River Dee, Chester??

[Pete E]

I know that the area around the Blue bridge and a little upstream produces flounders...What the fishing like nearer Chester itself? Say just down stream of of the bridgeand weir in Handbridge?

Is it still free fishing there or is it private?

Regards,

Peter

[GAZZ3R]

It's free up to the weir and it was well known for Eels years ago.

[lil01jon]

to be honest, id stick to the blue bridge or near connahs quay, not too far from chester and if transport is an issue (as it was for me before i could drive) you can get the train from chester to shotton in 10 mins..... Ive heard of people catching flounder as far up at the weir and you will always get eels in the dark in the warmer months but i wouldn't call it prolific.

[iank]

Not fished it for many years but a bit further down by the Cop (before the sewage works) we used to get some decent bags of roach on stick float and maggots.

As an aside I once had a flounder from Worthenbury brook which must be over 20 mile upstream of the weir and completely fresh water.

[Pete E]

As an aside I once had a flounder from Worthenbury brook which must be over 20 mile upstream of the weir and completely fresh water.

As a teenager, I used to fish the Dee around Overton, and catching palm size flounder was not unusual...I don't recall where I heard or read it, but somebody else was saying they remember seeing thumb nail size flounder fry in the same area...

[iank]

Yes, doesn't surprise me Pete.

It's an interesting possibility that they could have spawned in fresh water that far up, creates a whole new branch of sea/ game fishing - fresh run fluke.

[Ken the PACMAN]

Catch them fairly often at our stretch of the Dee a little bit above Worthenbury Brook from a couple of inches up to fish over a pound and years ago when Winter Leagues were fished on the Dee some teams targeted them with crab claws amongst other things because in some stretches that was the only thing you could catch above Farndon.
They cant spawn in true freshwater because the eggs cant resist it and would become waterlogged which is the opposite of Salmon that cant spawn in salt water.

[Steve Duffy]

Catch them fairly often at our stretch of the Dee a little bit above Worthenbury Brook from a couple of inches up to fish over a pound and years ago when Winter Leagues were fished on the Dee some teams targeted them with crab claws amongst other things because in some stretches that was the only thing you could catch above Farndon.
They cant spawn in true freshwater because the eggs cant resist it and would become waterlogged which is the opposite of Salmon that cant spawn in salt water.

I remember 1 team in our Winter League using ragworm to target eels.

[Pete E]

Catch them fairly often at our stretch of the Dee a little bit above Worthenbury Brook from a couple of inches up to fish over a pound and years ago when Winter Leagues were fished on the Dee some teams targeted them with crab claws amongst other things because in some stretches that was the only thing you could catch above Farndon.
They cant spawn in true freshwater because the eggs cant resist it and would become waterlogged which is the opposite of Salmon that cant spawn in salt water.

I've always wondered just how far up stream brackish water exists in the Dee...

[Ken the PACMAN]

On bigger Spring tides the salty water runs over the top of the weir at Chester and does have an effect as far up the river as Eccleston certainly as you can be fishing one way downstream then the tide pushes the river the opposite way.
The river can be slowed by the tide as far as Farndon but there is no salt water up there.
The tidal Dee below he weir at Chester is all brackish and was a good coarse fishery years ago but the Cormorants cleaned it out,never hear of people fishing it much now but Wendy Locker at Chester Tackle Locker would know for sure.