predator fishing

[greygoose]

Hi all , love the sea but like terry I,m a long and expensive way from it so intend to do more pike and zander fishing this year, I saw a catfish on the ouse near me where I go for a paddle swimming up near the surface breathing I think? and a mate has told me of one at 45lb caught a few miles upstream so maybe I,ll try for one of them bu***rs sometime ;D I Live just north of cambridge , so go on the ouse ,cam ,and have looked at some of the big drains ,some big pike and zander in them, if I track down any hot spots I,ll tell ya!

[Izzetafox]

If you are going after cats you will need your sea gear I guess. I am not sure how easy it would be having one in the yak with you. Good Luck.

In Winter I often have a trip over to the Fens a nice steady paddle along some of the stretches that aren't bank fished is fun trolling a couple of lures behind you. It can be bland but the fish are there.

Terry

[greygoose]

I think if I target a cat I,ll be on the bank! I know some lovel great big drains , but the top of the bank to the water can be 12 ft unless there in flood! I think a bit of exploration is called for when I get time, I,m never realy sure if I,m alowed to fish some of the rivers I paddle or fish , they don,t get many on the banks exept in matches (rare),and one banks one club ,the other another or not let to anyone. Most of the boats that chug along fish on the go ,or wherever they anchor, whats the law on it anyone?

[Izzetafox]

The letter of the law is that if you are on a water with fishing tackle and they don't sell day tickets then you are there without consent and technically you are committing an offence under the theft act.

As yet I have never been challenged but I do make sure I carry a fiver in case I see a bailiff so I can offer to buy a ticket. I also try and make sure that the club that control the water DO sell day tickets.

The great thing with the drains is there are so many stretches where you can paddle along banks that are inaccessible on foot. Virgin water!

[greygoose]

Earith is just down the road from my house and sits at a juntion of the old west, ouse, old beford and new bedford, all full of pike and zander , some of the banks local clubs, some london ones , but I rearly see any one fishing. I did a lenght of the old bedford , over 20 miles to see if I could ( I stopped at a pub at the turn around!) I saw harriers, a bitten, two seals a barn owl and short eared owls and lots of cormarrants- but not one fisherman. I have bumped into a bailiff fishing in a tiny 1/2 acre pond with my little boy! I see boats fishing all the time but I know my luck so only fish in out the way places to be sure.
So reading you so to speak, if I,m in a club that has one of the banks I,m OK , I know lots of water thats "open " to all , Ely for example, I fish there sometimes, nice and wide and around the marina is very good , there a fella who writes up on preditor fishing a lot, can,t think of his name but he fishes there a lot with "clients" who pay and its open waters !!
But if a water is not club leased, just farmed, then if ok with them,the farmer, then thats okdoky is it?

[fenboystu]

I think its mark Barrett your thinking of he`s based in Ely, He used to and possibly still does fish the middle level system a lot as well i enquired some time ago about paddling the middle level system and was told its fine ( kept the email ) just stay upstream of the aqua duct due to the strength of the flow when they start pumping ;D They have obviously never seen some of the antics at sea ;D Access as you say can be rather limited due to the heights of the banks tho there are a few places that are easier than others i hope to do a bit of vertical jigging for zeds at some point this year there is also the canal that runs from nordelph through to the 20ft though there is a lock to negotiate the canal is not deep about 4ft but contains pike,zander and perch oh and most of it is free fishing only a rod license req`d, another venue i fancy is the delph ( new Bedford ? ) its practically unfished in certain areas due mainly to access and peoples unwillingness to walk there loss would be our gain ;D ;D would need to look into permission to paddle that tho.

[greygoose]

Hi fenboy, a friend who loves his piking told me they used to fish the old beford a lot ,and sometimes hit on some very good fish, especialy near mepal, he said they stopped fishing it for new waters and the fact that there are no features etc and its hard to locate and return to good marks. Its not very wide though and awkward to get down to! I went on the relief channel up your way for a paddle once , a bit awkward to get into your boat as it was quiet steep at the best spot I found -near hilgay- I look at all the drains etc round our way but its getting on them ! need a bloody lift lol ! I keep exploring and I know I find some gems to fish that are to much trouble from the bank ,a bit of virgin piking with doubles by the score! thats what I,d love ! ;D but the river from huntingdon to earith is a bit nice to paddle and fish , trees solid along the banks for hundreds of yards hanging out 20ft in places , big reed bed and wide and deep ,just have to make sure I,m legit on there !

[fenboystu]

The old bedford used to throw up some huge fish many years ago as you say it is a tad on the feature less side and the fish dont tend to stay in the same area for long we used to walk as far as we could then leap frog the rods back to the start off point it was a very effective method..... ;D. The delph at welney used to be a favourite spot also tho we tended to be quite lazy on there only walking a couple of hundred yds at most mainly because the fish tended to stick around the road bridge in the winter again some nice fish coming out of there including Zander we also caught some nice eels night fishing for the zeds on small roach deadbaits ;D As for hilgay you can go into the village and launch from the little slip straight into the wissey there is always a chance of pike in there.