Trotting / fly fishing - tidal river

[PeterHenry]

I've been given permission to fish a stretch of a small tidal river (the bit next to the sea) and although I won't be able to do anything this year because of other commitments, I'm very keen for next year.

I've done precious little fishing on rivers, but plenty of sea fishing, coarse fishing with a centerpin, and some fly fishing in lakes and ponds.

The bit I'm worried about is the salt - does anyone have any suggestions to how to keep freshwater trotting / fly fishing equipment in good order that close to the sea?

Or is it a case of using cheap reels? 

I do have a salt water fly rod and reel but it's #8-9 and this river looks like it would be better fished with something much smaller....

I also have a 1980s Hardy Longstone somewhere - which ticks the boxes for salt water and traditional tackle - but I'm not quite sure how to go about using it...

[grahamch]

just wash all your gear in fresh water - your shower is good when you get home. 

try a small mepps or toby type lure on a light spinning rod oe ledgered rag/lug/mackeral strip.

if you are after sea trout and in England you will need a rod licence for migratory fish. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, Sounds nice Henry, I suppose much depends on how wide and deep from fresh water to sea water the river is , Sea trout if any  a 9 footer and 6 line , Bass ,  if any on the sea water side I would spin, or fish with sea baits, rag/lug etc with a fixed spool reel and around 10 ft rod like for carp fishing for flatties, Just wash off gear after fishing, dry off and a bit off 3 in 1 oil spray on rod and reel but cover line,  What river is that Henry ??

Edited September 4 by oldypigeonpopper

[millrace]

Go visit and find an angler, see what is actually there to catch, might not be a lot, before getting gear thats no good!

[PeterHenry]

2 hours ago, grahamch said:

just wash all your gear in fresh water - your shower is good when you get home. 

try a small mepps or toby type lure on a light spinning rod oe ledgered rag/lug/mackeral strip.

if you are after sea trout and in England you will need a rod licence for migratory fish. 

Thank you - yes, upgrading my licence was a thought that occurred.

2 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, Sounds nice Henry, I suppose much depends on how wide and deep from fresh water to sea water the river is , Sea trout if any  a 9 footer and 6 line , Bass ,  if any on the sea water side I would spin, or fish with sea baits, rag/lug etc with a fixed spool reel and around 10 ft rod like for carp fishing for flatties, Just wash off gear after fishing, dry off and a bit off 3 in 1 oil spray on rod and reel but cover line,  What river is that Henry ??

Thanks, thats very helpful - its the Afon Braint on Anglesey

1 hour ago, millrace said:

Go visit and find an angler, see what is actually there to catch, might not be a lot, before getting gear thats no good!

Thanks - I know there's bass and mullet. I'd presume flat fish as well in the mouth. I've also heard that there's brown trout and sea trout.

[Rim Fire]

just rinse off with tap water i got two big pit carp reels i use for sea fishing had them for 5 yrs with no problems 

 

[PeterHenry]

5 hours ago, Rim Fire said:

just rinse off with tap water i got two big pit carp reels i use for sea fishing had them for 5 yrs with no problems 

 

That's good to know cheers - I always give my sea rods and reels a shower, but I have occasional nightmares about an uncles old youngs centerpin that was left in the boat house for several years. When I tried to use it, it was so corroded it grated and made a sound no fishing reel ever should...

[wymberley]

Exmouth has long been the UK holiday resort of choice for the good folk of Birmingham. Such is the standing of one of our major attractions that coach trips for a day visit are organised during the off season from that city. Not for nothing are we known as the UK charity shop capital. Perhaps it's because we're simply spoiled for choice, but these are always worth a visit for some half decent kit at knock down prices and which won't cause an upset should things go wrong.

[PeterHenry]

17 minutes ago, wymberley said:

Exmouth has long been the UK holiday resort of choice for the good folk of Birmingham. Such is the standing of one of our major attractions that coach trips for a day visit are organised during the off season from that city. Not for nothing are we known as the UK charity shop capital. Perhaps it's because we're simply spoiled for choice, but these are always worth a visit for some half decent kit at knock down prices and which won't cause an upset should things go wrong.

👍

I was thinking along these lines last night - and settled on / bought a second hand Abu closed face reel.

They seem to be held in quite high regard by some mullet fisherman for trotting - and it has the bonus of being able to switch to light spinning by just changing the terminal tackle.

And if it does give out eventually, it's not the end of the world.

[oldypigeonpopper]

On 04/09/2024 at 15:43, PeterHenry said:

Thank you - yes, upgrading my licence was a thought that occurred.

Thanks, thats very helpful - its the Afon Braint on Anglesey

Thanks - I know there's bass and mullet. I'd presume flat fish as well in the mouth. I've also heard that there's brown trout and sea trout.

Hello, It looks a nice river on Google maps, good luck fishing

[wymberley]

1 hour ago, PeterHenry said:

👍

I was thinking along these lines last night - and settled on / bought a second hand Abu closed face reel.

They seem to be held in quite high regard by some mullet fisherman for trotting - and it has the bonus of being able to switch to light spinning by just changing the terminal tackle.

And if it does give out eventually, it's not the end of the world.

Unless you do something mind blowingly stupid, 'Abu' and 'give out' is a contradiction in terms. I have just given my '70 Ambassador 9000 to my great nephew and although it is a bit bruised it's still in perfect working order. I suppose next you'll come back and say you've found a 'half decent' Hardy Graphite or Abu Salmo Seeker rod for a  tenner.

[PeterHenry]

3 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, It looks a nice river on Google maps, good luck fishing

Thanks - fingers crossed

2 hours ago, wymberley said:

Unless you do something mind blowingly stupid, 'Abu' and 'give out' is a contradiction in terms. I have just given my '70 Ambassador 9000 to my great nephew and although it is a bit bruised it's still in perfect working order. I suppose next you'll come back and say you've found a 'half decent' Hardy Graphite or Abu Salmo Seeker rod for a  tenner.

I have probably more than my fair share of Abu multipliers - great reels. I've got a red two speed 9000 that needs a new clicker installed (missing when I bought it) and also an 8500. Also a 7000 and 7000i.

I once got a green 6500 CS Mag Elite for next to nothing at a boot fair, which is my personal favourite. Plenty of lovely split cane rods for a pittance as well.

On the Hardy front, I did get a fiberglass Match Maker for about £15 on Facebook market place. As well as a couple of carbon??? 1980s / 1990s Hardy #5 fly rods for next to nothing on Ebay

I find it difficult to say no to a bargain.....

Edited September 5 by PeterHenry

[wymberley]

5 minutes ago, PeterHenry said:

I once got a green 6500 CS Mag Elite for next to nothing at a boot fair, which is my personal favourite.

Mine too. I use it with a Sonic Light Bass/Estuary rod. Starting to thin things out a bit now though. Although I no longer use it the last thing to go will be the Hardy Longbow 2 to 4 oz beachcaster. Some good memories with that one.

[PeterHenry]

37 minutes ago, wymberley said:

Mine too. I use it with a Sonic Light Bass/Estuary rod. Starting to thin things out a bit now though. Although I no longer use it the last thing to go will be the Hardy Longbow 2 to 4 oz beachcaster. Some good memories with that one.

The Hardy Longbow looks quite a brute. I've got (and even used, albeit unsuccessfully) a solid glass beach rod. I'm not sure how anyone managed cast or catch anything with it.....

[wymberley]

27 minutes ago, PeterHenry said:

The Hardy Longbow looks quite a brute. I've got (and even used, albeit unsuccessfully) a solid glass beach rod. I'm not sure how anyone managed cast or catch anything with it.....

Yep, the larger casting weight versions were a handful. I could cast further with the Longbow than I could with the 3 to6 oz Tourney although never needed to as there's no point in casting beyond where the fish are hunting. Also the one big advantage of the longbow is that it's a 'soft' cast and the bait arrives at the same time and place as does the hook. 

The first rod that I bought was solid glass (previously I'd used a greenheart salmon rod which Father had cut down to suit) and it was used to great effect on the road into Crater in Aden when fishing for monkfish. Hard work though as you say.

[Mr. Merkel]

Hi, I wish you luck with your adventures fishing this river, I use the an ABU 506 for trotting on the upper Wensum really lovely reel for this type of fishing but I would not use it in salt water, its hard to clean and keep salt and grit free, I would not like to dismantle the rotor unit to clean.

When fishing a tidal Norfolk estuary and use a front drag fixed spool reel mainly lure fishing for bass or surface fishing for mullet,  when home I tighten down the drag rinse off under running warm water, then immerse in warm soapy water turning the handle for about 20 seconds remove from the water slacken of the drag and leave to drip dry. 

If the reel is not going to be used for a while I spray it with GT85

This has worked for me 

[PeterHenry]

22 hours ago, Mr. Merkel said:

Hi, I wish you luck with your adventures fishing this river, I use the an ABU 506 for trotting on the upper Wensum really lovely reel for this type of fishing but I would not use it in salt water, its hard to clean and keep salt and grit free, I would not like to dismantle the rotor unit to clean.

When fishing a tidal Norfolk estuary and use a front drag fixed spool reel mainly lure fishing for bass or surface fishing for mullet,  when home I tighten down the drag rinse off under running warm water, then immerse in warm soapy water turning the handle for about 20 seconds remove from the water slacken of the drag and leave to drip dry. 

If the reel is not going to be used for a while I spray it with GT85

This has worked for me 

Thanks, thats very helpful 👍

On 05/09/2024 at 20:59, wymberley said:

Yep, the larger casting weight versions were a handful. I could cast further with the Longbow than I could with the 3 to6 oz Tourney although never needed to as there's no point in casting beyond where the fish are hunting. Also the one big advantage of the longbow is that it's a 'soft' cast and the bait arrives at the same time and place as does the hook. 

The first rod that I bought was solid glass (previously I'd used a greenheart salmon rod which Father had cut down to suit) and it was used to great effect on the road into Crater in Aden when fishing for monkfish. Hard work though as you say.

👍

[wymberley]

Well, I'm blowed! I've just realised that there's a coincidence. My favourite rod which I bought second hand in Barnstaple in '67 was previously owned by a one armed man who had bought the Longbow to see if he could handle it as at the time it was one of the lightest performance rods available. Sadly, he couldn't and I got the benefit.

One of the Churchills I had, the Regal, was a 'one armed' version although By the Time I got it a couple of the modifications had been removed. I spoke to the original owner's (who was still with us) son and his father had lost an arm in WW11.

[Dave at kelton]

On 05/09/2024 at 14:55, PeterHenry said:

👍

I was thinking along these lines last night - and settled on / bought a second hand Abu closed face reel.

They seem to be held in quite high regard by some mullet fisherman for trotting - and it has the bonus of being able to switch to light spinning by just changing the terminal tackle.

And if it does give out eventually, it's not the end of the world.

The Abu 500 series are brilliant for trotting. I have two 505s. The first was a present from my parents on my 18th birthday. The second I bought at an antiques fair thirty years ago. I use them both and they work perfectly. As has been said, clean off in fresh water, dri, light oil. All my reels are kept in cotton cash bags my father used to bring home from the bank (empty). Consequently there is hardly a scratch on them. I particularly love the drag as just moving the handle back half’s it so you can have it set hard knowing it’s easy to let a fish go when you want.

i love Anglesey as the family have various properties out their. I have only ever sea fished there though.

Tightlines

[wymberley]

6 hours ago, Dave at kelton said:

I have only ever sea fished there though.

Haven't been there since the early 70s. Detached from Germany for a couple of weeks to fire off a few sidewinders. It did get a bit lively when one got hung up but other than that things went quite smoothly. Because of what we were doing we were put out of the way on the far side of the airfield and it was quite easy to run a field telephone from the 'office' to the waters' edge where I sat and fished when it was all quiet.

[Penelope]

On 04/09/2024 at 15:43, PeterHenry said:

Thank you - yes, upgrading my licence was a thought that occurred.

Thanks, thats very helpful - its the Afon Braint on Anglesey

Thanks - I know there's bass and mullet. I'd presume flat fish as well in the mouth. I've also heard that there's brown trout and sea trout.

Bread flake and mash for the mullet on strong trotting gear; the pin will be fine for this.

[Yellow Bear]

2 hours ago, Penelope said:

Bread flake and mash for the mullet on strong trotting gear; the pin will be fine for this.

As a lad I found sausage meat good for this in a similar brackish situation.

[Penelope]

1 hour ago, Yellow Bear said:

As a lad I found sausage meat good for this in a similar brackish situation.

Bread flake is the go to for a lot of Mullet specialist fishing tidal rivers.

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, Keep us posted Henry on the fishing adventure👍

[PeterHenry]

On 14/09/2024 at 18:53, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, Keep us posted Henry on the fishing adventure👍

Will do 👍

@everyone - very appreciative of all the responses

 

Edited September 17 by PeterHenry