What's being caught here - My first barbel 10lb 2oz Bidford on Avon. Karl Lerigo July 2017.

Bidford LB mixed bag

A reasonable mixed bag on a very cold, blustery, miserable day. Mostly roach, a few dace, a couple of perch and a nice chublet. All on 1/2 pint of casters, 1/2 pint of freshly cooked hemp and a few red & bronze hook maggots. The (roach) rod is a 13 ft Dave Harrell Spiral UK Match and the reel is a trusty ABU 506M, insert peacock waggler, 0.08mm hooklength and 22 barbless Drennan carbon match hook. Wed 21st Nov 2108, Paul Hitchman.

Big Bidford chub

14Nov2018 - Bidford Left Bank. 7 big chub (2 hidden underneath) on the wag'n'mag - single & double bronze maggot on a size 20 Drennan chub hook (shame they stopped making them, but I've got a few stockpiled). Pulled out of another couple under my own feet after playing them over from the far bank ! Rod bent like a horse-shoe, pulling them away from far bank snags. Paul Hitchman.

Big Bidford LB chub

Highlight of a good mixed bag (roach, chub & dace - no perch, they were away on their annual hols). Wag'n'mag. Thanks to the Fisheries team for clearing out overgrown pegs, but don't forget my bacon sarnie next time lads. Chub says: "Damn, fell for that old double bronze maggot trick again!" Paul Hitchman

It's not all about size.

As the pictures in the home page have some pretty spectacular fish I thought that it would be nice to show what does get caught more often than not and makes fishing so enjoyable. I had an enjoyable session on the Marlcliffe stretch last week I caught using bronze and red maggots and casters trotting a large Avon two thirds across for a nice bag of fish and the occasional minnow. Reg Smirthwaite.

Marlcliff 01

Looking downstream from car park towards weir.

Marlcliff 02

Looking upstream from car park.

Marlcliff 03

Looking upstream from car park.

Marlcliff brace

From the main river, NOT the weir pool. Wag'n'mag (double bronze). Hook 18 VMC 9284 'National Champion' (barb squeezed in). Hooklength = 0.12mm dia Silstar Matchteam. Main line = 0.16mm dia Kamasan Bayer. Paul Hitchman.

Marlcliff double

12oz 'spotty' and 4lb+ chub, from below the weir at Marlciff, last Wednesday. Both caught using - wag'n'mag (double bronze). Rod, 13ft Shakespeare Boron Mach 2, reel ABU 506M. Paul Hitchman

Marlcliff pike.

I caught this 10lb'er from below the weir at Marlcliff on a legered smelt in slack water. Alex Noke

Marlcliff tench

Hi guys, I ventured for the first time down to Marlcliff. A lovely looking piece of water especially upstream of the car park, wide with lots of Lilly's. I fished pinkie over groundbait for roach but suffered some terrible pike trouble from a very aggressive jack, I hooked and lost him four times. I also fed two worm lines and kept dropping in on them throughout the session, I was sure there would be some tench about with all the inside cover and sure enough half an hour from time I had this nice tench. I will go back and hopefully the pike will give me a chance of really bagging up as I'm sure there's a few roach there. Phil Mattock Coventry. August 2016

Marlcliff winter chub

Just the 5, but it was still tanking thru' a bit - too much for the float. No bits, but you don't catch many on great big pieces of bread on a size 10 (Kamasan B560 to 0.16mm hooklength, 6lb Maxima main line and liquidized bread thru' a sliding cage feeder). "Beware the mud - more gooey mud down there than you can shake the proverbial stick at !" Happy New Year, Paul Hitchman.

More Marlcliff chub!

Hi, To add to Paul Hitchmans Marcliff and Bidford chub fest, attached is a picture of a 5lb 2oz chub I took from the top end of Marcliff on the 12th November. This was one of 9 fish, four over 4lb, all on double maggot fished on a 2g Bolo float across. Dr Mick Hanley