mepps

Fished there for pike a few years back, found a few largemouth too - we were using Mepps black furys mostly. Make sure you brink some weedless lures, it was VERY weedy on my last visit.

nicely done! Good to see some reports from the islands again!

incredible fish! well done!

I have caught alot of big pike with no leaders and 50lb PowerPro - but I've made the switch to flurocarbon and am VERY happy I did! I used 80lb fluro this spring with no trouble at all - just some little scrathces on teh fluro - the pike in the profile pic was caught on 80lb fluro

I used to fish up near the Oxford Bridge, and caught LOTS of rockbass and smallies - its only been since the water levels have dropped so much that I have tryed new areas. This particualr spot has been great each time. I also found traces that other carp fishermen have been int eh same spot!

ebay has the lowest prices I have seen.

Beauty fish!

That was just for you English I spent alot of time fishing the Thames last year, catching only smallmouth bass and rockbass. This yeah, despite puttign in less time, the river has yielded several new species!

fantastic photos!

Its blistering hot here in London today, but I decided to head down to the river hoping it was cooler near the water - it wasn't. I'm glad I headed down today though, the fishing was great. I saw fish in the shallows as soon as I got to the river. I had my trusty Mepps Aglia #4 tied on (the same one that caught a white bass and walleye last week) and started coving the faster moving water, working my way to the slower deeper water under the Queens Avenue bridge. I was approaching my usual carp spot and decided to make a cast to the area I usually cover with corn. Within a few cranks of the reel something hit the lure hard. I knew it was not a bass, and it was most definitely not a walleye. Five seconds later, a nice big pike was flying through the air. Being the first river pike I have ever caught, I wasn't sure what type of fight to expect and I wasn't going to be disappointed. The fish thrashed and jumped several times thought the fight, a vast difference to the bull dogging cold water pike of Little Vermillion. I got her to shore as quickly as I could on my light gear, and quickly snapped a photo and got her back in the water. After several more casts with no excitement, I decided it was time to catch some carp. I through a couple handfuls of corn in the water and baited my hook and casted it out about ten feet and sat back from the edge of the water. After about five minutes, I heard some heavy feet stomping down the opposite shore, and looked up to see a police officer heading down the water with a large German shepard. He looked a aroudn a while, and then called in my description over his walkie talkie. For a moment I thought I had done something wrong, but HQ radioed back that I wasn't the guy they were looking for. Just then my reel started to scream and a nice size carp was running up and down the current. By the time I got the fish in, the officer was gone, but I could hear several sirens in the background. I struggled to snap a photo with the fat little carp, but finally got a photo after about four attempts. She swam away stong, and I decided to pack it in for the day. As I headed back I ran into some more policemen who approached me and asked me a few questions. They then proceeded to put together an inflatable boat. I wanted to tell them they would be better off just walking though the water, since a boat wasn't going to make it very far (the water VERY shallow where they were planning to launch (the ducks and geese were standing in the area) Hopefully they were looking for a criminal and not a body...

Great job!

I fish the Themes every change i get, stil ahvent seen any BIG fish, but there pleny of carp and smallmouth. Caught walleye, catfish and a white bass last couple time I was out. I fish around the Queens Ave bridge near Harris Park.

I like them, they look good, they cast great, they move through the water nicely - but the ones I ahve baught have not been the best quality. I cant remember if I ahve ever caugth a fish on one, but I have seen Bill catch plenty of muskies with them!

I always start shallow. Using spinnerbaits is a great way to cover water quickly. Look for weedbeds, and fish right over top of them if you can, otherwise fish along side them. Dont be afrad to fish super shallow, but be prepared to move deep if you dont move any fish. Trolling spoons and heavy spinners can be very effective.

Congrats brother!

What, Mepps aglia isnt number 1?! Great list though!

I have seen only a handful of smallies, all of them BIG - just got find the right place at the right time

nicely done!

Thanks Headhunter! I spent alot of time fishign last summer and only caught smallies and rockbass - I know there are lot of other species, but this if the first time I have een them on the end of my line! We did see a small gar swimming around the other day too - no interest in the bait I was usign at the time.

beautiful photos!

At least you saw some action - I used to only use leaders with specific lures when pike fishing, but I use them all teh time now - just avoid what happened to you!

Well done!!!

Gillian and I hdead down to fish for an hour just before sunset. I have been fishing for carp a lot recently, but didnt have any corn to fish with this time. We used some Berkly Carp bait I had but the carp just swam by and ignored out bait. With the river being so low you can see them very easily. After 40 minutes of not even so much as a nudge, I threw on a #4 Mepps aglia and within 3 cast I had a hit. I knew it was a bass right away, but as it came to the surface it was not dark like all the smallmouth I usually catch - I figured it was a largie, but as it got close it noticed it was white - a white bass! The first I have ever caught in fact - It wasnt big (maybe 1lb) but it was a great surprise. Gillian made a few cast with the same lure and BAM - another fish within 5 minutes, this time an even bigger surprise, a walleye! Her first ever walleye, 1-2lb range. I had my camera with me, but my 5 year old G5 battery make a better paperweight then a battery. It didnt even have enough juice to take one picture, despite spending the night on the cahrder 24 hours ealier. We'll be back at it again later this week with Gillian's camera instead. Anyone else ever catch a walleye in this area? I know they are in the river, but never expected to see one this close to the city. This year we have caught quite a few species in the Thames - catfish, carp, walleye, rockbass, white bass, smallmouth and walleye - not to shabby for city fishing Heres a pic from the area I have been fishing recently - right under the Queens Ave bridge.

great photos!

why does it suck?