The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I used to fish this stretch as a lad with my dad as one of the favourite venues of my club in the 1960s, the United Services AS, of Chingford, affiliated to the LAA, whose water it was. It was a magical piece of river, with backwaters, abandoned weir pools, fast flowing stretches, which were great for chub, and slow weedy parts, which produced tench and bream and a lot of eels. We used to stop at the pub by Great Barford bridge, where my Dad indulged in the odd pint of Charlie Wells bitter. I remember one of our club members showing me how to catch bigger perch using minnows as bait - happy days, but Dad has now gone and the magic went out of the river when they dredged it to allow boat traffic. Haven't fished it in years, so I don't know what it's like now, perhaps someone can enlighten me.

I'm sorry Cornebury, I was born in that area in 1972 and moved to Wales in 1980. Thanks for bringing back some nostalgic memories though. My Dad played football at Chingford.

Snape may well be able to help you out though. Or there are a few others from that area.

I fished there too when I was a kid. I was a member of Motor Gear AC (an engineering firm in Chadwell Heath) and our hired coach would take us all over the place every third weekend; Thames, Suffolk Stour, Kentish Stour, Ouse, Hemingford Grey, all venues I can recall from the mind's eye like it was yesterday.

Great days.

That sounds like my club outings, up at 5:30 to get picked up by the coach at the corner of our street, and then off once a month to these places far from Chingford. I loved the Ouse, and the Hemingford Grey venue stands out in my mind, because to get to the island stretch which the LAA owned, you had to be transported by punt from the main bank. I liked the Suffolk Stout too, Glemsford, Bures etc.

The trip home always passed in a blur as I inevitably fell asleep in the coach

Very similar! We had all kinds of high jinx; putting disgorgers up sleeping noses, handwarmers going on fire, roof off on a low bridge, engine fires, hump-backed bridges (setting up the initiation with a full/hot cup of coffee on the run up to the bridge!). That was before we got fishing!

Here are a few other venues you'll recall; the Rookery, Secretary's Farm, Littleport...great days. Oh and then there was Pheasant Plucker, so named because when the coach hit a pheasant he ran out, picked it up and put it under his coat for his tea. Funny thing was that it came around again inside the coach (a la Danny Champion of the World) and scratched him to pieces. Never did know his proper name!

I've fished near the bridge at Barford relatively recently - my folks had a caravan and the caravan club used to hire the field by the river a couple of times a year. My niece is now 29 but she, my nephew and my daughter all grew up with those Barford weekends as memories.

The fishing, I'm sorry to say, ain't great. At least not below the weir.

We used to pluck roach and perch out, but not big ones. The weed was quite heavy and there were only very few swims worth the name. It's also a little bit over run with Jack Pike. Great fun on light spinning gear, but not worth a long drive for the fishing as a sole purpose.

Happy memories all the same - very much a part of our family history.

DickBrowne wrote:I've fished near the bridge at Barford relatively recently - my folks had a caravan and the caravan club used to hire the field by the river a couple of times a year. My niece is now 29 but she, my nephew and my daughter all grew up with those Barford weekends as memories.

The fishing, I'm sorry to say, ain't great. At least not below the weir.

We used to pluck roach and perch out, but not big ones. The weed was quite heavy and there were only very few swims worth the name. It's also a little bit over run with Jack Pike. Great fun on light spinning gear, but not worth a long drive for the fishing as a sole purpose.

Happy memories all the same - very much a part of our family history.

And just last weekend there was a lure fishing competition down there ....................By the polish lure anglers.

I have joined the LAA again this year,i have fished A/B/C/D orwhatever the other bits are called,i have fished Hemingford grey and Brampton pits ,All once famous places ,I did ask the question on a different site,How could the LAA let these places go so far downhill,but it got deleted. Such a shame

Tizer wrote:I have joined the LAA again this year,i have fished A/B/C/D orwhatever the other bits are called,i have fished Hemingford grey and Brampton pits ,All once famous places ,I did ask the question on a different site,How could the LAA let these places go so far downhill,but it got deleted. Such a shame

Can you explain please Tizer, I have fished all of them thirty five years ago, what are they like now?

Reading this thread has brought back so many happy memories of the early 1970's club outings when I fished for East Ham Working Mens Club.Every fortnight and always arriving at first light. The Hampshire Avon was a long run, particularly if you had been drinking the night before. Alan Pleydell would never let you sleep. Roxton A/B/C and D, Chosely Moulford, Hemingford Grey, The River Wissey at the Beetroot factory, Bures Mill, ah great times. I rejoined the LAA 10 years ago, purely out of curiosity, and overall was very disappointed with their waters. The Wissey was half the width , 5 feet lower and it required a 15 minute jungle trek to negotiate 50 yards. Hemingford Gray had not been fished for years by the look if it and looked quite barren. Most of the islands had gone, lots of dead half submerged trees and I did not see any sign of fish. The Roxton stretches just looked a little overgrown, no human traffic. Bures lake however which I had never fished, as it was the LAA management water in the 70's, fished very well. Big old warrior tench.
It was always a huge achievement to do the "double" on a club trip. Win the day and the Bus Stop.