Exploring the River Irwell - early spring search for wild brown Trout!
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Early weeks of the season, cold, high water and a cool, showery day, so there's my excuses! peak season still some way off but I liked the idea of a session on a bigger river for a change, and the prospect of some dry fly or spider fishing in "top water". Too early?? enjoy!
Nice one. Hoping to get out for a bit tomorrow and christen the new rod. This has given me a little hope.
Aye, it's looking better now! This was over 2 weeks ago, I really fancy a crack at the upper stretch.
It gets a bit repetitive fishing my local stream even though its where I know best, and therefore find most productive.
Hopefully dry fly and spiders should be dominant from now on. The streamer is bloody hard work on fast full rivers, and seems more like spinning the hard way sometimes😂
Well done Dave. I've still yet to get out, not even dabbled on a stillwater. Some of our urban rivers are out fishing the rural ones, just not as picturesque.
Agreed, my own theory is that the agricultural pollution from intensive dairy and insecticides on arable land is destroying more insect life than the sewage works outflows. These rivers were all dead 60 years ago.
Lovely silvery trout you caught there, you’ve clearly made the case that they aren’t sea trout. As you say, some will no doubt smolt anyway that’s possible, they seemed maybe a bit bigger and chunkier though and retained the silverness, lovely fish. We have a burn where there are sea trout smolts but the consensus is the river is blocked at the outflow to the sea due to shore rocks building up, so now no real runs.
I bet there are some lunker brown trout, that one you had splash at the streamer in that run looked good. Looking forward to seeing your next forays on there.
Ha ha! Thanks Matt, the lunkers are proving elusive, but yes, they're there 👍
nice 1 dave, amazing how those first 2 fish resembled finnock, never ceases to amaze me the variety of colours of the brown trout, great trip out as always mate 👍👍🎣
Thanks, mate! They certainly did, very strange, but they seem to colour up as they mature, those are fairly young fish. It's impossible for sea trout to get up the irwell, as its lower reaches form the Manchester ship canal. There's a series of locks above where the Merseyside joins, which apparently are impassible for fish. The Mersey itself has a small run of sea trout and salmon, as does the Bollin in Cheshire, another Mersey trib.
@@soultrader57fishingandmusi25 i remember you tellin me before about it being locked off, nice to see them move up in the water a bit now helps with the fly fishin 👍👍🎣
Theres been a few mentions about the "sea trout lookalikes" so I'll explain why its not possible for these to be sea trout.
The irwell becomes the Manchester ship canal in its lowest reaches, after passing through the city centre. Theres a flight of impassable locks downstream, a short way upstream of the junction with the Mersey, which does have a small run of sea trout and a few salmon.
It may be possible that some of these younger trout have a tendency to "smolt" in spring. That is, start to prepare for migration down to the sea and become sea trout, but in this river it would be a one way trip!
Thats probably a little far fetched! 👍
It's great to see people fishing in the Irwell. When I was a child in Bury during the 50's and early 60's it ran every colour of the rainbow at times. I wonder what the River Roche is like nowadays, as people talked about it having trout in even back then.
I fished the irwell a few times in the early noughties, it was awesome then. The Roch used to hold trout at the top end near Littleborough, but was polluted further down. Its probably improved since the 80s. When everyone moans about sewage in rivers they forget how bad it was, back then in urban rivers. 😊
The water qualiry of the Roch has improved tremendously, it's the environment that's the problem. Long streams of shredded plastic bags etc, doesn't look pretty!!! Lucky to see a feeding kingfisher at Hooley Bridge and dippers at Crimble. I have only fished the Roch twice, first time had a couple of very good conditioned trout, second was blank only fish the fly.
An angler after my own heart using the old classic Mucilin, I use the green silicone variety currently, but I think I will go back to the red tub after this one is finished as I do not find the silicone one lasts all that long. Certainly interesting colouration on the trout you are catching, as you would almost think sea trout, but other details betray this.
I believe the red stuff doesn't damage your fly line, the stuffs been around for a long time! 😊
@@soultrader57fishingandmusi25 I have heard that as well, but then a few seasons or more with a single fly line is enough for me. I will take the risk for sure. I think the old mythology was that the red was for silk lines and the newer silicone intended for the new modern plastic lines.
❤🎣👍 Excellent mate. I’m itching to get out fly fishing now 😎
Next week could be the time, Mark! Dropping water levels, rising temps! 👍
Super video Mr Trader.
Thanks sir! Much appreciated comment 😊
Cheers Dave. Best 14 minutes and 50 seconds ive had on a Friday night for a while! Really Silver Brownies eh? In good condition. Hopefully I'll get out on the local water this weekend, levels might be fishable, casting to rising fish too! Looking forward to your bext outing. 👍
That makes it all worthwhile Davie! Mojos gone a little after finding out just what I'd earn now I'm eligible for monetisation ("don't give up the day job "😂)
If I'd caught those silvery trout on my river I'd say the smaller one was a smolt and the larger a finnock as there's a small run of tourists
Completely white bellies but a few faint red spots???😊
Awesome Stuff as usual Soul Brother, love your style my friend, I,m not to versed on Fly fishing, but need to get out with Big Worm...Maybee I will get that Big Perch this year..Hoping to get to that pond...Love your work Brother with a little bit of Local History too..Great stuff....😉
Cheers Gaz, love to here how you go on. I bagged up on worms last weekend while gardening, ready for tench and perch 👍👍
Really enjoyed this mate. Just subbed
Welcome aboard! Thanks for that, I'll return the courtesy and take a look at yours tonight! 👍
@@soultrader57fishingandmusi25 no worries mate.
Am based up in North Cumbria with hard fishing rivers very heavily tree lined n soft sand of sand stone shelfs or big rocks. Fishing with hadrians wall in the back dropnis kinda special tho.
Hi Dave what license do you need to fish the Irwell?
On the bits I fish just Environment Agency rod licence (non migratory trout and coarse fish) so long as you're on public water.
There's very little angling club water on the river, just Salford Friendly at the bottom end near the uni, and Ramsbottom angling club at Burrs, near Bury. On public land nobody will bother you, but obviously it gets busy and disturbance from kids and dogs is never far away 😂
There must be private stretches but very little is known about owners letting out fishing rights to clubs etc.
The lancs and Yorkshire calders seem to be more exploited by owners and anglers, I'm not sure why ??
Good luck😊
@@soultrader57fishingandmusi25 Thanks for the heads up - work in Haslingden so will have a few extended lunch break fishing sessions then. Cheers
Ive yet to explore the upper reaches around Rawtenstall, its a bit smaller but lots of river between there and ewood, but thes a few big trout!
Hope the gloves aren't taking the slime off the fish. Please use a net
Gloves wet same as my hands. Less abrasive than net.