Big Fish Column: Rivers respond to rising temperatures

Typically the rivers responded more quickly to the improved conditions and rising temperatures than the stillwaters but the smaller lakes were not that far behind.

With a couple of days of genuinely warm sunshine and elevated night-time temperatures, it was not long before anglers were beginning to get among fish, on the commercial pools at least.

Unsurprisingly, carp were the first to become active and on fisheries such as the Royal Berkshire and Woolwich Green there were some good results with the first decent weights of fish of the season and some chunky individual fish for those in search of the bigger fish too.

For the pleasure anglers, the Woolwich Green Fishery was particularly quick to respond with corn very much the in bait – as it so often is when water temperatures are on the cool side.

Howard Keene was among several local anglers to enjoy a productive day on the fishery with a catch of eight carp to 8lb to his feeder and corn presentation which saw him fish a brown crumb-based groundbait with a couple of grains of corn on a size 16 hook to 4lb hook length and 6lb main line.

Also getting among the carp was Ray Richards who fished corn on the straight lead with a PVA bag of corn and carp pellets to take six fish to around the 10lb mark.

For bigger fish a great late winter fish of 22lb 4oz was the reward for Maidenhead’s Barry Higgins who paid a visit to the prolific Thorpe Lea fishery. Barry took the fish, along with four other good doubles, from the beach area on the road bank by casting a semi-fixed 3ox lead to long range with a pop up chocolate flavoured boilie on a size eight hook to 20lb coated braid and 120lb main line.

The venue is in great shape for anyone looking to get to grips with some decent early season carp and if you time your journey sensibly the M4 to M25 run is not too horrific!

More locally, the Royal Berkshire continues to turn up some good catches of silvers although few reports of the larger roach which the venue has always boasted have filtered through this winter.

The carp fishing on the other hand has been excellent at times with numbers of fish well into double figures showing including a three-fish catch to Pete Randall who fished Lake One with meat on a size 10 hook to 8lb line to record specimens to 14lb.

Prawn is also accounting for a number of good carp from the fishery with the margins of the islands particularly productive.

The Royal Berkshire perch continue to provide first class sport too with the best specimen reported this week, one of 2lb 12 oz which fell to the worm fished by Taplow rod Ed Hayes.

Ed presented the bait in the margins of Lake Two on a size 10 hook to 4lb line and also landed three fish around the 2lb mark and a carp of 7lb during his day on the water.

Along with carp it is bream which are usually the first to show during the late winter and early spring period and Spencer Davis was pleased to net a couple of fish both weighing an estimated 7lb during a session on a water close to his Twyford home.

Spencer presented a pellet hookbait on feeder tackle and scored with both fish at dusk after an afternoon of frustrating line bites and twitches.

Prospects for the stillwaters during the next week are less favourable with some forecasters suggesting a return to much colder conditions, but the first signs of spring are already all around so don’t worry too much if it cools off – I’m willing to bet the carp and bream at least will keep feeding now they have started.

Any anglers wishing to report catches may contact me on 07780 755138. I may be e-mailed on ian@bigfishtrail.com.