Langport & District Angling Association
Fishing News
River Parrett
River levels
The Angling Trust has put a useful website on the internet for finding river levels; one I use when planning a fishing trip on the river.
The web address is www.fishinginfo.co.uk.
Click on the 'Find A River Level' tab and enter 'Langport' in the search box.
This will show a map of river level measuring stations in the Langport area.
I find the 'Monks Lease Wq' at Combe and the 'Oath' at Oath Lock locations give meaningful levels for the river.
Beware the level at 'Westover' which is the river side of the Westover Pumping Station opposite Cocklemoor in Langport. When the river is low, this measuring station shows a smooth horizontal line which suggests the level sensor is probably above the current water level and so not showing the correct level.
I hope this site is of some use to you.
Tuesday 4th August
I fished just above the Footbridge at Oath again today, on my own this time!
I decided on an early start so I arrived at 6am, right on sunrise, I was fishing by 6.30am.
Cloud moved in and the sunshine disappeared until midday. Flat calm to start with, a breeze built up during the morning, blowing across the river into my face. The water wasn't as coloured as last week and what little flow there was, to start with, disappeared mid-morning; probably due to the river backing up due to high tide at Bridgwater.
I fished a 13 foot match rod with a centrepin reel and a loaded waggler float rig. As there wasn't much activity on the surface, I fished at depth, about 10 feet, just over the weed on the bottom.
I started with maggot on the hook over loosefed hemp. I caught the odd roach and bleak before trying either a grain of hemp or a tare and started catching the odd better quality roach. I think the fish weren't too hungry as the float dipped under every cast but rarely did I actually hook one.
For the last hour, I fished maggot on the hook and loosefed maggot and hemp and bites were more positive.
After a disappointing 5½ hours, I certainly didn't have a great weight!
I caught roach, rudd, skimmers, perch, ruffe, gudgeon and chublets for a total of 2lb 13oz.
Still, it was nice to be out on the river early and watching the wildlife!
Thursday 20th August
Fran and I fished the Parrett at Combe.
It was a nice dry, bright day, certainly better then the previous day which had produced torrential rain for long periods. As a result, the river was only up about four inches with a tinge of colour.
The main problem was the strong southerly wind (the forerunner of an Atlantic storm which was on its way). Where we fished, the wind was in our our faces which meant the float was blown into the bank even with the line buried!
We both started by fishing a waggler float but found it was impossible to present the bait correctly with the strong crosswind.
We realised that there was a bit of flow in the river so we both changed to a heavy stick float but the stick was still blowing offline.
Finally, Fran fished a whip with a shorter line so he had some control over the float and managed to keep it online better. Even so, he only caught a few small roach for a total of 4oz before we packed up as the wind speed increased further.
Instead of a whip, I tackled up my match rod (it was the only rod I had with me) with a small free-running blockend feeder filled with maggots and double maggot on the hook and touch legered.
I had quite a few bites and managed to connect with a few. I had roach, a perch and a small gudgeon for a total of 10oz !!
Not a good day for catching but there's always next time!!!
Thursday 10th September
Fran and I fished in the two swims just above the footbridge at Oath.
The day was warm, overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. There was a very light breeze.
There was a bit of flow in the morning but in the afternoon the river stopped then flowed very slowly upstream; probably tidal effect at Bridgwater.
Fran fished a 7 metre whip with a stick float rig. He fed some groundbait and loosefed hemp and caster over the top.
With maggot, sweetcorn, hemp, caster, tares or urid beans on the hook, he caught mainly roach for a total of 5lb 1oz.
I fished a match rod and centrepin reel with a light loaded waggler float. I loosefed hemp and tares. I caught a few fish on maggot then caught the rest on hemp, tares or elderberries.
I caught mainly roach for a total of 5lb 11oz.
Combe Lake
Coronavirus Pandemic
Remember the 2-Metre Rule, keep your distance from other anglers and we'll all be safe.
Hand sanitiser is available at both gates for your protection.
The virus can live on metal for up to 72 hours so I spray the padlock and parts of the gates and latches with my disinfectant spray before touching them. A good habit to get into!
Shutting and Locking
Please make sure you shut the gate securely in the otter fence when entering and leaving the lake.
We are finding, all to often, that the main gate is being left unlocked.
When you leave by the main gate, please make sure the padlock is correctly attached and locked securely. Scramble all the numbers on the lock.
Protect the lake, and your fishing, by ensuring that the gate is securely locked.
If you are fishing Combe Lake, why not let me know what you caught; photos of your catch would also be appreciated. We'd love to know how it's fishing for our members. Email me.
We've noticed members have been propping the gate open recently with bricks while they drive in or out.
For the last few years, there has been a wire loop fixed to the fence which hooks over the top rail of the gate to hold it back. The wire loop can be bent tighter around the rail of the gate if required.
You'll find this is more reliable than propping the gate open with bricks. I've now taped the wire loop to make it more visible.
WEED
I know some members aren't happy about the weed in our lake. However, the weed is very beneficial to our fish and the waterfowl. It contains lots of food in the form of invertebrates. It provides shelter and protection for our fish. It also helps to keep the algae levels down and improve water quality.
Most of our fishing can be done in front of the platforms so we only need to clear the weed from where we want to fish. This is easily achieved by spending a few minutes raking before we tackle up. This gives a short period for the swim to settle before fishing. Raking also stirs up the silt which attracts the fish into the swim.
A simple weed rake (as shown above) can be made by joining two garden rake heads back to back and securing with cable ties. A length of strong nylon rope can be securely attached.
Wednesday 26th August
I fished an afternoon/evening session on the lake.
I chose the middle peg at the car park end, opposite the point of the island to get the light breeze on my back. For the last few hours, the breeze dropped completely.
The day was warm and sunny.
I fished a loaded waggler to the lily bed to my left.
I fished double maggot over groundbait and loosefed hemp.
Every half hour, I topped up with 3 squeezes of groundbait and a handful of hemp. I fed nothing else in between. I caught quite a few small rudd just under the surface.
I caught roach, rudd, perch, a 1lb 8oz tench and a juvenile tench for a total of 3lb 6oz.
Not a great weight but plenty of bites!
Club member Merv Cook fished next to me on the disabled platform and caught this very nice mirror weighing 12lb. He fished a waggler float only a rodlength out, with luncheon meat on the hook and loosefed luncheon meat and pellet.
Friday 4th September
Fran and I fished the eastern arm of Combe Lake.
It was a mild overcast day with some sunshine in the afternoon. There was an occasional south-westerly breeze blowing up the lake.
We both raked our swims before setting up, removing small amounts of weed and twigs and stirring up the silt to attract some fish!
Fran pole-fished near to a lily bed, fishing maggot or sweetcorn over groundbait and loosefed hemp. He lost a few large tench in the nearby weed beds.
He caught 4 small tench, roach and perch for a total of 2lb 1oz.
I fished a rod and centrepin with a light loaded waggler float tight to a lily bed. I fished maggot over groundbait and loosefed hemp and maggot.
I caught roach, rudd, perch and a small eel for a total of 2lb 4oz.
Thursday 17th September
Fran and I fished Combe Lake with the intention of finding some tench.
It was a bright day with an easterly breeze. We fished a couple of clear swims on the eastern side of the lake.
Fran pole-fished to a nearby lilybed using groundbait and maggot, sweetcorn or pellet on the hook.
Apart from a lot of fine bubbles around his float, at times, he didn't see a single tench. All he caught was roach and rudd with bites being few and far between.
I fished a match rod and centrepin reel close to a lilybed. I fed groundbait laced with micro-pellet and liquidised sweetcorn and fished maggot or sweetcorn on the hook. I had less bites than Fran and finished up with a few roach, rudd and a couple of small perch.
We both felt afterwards that the groundbait wasn't really drawing the fish in!
The blanket weed has come back with a vengeance again but there are some clear swims which are fishable. In the clear swims, there is a grey surface film; I don't know if it's an algae or just scum.
Appreciable rainfall and wind should take care of the blanket weed.
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