Looks as if I maybe fishing a stretch of Home Counties chalkstream (approx 1/2 a mile in length). This stream/river holds browns, chub and barbel. kinda staple species for this type of water in this area.
It hasn't been fished for over ten years and only lightly in the preceding ten years.
The surrounding vegetation is intrusive but doesn't block entirely.
My question (if I am lucky to secure on a longer term basis) is; do I treat this as coarse water and adapt their season - I do fish for chub etc on fly elsewhere - or do I treat this as a trout water?
Alternatively do I say **** it and fish through?

Any thoughts to solving this query would be appreciated.


Cheers

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[COLOR="Blue"]"A fish seen is a fish nearly caught"[/COLOR]

Err...
You fish for the respective fish in their respective seasons using any legal lure or bait that takes your fancy
Lucky you!

Andy

If it's a chalk stream would it not be fair to say you'll be able to see your target species. Don't intentionally target out of season fish, same as applies anywhere. If you're fly fishing on the river all year round for different species your moral code should keep you in good stead and free from prosecution

The chalk streams in these parts quite often flow in and out of the grand union canal so the visibility is not always that great.

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May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again may god hold you in the palm of his hand!

As you know loopy i am a card carrying chalkstream softie, i fish right through, if you chose your tactics right then catching out of season isnt a regular occurrence, i catch more Grayling in the trout season on dries than trout on pink weighted bugs in the winter, the odd surprise crops up but it cannot be helped, they go back quickly.. my most productive Grayling session brought 22 fish to hand and not one of them was a trout .

good luck , sounds brilliant

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Net and electro fish all the coarse fish out, especially the grayling. Stock it to the hilt with 5lb plus trout then it will be a proper chalkstream

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The EA recentley abolished the law which allows people to be prosecuted for fishing in the close season (by accident!). It is still a byelaw that you can't fish during the close season its just they can't prosecute you now as 14 scumbags recently found out as they had their convictions quashed! So loopy you can fish for any species you like any time you like. At least until march 2011 when they will have sorted the ridiculous situation out.

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that isnt exclusively representative, our club water is nothing like that, we have a very good head of wild trout and grayling and some chub (even saw a monster perch fry bashing last week) we do get stockied drifting in from the commercial beats above us but a typical club brownie for me is up to 2lb but more like 05.to 1 (and not forgetting the ubiquitous itchen salmon parr)

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I know Icky as you can see by the wee I was having a laugh.
It was the sorry state of many chalkstreams though. I believe attitudes are changing especially towards the grayling.
Long may it continue.
ATB
Graham

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It is in truth not glory,nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting,but for freedom - for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with his life.(Declaration of Arbroath, 1320)

The law is still there, it's the application of that law that's the problem. Local variable byelaws, especially dates, still apply, particularly down here in the South. Perhaps the owner isn't too well informed so you may be able influence the terms of the lease/contract on a pretty wide basis!

Lucky you!

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