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Esso swim
this was a known Bream hotspot but was next to where the carp like to frequent
it only had 2 parking spaces on the short walk 2 mins away but it was very popular walk etc etc with everyman and his dog liking the area so getting a parking space in daylight hrs was virtulally impossible so then it was a 1200mtrs + walk from the main car park to hope you had a swim as you couldnt really park anywhere to check
thats why i only fished this swim at night when i worked for Esso if you left your car in the car park over night it was pretty obvious where you were and your car was then very vulnerable to the scallys and you would come back to your car / van on bricks or your locks done and radio missing
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In reply to Post #17
It's about money; social media just facilitates it.
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In reply to Post #17
Things will go full circle, anyone who isn't sponsored will go full secret squirrel, like the old days.
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Social media is the issue as soon as someone posts a big fish from somewhere all the others jump on it for their bit of fame
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couldn't be more right about the UK and the current state of affairs.
I do love stories like this but its gonna be many years before i ever get available time like this again
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In reply to Post #14
Its not much different for us Barbel anglers now , Thames , Hants Avon, all the sponsored anglers are sniffing about trying to get more big fish for there blogs , a short section of the Hants Avon can have 3/4 of em from G@#d@?@ decsend down and soon as they catch its on social media , all caught on there hooks , line , backleads , the list goes on , so frustrating !
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In reply to Post #9
Had a few 11lb+ Barbel from that stretch. Unfortunately, attracted a lot of unwanted people down there so i quit fishing it.
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In reply to Post #3
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In reply to Post #3
That's mega cool.
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In reply to Post #3
Don't worry about it you are obviously very passionate about it and have put the graft in over the years to achieve your results and i admire anybody who has earned there fish
i dread to think how many hrs i spent walking the banks and that was while i was at work sometimes ...being a self employed 360 excavator operator i used to try and get jobs on the river sometimes i could fish off the barge or lock i was working on and would always volunteer to lock the gates / site for them if they wanted to away early if they were travelling lads which they appreciated and would always ask for me on there next job .....or as close as possible lol so i spent alot of years near the river and spent every opportunity i could walking / spotting / fishing
even spent 2yrs @ esso research as a test fuel car driver back then it was testing unleaded petrol ...my mrs worked away from home all week so i worked the 3pm till 11pm shift i could be on the bank by midnight and fish till 9am then go home to sleep before work 5 nights a week if i wanted but in reality it was every other night in the winter ....sometimes you question your sanity on a jan night in a howling gale and pissing down rain and you just put your 10th bream back and then pack down in the rain take everything home empty out in the garage to dry before that nights adventure ....
i have been in spain now for 8yrs and now i think carping in the UK has changed forever or perhaps im looking back with rose tinted spectacles
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In reply to Post #9
What a great photo.
So what's the biggest that's come out of there? And where abouts?
Only asking as when someone says the Thames to me I just assume London.
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In reply to Post #6
I spoke to Luke about that survey as he was brought in with his mate Jordan to survey the river after the work he did guiding on the Soane in France. Must have been nearly 20 years ago now & all very hush hush at the time.
He spent a few days traveling the river in a boat clooping for them - I think he said they heard one splash that sounded like it could have been one but no 100% sightings.
Rumors were that they lived around the islands at Ravens Ait.
My first date with my wife was a boat trip along the river up to Hampton Court - felt like there were spots to fish every inch of the way. Was put off by weirdos & tales of tackle thefts so only fished it once for a night on a social & this is one of the only fishing pics I have framed on the wall of my home.
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As a norther I love hearing stories of the Thames.
Seems to capture that magic that keeps me fishing-the not knowing.
It's up there with the passion for angling that had redmire in it.
Anyone has anymore pics it stories I would love to hear.
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My Dad lived in Shepperton and my Grandad was a member of the boat club in Windsor Marina when I was a kid. Spent a lot of time fishing up and down those parts of the Thames with both. Carp didn’t exist to me then. Perch, little jack pike, roach and dace. Nice memories that I’m lucky to have.
This forum has shown a grim side to fishing in the past few weeks. Money and pride really bring the worst out in people. Sad really, fishing shouldn’t be about that.
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In reply to Post #5
The last capture I heard about was an accidental one from Canbury Gardens, around the '30' mark I think. There is/was an EA survey published online where the participants set out to look for them, my memory is sketchy but I think Luke Moffat had some involvement, anyway, it didn't produce results. Areas I looked at and fished were Kingston, Teddington and Shepperton/Chertsey. No results.
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In reply to Post #4
spent many years fishing the thames as a kid with stick floats & swimfeeders but sad to say that I never caught a carp. it was local to me but I never really went back in later years - something I regret now.
definitely a different kind of magic about fishing wild venues for wild fish - the effort & the unknown. there's a huge contrast with how most anglers go about their fishing. I could never imagine going back to fishing any other way now.
did you ever catch or see any catfish in your times fishing the river gents? always lots of stories but I don't remember ever seeing any pictures.
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In reply to Post #3
Awesome that Mark - Get your Thames head back on again mate, get back on it.
I love stories of the Thames - it still ignites that pioneering flame in my belly that has slowly been going out over the past 15 years.
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In reply to Post #1
I apologise, that would have been my fault Digger. Great photos, great words.
It's always been that way for me. We always left each other alone. For thirty years we all left each other alone. When 'they' had the Thames record down on the semi tidal (common)... I never went near them. I could of so very easily. Don't do stuff like that. But the same is not shown in return, multiple times over. As a Thames angler you do not go and step on someone else's toes in my book. Just like you said. I even asked permission first, when the fish I was chasing for years moved stretches, I'd been fishing the wrong stretch for two years. I made sure it was okay with the bloke who fished that stretch and had already caught it twice first, even though I did not need too. I'd fished the area for four or five years straight, it was heaven on earth. Would never see anyone whatsoever all the time I was up at Hurley. That's all long out the window. Those days were gone instantly as soon as people are literally starting their Thames angling with video crews in tow. Joke. They already had the rest of carp fishing as a joke, not sure why they needed to turn the river Thames into a complete joke as well.
Here's a swim I cut out in that area two weeks after I caught the big ex Thames fully from the Nursery poaching pit (at the time) next to Sonning Eye. That was in the river close season. I'd just seen a fish in there easily bigger than the British record that had only ever been caught once before. I still returned to the river for the fish I'd been chasing for years the moment the river opened on June 16th. Fished the river all summer. Lost the biggun for the second time in this swim after a month. This swim was completely grown over. Three or four big limbs to that tree had to be removed. You could only fish it in waders. It was three quarters of a mile walk with a fully loaded barrow over two hump bridges. You could only fish it with short rods. You had to enter the water to do anything. It was cut out purposely like this by me. I spent many, many hours raking this swim, removing years of build up in the margins. Snags, branches the lot. Three massive weed beds and a whole raft of streamer weed were taken out. From under the weed beds, I retrieved around 50/70 large swan mussels. These were smashed up with a storm pole and put into the margins just beyond that bush on the right. Along with 100kg of fermented garlic hemp. All raking done at night. The rake is the carp anglers greatest tool. The spot was pure silt to start off with, situated on a back eddy. Within a week the carp had smashed all that and it was pure gravel. The power of the rake and a bit of hard work! Fluorocarbon, everything slack off the rod tips running down marginal slop. I was fishing a rod length out. This swim was situated on land owned by a Thames preservation society. People interested in the banks remaining natural for wildlife. It had been gifted to them by the sultan of Brunie. A 200 yard stretch of river, which was allowed to completely over grow for nature. It was heaven. Shade central. I went out of my way to find these preservation society people. I paid a nice donation to their society, cleared it with the landowners so that I could fish there. Literally my own private Thames swim. Lovely people. They could see how much I loved the river my whole life too.
The second last photo is 100kg fermented garlic hemp sending a slick/signal that every carp down to the sea would taste in the water. The fish on the mat, is the first fish I caught from that spot the following week.
Apologies again for kicking off on your previous thread Digger.
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In reply to Post #1
Nice Digger - some cracking spots along the Thames, just takes a bit of graft and get away from the rammed out areas. The stretch which i have found has a lifetime of fishing available, absolute mint and in the middle of nowhere. Bit of a logistical effort to get there but once your set, it's magic.
Seen some recent photos of Thames fish from a mate - they are simply breathtaking..
The only true last adventure in carp fishing is the old Father.
Be lucky.
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I'm guessing my last post about NH fishing the Thames got abit heated last time i looked it was on here ?
so i thought the chances of me returning to the Uk are getting smaller as it does look like a ****hole dangerous place to live where you cannot speak your mind even if it is the truth
so here is the best swim on the river Thames which i fished from 1975 till 2019 in this swim and believe me this swim produced an extrodinary amount of carp at the right time of year when they were moving to there winter depths
at least in my time on the river the people i fished with / shared info with stuck to a gentlemans agreement we didnt fish / poach each others swims so everyone could benifit from the shared info along the river and then bait to there hearts desire ...but none are still fishing the river now so heres my swim ...2 rods bottom of the shelf ....happy hunting
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