Winter on the River Kenn, some advice and tips.....

The Kenn can definitely try your patience and is affected by the tide, the way the water is controlled through the sluice and out to the sea, the clarity of the water and wind direction. There's another challenge coming up soon ..... usually around early December the Environment Agency drop the water level as part of their flood prevention plan. Normal summer levels are around 6 to 7 foot but when the EA drop the level in the winter the depth is half that and on the right day the fishing can be fantastic.

Fishing from the bank can be awkward due to being too high or too far away from the water so standing in the mud is unavoidable from most pegs. Waders are advisable but personal safety must be paramount. If you do choose to wade or stand in the mud be aware of the tide times and keep moving your feet so as not to get stuck, go with a friend if you can.

Pegs 2, 3 and 4 have a very hard gravel like bottom close to the bank so you can get your box set up in the water. Pegs 22 and 23 on and just above the bend are also pretty firm close in as are the early pegs below Strode Rd bridge. Up above the bridge there are also a couple of pegs that you can put your box in due to the rushes dying back. 

Bread can be a killer bait after the first frosts and especially when the water is ''gin clear''. Buy a few cheap  medium sliced white loaves, cut the crusts off and put the slices through a liquidiser. Leave the white breadcrumbs in an open bag to dry out for a couple of days then put them through the liquidiser again. For even finer crumb freeze it then defrost it and liquidise again. Feeding squeezed small balls of bread by hand and then fishing a small flake or 7mm piece of punched bread over the top of the feed on a wide gaped 18 or 16 hook can get you some quality fish, roach, hybrids and bream. The bread is usually fished in conjunction with a waggler or small avon float but on the right day and the right swim a small cage feeder can also work.

A few years ago I was fishing with Committee Member Scott Smallwood in the Car Park section. Scott fished the bread all day using a whip and caught 76 lbs, 66 lbs which was bream and they were big un's, here's a few of them from that day as well as 48 lb of roach he caught on the bread up by the motorway.

 

Of course conventional baits like maggots and caster also work but feed sparingly. You also need to think about your hook lengths and size of hook. I have used Flurocarbon line for hook lengths but generally speaking the Preston Power Line in 0.10 has the right low diameter and strength to land just about anything in winter. I usually settle for an 18 or 20 hook. The Kenn tends to have a bit more flow in winter which allows you to trot long usually 2/3rd's the way across and the key is to feed little and often especially when it's cold.

I fished peg 8 a couple of winters ago in January and was continually trotting a waggler down the peg just loose feeding red maggot. I done that for about 3 hours without a bite and was thinking about calling it a day when the float went under...bream..6 more followed the best going 8 lbs 10 ozs.

Bream can still be caught on the feeder but scale down, a small cage feeder is best and don't put too many free offerings in. Due to the low water levels the bites will be really positive.

Quite a few years ago we stocked some chub but they rarely show. Some small ones have been caught on lures but last winter Paul Tedman-Whitemoor had a 4lb specimen from peg 15 using the straight lead, he only had 2 bites all day but what a reward.

The bigger perch also feature more in the winter. Specimen angler Chris Burden targets them by feeding liquidised bread with coriander in it. His theory is that this attracts the small roach and the bigger perch move in on them. Chris trots an avon type float over the top of this with a lob worm on a big hook. Here is Chris with one of his nice perch caught using this method last winter.

Over the last few winter season's the tench have fed even on the coldest days and there have been some spectacular catches of them. Peg 22 on the bend and the pegs immediately above Strode Rd bridge appear to be the most productive. Nothing complicated just a simple waggler and feeding little and often with red maggot. Bigger fish such as roach and hybrids also seem to mix with them. Here's some catches from above Strode Rd from last winter.

So...don't let the cold weather put you off, think a bit differently and persevere. The section above Kenn Rd bridge is rarely fished as is above the motorway, why not give it a go, you never know.

Tight lines,

Ivan Currie

Secretary