Langport & District Angling Association
Fishing News
River Parrett
River levels
The Fishing Info website appears to have been taken down by the Angling Trust and replaced with something inferior.
I've since found a very good alternative called riverlevels.uk.
The list of Somerset river level monitoring stations can be found with the following link:-
https://riverlevels.uk/levels/somerset#.X9NUk-a2Jpg
I find the 'Monks Lease Wq' at Combe and the 'Oath' at Oath Lock locations give meaningful levels for the river. Scrolling down a page with show a chart of the variation in river level for the past week.
I hope this site is of some use to you.
River Cams
The river cam at the head of the River Sowey at Combe is also very useful to see the level of the River Parrett and if its flooding over the Aller Moor spillway into the Sowey.
The cam at Beasley's Spillway which I think is further downstream also shows the River Parrett level.
The link for the cams is:-
Monks Leaze and the Parrett Spillways (eawessexnorthwebcams.org.uk)
Thursday 16th June
Opening Day! It was going to be hot but we had to fish the river!
Fran and I chose to fish at the footbridge at Oath.
The grass in the field had been cut as well as the grass and nettles along the bank; we didn't have to do any clearing, which saved time.
I fished in the first swim above the footbridge and Fran fished just below it.
There was some weed on the bottom which meant you had to fish about 18 inches up to stop the float dragging under too much. Depth must have been about 15 feet.
Fran started on a 6 metre whip but changed to a 7 metre whip later. He loosefed hemp and maggot but struggled for bites in the first few hours. Then he started catching on maggot and even caught on hemp. He caught roach and skimmers for a total of 3lb 4oz.
I fished a 7 metre whip with a 2 gram pencil float rig. There was some flow of the water. I fished maggot or caster on the hook over loosefed hemp. I started catching, first cast, and caught a few roach, but mainly skimmers and chub for a total weight of 6lb 12oz.
Sunday 30th October
Harry Stott caught this very nice perch at Black Bridge. It wasn't weighed, unfortunately.
Monday 5th December
Wayne Mitchell caught this 3lb 9oz perch from the River Parrett on float-fished lobworm.
Wednesday 8th February 2023
Out on the River Parrett, once more, after all the floods!!
I fished a short session into the afternoon, opposite the bushes just above the footbridge at Oath.
There had been a frost that morning but with clear skies and bright sunshine, the day was warming up. As the banks thawed from the frost, the sediment left on the banks became a bit slippery.
The water was down to its lowest level, 'winter level', there was some colour and a gentle steady flow; ideal for trotting a stick float!
I started off setting up a long rod, centrepin and a wire-stemmed stick float. I fed a few bait droppers of pinkies and trotted two pinkies on the hook over the top. I ran the float through at the speed of the flow and then tried slowing it down and eventually held it back hard at intervals but the fish obviously didn't want to chase the bait in the cold water.
After over an hour of no bites, I put the float rod away and set up a light maggot feeder on an Avon quivertip rod.
I fished pinkies in the feeder and a couple of pinkies on the hook. I then caught six nice roach and a small chub.
Tuesday 14th February
Fished the same swim as last week, just above the footbridge at Oath.
It was a warm sunny day with the air temperature at around 14°C.
Fish were topping around the bushes on the opposite bank.
The water was still down at winter level and some of the colour had dropped out; I could see a bit further down into the water.
The bank had dried out a bit and was no longer sticky.
My intention was to start on the maggot feeder and get a few feederfuls of pinkies on the riverbed and then run a stick float over the top, now and then, to see if the fish were taking a moving bait this week. So I set up a long rod, centrepin reel and stick float first, to put on the rod rest for later.
But once set up, I couldn't resist putting a couple of pinkies on the hook and just trying a run through. And the float buried and I had a nice roach. So I carried on with the stick float and the feeder rod never came out of the bag all day.
Amazingly, I never fed any loosefeed or groundbait, at all. There must have been a lot of fish in front of me and with the warmer weather, they were on the feed!
I caught roach, a few chub, a few bleak and a number of perch.
I only fished for three hours from midday on and I ended up with 5lb 9oz.
Tuesday 21st February
I fished a swim 75 yards upstream from the footbridge at Oath, opposite a large bush on the opposite bank.
The river was still down at its lowest and there was a bit more flow than last week.
The day was overcast with a cold southerly breeze blowing in my face.
The water still had some colour but you could see about a foot down.
I started off trotting a stick float with light loosefeeding but after an hour I still hadn't had a bite. Air temperature was lower than last week so probably the water was colder as well and the fish didn't want to chase the bait.
I set up the feeder rod with a 10 gram black cap feeder and an 18 inch hooklength with a 16 hook.
With a feeder full of pinkies and pinkie casters (I was using up the bait I'd been fishing with over the last two weeks) and three pinkies on the hook, I cast over towards the bush opposite where I'd seen fish topping. Within a couple of minutes the tip was bouncing and I landed my first fish, a small roach. During the next couple of hours, I got plenty of bites but missed quite a few; roach bites on the feeder are never the easiest to connect with!
I finished up with ten roach and a couple of skimmers.
If you should fish this stretch of the river, keep your eyes open for a black mink the size of a domestic cat which was running along the opposite bank in the afternoon!
February
Liam Clipson caught this very nice Common Carp weighing 18lb 11oz.
Also in the same session, Liam caught this magnificent Ghostie Carp weighing 22lb 5oz.
Combe Lake
Combe Lake is now open to fish again
KEEPNETS
During extremely hot weather spells resulting in low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, please leave your keepnet at home and just carefully return the fish to the water as soon as you've unhooked them.
SHUTTING & 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.
CLUB RULES
You are not allowed to fish with boilies at Combe Lake. Please read the Special Rules For Combe Lake in the Season Ticket and make sure you comply with all of them. If you're found breaking any of the rules, you will be asked to leave. The rules are there to protect the fish and the lake.
LITTER
A lot of litter in the form of tins, bottles and cans was found when the undergrowth was cleared during the winter maintenance.
Don't throw litter into the undergrowth; it will be found! Put any litter back in your bag and take it home with you for disposal. It keeps the lake clean and tidy.
EMAIL ME
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.
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.
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 open while you drive in or out. The wire loop can be bent tighter around the rail of the gate if required.
Saturday 18th March
Haydn Rees caught this lovely mirror carp weighing 22lb 8oz.
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