Moving to London from across the pond

[karel]

Hello All!

I have been a quiet member here for a while, mostly enjoying reading and learning about tenkara in the UK.

Now however, my work will bring me for at least a few years if not more to the London area. I know trout fishing will be probably near to impossible to find but was hoping to possibly meet up with like-minded tenkara anglers and explore waters in the area and beyond. I am no trout snob, I enjoy catching trout, grayling, coarse fish anything that's fishy.

I am looking forward to some enjoyable fishing adventures in the UK.

Tight Lines, Karel

[phil]

Welcome Karel

Lots to go at as you no doubt know in the UK.

If you ever head North happy to show some favourite streams.

Happy tenkara

Phil

[daves]

Welcome Karel. If you ever get as far north as East Yorkshire I can fix you up with some fishing on my local waters. All the best.
Dave

[Paul G]

Hey Karel. Although I'm based in the North I may be able to hook you up with some of my colleagues who live closer to London.

Paul

[adric]

Hi Karel

If you head west down the towards Wales there is some great fishing on the boarder between England and Wales. True wild trout and grayling fishing. Just look at the Wye and Usk web site www.wyeuskfoundation.org/. If you are down this way let me know and I will point you in the right direction.
Richard

[karel]

Wow thanks for the warm welcome! I am very much looking forward getting to the UK and settle in and relax on a stream over the weekend. I will be bringing bare essentials in my suit case (rod, box of flies, small chestpack) before my shipment with furniture and other stuff for the family gets here. I will keep this thread updated with my "journey". Cheers!

[chriscreeler]

You might well find some small river trouting near London. There are a number of small chalkstreams flowing from the Chiltern Hills into the Thames and Lea, and on the south side of the river (Thames), there are at least three flowing from the North Downs.
The rivers Lea and Wey are largely canalised, or rather navigable, with locks and a towpath, but have some streamy parts that would offer interesting fly fishing for coarse fish, and possibly some trout in the upper part of the Wey.
I used to live south of London and regularly fished the river Mole and sometimes the lower Thames. On the Mole there was quite decent fly fishing for dace with some roach and chub all the way down from the mill at Dorking to Norbury Park, and possibly farther, but that's as far as I went.
The tidal Thames downstream from Teddington Lock is also worth thinking about.There used to be , and probably still are good stocks of roach and dace among other things. There is some nice shallow streamy water on the later part of the ebb, and a gravel shore to walk on in many places. It only used to be worth fishing down as far as Isleworth, but now with less pollution I believe there are fish all the way down through central London.

Chris.

[dbl]

It might be worth checking out the Wandle. This river flows through Wandsworth, and work has recently been done on stocking, although it still has problems. I understand that Paul G on this forum has given talks about it for the Wild Trout Trust.
Info on the Wandle (and other London rivers) and fishing:
www.londonangler.com/venue_display.asp?articleid=4
There is a club:
www.wandlepiscators.net/
Good luck!

[jb]

The Wandle is an excellent suggestion, I fished that a bit when I was still a Londoner. I would also suggest looking into the Chess which flows out of the Chilterns (chalk again) which has plenty of trout, chub, and dace and also benefited from WTT attention. Both the Wandle and the Chess can be reached on the Tube.

Which is better will depend on whether you end up north or south of the river. If you end up north then the Chess will probably be the best bet. If you end up south then I am truly sorry for you!

[chriscreeler]

I was in London on the weekend before last and took a tenkara rod with me and fished in the tidal Thames from Ferry Lane at Kew up to opposite the marina gates at Old Brentford. I didn't catch anything but the signs were promising.

I started at about three and a half hours ebb which I think was too early as the water was still pretty muddy and there were lots of rowers out on a Sunday morning : an hour, or hour and a half later would have been quite soon enough.

As I worked my way upstream I saw 2 herons fishing by the opposite shore and the odd cormorant flew by, but as I was walking back down the tow path, which was about a quarter to half an hour before low water in the book, I saw 7 herons and a similar number of cormorants fishing the same stretch in a clearing water. Also the rowers had gone home or were in the pub, but by then I was too tired and fed up to try again.

Many, many scuds under the stones, so lots of fish food as well as bird food here!

Chris.



''The metropolitan angler finds excellent dace- fishing, particularly with the fly, on the various shallows between Isleworth and Teddington Lock. It will be found advisable to pay some attention to the particular fly on the water; though small red and black palmers will seldom fail to kill.''

Francis Francis. A Book on Angling. 1867

''And angle on, and beg to have
A quiet passage to a welcome grave.''

That's on his gravestone in Twickenham Cemetery.