Rivers Test & Itchen

[jerseyman]

Visiting these waters at end of month, have booked on to Timsbury[Test]
and Lower Itchen fishery any one have knowledge of other stretches on these rivers for coarse/grayling fishing?
ta Graham

[ferox]

Small free stretch on Itchen behind The Ship and First In Last Out(pubs) near centre of Winchester. Grayling to 1lb 12oz, very big roach but not managed to catch any, also big perch in slow moving water (offshoot of main river near playing fields, anything can turn up when water is pushing through big trout, even odd salmon, bream, escapee carp. Fish get washed down from private stretches when river is carrying water(big stocky rainbows). People have had roach to 3lb, finding them one thing catching them another.
Even when carrying heavy rain river doesn't colour up much with it being a chalk stream.

[jerseyman]

Thanks Ferox, jnr is not far away from there, at Sparsholt, so we will go look for this bit, he's suffering withdrawl symptoms due to lack of rod hrs

[ferox]

My brother teaches fish farming/aquaculture at Sparsholt college, there is also a free stretch at Twyford near motorway with some barbel present. Any lads from the college will point you in right direction. Try the college lake for a few hours if your son is a student. Its a bloody aquarium, if anything its too easy, come back down to earth when I'm home on the hard northern waters. Also a free stretch on lower ITchen, weirpool with barbel and good chub but forgotten location. Will let you know when I speak to brother.

[jerseyman]

Cheers Ferox,no surprise he's on a fishery course too .
he did fish the lake a few times, but he got bored,too many carp.
i however am really looking forward to having a look, good fun fishing little rivers and streams
thanks again.

[jerseyman]

Well, we went we saw ,we sort of caught.
Test, lot bigger than i imagined. also very popular, even mid week and at the prices. carriers were full of small grayling and trout parr. few small roach and perch in the slower one.
main river very difficult.found some grayling eventually in a run off between an island, but swim messed up by continual tout problems.
Itchen, far better grayling to pound and half, jnr lost the salmon/seatrout he hooked,which would have made his day.
i for reasons unknown struggled with the float, but rescued the day with a 21-09 pike,and an eel about 2lb both on anchovy.
Next 2 days were on the avon below ringwood, 3 pike to 12lb, and a few dropped baits on the first, a total zero on the 2nd.
Very different rivers than what we are used to. hardly any bankside cover or snags to fish to.
Nice break though,nice countryside and the bitter was worth the ferry fare.

[thymallophile]

Shame no bigger grayling turned up, but Jerseyman, I would have been really chuffed with the 21 pound pike. Well worth the effort.

[jerseyman]

Sorry if i gave the wrong immpression , i was really chuffed with her.I have waited a long time to utter the immortal words.
"B***dy hell, we're going to need a bigger net"
a truly fantastic fish , a privilige to see let alone catch.
with regard to the grayling, local advice is to go earlier in the season, before the fish get too pressured.

[Deleted]

JM, did you manage to get a picture of her? Very pleased for you

[jerseyman]

hope this works

[beachball]

Feb 4, 2010 14:56:15 GMT jerseyman said:

hope this works

Wow what a beauty she is, now thats a real specimen fish good on ya regards Malc.

[woodchucker]

Thats a cracking fish my old mate, you should be more than pleased with her, and I would say she looks hollow, could push 23-24lbs in the next couple of months

[jerseyman]

bit of spawn by the feel,but still a good solid fish, stomach didn't feel lumpy neither so with a bit of bad luck for a 3lb trout someone else will have a chance of a lifetime.
Woody, have you ever noticed when you are handling a predator, be it fresh or sea, if they haven't fed recently they exude a yellowish fluid from the vent? i have always assumed its bile from the digestive tract,and because there is nothing to work on, its passed out.
thoughts anyone?

[woodchucker]

I have caught two Pike that did the same, I caught them both on lures just after flood, interesting

[Deleted]

Cracking fish jerseyman' unusual choice of fishing hoodie ;D. I bet it enjoyed munching on an anchovy. Only seen them in tins! What size is a whole fish?
geoff

[jerseyman]

Geoff. don't know if you saw the national press about oct /nov last year . the Brixham /Devon boats had a run of anchovies. I had some in for the shop and thought"i know where some of them are going" froze well, and mounted fine on a single/treble tackle .but far too soft for repeated casting.size wise, i only took the 5-7 " ones
Its where all my dead baits come from when i know i am in for a trip.
only fish so far that has been a waste of time is herring. was gutted about that because they were superb fish as well.
I have found ,even with piking infrequently ,that one bait is the banker over a period of days, even on different venues, and the rest are hardly touched.

With reference to my satorial elegance and without lowering the tone of the thread, lets say that i am very experienced in matters other than angling

[BOF]

What a lovely fish Jerseyman, very pleased for you. Honest.

No comment about anything else.

BOF

[Deleted]

Cracker that JM, very large head in proportion to the rest of the body. Top dangling