river swale recci ;-)

[shane]

lovely sunny day today, picked bash up about noon & headed off to various stretches of the swale, just to get a glimpse of what awaits us all in 2 weeks time..

my first visit to skipton bridge was our first port of call....walked from the farm/parking area to the road bridge....(trying to shake off an over friendly horse that took a shine to me for some reason?)
it was obviously overgrown with nettles etc, as expected at this time of year....I wasn't impressed with the pegs I saw, not a fan of the steep access down to the river? (think im too fussy) ..... the river did have a bit extra running through.
from there we headed to topcliffe, but couldn't resist a quick look over that bridge (river was a peaty colour so not great camera footage, looked awesome through basha's polaroids though)

only the 2 fishing the weir pool side of toppy for trout, with worm...(yawwwwn)  the stretch looked great btw...

from there we headed to asenby, hoping to avoid the "killer sheep" lol.
well............ that looked picturesque...





after all that, we couldn't resist looking at a "little gem" stretch of the swale...roll on the 16th

short vid to follow.........updated.....

[Stevie]

Looking good can't wait to get down there.

[Mick]

mouth waterin mate i really cant bloody wait bank by movin water and freedom lol

Sent from my GT-S5570 using proboards

[shane]

updated with short vid

[Stevie]

Cracking video mate those chub and barbel going crazy I'm going to have them lol

[Deleted]

Shane, did you wander down to the bridge itself at skipton bridge? Access is pretty good.

[Deleted]

Like kids waiting for christmas .
Love the enthusiasm.

[basha(mark).]

access aint so gd now jim its like the triffids down there.prob one decent fishable peg between trees near bridge but not somewere you could sit all day and be comfy.a case of rod reel buckets and try to find somewere to squeeze in.was talking to the guy who has the stables about strimming and digging a few pegs he said he would let us use his strimmer etc but I have a big petrol one aswell.so bfore I start fishing there ile be doing a little work he's fine with it.

[basha(mark).]

im deffo not one for shying away from awkward bank situations that's the swale for ya and no were worse than the nidd.I cant afford a slip or fall now with my back and the ground along there is treacherous at the moment and needs a lot of cutting back so you can get further down the bank to see the whats below.a few lads and a few gd man hours will make for what is a banker stretch of river.

[ronny]

Pics look awesome mate, can't view the videos internet is crap here only getting bloody GPRS

[Stevie]

What's the pace like up there last time I fished the Swales at Morton bridge many moons again had to go up to a 3oz lead to hold bottom was thinking I might get away using a 1oz or 2oz grappa lead instead on theses club stretches any info would be helpful lads getting my rigs and gear sorted ready for the opening.

[shane]

stevie,
the pace was steady at skipton bridge, yesterday, had a bit extra running through, but would still need few oz's to hold bottom? the other lads will give you more accurate info (I aint actually fished that stretch...yet)

toppy; like most stretches varies... depending on previous rainfall? normal early season levels (if such a thing as "normal"?) the lower numbered pegs have lot less flow, eg; pegs 1, to 4 are steady to slow, higher the peg number, 5, upwards, the pace picks up... (closer to the weir)
opposite bank has a productive weir pool (grassy pegs) then ends with a steady flow with overhanging trees to aim for.

asenby; stretch from the road bridge end is slow-paced if river is at "normal" summer levels,  it dosnt really pick up pace until it reaches the island end...then it shallows off & picks up speed.

again....saying all that, after a few down-pours it knocks the levels t*ts-up?? which could last for weeks?



PS- are you in leeds aswell as boro?

[Stevie]

No not I in Leeds I know they have toppy which is a cracking strech and better chance of a barbel might look in to joining for there rivers

[shane]

leeds have a few good swale stretches m8,

topcliffe/asenby/helperby/skipton/myton etc...

also ouse/aire/derwent/nidd/wharfe/ure etc (as you probably know)


www.leedsdasa.co.uk/html/waters.html

[basha(mark).]

Bradford number one ste if you want access to more venues and less crouded.toppy is a fine water no doubt but limited to pegs.with a few meters in your pegs are under water.when they get these turbines in its gonna restrict the weir pool for a while aswell and its on the cards.im in both,if I had to dump one it would be leeds.as shane said with water you can go as high as 4-5oz of lead.most stretches of the swale you can get away with 1-2oz norm levels.in extra low conditions even 35 gramme will hold.a lot of fishing is done on your bank in flood conditions,literally under your feet anyways and this is usually the best time to fish for bules.if you can run a stick through for the chub it will beat the lead hands down.some of the best ways to fish the swale are as simple as a link ledger,just flicked out and let to run under near side vegy.

and thoughs fish look really gd of the bridge were we are feeding em.unfortunately unless your in the syndicate which is as hard as hell and you'v got a bottomless wallet to pay for it you cant get to em unfortunately.used to be day ticket many moons ago the black bull stretch but so called mental anglers abused the system so the owner got sick and stopped it.wasted water really considering its very little fished now.