Montour Run

On a river, current does the work of finding fish for you: it carries food to a handful of places, and the fish sit there, out of the main push. Read the surface. Where fast water meets slow, a seam forms, and barbel, chub and asp hold along it. The inside of a bend is shallow and sandy; the outside is deep and holds the big fish under the undercut bank. Below bridge pillars, groynes and fallen trees the flow leaves a calm pocket that carp and catfish use as a rest stop. Bream and roach prefer the slow, deep stretches, while pike ambush from the still water behind obstacles. Water level changes everything: rising and coloured, the fish move to the edges; falling and clearing, they drift back to the main channel.

Feeder fishing is the classic approach — a heavy feeder holding bottom on a seam or a slack, with groundbait laid down in a line that drifts downstream to draw fish. Ledgering with big baits close to snags targets barbel, catfish and carp. Float fishing along slow inside bends and glides, trotting the bait through, picks up roach, chub and bream. Spinning with shads and jigs bounced along the bottom of the deep runs takes zander, while surface and shallow lures work the seams for asp and perch. Fly fishing with a streamer covers chub and asp on the riffles.

Spring floods spread the fish across the margins and flooded meadows; as the water settles, the shoals return to the main runs. Early summer after the spawning close is the first real chance at barbel and bream. Summer low water concentrates fish in the deep bends and under shade — fish early and late. Autumn is peak time for zander and catfish, with the first cold rains triggering strong feeding. Winter fishing is slow and confined to the deepest, quietest pools.

Cast a bare lead upstream of the spot you want and let it roll — the place where it stops rolling and settles is exactly where the fish rest, so fish there.