Yes the change from a smaller river with lots of visible features to a larger featureless (excepting weirs) river is a bit daunting.
The Dove must be one of the most beautiful smaller rivers in the country and it has everything you can expect feature wise, weirs,gravel glides,overhanging trees, streamer weed and sometimes all in the same stretch, the larger rivers and I include the Trent here at times can be pretty feature less making any sort of watercraft pretty useless and any known hotspots are usually rammed with anglers camping out for days on end.
My plan for the Trent is to get a couple of local club books and fish sections of the river a bit off the beaten track and use a bait and wait approach and see what happens.
Who said us anglers donāt like a challenge ?
My fishing started summer 74, a Fen drain, we lived near Mildenhall
First fish I ever caught was a Ruffe, had fish fish out that evening a couple of Perch and Roach
Fast forward to now
I specialise in threes areas
Barbel / Chub from the start of the season to autumn, I look at the weather for winter Barbel
From April Iām looking at Tench and then Carp, through to autumn although I do want to catch a winter 30
October to March I get my Pike rods out
I used to have a gold card on RMC and then CEMEX until they sold it all, that gave me access to some of the best lakes in the country
I can honestly say I havenāt caught fish on some of the countryās best Carp waters
My local club water is Fishers Green which is notoriously hard, we also have stretches on the upper Lea as well which are more realistic for catching, Iāve had over 20 to 10lbs this season, not overly big but I never get bored of any size Barbel
Best Iāve had up there this season is 9.13lb
Iāve had 2 custom build 1.5 TC Barbel rods made for me this year and theyāre superb
Iāve joined Reading angling as well this year so I look forward to not only the Kennet that Iāve fished before but I now have the Thames, will look for another pair of Barbel rods 2 TC
I always join Kings Lynn angling for my Pike fishing on the Fens, Iāve lived in London since 86 but it always feels like home when Iām in that barren cold environment
Had quite a few Pike this season but no Zander, the last being a 21.05lb Pike from the Old Bedford River
Current plans are for Thames Barbel and Carp in the new season
And similarly Iām going back to the Fens but this time in the summer for Rudd and Carp
Carp on the drains may prove interesting
Lyndon
@Hanumike @gav_sw20
Do you guys suffer much with the dreaded Signal Crayfish on your rivers?
I fish various areas and tributaries of the River Lee (or Lea) and the damned things can drive you to complete distraction at times. My club were licenced to trap them on our stretch of the River Rib (one of Richard Walkerās favoured Dace and Roach waters back in the day). In one particular weirpool the fishery officer at one time was trapping over 1,000 Signals per week! This, in a river thatās narrow enough to jump across for much of our section. They supplied a number of local restaurants with this little lot and the proceeds swelled the clubās coffers for a while, so āevery cloudā as they say.
Wondered how widespread the problem was?
Hanumike
Iām in the same boat
Iām used to intimate rivers like the Lea, Bedfordshire Gt Ouse, Kennet, St Pats where features and fish holding spots are easier to find
I will be fishing the Thames for Barbel next season which brings new challenges
But I also fish the Fen drains a lot which are totally featureless and dead straight but thereās a lot to see there once you know what youāre looking for
Lyndon
No sign of this freshwater menace on either the Dove or the Trent as far as Iām aware.
Swanny
The signals are a real pain especially the Lea
Had them in the Kennet and St Pats as well
Even popping the bait up doesnāt help, they pull the line down and eat the bait
The Fens suffers from Mitten Crabs
Lyndon
Iāve not seen any personally but have come across them in a local still-water that is canal-fed.
Angry looking things they are, although am
sure theyāre lovely with a plate of fries and a thermidor sauce.
No fishing for me at the moment! My nearest water is a ten mile drive, and theyāre enforcing a 5 mile maximum ālocalā distance from home to water, as per Angling Trust guidance 
.
Lyndon
Not sure what approach you will be adopting for the Thames ? but the typical middle Trent set up requires 2lb tc rods with bait runner type reels and bite alarms coupled with big feeders (4 - 8oz depending on conditions) with about a 4ft flurocarbon hooklink with the rods as high as possible on a beach caster style set up.
Which all seems a bit alien to me as it is the total opposite to the small river approach I used on the Dove, we will have to compare notes once the new river season gets underway and see who has the most success
Hanumike
Yes thatās pretty much what I had in mind although Iāll probably use PVA rather than a feeder, bait runners, Delkims etc
So will need to get another pod
Really need to look at it, hopefully I can get round there in the close season to assess
Lyndon
I learnt to fish on the Kennet, near Sindlesham; but as I lived at Bearwood I had access to two lakes and a reservoir. The large lake was renown for pike, the small lake for roach and Rudd, whilst the reservoir was a haven for tench.
I have not fished since those halcyon days in the late 60ās early 70ās, but I remember them fondly.
Signal Crayfish are spreading at an alarming rate. Here in the Cotswolds there are still a few streams without them. Some anglers, unwittingly spread them as they move from one stream / pitch to another.
Apart from the inconvenience to anglers caused by the presence of the Signals, they are having a devastating effect on our native White Clawed Crayfish. The Signals are immune to the crayfish plague which they happily carry whereas itās almost always fatal for the native species.
Apparently traces of the āplagueā can be transferred from water to water on anglers boots, nets. etc and can (it is claimed) remain active for up to 22 days, even if the nets are dried.
So it looks like 29/03 we can travel outside our local area
To me that means I can get my rod out !
Being after the end of the season looks like Iāve caught my last Chub and Barbel of this campaign, Iāve had a fantastic summer & autumn on the upper Lea catching loads of Barbel, no monsters 5-10lb all on rolling Tandoori Spam, nothing more than a size 6 hook, 6lb line to a centre pin and a B&W Avon rod modelled on the original Hexagraph best being 10.13 lb
Pike fishing is over too, managed to wrinkle a few out, I do enjoy my Pike fishing on the Fens, a 160 mile round trip normally freezing cold, wet and windy - need to remind myself of exactly what I enjoy
Had a few out including a 21.05 lb from the Old Bedford, popped up Roach dead bait
Turning my attention now to after 29/03, which means the Easter weekend cos I bet the lakes are gonna be empty that weekend 
Turning my attention to Tench, my green friends with teddy bear eyes
Iāve applied for membership of a syndicate up at St Ives so hopefully if Iām in then donāt need to worry about crowds
Not been in a syndicate for 8 years now, the RMC, - Ready Mixed Concrete
Concrete and fish go hand in hand for obvious reasons
So busy tying my Tench rigs and getting the Spod mix together
Tight lines and sharp hooks everybody
Lyndon
ooh, Iād missed that ā¦do you have a reference?
Just in time for the start of the trout season 
Suzy Wong
Yes itās part of the new out of lockdown guidelines
08/03 - schools back - and possibly for summer
29/03 - a whole raft of restrictions ease, a lot of outdoor sports and activities are allowed- but crucially the guidance on travel is minimise travel instead of stay local
Not sure about overnight fishing at this stage but definitely from 12/04
So Iāll take that at least I can go to my local, 20 mins away and probably St Albans 40 mins
In all fairness both of those are 99% motorway
I think Iāll be going to my 20 min one beforehand
I live very close to the North Circular and thatās a traffic jam as always, tube in the morning is virtually the same as always
My site is as crowded as ever
Itās only that we have to wear a mask on the tube that reminds me that we still have a virus out there
Lyndon
I wonder if 40 miles travel could be considered āminimalā (Fareham to Salisbury), across the Hampshire/Wiltshire county line and two Constabularies 
No overnight fishing involvedā¦by gad Sir, trout fishers only do it during the daytime, and only in the summer months!
Either way, it sounds promising 
Night time fly fishing
A fluorescent fly
Yea, Iād love to see that
Suzy W
Just curious what river youāre fishing
I also have a Reading ticket, thereās often Brown Trout caught on the Kennet
Iāve caught Brown Trout on a lake back in the early 80ās but that was course tactics catching them on worms, I seem to remember being impressed with the fight they put up
It was many years later I was able to fish for Barbel
And yea, thereās the Mike Tyson of fishes
Would like to compare the 2
Lyndon
