Hi all,

Anyone had any experience flyfishing on the river Cam in Cambridge?

Thinking of giving it a go come June 16th (first attempt at coarse fish on the fly) as I don't always get the chance to head out to Grafham.

I thought this would be a great chance to throw a line in the water on the way home from work! and it keeps the missus happy (as I'm not away on 6 hr fishing sessions! )

Would appreciate any hints, tips and tactics you could share?

My current outfit is a 9'6 7wt (which is prob too heavy) but thinking of getting a 9' #5 if it goes well.. unless you can recommend otherwise...

Thanks

Jay

Hi Jay,

The Cam is a great river to fish - incredibly rich and stuffed with fish. Here's my advice, based on 2 season's fishing (3-4 times a week), and assuming you're based in Cambridge itself.

First: get a 3wt! Or even a 2wt. 7wt is massive overkill unless you're after pike, and even 5wt is a bit much. The chub in particular get *extremely* wary, so it's all about very delicate presentation. My most successful set up was an 8'6 3 wt, 10 foot leader (7 feet of 10lb fluoro, then 3 feet of 4lb fluoro).

Second: before the 16th, walk the river to see where the chub are lurking. There are smaller ones pretty much everywhere, but the bigger ones seem to be on a few spots (see below).

Third: the Cam chub are smart and heavily fished. If they see you, forget it. The best approach is either sight casting dries (clear water) or fishing a nymph under an indicator (coloured water). The takes are often extremely gentle: if you have qualms about using an indicator, now is the time to drop them! Degrease your leader and avoid drag etc etc.

Fourth: in most spots, you get about 4 casts *max* before the residents wise up and stop taking or hide. Really, really don't bother casting on after that. Even if you can still see them, absolutely nothing you do will persuade them to take. Keep moving - the river is extremely rich, and there are always more fish a little further on.

Fifth: don't fish near the coarse guys. They are great to talk to and can offer very useful tips - and are usually extremely curious and enthusiastic about having a go on fly. But! They usually heavily groundbait, which means nothing is going to pay attention to your fly.

Sixth: in general, chub like big bushy dries that make a 'plop' when they land - and the take is usually very rapid. I never quite sussed when to strike, but I'd say the most consistent was to count to 'one' deliberately, then tighten. Dace are like lightning: you need to work out how to strike as the fly lands.

As for spots:

1. The Mill pond, just where the water comes in from the sluice out of the main river (next to the punt rollers). Cast from the green on the left, aiming to drop a big bushy dry as close to the sluice as possible and drift it back. Be prepared for a take as soon as it lands. You get about 4 casts before they work out what's going on and stop taking. Don't bother after that - move on. At last light, worth stripping a black zonker through (will pick up perch too).

2. Wooden walkway below Magdalene bridge. There are monsters all along here, sitting just behind the moored punts or holding station in mid stream. It's an absolute ****** to cast, but well worth it. But this is sight casting or nothing. Walk along til you see the one you want, move 10 yards downstream, then *very gently* cast a small or medium dry (elk hair sedge works well) a foot or two in front of him. He will follow it down, and 8 times out of 10, refuse. But on the 9th and 10th... Heart in mouth fishing, and your best shot at a 5lb+. 2 casts max per fish.

3. Jesus lock, upstream side. Stand on steps in front of the ice cream shed. The big chub sit under the floats on the safety line that runs across in front of the weir. Cast square across stream and let the fly drift down to them. There are monsters there, so be prepared. Big dries and subsurface nymphs.

4. Jesus lock, downstream side. Stand on Chesterton road side, below the phone box. First cast: 5 yards out, slightly upstream, let it drift down. Do 2 more casts, each about a yard further. Then aim for a couple long casts to about a foot downstream the brick bulkhead in mid river - the biggest fish (and they are HUGE) sit just behind this. It's a very tricky cast, and you only get 1 or at most two shots. You can then work your way down the pool behind the lock - not many big ones, but plenty of little chub which come to a small dry.

5. Victoria bridge. Best spot to start the season - usually has a huge shoal under it through June and July. But hit heavily by the coarse guys, so the sooner you get there the better. Start just upstream on the Town side, stand where the railings between the bike path and the river stop. First few casts: directly upstream, only a foot or two out from the bank. Chub sit in along there picking up stuff that falls out of the willows. If you're stealthy when you start (tackle up well back), you can catch 2lbs with the first cast. After 3-4 casts up stream, each one a bit further out into mid river, switch to casting square across. Here's where you probably have your best chance of a big fish on your first session. Aim to cast about two thirds across the river, slightly down-stream, landing the fly already slightly under the bridge, Let it drift down and then swing across. Expect a take at any point. Last year on June 16 they were still hurling themselves at big may flies under there - you could see the bow wave coming!

6. Stretch between Fort St, George bridge and Victoria bridge: very productive, big fish all along. A matter of spotting one and casting to it.

There are plenty of spots downstream of there and still in town, but I never found them much fun to fish: too much effort for not much reward.

There are also huge numbers of good fish in the Grantchester meadows stretch. This is absolutely lovely fishing - you feel like you're in 'real' country side, and it's almost like chalk stream fishing for trout (the Cam is actually classed as as a chalk stream above Grantchester). The best bit is the first 300 m after you get out onto the meadows (assuming you park in the little car park in Newnham). The evening rise is *insane*. But they are extremely fussy, and it's ninja dry fly matching-the-hatch light line finesse.

Best flies for the Cam (or at least my most successful):

Dries:
June: big mayfly patterns (especially silhouette and grey wulff); size 12 Adams.
July-Sept: stimulator, Dave's Hopper, foam beetle, red tag, bigger sedges, muddler.
Oct: smaller sedges (size 14 or smaller); griffiths gnat; size 14 klinks, F fly.

Nymphs (always fished under an indicator -usually size 12 para Adams):
June-Sept: greenwells spider, GRHE, PTN (all size 10)
Sept-Dec: beadhead PTN (size 12 or smaller).

Lures:
Damsel, black zonker. But I never had that much luck with them.

Hope this helps! I'll be in Cambridge most of July, if you'd like to meet up.

Good luck!

Matt

Wow!

Thanks Matt for all the advice, really did expect as detailed response!

Will study this over the next few days so I'm well prepared for when the season starts.

I live in Cambridge, off Newmarket road, so these spots are all 5/10mins away by bike..

Thanks again, drop me a line when you are next in Cambridge, I would like to buy you a pint - perhaps at the Fort StGeorge after throwing a line or two?

Jay

Wow, great write up Matt, must have taken you a long time to build all that knowledge and its a nice gesture to share it so freely. I used to live in Cambridge and often wondered about fishing the Cam but never seemed to find the time and was really just getting to grips with fly fishing for trout. Now I've moved out opportunities are few and far between but I'll have to try to find the time to give it a go.

Mot - give it a go!

The Cam is just plain fun. Finding the fish is only half the battle: then you have to figure out how to cast on an extremely busy towpath; avoid hooking the eights steaming past; and politely answer the tourists who can't believe their luck at finding someone doing something so plainly insane and English as fly fishing (I was asked to pose with them quite often). I was a little nervous starting out, but never encountered anything but friendly curiosity and encouragement (even late at night, when the banter was pretty slurred, but never threatening).

And the sheer number of fish (and species diversity) really makes it worth the effort. I often went out with 2 rods - a 10wt for pike and a 2wt for the coarse fish, and used both in the space of an hour or so.

Much as I love fishing for wild brownies in Scottish burns and lochs, the Cam, in all it's slutty glory, will hold a very special place in my heart. It might even be my 'where would you fish if you had just one day left' destination. At least I know where the good pubs are when I blank...

Hi Matt,


Hope all is well,

Ventured down to the Cam today - have tried mainly Grantchester of late - avoiding the crowds over the last few weeks on the main section of the Cam.

Anyway - bought a selection of dries (based on your recommendation) and also bought a new rod outfit - picked up a few tiddlers around Byron's pool but today i felt comfortable enough to take on the Cam. I gave the lower section of the Cam a go (East of the city center - towards Chesterton area).

No luck on the dry, so decided to change to a little pink gold head straggler dancer and immediately got hit hard, had a couple of voracious takes and landed 4 Perch in the space of 15 minutes - below is one such specimen

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Takes were pretty impressive for such small fish - would love to know what a larger one would do!

Felt really good catching something on fly on the cam - am definitely hooked and was amazed at the amount of fry in the water...

There were a few monsters (5lbs +) cruising up and down the margins - looked like chub but they didn't seem interested even when a got a gold head GRHE right in front of them .... will have to work on that a bit more...

Thanks again for he advice - let me know when your next in Cambridge - i have the Biltong..

Hi Jay,

great to hear you had success! Perch are fantastically agressive - I've once had one around 2lb out of Jesus lock, and it was insane.

Those big fish cruising the margins are chub, and are exceptionally hard to hook. They generally won't touch subsurface stuff unless the water is quite coloured, and there's a fair bit of 'life' to the fly (ie. quite shaggy/leggy), and it has to be drifted with *absolutely* no drag.

I've only ever got them on dries - and you really have to make sure they can't see you. Try toward last light with a sedge, cast to land just in front of one.

I'm in Cambridge this sun-mon-tues. A mate of mine and I are having a small competition: 1 size 12 hook each, plus tying gear. Make a fly with what you can find by the river-side. Winner is first to catch, bottle of single malt the prize. I have no idea if we'll manage, but it's worth a shot!

I'll also be in town July 13-27, so we should arrange something.

If you're looking for new spots to try, cycle out along the towpath to Waterbeach, on the Chesterton side. Keep going until you get to where the A14 crosses the river. Just before the A14 there's a little boatman's hut, and next to that a drain comes in from Milton. Where the drain empties into the Cam is *heaving* with fish - with some cracking perch and a lot of very keen little jack pike.

A bit further down from there is Bait's Bite Lock. Good on both sides, though the best is the upstream side: very deep, and has a good head of very big chub. A very tricky cast, but well worth the effort. Rumour has it there are 30lb pike in there too...

Thanks Matt, will give those spots a go, really enjoyed the perch - great fun!

Would be good to catch up in July if you are about - i have your Biltong - only thing is it might not last that long in the fridge before i eat it!

i'll send you my mobile number via PM, feel free to drop me a text anytime if you fancy meeting up to throw a line.

all the best with your little competition this weekend - sounds like fun!

Hi folks,

just a quick update on the river - I know a few people elsewhere on the forum have been interested.

It's running low and quite clear, and the chub are already getting very wary (seems to be more coarse pressure than usual). But they are there in very large numbers, with several very big shoals of 2-4lb fish scattered between Magdalene bridge and the Ft. St George.

The first to look for is a small shoal of 4-8 very big fish, usually holding station in mid stream half way down the wooden walkway below Magdalene bridge. A tricky roll cast, but well worth it. Try a size 14 black gnat.

Second: as ever, under the green buoys at Jesus lock. Not always there - walk up onto the foot bridge, and look down. If there, they will be under the first or second buoy. Several must be over the 6lb mark. Cast from the steps in front of the ice cream hut (watch the back cast!). Aim to land the fly 2-3m in front of the buoy and let it drift down. You will probably get a take on the first cast - good luck holding on! I had a fish on 3 times, and lost it every time. One day...

Third: under Victoria bridge. Was very good early on, but I think they've been hit too hard now, and bolt as soon as they see anything like a rod on the path. Probably not worth trying til it's almost dark.

Fourth: below Victoria bridge, Chesterton side. All along in front of the boathouses are a series of large shoals, with some very big fish. They're usually very shallow, and will take almost as soon as the fly lands - but you only have one or at most two casts at each spot before the shoal melts into the deep water. CDC daddies, realistsic sedges, black gnat.

Fifth (and my best this fortnight): Mill Pond in front of Bella Pasta. I'd never thought of trying there before (always thought it was too shallow). But walked past and saw a line of 3lb chub sat right in front of the wall with the white fence, facing toward the little stream that comes in from Newnham (not the main flow that comes in under Bella Pasta, but the little one that comes in under the foot bridge). Gave it a go and wham! You're almost dapping here - stand on the wall just above the little foot bridge over the incoming stream, and plop your fly just in front of your chosen fish. You get a perfect view of the take - actually very infortmative to see exactly what happens. Again, CDC daddies doing best. Though also got a few on traditional wets - size 16 silver march brown seemed to work very well. And look out for the cutest little jack pike who puts in the ocassional appearance. Also bear in mind that the main flow where it comes out from under Bella Pasta is where someone caught a 30lb pike in October last year. It's still there....

Good luck! I'm now back in Edinburgh, and don't know when I'll have another shot at the river. But I'd be fascinated to hear how anyone gets on.

Cheers,

Matt

HI I'm one of the guys from other parts of this site who was interested in the info on the River cam and thought it only right to post this here as well as on my own post so if you read it twice sorry

Thanks guys for all the replies especially Matt b for his tips for the Cam never thought of other spices except for pike....
So any way went down the Cam for my first bash yesterday managed to get rather annoyed with the boy in there rowing boats as it was more like trying to cross the M1 left it to late in the day to be honest and the night was drawing in..
Anyway today...got sent home from work due to the weather a little wet nothing major in my eyes but never look a gift horse in the mouth and after further research apparently theres some free to fish water near the Green man pub in Grantchester so went for a look and took my rod...... no boats well tell a lie one lost punt????
Anyway fields open space no bikes few people waling by Ideal for me not really a people person so few hours later one Perch from a small black lure with golden head and a couple of small Roach I think. But thats it hooked on other spices am now keeping my eye out for a lighter rod than the #6/7 so once again thanks Matt b when I get more confident I'll tackle them row boats again.
I shall all so have a trip to the other suggestions staring with Grafham Water with in the next week so not totally abandoning the trout just yet

thanks again and Cher's