Perfect Start
I’d fished the Chapel Farm stretch at Benwick on the Old River Nene before I moved to the area, so it was one of the first places I picked to visit after relocating to Cambridgeshire. It was just how I remembered, with the big old house on the far bank still empty and the willows next to it gently swaying in the warm summer breeze. The banks were heavily overgrown, so it took a while to find where the pegs were. Although this is a popular winter match water, few anglers bother with it early season. It was bright, sunny, and hot, and I wasn’t that optimistic, but amazingly the float kept going under every time I dropped a pole rig in. It was heaving with small roach, rudd, perch and bleak. Initially, I had trouble reaching the bottom, having to switch to bigger baits to get down, finishing up with an impressive haul of bream and a welcome bonus tench.
So Different
My first year in the fens passed all too quickly, a mixture of getting the new house sorted and exploring many interesting venues. It was twelve months before I returned to this spot. The pegs were heavily overgrown again, but not the far side. The willows by the empty house opposite had been brutally pollarded. All the shady water had gone and so it seemed most of the bream. Weed growth had increased dramatically due to the increased light factor, making it tricky to prevent hook baits from getting smothered with fine silky strands of the stuff. The fish were spooky too, probably due to all the recent disturbance. It was another hot day, so I pole fished from underneath my umbrella to keep cool. One big skimmer and a couple of tench resulted, losing several more of the latter, which annoyingly kept bumping off the hook in all the weed.
Hot and Cold
Many years ago I travelled up from London to fish the original lake at Decoy, which is called Beastie. Now this fishery is only a short drive away, I’ve discovered many more interesting pools have been added, along with a tackle shop, café and bar. After picking a peg on Horseshoe it was crazy action on a mild spring day, switching between catching loads of lumpy carp and hordes of silver fish. This bonus bream added to the enjoyment. The following winter, my mate Andy was practicing for the Angling Trust Winter League final at this venue, so I tagged along. It was very different when we set up on Beastie in much colder weather. The carp were balled up somewhere, the water was a lot clearer and cormorants were circling overhead. Big fish were scarce, while smaller ones were keeping safe by hugging tight to the reedy margins.
The Marina
My second year in the fens saw a big bonus when March and District A.A. obtained key access to the famous marina section on the Old River Nene, allowing vehicles to be parked much closer. It had previously required a mega hike to get to the moored boats and beyond, due to it becoming too dangerous to park up and unload on the busy A141 bypass. There were stories of huge rudd, plenty of bream and good tench to be caught, before the roach and skimmer shoals arrived in winter. But with so much water for fish to travel about in, this part of the fens wasn’t as productive as normal. I still enjoyed it, but it was hard work scratching out a few sprats on my first attempt. It was very weedy and the Middle Level Commissioners were having a good go at clearing it with a couple of special boats, but floating debris became another issue.
Missing Species
The rudd fishing was incredible during my first year in fenland, especially on the Twenty Foot River. Autumn saw huge shoals of fish arriving, including some proper big ones. The waggler proved to be a top way of catching, also accounting for plenty of skimmers, roach, perch, and bleak. Casters were good at times, with sweetcorn and pellets coming into play when small fish were a problem. It was a bit like Ireland used to be when I spent a lot of time over there, bagging up big time. But last year the rudd shoals went missing from their usual winter haunts on the Old River Nene in March. Winter league anglers struggled in normally prolific areas. Even those on fish had to make do with smaller roach and skimmers, with weights much lower than normal. It was a job to get bites on some sections, particularly at nearby Benwick, which was dire.
Where Next
There are 120 miles of interconnected drains and rivers fish can freely move around in the Middle Level system. Many sections have limited or no access, so big areas like this hardly see any anglers. The good aspect is there’s plenty of water to draw fish from, providing a never-ending supply when bites are coming thick and fast. The bad news is easy to access and comfortable swims don’t always produce. It can be seasonal due to migration, or simply down to water management. The fens are part of a massive drainage system, so they might be run off hard before or after heavy rainfall, also to remove excess surface weed. In theory, anything caught close to Peterborough could find its way to March or Benwick, or even further afield. The Rivers Nene and Ouse are also connected, so you never know what might turn up.
There’s More
I’ve only just begun trying to get to grips with the wider Middle Level drains. There are vast amounts of water to explore, with good depth and extra width that allows feeder tackle to come into play. I caught this mixture of roach, rudd and skimmers by switching between Edge Tackle groundbait and cage feeders. The roach and skimmers responded best to a groundbait model, while some better-sized rudd turned up when I tried a similar sized cage design. It quickly became evident that an attacking approach was required, whether using feeder, whip or pole tackle, feeding plenty of regular groundbait to attract interest. Bridges proved important because that’s where most of the accessible swims can be located. Once again, I found many miles of waterway where the steep banks were overgrown and barely troubled by anglers.
New Tackle
Less wide fens or drains require a shorter float rod, making the amazing Cadence CR10 12ft Match #1 perfect. Combined with a CS10 3000 reel, this blank is responsive enough to cut line under the surface when waggler fishing windy venues, but also forgiving enough not to pull the hook on soft mouthed skimmers. I’ve had to adapt much of my gear to suit the maze of venues now at my disposal, but I relish new challenges. Many drains and rivers are canal-like, reminding me of places I fished many years ago, like the Lea Navigation, Regents Arm, Oxford, and Grand Union. I would happily have used a rod and reel combo like this back then, when it was all about Normark Microlites and Mitchell Matches. A lot has changed in the tackle industry, but quality and value wise, I can’t fault the kit I’m currently using. It compares extremely well.
Old Favourite
Much of my tackle might be new these days, but older methods still come into play. Although I haven’t seen anyone else using stick floats on the fens, I couldn’t resist giving a mini version a run out a few times on Whittlesea Dyke, which is also known as the Briggate River. This narrow and shallow waterway has a decent flow at times. The towpath behind can get busy with bikes, joggers and dog walkers, making unshipping pole sections a tricky operation. Not the case with a CR10 12ft rod, which I enjoyed using with a top and bottom attached float, rather than the wagglers it normally deals with. This session was hard graft, winkling out small perch, before the winter roach shoals turned up. A return visit further upstream produced a much better mixed net of silvers, again running a mini stick down the middle with maggots and casters.
Still Searching
This is the bottom end of Well Creek, yet another interesting fenland venue I discovered while out exploring. It looked perfect, but I couldn’t buy a bite. That’s the risk you take when trying new places, although I’ve since discovered bream are known to frequent this area. The day in question was bitterly cold, so it will have to wait until next summer for a return visit. The Old Bedford River is close by. Taking a walk along there, I bumped into some guys who were pike fishing and had caught a couple of jacks. They enthusiastically told me about the nearby River Delph, yet another local venue I must try. Apparently, that waterway can be heaving with big rudd and is largely ignored these days. The same applies to the adjacent Old Bedford, which can provide some excellent catches of tench, providing it’s not clogged with weed or in flood.
Reservoir Blues
I first visited Kingland Reservoirs, which are situated close to the Twenty Foot River, a couple of years ago. I wanted to give the so-called Silver Fish one another go, after getting swamped out by carp last time. There were also loads of small rudd, and it would be interesting to see if they had packed on any weight. It was summer and very warm back then, while this time it was winter and bitterly cold, so I was hoping the carp might back off. No chance of that! Once some bait started going in and a few rudd turned up, the hungry critters appeared from everywhere. Andy Griffiths was with me, testing out some new rigs he had made up for his bagging pole, much happier with this situation. Where to fish style websites stated this res holds chub, bream, crucian carp, ide, orfe, tench and barbel. In reality, it’s carp, carp and more carp!
True Silvers
A gem I’ve uncovered in fenland is Townsend Lakes near Wisbech. Kingfisher is the biggest and has plenty of carp and F1s to keep you busy. However, it’s also crammed with skimmers, roach, ide and rudd. They hold a few silver fish only matches, and it’s enjoyable trying to find ways of avoiding the species that don’t count. You need to feed just enough to interest the skimmers, which are the best weight builders, but keep it sensible so as not to attract too many carp. Mind you, the F1s in here are stunning fish, especially the hard fighting bigger ones. I use Edge Solid Hybrid Elastic in lighter gauges, which is perfect for avoiding hook pulls with soft mouthed skimmers, but also stretchy enough not to have refined pole rigs trashed by carp. It’s a game of cat and mouse, enjoyable while the surrounding fens are shut during the close season.
