Trip #143 – New Venue Day – River Yeo, Ilchester
Today I would be fishing a new stretch of river, a stretch I’d only see in some online videos, but this time it was finally mine to explore. My new season ticket promised a range of coarse fish and resident predators, and I was itching to see what it held. With a mobile approach in mind, especially for surface-feeding chub, I packed two setups to cover all bases:

- 1 x 11ft Feeder rod, 12lb braid, 6lb hooklink, size 10 Drennan super specialist hook.
- 1 x 7ft light 3-15g spinning rod – 10lb (? I think) braid and a 4lb fluorocarbon hooklink
It was 8:00 AM and already 24 degrees with blazing sunshine—far from ideal conditions, but fish don’t catch themselves. I headed from the Limington Street car park towards the ‘Great Yard’ field. No cows today, a great start – I bloody hate cows! I quickly found a shaded spot along the riverbank, nestled under a tree down a steep bank. The river itself was low and exceptionally clear.
I attached a small Salmo “Lil Bug” to my fluorocarbon leader and made a few tentative casts. The plan for spinning was to have roughly a dozen casts before either trying the ledger or moving on. It was clear from using my spinning outfit that the fish were not in a surface feeding mood.
I hooked a lobworm and under-arm cast it towards the tree opposite. It wasn’t long before I was into a perch. As I reeled it in, I was amazed to see an enormous perch shadowing the one I was retrieving! Landing it caused quite a commotion, so I decided to move spots.

I clambered back up the banking and walked about 30 metres further down the stretch. I spotted roach moving between the reeds and chub near the opposite bank. Despite offering spinners and worms, the chub didn’t oblige, and after 10 fruitless minutes, I moved another 50 metres.

The heat was becoming oppressive, and I frequently saw chub holding stubbornly in the upper layers. Despite my persistent efforts—trying everything for the best part of half an hour—these fish showed zero interest in anything I offered. It was hugely frustrating. I eventually gave up this folly and moved down the bank yet again.

Showing no interest in my surface lures at all. I made the choice then to switch to worm. A little way down the bank I found a slow moving pool, and cast out my ledgered lob worm and began the wait. There are so many small fish in the river they can some time plagued a small bait. Lobworms are so large it seems to perturb the smaller fish. The rod tip tapped, once, twice followed by a moment of quiet… then the tip ripped down towards to water.

Perch are such ragged fighters, and it was clear this was another ‘sergeant’. I was incredibly thankful for my 3m landing net handle as I netted the fish and carefully brought it up for inspection. Not huge by this river’s standards, but still a beautifully patterned fish.

After returning that fish, I figured I might have spooked the swim, so I moved further down the bank. I’d never been this far before and was unsure how to cross the A303 (I later learned there’s an underpass). The sun was relentless, and I was genuinely starting to feel burnt, so I decided to call it a day and head back to the car. It wasn’t a banner day, but considering the awful conditions, I was genuinely pleased to avoid a blank.
Often when I find myself on the banks of these rivers and see the overgrown banks I often think “I should rake this swim out”, or “I should clear this patch” but I never do. Maybe it’s a thought for next time.
As a rating I would say,
Accessibility – * – It’s relatively easy to see the river, but getting down the the waters edge, can often by hard, and at times a bit sketchy. But it’s not for those unsteady on their feet.
Fishability – **** – Looks fishy, and indeed the are a lot of fish in this stretch, but the are tricky ones to catch.
Disabled Access – * – This isn’t a disabled friendly venue in the slightest.
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