Walton’s Walk Fishery

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Corneybury
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Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Corneybury »

Am renewing my ticket for this for the coming season. Went three or four times last year, and caught a lot of small stuff just below the weir, but it’s a long walk carrying tackle. I note there’s a video about it on YouTube by the bailiff, which says there’s some good fish in it, but in the famous words of Mandy Rice-Davies, he would say that wouldn’t he? I’d prefer a more independent opinion - has anyone got any experience of this fishery?

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Fisherman1947
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Re: Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Fisherman1947 »

I am renewing my ticket as well after a couple of years I was fishing the first swim off Highbridge Street I caught small chub and perch and I tried the weir but I didn't catch anything I did see a barbel swimming up the lea from the first swim and I heard a big splash once.
Old fishermen never die they only smell that way.

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Tench Dreamer
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Re: Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Tench Dreamer »

I have never fished here, but have walked it a few times . The old Lea running parallel with the Navigation canal. Looks like the kind of venue that would have years of angling history....from years back. Nowadays don't think you'd see many anglers on it. A lot easier to fish a commercial but less natural

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Corneybury
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Re: Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Corneybury »

Don’t like fishing commercials- to my mind they’re a bit like shooting fish in a barrel

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Duckett
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Re: Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Duckett »

That's very interesting Corneybury. I am a member of Hollow AS which is part of the Waltham Abbey Angling Consortium that has the Old River Lea stretch in the Dragonfly Meadows. It runs parallel to the old gunpowder works. I think that this is the stretch immediately above Walton's Walk. It's a lovely spot to wander and wet a line for a few hours but, aside from the odd legendry River Lea carp languidly swimming past me, and ignoring all my efforts to interest it in food, my catches are Chublets up to 1lb, Roach to 1/2lb, Dace, Gudgeon, Ruffe (there are some big ones!), Perch to 1lb and Jacks to 4lb.

There are supposed to be Tench and Barbel but I've not had one in 5 years fishing there and I've never met anyone who will say they have! Though, I rarely meet another angler there.

The top half of the fishery has steep and overgrown banks which when wet are the most slippery I've ever experienced.

I can also fish the Cornmill Stream, which is on the opposite side of the meadows. However, until you get to the short stretch from the modern by-pass bridge to the Medieval bridge, it's mostly only a few inches deep and very weedy. I've caught Jacks on Mepps between the two bridges though and seem them lurking under the bridges, so other fish clearly go that way.

2 new gravel runs where put on the Old River Lea in a couple of years ago to encourage spawning. On the plus side, it doesn't seem to have Signal Crayfish.
From "... the wilds of the Wirral, whose wayward people both God and good men have quite given up on ...".

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Corneybury
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Re: Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Corneybury »

That’s really interesting. Thanks ‘Duckett’. There are supposed to be barbel by the weir stretch, but they don’t seem to be very interested in my luncheon meat, and like you, I’ve only had small stuff - quite a variety though, which may indicate that the water is in a healthy state.

I too have fished Cornmill stream right by the Abbey when I was a kid - good for roach and perch, again nothing of size ☹️

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Corneybury
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Re: Walton’s Walk Fishery

Post by Corneybury »

Had a go at this last week. 3 hours float fishing bought me one roach, one perch and one chub on maggots, nothing on bread. None of these specimens were any more than 2” long, and of course, the perch swallowed the hook 🙁. Time and again, I got lots of knocks and then on pulling up - no bait left. Methinks the signal crayfish were at work again. Gave up and had a go on 70 acres lake behind it. Some nice sink away bites on bread, but again no success. Worryingly, a large dead eel floated past. I keep reading about people finding these on the Lea. I have reported it to the EA, but no response yet. Images

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