Angling in Leeds

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Sat 14 Apr, 2012 4:20 pm

Tyke wrote: I started in the late 50's at Middleton Quarry with a bit of string and a worm for stickle backs. I used to help our kid(older) when fishing in Miggy Park Lake in the 60's.When I worked in Stourton,the lake on Valley Park Rd was and I believe,still is.There's all sorts in there....in recent times however,some rather greedy herons have taken advantage.Boy,can they eat !There was also a good spot by the old Copper Works off Ponty Rd.

stutterdog · Post by **stutterdog** » Sat 14 Apr, 2012 7:04 pm

book wrote: There used to be fly fishing behind the pub in Rawdon, Billing Dam, a small fly fishery. I have just spotted a newish fly fishing venue in Swillington. Anyone know of any more fly fishing venues in Leeds? Swinsty and Fewston resavoirs are good places for fly-fishing.In mid-summer when the days are longer they do an evening tkt from 4pm 'til dusk.I can't really afford to go these days as it's got too expensive,what with petrol and gas prices going up! I'm waiting to win the Premium Bonds prize!

book · Post by **book** » Sat 14 Apr, 2012 8:52 pm

Thanks stutter dog, I used to go to Swinsty and Fewston but as you say it's very expensive now, the other problem with those two waters is that the machines only take pound coins and the last time I was there it was about 14 pounds for the day. I'm going to look at the Swillington trout lake to see what he prices are like and to see if it will take a good cast

Tyke · Post by **Tyke** » Sat 14 Apr, 2012 10:21 pm

book wrote: There used to be fly fishing behind the pub in Rawdon, Billing Dam, a small fly fishery. I have just spotted a newish fly fishing venue in Swillington. Anyone know of any more fly fishing venues in Leeds? There is a fly fishing lake next to the Leeds Angling Club lake at Kippax, sorry I cant remember the name but there are details on their site.

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Mon 16 Apr, 2012 5:49 pm

There are lakes at back o' None Go Bye Farm up by the Airport.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 16 Apr, 2012 8:59 pm

Talking of fish I've come across this mention on page 217 of John Mayhall's 'Annals of Yorkshire' Vol III for September 26 1868:-"Mr. T. Leatham, of Waterloo Road, Hunslet, whilst walking on the banks of the river Aire, near the Suspension Bridge, Accomodation Road, saw an eel in the water, which he captured . It measured 3ft. 6in. long, was 9in in circumference, and weighed 5lb. 6oz."I wonder if eels are caught around there now and if so would one that size and weight be considered a big one?

Johnny39 · Post by **Johnny39** » Mon 16 Apr, 2012 10:40 pm

Leodian wrote: Talking of fish I've come across this mention on page 217 of John Mayhall's 'Annals of Yorkshire' Vol III for September 26 1868:-"Mr. T. Leatham, of Waterloo Road, Hunslet, whilst walking on the banks of the river Aire, near the Suspension Bridge, Accomodation Road, saw an eel in the water, which he captured . It measured 3ft. 6in. long, was 9in in circumference, and weighed 5lb. 6oz."I wonder if eels are caught around there now and if so would one that size and weight be considered a big one? From what bit I know about fishing these days, eels are becoming very rare indeed. I watched a TV programme in the last twelve months, may have been Countryfile, where they went out with a professional eel catcher in Norfolk. They caught very few eels and he was saying they, the eels. were becoming fewer and fewer and that making a living nowadays was nigh on impossible.

book · Post by **book** » Mon 16 Apr, 2012 10:55 pm

I'd say a 3.5 foot eel that weight is big by any standard. They may be big around Leeds because we don't usually eat them up here. Other fresh water fish and eels are commonly eaten in other parts of the Country. We eat trout in yorks but I know that eels and pike and carp are eaten down south. Eels are the curse of the fresh water fisherman or woman for that matter, trying to take a hook out of them and handle them is nearly impossible. There was always a lot of eels in the Wharfe around Pool. As for the none go bye lake, I don't thinks it's a fly fishery.

Leodian · Post by **Leodian** » Mon 16 Apr, 2012 11:26 pm

As a child in the early to mid 1950s my mum used to take me fishing. One common place was the River Wharfe at Tadcaster (such as the Mucky Hole). I still recall paddling in the river (when the flow was light enough) under the bridge at Tadcaster and turning stones over to try to catch by hand the then commonly seen eels. Great fun for a kid.

stutterdog · Post by **stutterdog** » Tue 17 Apr, 2012 12:12 am

Leodian wrote: As a child in the early to mid 1950s my mum used to take me fishing. One common place was the River Wharfe at Tadcaster (such as the Mucky Hole). I still recall paddling in the river (when the flow was light enough) under the bridge at Tadcaster and turning stones over to try to catch by hand the then commonly seen eels. Great fun for a kid. I once caught an eel about 3ft long on the Shannon in Ireland.As an experiment I walked a hundred yards back from the river with the eel and let it go in the meadow. It wriggled it's way back into the river in 2 mins! Amazing!