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River Chew (Keynsham AA Waters)

Well I used to fish it as a kid before Barbel were introduced. They were introduced a few years back, but I believe haven't done brilliantly, given the Chew is a small river I guess Mr O has a hand in that. There have been reports of some coming out, towards where it meets up with the Avon. Personally I would rather fish the Weir run off's and Jack Whites at Keynsham, for Barbel.
 
No, not me I'm afraid, I'm a (South-West) country boy.

I bought a ticket for Keynsham in March for the year, not really intended to use it but it is a bit closer to home than the Severn and I couldn't be bothered trying to get a day ticket at short notice and £24 didn't seem too expensive for the year. Was looking through things and noticed it mentioned Barbel (hence my question).

The Severn still beckons though, I am on the middle next weekend and in early September before returning to Pixham mid September.

Stay safe.
 
Eddie Bray said:
No, not me I'm afraid, I'm a (South-West) country boy.

I bought a ticket for Keynsham in March for the year, not really intended to use it but it is a bit closer to home than the Severn and I couldn't be bothered trying to get a day ticket at short notice and £24 didn't seem too expensive for the year. Was looking through things and noticed it mentioned Barbel (hence my question).

The Severn still beckons though, I am on the middle next weekend and in early September before returning to Pixham mid September.

Stay safe.
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Sherston is the SW (Just) Eddie, nr Malmesbury, Wilts 👍 I was a member of Kempsey AA opposite Pixham, so far it's been a struggle there I am told, as is Pixham, but does fish better later in the year...hopefully. Chew as you will know is a great little River, as a young man I fished there virtually every Saturday with a mate, down the steep hill in Keynsham, lots of Trout Chub Dace etc, fond memories.
The lower Bristol Avon is full of surprises, and venues like Newton St Loe would be worth a look, but the weir system at Keynsham is a great venue, and was a 'free' stretch ...not sure now though.
Were abouts is thee?:rolleyes:
 
The real South West is Somerset, Dorset, Devon and The inbreds. :)

I was born in Weymouth and my family moved to Plymouth when I was 2. 59 years ago. Still here.

Been to Pixham twice so far for a weekend each time, blanked on the first and had a little 2lb ish Chub on the 2nd (so still blanked really).

Going to fish on the middle at Brook next weekend (got a BAA permit for me and my wife) and we are staying in a B&B (treating the wife so she doesn't have to clean and cook for me on the bank).

I am then fishing in Shrewsbury at an Air B&B in early September and the owner has a platform in his back garden down to the river. It was advertised on the Barbel Talk with the Barbel Society pages and for 2 nights for 2 with Brekky and fishing for £117, can't wait. If the fishing there isn't good the BAA stretch is just about 100 yards up the river :)
 
Weymouth South isn't it? Never lived outside SW or South, the nearest though is now just 2 miles from Worcester border, and a handful of miles from Pixham, its a nice comporomise.
Would have been better if your fish of choice was Mullet or Carp, surely?:p
Hopefully conditions improve for your trip, we need rain, not that the missus would agree, I know...
 
Done the Mullet had my own boat as well, done the Carp too.

No, my missus will not be pleased if it's raining.
 
Have heard of a few coming out on the free bit in keynsham park but beware its very snaggy.
 
Try these Facebook groups if you are on Facebook couple of anglers fish the Chew.

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Barbel have been stocked annually since 2009 (along with roach and bream) and as recently as early 2019 (by Keynsham AA, as far as I know with permission from but without the involvement of the EA).

I know for a fact that "a few" have come out but not reported, and not many people fish for them - most Keynsham AA members stick to their ponds and stretches of the BA, whilst most of those that do fish the Chew tend to go for the trout and grayling on the fly. Those that do target the coarse species tend to use float only (what Andy B said above about the park stretch being snaggy goes for pretty much the entire river - VERY few areas with a clear bottom), so barbel tend to be low down on the catch list.

I did hear a rumour of a double, which isn't beyond the realms of possibility given the richness of the river and how long they've potentially been in there, but equally there's every chance it's a BA fish which got in during a flood (this has happened in the past with known carp).

The current official club record is something like 4lbs (it was 6lb 2, but that was retracted from their FB page - if memory serves because it was actually a Keynsham Avon fish) which also seems to be the rough average, but I've seen pics of a 7 that came out early this season but wasn't submitted or shared about on social media (it was actually caught from a private part of the river, but within the catchment of where the stockings have been introduced, so almost certainly from one of the earliest stockings).

I would say rather than the barbel not doing too well that it's a combination of relatively early days and the river being largely untapped.
 
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Not much help but fished it as a kid many moons ago on the Keynsham AA ticket. Lovely little river a bike ride from home. Much more manicured over the years and thought about the possibility of barbel. The Chew joins the B Avon just 'down the road' in Keynsham.
Used to catch some nice roach trotting small balls of cheese and also stewed wheat.
Cheers
Bob
 
Steve Lewis said:
Barbel have been stocked annually since 2009 (along with roach and bream) and as recently as early 2019 (by Keynsham AA, as far as I know with permission from but without the involvement of the EA).

I know for a fact that "a few" have come out but not reported, and not many people fish for them - most Keynsham AA members stick to their ponds and stretches of the BA, whilst most of those that do fish the Chew tend to go for the trout and grayling on the fly. Those that do target the coarse species tend to use float only (what Andy B said above about the park stretch being snaggy goes for pretty much the entire river - VERY few areas with a clear bottom), so barbel tend to be low down on the catch list.

I did hear a rumour of a double, which isn't beyond the realms of possibility given the richness of the river and how long they've potentially been in there, but equally there's every chance it's a BA fish which got in during a flood (this has happened in the past with known carp).

The current official club record is something like 4lbs (it was 6lb 2, but that was retracted from their FB page - if memory serves because it was actually a Keynsham Avon fish) which also seems to be the rough average, but I've seen pics of a 7 that came out early this season but wasn't submitted or shared about on social media (it was actually caught from a private part of the river, but within the catchment of where the stockings have been introduced, so almost certainly from one of the earliest stockings).

I would say rather than the barbel not doing too well that it's a combination of relatively early days and the river being largely untapped.
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I like your optimism, but looking at the current state of small river barbel stocks, not confident the Chew will ever be a barbel river. Surely it would have been populated by Avon fish by now if it was to be viable?
The Chew was always a good mixed fishery with a large stock of trout, and also the occasional Grayling, not really sure it was the best idea to introduce Barbel and with all the unwelcome attention that would bring to such a delicate environment.
 
Eddie Bray said:
Done the Mullet had my own boat as well, done the Carp too.

No, my missus will not be pleased if it's raining.
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You have 'done' the Mullet? Wow anyone who feels they have achieved that must have not much left as far as fishing ambitions they are surely the most coy and difficult of all species to set a hook into. ;)
 
Neil Smart said:
You have 'done' the Mullet? Wow anyone who feels they have achieved that must have not much left as far as fishing ambitions they are surely the most coy and difficult of all species to set a hook into. ;)
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Some mullet fishing can be easier than expected if you use coarse fishing tactics of continual feeding and then put your bait in, this only works in relatively calm waters, but bread flake on top of continually feeding small lightly rolled bread balls works well, as does feeding with white maggots with a maggot on the hook. I only caught thick lippet mullet to just over 8lb but caught many smaller ones. As for Carp, my biggest was just over 28lb, not exceptionally large but large enough for me.

I'm not pretending to be a great angler though, just happy to use different tactics to suit.

The reason Mullet are deemed hard to catch is that they are, when using even light Sea Angling tactics, you need to go much lighter than that and thus using much lighter line, small hooks and letting the bait drop slowly amongst your feed will increase your catches.
 
Eddie Bray said:
Some mullet fishing can be easier than expected if you use coarse fishing tactics of continual feeding and then put your bait in, this only works in relatively calm waters, but bread flake on top of continually feeding small lightly rolled bread balls works well, as does feeding with white maggots with a maggot on the hook. I only caught thick lippet mullet to just over 8lb but caught many smaller ones. As for Carp, my biggest was just over 28lb, not exceptionally large but large enough for me.

I'm not pretending to be a great angler though, just happy to use different tactics to suit.

The reason Mullet are deemed hard to catch is that they are, when using even light Sea Angling tactics, you need to go much lighter than that and thus using much lighter line, small hooks and letting the bait drop slowly amongst your feed will increase your catches.
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Used to fish for mullet with coarse float rod etc Torbay from the rocks, and possibly the most frustrating whilst being enjoyable all at the same time. Even in the Harbours they would be so finicky. Never used maggots though..mainly bread.

Carp? Not really into that, but I am sure a 28lb fish is good fun, the only Carp fishing I have done with any enjoyment is ''off the top'' , again testing.

I was posted to Bahrain (ex RAF) a few years (decades) back, and as a lad the initial novelty heat and sun soon wore off, even getting wasted every night in the Mess on Tiger and Whisky didn't help....what 'saved' me was every Sunday I hopped on a Arab Dhow with a few other lads and we fished the Gulf with big old glass rods and huge multiplyers, we 'd haul up anything that swam from massive Groupers to Shark and Rays, it was Angling heaven, even on the way out to the marks we caught big King Mackerel that went straight into the pot for the Arab crew.

I am content now, and a lot older in catching the very rare big old barbel, and whatever else I can tempt, it's what we do isn't it?

Good luck Eddie, and enjoy your trip.
 
Neil Smart said:
Surely it would have been populated by Avon fish by now if it was to be viable?
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Not necessarily Neil - they'd first have to swim up that long channel where the Chew joins the BA (and, as I'm sure you know, it's just basically a concrete funnel similar to the flood relief channels in LA, and which most of the year is only a few inches deep), and then they'd have to get up and over that weir, which I've only known to be flooded enough a few times to make that possible in the last couple of decades. That being the case, I reckon only a very small handful of BA fish ever got into the Chew as opportunities have been very few and far between.

The reason I'm optimistic is because of how well grayling have done in the river, the fact that eels never went away (like they did in the BA and a lot of other rivers around the country), and how well the river is managed generally by Keynsham AA (their stretches of it, at least).

Sure, there may be an element of rose tinted vision and a dose of blind hope, but it's at least based on reasonable evidence (plus the fact I know that fish ARE coming out, just not being reported or shared on social media).
 
Steve Lewis said:
Not necessarily Neil - they'd first have to swim up that long channel where the Chew joins the BA (and, as I'm sure you know, it's just basically a concrete funnel similar to the flood relief channels in LA, and which most of the year is only a few inches deep), and then they'd have to get up and over that weir, which I've only known to be flooded enough a few times to make that possible in the last couple of decades. That being the case, I reckon only a very small handful of BA fish ever got into the Chew as opportunities have been very few and far between.

The reason I'm optimistic is because of how well grayling have done in the river, the fact that eels never went away (like they did in the BA and a lot of other rivers around the country), and how well the river is managed generally by Keynsham AA (their stretches of it, at least).

Sure, there may be an element of rose tinted vision and a dose of blind hope, but it's at least based on reasonable evidence (plus the fact I know that fish ARE coming out, just not being reported or shared on social media).
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My point I suppose was, that in the event that Barbel did populate the Chew, what damage would that cause to this little River, in that it is so diverse, and can you imagine hoardes of Barbel anglers descending? I can't recall the concrete channel Steve, perhaps it's a fairly new addition, like the 70's? :D . But Barbel being the great pioneers would find such a hurdle not beyond them, would you think?
What I really don't get, is the vast amount of river below Keynsham seemingly not producing Barbel? Perhaps any fish are kept quiet, but they surely have to be there, probably as far down as St Anne's, where I was born.....again probably just fanciful thinking but I would love it if someone could confirm they are there.
Back to the Chew...I used to fish the middle reached, around Pensford, and Publow, the Trout, mostly Brownies were plentiful, but not any Grayling, the only Grayling I caught was in Keynsham Park, that was a bit of a free for all, and it was a wonder we ever got out of there alive...as Bob will confirm.:)
 
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