‘Tony had booked accommodation in The Bull at Downton. In 1932 Flight-Lieutenant L. A. Parker, late of the RAF became proprietor and remained so until 1950. Flight-Lieutenant Parker was known as ‘The Skipper’ and became an acknowledged fishing expert. His classic text book This Fishing – or Angling Arts and Artifices, was first published in 1948 by Cleaver Hume’
This edition I’m looking back to some fishing days on the River Wye and Hampshire Avon. It started with my friends Albert Proctor and John Rowland knowing I was having problems with my eyesight, making it difficult to visit various venues. They kindly invited me to join them on the river Wye for a few days fishing; while they would target the barbel, I would try to catch some chub.
As often happens, the conditions are not always what we wish for, the river Wye was extremely low with masses of leaves adding to our problems. With a few weeks’ notice before our visit, I got to sorting out menus for breakfast and tea each day. Having had lots of experience of cooking in the wilderness I planned a varied diet; breakfast was served each morning at 0900hrs and included bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms, beans and tomatoes with wholemeal bread and butter, and tea or coffee. John would often follow up his breakfast with a whole packet of biscuits but there was no flab on John, he was a fit looking guy who also worked out in the gym.
I had my normal breakfast of porridge, muesli or toast. Tea time was 1700hrs and the menu would be any of the following: sweet and sour chicken with rice, beef curry and rice, meat pie vegetables with a thick beef gravy, gammon steaks, fried onions and mushrooms. Eggs and fried potatoes were also on the menu. So that my friends could enjoy the fishing experience I done all the chores, making sure they had a snack with tea or coffee at the water’s edge.
Chub and Barbel
John and Albert were like brothers, often sitting shoulder to shoulder, both catching their target fish the barbel, and also a few chub, on a variety of baits; pellets, gentles, sausage meat and cheese paste and no doubt they had a secret bait which I didn’t get to see. I would go off further downstream where I could wade out and fish a far bank swim, trotting a cork-on-quill Avon float along and at times under the willows that lined the far bank. I caught more than my share of chub, usually by feeding mashed bread and using flake on the hook.
I also hooked three good barbel early one morning as the sun was rising in the eastern sky. The barbel did give me a run around on my chub tackle but eventually I netted all three of them. Just as a member of the syndicate appeared, I netted what I thought might be a double and Peter asked “Do youwant a photograph?” “Yes please.” I said. After weighing the barbel at 10lbs 4oz, a quick picture was taken and I then lowered the net in the water where we watched it swim off strongly.
We had a lot of laughs along the way, especially after a late night fishing session. As they fished, I would often sit and listen to some jazz music, then make supper when they arrived back at the cabin. On my birthday John gave me a much needed present of a magazine, I think it was titled How to catch Coarse Fish or something similar, though it didn’t really help me. What did help was the present from Albert of some Abel nippers, it seemed as if Albert had got fed up with me saying, “These bloody nippers are useless.” The new ones even cut through braid like a hot knife through butter. For the last couple of days Tony Booker joined us, equipped to fish for pike but sadly conditions were far from suitable. However, as usual he had some sport though we spent a lot of time drinking tea and coffee and discussing the fishing we were going to experience on the Hampshire Avon, including sampling some of “Mary’s fruit cake”.
During the last evening the river started to rise, then colour up. I remember saying to Albert and John, “This rise of water should have happened at the start of the week.” They both said in unison, “Don’t worry, Martin. It’s been a great week.” As they had banked barbel to 7lbs 14 ounces they were more than happy. It was thanks to John and Albert for all the laughs and the good fishing I enjoyed; they were great company.
The Hampshire Avon awaits me…
As Albert and John headed off north, Tony and myself headed off to his home in Buckinghamshire via Tony’s local tackle shop, where I met Kevin and also a few of the customers, after a welcome mug of tea. I was then relieved of some twenty pound notes and we said our goodbyes, arriving at Tony’s house around teatime and meeting Lorraine for the first time. What a lovely lady, so helpful and friendly. After a long awaited shower, it was time for dinner of salmon and all the trimmings, followed by homemade fruit pie and custard. Though I offered to do the chores like washing up it was forbidden; Tony said “We have a dish washer.” I couldn’t win.
After a good night’s sleep I was up and about at around 0800hrs feeling fresh and ready for anything that Tony had got planned. After breakfast we went off to visit one of his club still-waters, then on to the river Colne which certainly did look great with all the overhanging trees; it was straight out of Crabtree with dozens of good looking swims inviting you to target a chub with a chunk of crust or piece of cheese. I was told that the chub run to a good size and at every turn of the river it seemed to look even more inviting. Back home we sat down to another great meal of pork etc. All cooked to perfection, including a nice dessert.
Heading off to the majestic Hampshire Avon
At around 0600hrs I was up and dressed for an early start in the hope of beating some of the traffic on the dreaded M25, followed by the M23. As we got onto the M23 Tony said “The traffic isn’t so bad after all” and I passed several familiar spots as we got closer to our venue. I though back to the 1950s when I often visited the area to fish and shoot, thinking of my dear friend and gentleman Colonel Crow. This also reminded me of Dick Walker as, just upstream of Ibsley Bridge on the old Bournemouth Road, Walker had a caravan within a hundred yards of the river, courtesy of a local farmer and no doubt negotiated by Col. Crow. Another great shot of the time was Major Archie Coats; I doubt if there was a better shot when it came to the number of wood pigeons bagged in a day. Coats was reported as shooting over 400 birds in a day, obviously he was welcomed by all the farmers in Hampshire and Wiltshire.
Tony had booked accommodation in The Bull at Downton. In 1932 Flight-Lieutenant L. A. Parker, late of the RAF became proprietor and remained so until 1950. Flight-Lieutenant Parker was known as ‘The Skipper’ and became an acknowledged fishing expert. His classic text book This Fishing – or Angling Arts and Artifices, was first published in 1948 by Cleaver Hume. It certainly established The Bull’s reputation as a fishing hotel. Anglers from the four corners of the U.K. would travel to fish the Avon in those days. After dinner the anglers would gather in the kitchen, often no doubt with misty eyes at the mention of the ‘Board Room’ as the kitchen was known where they would talk about the day’s adventures into the early hours. ‘The Skipper’ retired in May 1950 and moved down the Avon to Bickton Mill and he died on 3 February 1959 at the age of 72.
Parker’s This Fishing or Angling Arts & Artifices is a great read, containing lots of information including the subject of water temperatures and their effect on our fish. I have two copies, a first edition which I never read but my second edition is well thumbed, has given me lots of inspiration over the past 70-odd years and still does to this day.
When the ‘Skipper’ retired, Edmund Harris was proprietor of The Bull up to 1959, when it was taken over by Peter and Mary Scott-Newman. What a great character Scott-Newman was; even today he is sorely missed by a few of us older anglers alive today. If you’re looking to fish the famous Hampshire Avon I say you should join the London Anglers Association: Izaac Walton House, 2A Hervey Park Road, London E17 6L J (telephone 020 8520 7477/ E-mail admin@londonanglers.net) and then book a room at The Bull for a few nights.
After an excellent breakfast you can head off to the Britford fishery just a handful of miles away, where you will meet river-keeper Stuart Wilson who, in my book, is one of the top river-keepers in the business today (tel 07847 10 9153). At the end of the day return to The Bull, enjoy a meal and drink and while doing so, relive your day on this majestic river.
Fishing the Middle Avon
Tony and myself would be fishing the middle reaches of the Avon on the first day and after breakfast I called in at the local bakery for some fresh rolls and two pieces of bread pudding which would be enjoyed at lunchtime with a mug of tea. As we drove to the fishery with low light levels, a light wind, with mist low over the fields, conditions looked perfect. I said to Tony, “It’s a roach-fisher’s day” and after driving along several small lanes and farm tracks, we arrived at our venue.
Today I was going back down memory lane, as I put together a Richard Walker Mk IV Avon rod, matched with a 1953 Mitchell 300 reel, still working perfectly after all those years, and the spool filled with 6lbs BS Gamma line. I then tied on a Pallatrax size 4 barbless hook using a Palomar knot, pinched on an LG shot and finally impaling a thumb-sized piece of crust on the hook. As I moved slowly towards the water, Tony said “I reckon you will get a chub in about three minutes.”
With an underhand flick the crust-baited hook dropped beneath the overhanging branches of a far bank tree sinking slowly out of sight, within a minute I could see the bow in the line start to tighten, the strike connected with a fish that put a nice curve in the rod, soon my first chub of the session of about three pounds was netted. After a fried egg sandwich and mug of tea I went off to fish several more swims and catching three more chub around the three-pound mark.
Tony meanwhile targeted the pike and perch with lures and got two follows from below a weir but they didn’t want to eat. After lunch we both tried various swims and I didn’t get a bite but it was most enjoyable experience. Just before darkness we both had a boil-in-the-bag meal before fishing on until late in the evening, then heading off to The Bull.
Day 2: Another Avon beat
We started off walking the beat and covering around a mile of water, with several exciting looking swims but without doubt the best area I spotted was a far bank swim. No doubt it would have been possible to put on a big lead then cast across to the other side of the river but this isn’t my scene; I like to fish areas where I can creep in and fish just a few rod lengths away. I pointed out to Tony a big raft then a pool below which had another big raft, the whole area screamed chub. Tony then told me of an experience early in the season when fishing a waggler float set up close to the far bank, when he hooked a big chub but eventually lost the fish. Tony is a far better angler than I am.
Making my way back upstream I came across a nice chub swim with deep water under the bank and lots of cover which was known as ‘Mary’s Swim’. A few yards further downstream the water flow cut across the river towards the far bank, taking a lot of the leaves and weed and leaving a large slow-moving stretch of water. As we walked back to the vehicle I thought about the swim and decided I’d leger a chunk of smelly cheese at the top of the swim. After about an hour, with nothing to show for my efforts, except lots of floating weed and leaves, I moved downstream into the slower water, switching to stret-peg using a fifteen-foot rod with a centre-pin reel and gentles as bait.
Though I fished hard well into the darkness, all I had to show for my efforts was the odd minnow plus lots of bites from these little fish nipping the end of the gentles. Meanwhile Tony, fishing further upstream, didn’t fare any better. It was around 2000hrs back at the vehicle and we were greeted by Reg who suggested we called in for some of Mary’s famous fruit cake. It turned out to be a small world, as some three years ago I’d interviewed Reg for my weekly radio show. As we sat talking, Reg showed me a cane rod that he’d had refurbished and it would certainly have made a lovely chub rod. Mary’s fruit cake was as good as everyone had told meand I was in luck, as Mary gave Tony and myself two slices of cake to take away for our next day’s fishing.
Day 3: And another Avon beat
Our last day on the Avon was spent on another beat which was partially on opposite bank from the day before. Away in the distance I could just make out an oak and some beech trees that I’d seen from the opposite bank the day before,which looked so good for chub. It was a long walk but I was determined to reach the swims with their big rafts of weed, foam and other rubbish. After crossing numerous stiles I eventually arrived, perspiring and feeling rather exhausted and for twenty minutes or more I sat looking at the bottom of the two swims, just watching the water-flow and trying to work out where I should cast my chunk of crust so it would be swept under the raft in the right area.
I thought a chub would be waiting for food to be pushed into its lair and lightly pinched on an LG shot six inches from a size 4 Pallatrax barbless hook, then baited with a large chunk of crust. Making a long cast upstream and well out into the river, I held the rod high, guiding the bait to the chosen spot then dropped the rod tip as the bait got to the edge of the raft where I thought a chub might be. Within a minute I felt a light pluck and, pushing the rod forward, I watched the slack get taken at the same time the tip pulled slowly round. The answering strike connected with what felt like a heavy fish. Five or six minutes later I netted my prize and as I lifted the net I realised I’d got a good chub. Swinging the net ashore and laying it on my unhooking mat, I got my first glimpse of the fish. ‘That’s a five pounder’ I thought and weighing the fish gave a reading of 5lbs 9oz, so I pegged the net in the water.
I called Tony with the news, then sat for a minute or two trying to decide if I wanted to make the long walk back to the vehicle for my camera. I then thought ‘I’ve got more than enough pictures of 5lb-plus chub’ and released the fish. An hour later I had a nice perch of around a pound and a quarter on two lobworms and I fished on until about 1400hrs before heading off for some lunch.
Tony was having a good day trotting, catching dace, chub, gudgeon and grayling, the man has great float fishing skills which I admire. After lunch I made the long trek back to my swim and though I fished both swims hard for several hours, all I had to show for my efforts was a chub of about three pounds. In the darkness, with a strong wind and rain in my face I made my way back to the vehicle. We both agreed it had been a great three days even though the fishing was hard; it had been immensely enjoyable with a great companion. On the way home we stopped off at a pub at about 1945hrs for some food, only to be told ”We stop serving at 1930hrs”; no wonder there were only about six customers in the place! Near home Tony called into his local Chinese for a take-away so we didn’t go hungry.
Fishing Tony’s waters
The next day, after breakfast, we went off to a gun shop where I purchased a new Minigap cal. 8mm pistol with a load of blank ammunition for scaring away cormorants. For today’s river-keeper, having a starting pistol on the river bank is as important as any other item of equipment used during his work. Back home we put some tackle in the vehicle for fishing the river Colne and on the way to the river we stopped off for some lunch in a local café. It was a nightmare on the river with the rain sheeting down but didn’t bother me although the signal crayfish certainly did. This is another pest from the United States, originally released by the restaurant trade but now they are causing major problems in many waterways. In the end we gave up trying to catch a fish and returned home.
The last day was spent in Kevin’s tackle shop, then it was onto a private estate where we both float fished for roach, rudd, perch and tench. My float once moved across the surface a few inches but that’s all the movement I had, apart from catching the smallest perch I ever caught. Tony had a small rudd and also a nice looking common carp estimated around 14lbs on float fishing gear, using a grain of corn with two casters. He also lost another fish. On Saturday morning we left for Lancashire and it was horrid driving conditions with non-stop heavy rain for most of the trip and a gale-force wind. After arriving at my home Tony had a well-deserved break with a good meal before heading off home. All in all it was a very good trip and for me to fish the waters of my youth was most welcome. Even today both rivers can offer good sportand the Avon still keeps producing two pound-plus roach.
Writing & Photographs Martin James MBE – Winter 2025
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