The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

In my role as LVPA volunteer conservation warden at Fishers Green, I see a lot of anglers there and as a fellow piscator, I always ask them how's it going. Most confirm that the days of many chub and barbel seem to be long passed, maybe due to cormorants, mink (which we do our best to trap), and signal crayfish, but what does come out is on the larger side, probably having a diet of crayfish. I have seen large chub and carp around where the relief channel merges with the river by the main car park, but a conversation last week with a guy indicated that he had had some trout out (on spam, not exactly a purist trout bait!), which he thought might have escaped from a trout farm further up the river. This was news to me, although if you look at the river especially in the summer, it indeed looks like a trout river, with oxygenated water, gravel runs and streamer weeds. Might pay to take a fly rod down there - you would avoid the crayfish, and the chance of a chub or a trout on the fly is appealing. I may well have a go when it gets a bit warmer

Hello Corneybury, although the river where I live at Stanstead Abbotts, bears no resemblance to Fishers Green, I regularly catch trout when using maggot or worm, also while spinning. I have been told that some years ago trout got into the river when the "Amwell Magna" trout fishery flooded. They have obviously bred successfully!

It seems both the Lee Navigation and the old Lea are a lot cleaner than when I was a kid! Although maybe with not such a large head or variety of fish (for reasons put forward in my earlier post)

Hi, I regularly fish the upper lea & there has been quite a few brown trout caught upto 2 1/2lbs this season but I have been told that they have always been there, interesting!

The trout record for Fishers Green in the CEMEX Handbook for 2009 was 5lb 4oz - didn't say whether Brown or Rainbow though!

Apparently , a few grayling have shown further up this year also. I believe theyr'e from a previous stocking. At the end of the day the Lee [upper] is still one of our chalkstreams ,and I love it. Not that you'd believe it anywhere downstream of Waltham Abbey.
Regards Mark

Took my three boys and dog for a post Xmas mammoth walk around fishers green and beyond on Friday . Up around the old river , back down the relief channel and down the waltham abbey ... Quite a few anglers out .... Everyone of them was a serious angler armed with top notch kit . No one had had a fish ! All were seasoned lea anglers .

Seems that it's a one quality fish if your lucky and talented ...

No medium bream or roach .

Out my zone really ( pleasure angler etc )

Never mind ... Beautiful place and maybe if and when I get more time .