea levels ?

[twobob 1,458]

On 23/06/2022 at 08:51, socks said:

With all the bait fish moving upstream it won’t be long before the sharks follow ……

Looks like you were right shark photographed in the river stour

[socks 32,253]

2 minutes ago, twobob said:

Looks like you were right shark photographed in the river stour

See evil b*****ds

[Borr 4,496]

6 minutes ago, twobob said:

Looks like you were right shark photographed in the river stour

Had to Google that, I'm on stour tomorrow but it's a different one lol. It was a metre long smooth hound...

[twobob 1,458]

1 minute ago, Borr said:

Had to Google that, I'm on stour tomorrow but it's a different one lol. It was a metre long smooth hound...

Could still eat socks i reckon

[Borr 4,496]

21 minutes ago, twobob said:

Could still eat socks i reckon

Choke on his fingers....

[Aled 364]

Blimey thats interesting, fished some of those Devon rivers mentioned back in the early 90's whilst at Plymouth Poly. Great fishing. So time to hang up the salmon and sea trout flies, and try for Bass on the fly...its great fun and the don't half hit the fly when they take! 

[NEWKID 26,191]

On 04/07/2022 at 17:16, foxdropper said:

Rising sea levels ?

I think its the success of the nursery zones further down river in the estuary... there are plagues of small bass, I guess they just keep moving up river where its still brackish and carry on feeding..

The rivers SHH mentioned have never been coarse fisheries, this stretch was a very prolific match fishery, used to have 40 or 50 pegged along in 25 years ago and you'd need 20lb of dace and chub to frame, or few big lumpy bream... what was bizarre (for me) is there were no dace, no roach etc.. maggot on a stick float and just bass, one after another...

I lived right behind this stretch, years ago done an article for the anglers mail on it, catching chub.. I grew up on it and honestly knew it inside out...not anymore, when a bloke up river is chucking a running ledger with 1/0 hook and lugworm on...and catching decent bass...the jobs f****d! Lol

[NEWKID 26,191]

On 13/07/2022 at 18:23, Borr said:

Choke on his fingers....

FingerS... plural??