Starting to be able to get closer to the rivers now, some of my favourite swims have been a little too overgrown until now. Another lovely addition Alex.
What a gorgeous little river, I wish that there were similar venues where I live. Even more important how lucky you are to have permission to fish it. A great video, you showed us the float and bites this is the most important part of fishing. Most fishing videos just focus on the fisherman's face, not something that I want to see. Good luck.
Wow Alex, i can see why as you said, "theres few places you would rather be". That looks a wonderful and peaceful setting. The fascination of small rivers is you are always learning about them and they only give away a few of their secrets. Like you said every trip is different. It reminded of my river i fish , a long walk along the river and its just me the buzzards and sometimes a deer. Complete peace and solitude. Again another great video. Peter
Thank you Dirk. To be honest, any rating that the rod originally had is probably obsolete now, as it's well over 50yrs old. If I had to guess, I would say around the 1lb mark👍🎣
Absolutely! The river is an old friend you keep meeting for the first time. New swims arrive, old swims disappear; some only in flood, some only in drought. Was thinking much the same as I desperately looked for some slacks during the flood on my local river yesterday. Finally found some fish amongst the brown torrent!
Doesn't it just! Whilst I've done my fair share of fishing for 'target fish', I do find that short sessions, with little expectation, have provided some of my most memorable trips👍🎣
A happy accident, if I'm honest, that I only saw when I watched the footage back. In my own head, I'm super stealthy and never alert the fish to my presence...🤣
Thanks Clive, Yes, that is a Korum blob. I'm not sure that they'll replace my favoured perch bob floats, but they are very versatile and ideal for this type of fishing 👍🎣
brill video alex i can fish a private stretch of the beult on my friends land ,massive pike,carrp ,chub,ive had loads of pike on lures never chubbed it ,my kind of fishing u have another sub
What a gorgeous little river, you definitely need a shorter rod though. I was a bit disappointed that you didn't take that bottle away and dispose of it. Great video as always.
@@InTheEdgeWithAlex I slip up on my backside all the time and it was great to see you leave everything in the video, even the things that don’t go to plan. Great humility, really adds to video and makes “Noddy Anglers” like me feel much better! 🤣
Stumbled on your channel and really lovely to find an angler who like myself likes fishing for varied species in different locations, really enjoying the channel and videos. Thank you.
Thank you. The RFA offers great access, but It can certainly be a challenging venue to fish. I really should make the time to fish some of the stretches lower down 👍🎣
Many thanks for this, it brings back a lot of memories. I used to fish the Rother 50 years ago. Were the initial shots Robertsbridge, one swim looked familiar? Robertsbridge & Etchingham were good for trout.
I'm glad to be of service. You're not far off - the bridge is on the footpath that leads to Salehurst. There is still the very occasional brownie/sea trout in the river, but sadly, they are nowhere near as prevalent as they once were.
@@InTheEdgeWithAlex That's exactly where I meant :)) The footpath being the old railway line. There was a concrete sluice like structure (a waterworks?) and just above there were some massive chub and lots of minnows. Have you fished the small stream, the Brede, in Sedlescombe? It was a great trout stream with lots of stone loach until the Southern Water Authority trashed it with their 'flood works.' Institutional ecological vandalism :((
The sluice has long since fallen into disrepair, although a few bits of concrete remain. I haven't seen any minnow in the Rother or Dudwell for a long time, although I'm not sure if that’s because they've all gone or because my eyes aren't what they once were... I've never fished the Brede, although it sounds very similar to the upper reaches of the river uck, where I spent my teenage years chasing trout instead of doing my homework!👍🎣
I fish the headwaters of the Wey and its tributary streams which is a similar environment and a long rod is a godsend when you hook a fish, but up to that point it is a real pain in the a***.
That was really entertaining Alex, i`m glad its not only me who fishes the snaggy spots, (which you know is going to be chaotic) and every bush and bramble is waiting to pounce on you, But when you are rewarded with two lovely chub its all worth the cuts and stings and we go back for more because we love it. A good days fishing. regards Peter.
Thank you Martyn. The reel is a Hardy Conquest. According to their sales blurb, it improves the balance, but I think it might be more a case of form over function. Still a very usable reel though 👍🎣
Thanks Stu. I'm fishing the 'other' Rother. We've got most species but lack the barbel found in the western half of the county. And I completely agree, you can't beat a bobber! 👍🎣
Love this style of fishing, unspoilt river fishing, I have a 4m landing net pole, has allowed me to fish some swims that are inaccessible for most. Some cracking Chub you caught and thoroughly enjoyed your river adventure
Wonderful! Jungle warfare, just like my favourite: the lower Chew in Somerset. And I recently found an old bottle in the bank too! A lovely video, thanks.
Extreme fishing Alex, certainly gave yourself a challenge. I can see you are a traditionalist, nothing beats it, but given the stamp of fish, it must be tempting to take a smaller rod flick a light ledger into some of those holes? Got to be a klonker in there somewhere. I wouldn't hold it against you !!
Hi Charlie, To be honest, the biggest challenge I face is my own lack of planning! I originally intended to fish a few swims that require a longer rod but got sidetracked poking around in the undergrowth. No doubt when I return with a shorter rod, something will catch my eye, and I'll find myself in the opposite situation. Although the two fish that I caught have certainly opened my eyes to the potential of some of the harder to reach spots 👍🎣
Really enjoy your videos. Out of interest what is the diameter of your reel. I currently use a Mordex Merlin which I like but it’s getting near the end of its days and I will be looking for an Allcocks reel as a replacement
Thanks. My main 'pins are all 4 inch. I'm not sure that it makes a huge amount of difference for the fishing that I do but they balance nicely with the rods I use a 👍🎣
No worries, no cares, no agro, you can't beat some old school tackle and technics that might be plain and simple but, do the job just as well 😉 or maybe even better. Nice little pond, very nice fish too 👌 lovely scale pattern. Congrats Sir. Cheers Les.
Back in the 1950s there used to be hundreds of such farm ponds full of naturally stocked roach and perch. Mostly stunted but some had a few big ones. Our farm in Sussex had two of them. Those carp must have been introduced at some time. Only casting 10 yards with a centrepin, you need to practise more. I can easily cast a float 30 yards, especially with a flick'em type reel. Good luck, keep at it!
It's a very sad fact that, even in my lifetime, the number of natural farm ponds, and farms for that matter, has decreased massively. Many of the places that I grew up fishing no longer exist, silted up, filled in, or fenced in as part of rural developments...
@InTheEdgeWithAlex Some even have houses built on them. I was a teenager in the 1950s and grew up on our farm, (20 in 1960) and you wouldn't believe how much lower the watertable has got now due to abstraction etc. Such is progress!!!
How refreshing was that . Thats me right there, story of my fishing journey in 9 n half minutes, 60 yrs and I’ve come full circle like you chap, keep it up and thankyou..
Made me feel old with this 'un. I caught my first carp, a very golden mirror about 3 1/2 Lb from a farm pond maybe a tad bigger than this. Caught lots of 'em since as, just like that fish, I was hooked too. Another cracking, no nonsense video...Thank you 🙂