The summer months have ended and we are now at that magical time of year for us coarse anglers. For me October is one of the best months in our coarse fishing season, where hot Days are long gone and have been replaced with a fresh cooling breeze. The falling rain will give our rivers that all needed lift as well as re-oxygenate the water. This new breath of life will bring many species out of their summer rest and feeding in the same enthusiastic way they did in the early spring. With the winter only around the corner the fish are looking to feed hard in the next few weeks in hope of stocking before the natural food becomes in short supply.


Nice and Cool Morning

If you are planning on getting out then I recommend the use of PVA bags filled with hook bait goodies and other juicy irresistible particles. It’s important to keep baiting in the same spot to attract and keep the fish in your swim. This approach works for many different species of fish from Bream to Carp and even Barbel will come in and clean up the loose feed and hopefully in the process get hooked. For this I would recommend the River Wear around Durham. We have plenty of excellent fishing spots there and these should be exploited in the coming weeks.

If you are after the chub and the river is flooded then travel light with a bag of earthworms and size 6 hook. I say this because the best approach here is free lining the bait down the river with the current. This can be done with no shots or weights on the line but just a hook and few earthworms. Chub seem to find this irresistible as it goes past them. You will be using the worms weight to cast so be gentle and leave you reel bail arm open to allow the line to peel off freely. For bite indication watch your line movement – if it speeds up or stops suddenly, slowly lift the rod and strike. This is one of the most exciting and productive methods of fishing.

The Pike anglers are also getting out their rods and heading down to their local lakes and rivers. Pike fishing can be very slow but the rewards are great. Catching and Landing a 10lb+ pike is a real challenge and something many pike anglers dream about all the time, this is one predator that we can admire from the side as it goes about its daily business. It deserves great respect as it’s sharp teeth can easily do damage to your fingers. Therefore, use appropriate equipments and keep your fingers away form its strong jaws.

Whatever you decided to do make sure you enjoy it. I am off to the River Wear to try fishing for lovely Chub and Barbel – my chosen baits are worms and sweetcorn.

Copyright NE-Fishing Oct 2005