Hi i am new to this forum so be gentle!

My local river (the Smite in Nottingham) is 8-12ft wide and little more than 12 inches deep in most places when there has been a dry spell-like at the moment. It is a lowland river and therefore quite slow flowing and doesn't offer much appeal if any to your typical fly fisherman im sure. However it appears to have a healthy population of Chub and what appear to be Dace. Could i catch these on a fly rod when the rivers running low, slow and gin clear as it so often does? i guess i would have to be ultra stealth im sure...what methods would you use, or would i just be wasting my time?

BTW i realise its the close season and will wait until June. Also i've never actually fly fished before but my friend has a "brook" rod and a few dry flies etc and says i can borrow it for a few weeks and have a bash come June...what do you all think?


Martyn

Hello martyn yes chub and dace can be caught on the fly and your river sounds ideal for it.
The problem with a shallow river is coarse fishermen cannot use a float or leger tackle as it would spook the fish, so the only alternative is to freeline a bait or fly fish.
Keep reading this forum a lot of lads are catching from small rivers and canals, your rod sounds ok, try adding a collection of small nymphs to your collection. These can be fished just below the surface, it may not be easy but it is very rewarding to catch on the fly!

Cheers for the info Paul.

Yes its far to shallow to float fish and i fancy a crack at this fly fishing anyway! Been reading Skateboard Daves postings about fishing canals with much enthusiasm as the Grantham canal is only a ten minute walk from my house!

Keep reading the articles by skateboard Dave, also Marcel writes some good threads as well.
It is hard finding information few books are written on the subject, it is a lot like trout fishing, just scale down your tackle, and keep listening to what all the lads have to say.
Use polarising glasses as well, this type of fishing is all about finding the fish, and do not stay in one place to long, let us know how you get on

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m...ly/chublet.jpg

Caught this little chap on a size 14 PTN only yesterday. He wasn't spooked by my thrashing around like the trout were

Rod

Hi Martyn. I've fished the Grantham canal many times, mostly for pike. It is a nice but very bizzare peice of water, being disused for many years but under restoration works(God knows if they will ever finish it!), means you have pounds which are deep and coloured, others are inches deep and weeded all the way across, others deep and crystal clear and some bone dry! One of my favorite short pounds dried up about 3 years ago!
Are you around the Cotgrave area?
The reason I ask is that a small river runs under the canal between Cotgrave and Nottingham (near a golf course and an air field), is this the River Smite?
Whatever it is I've caught some good chub where it disappears under the canal on big nymphs and saw plenty on a quick foray upstream from this point but I've never fished it properly...never known who owns the fishing rights to it. I wouldn't be too suprised to hear of the odd trout in it either.
The canal is very good for pike but pretty patchy for the silver fish...find the right area and it can be great...biking a few miles of it with polaroids on should do the trick. I've found some good rudd(had a couple about 1lb tops) a few times through Cotgrave and lots of roach/small rudd around Hickling. Some pounds have huge carp, I've encountered a couple of bream shoals(never managed one though!) but there is so much to explore. It is a bit of a treck for me or I'd know it like my local GUC and no doubt have cracked most of it's species.
Good luck.
Dee

Skateboard Dave I live roughly between Cotgrave and Hickling. Thanks for the info about the Grantham canal! I used to mess about in boats as a kid in the Grantham canal and used to watch the pike drift under our boat.The river your talking about is not the Smite but it does sound intresting...I shall be investigating this river you talk of! It would be amazing if it had Trout in it. I cant believe you have caught trout in the Soar anything is possible!!

The Smite turns into the Devon which flows into the Trent all the way up at Newark. Not an especially intresting river but on my doorstep and appears to have a healthy population of fishes for the first time in years. Agricultural pollutants some years ago did some significant damage.

Looking forward to the end of the close season and when i can get my hands on a fly rod!

I had a great day catching chub dace and maybe even a few bleak(?) last year.

Super small dry black flies, 3wt rod.

The takes/attacks on the fly are lightning fast so you almost have to predict the take.

Can't wait for the coarse season to start so I can do it again!

__________________
"If it was that easy it would be called Catching not Fishing".

I really enjoyed these posts. The real hunting spirit. Maximum investigation, minimum cost and maximum satisfaction.
I think Skateboard could inspire some young people who think life's untimate experience is a fag and a phone.
rusty

I was out for trout last week and took this 3.25lb chub. They can be caught on nymphs or dries, and are often free rising. Take a stealthy approach though as they spook easily. I tend to favour light tactics, i.e 3wt or 4wt, and have never suffered as a result. Give it a go, you'll enjoy it.

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If it's above a 4wt, it's built for Tarpon.