Free Line 109 — October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 165
ALEX
PAUL HANSON
STEVE
BENNETT
BRIGGS
well spot a car tyre, shop p i n g t ro l ley o r eve n a n ol d b ike at
t h e bottom! I think I co unte d n e arly 2 0 sh o p p i n g tro l l eys n e a r
T K Maxx car park. Avoid ca s t i n g a ny wh ere n ea r t h a t b a n k , as
yo ur bait may only be 1ft b e low t he s u rfa ce s a t u p o n a tro l l ey
o r two!
The EA does seem to have i nve ste d i n i n t ro d u c i n g s a l m o n
r u ns and repairing lo ck str u c tu re s o n t h e M e dway ove r t h e l a s t
fe w years. This has impac te d o n t he b arb e l a n d th e c a rp d u e
to noise pollution and ch an g e s i n f low, m a k i n g p ri me grave l
fe eding areas silty and ca us i n g th e f i s h to m i g ra te u p s tre a m
( p ossibly below Yalding). T hi s , a lo ng w it h s l u i c e s b e i n g
o p ened up in flood, can fo rc e c a r p i n s o m e s t re tc h e s to m ove
d ownstream into the next s e ct i o n . (a l th o u gh m a ny c a rp d o h o l d
u p in their preferred areas fo r m any ye ar s ) . T h e re c o u l d b e a
l a rge number of carp in the t i d al se c t i o n a f te r Al l i n g to n l o c k ,
which gets a lot less angl i n g p re ss u re du e to b e i n g d i f f i c u l t ,
d a ngerous and unortho dox f i s h i n g c o n di ti o n s .
The tidal stretch:
Carp can be caught at h i gh ti de a n d l ow t i d e i n t h e t i d a l
s e ctions depending on how d ete r mi n e d yo u a re . F i s h in g wh i l s t
t h e tide is coming in or o ut i s al m o s t a wa s te o f t i m e , a s a
l e ad rarely holds the botto m o r yo u r l i n e s g e t t a ke n o u t by a n
i n sane amount of debris.
Rainy summers:
Flash floods during the s u mm e r h ave b e en k n ow n to ke e p t h e
f i s h feeding for longer dur i n g t he wa r me r m o n t h s g iv i n g m e
a n d others bigger hits du r i n g wh at co ul d n o rm a l ly b e a h ard
t i me of year. Try getting o u t o n t he r ive r i n t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s
to try for yourself !
Fishing in the winter:
FR E ELINE 51
