The Goosey
The Goosey
The Goosey is accessed down a hill from the main road. You are welcomed by an intimate little weir pool which contains a number of species; silvers, perch, pike and more. From this bridge, you head upstream to a long stretch of backwater, again continuing a number of species to go for. The stretch is a real treat and you really don’t know what you are going to get.
Some very big predators come from here, year in, year out.
The Goosey
The first few swims and stretch of the Goosey is known as The Pensioners. Plenty of parking can be found here and it is only yards from the river (hence the name). There are large numbers of smaller fish, silvers such as roach, Rudd, bleak etc. It can be fantastic for non stop action on maggots and pinkies. As you can imagine, due to the amount of small fish, pike can be be found lurking nearby, especially under the bridge and in the pool, along with the perch.
The main river then goes from opposite the weir, of which it then continues, separating Goosey island from the neighbouring Emberton Park. Some very big predators come from here, year in, year out.
The Goosey itself runs upstream and into the fields. It is fenced off so you will see it clearly. The margins are littered with features. Overhanging trees, bushes and branches provide lots of sanctuary to all types of fish, particularly the perch of which some big ones thrive.
There are so many swims to try at The Goosey so make sure you travel light too. By travelling with a light amount of tackle, you can keep on the move because one swim may be very good one day, but the fish may have moved the next. There is no such thing as a one swim wonder at The Goosey!
Tactics
The roach and silvers respond to standard light, float tactics along with pinkies, maggots and squats. If you are after the larger perch of the river then try fishing lobworms down the edge, comprising a maggot feeder. The perch love to patrol the margins and live in the nearby cover to ambush silver fish.
Time
The best times to fish this stretch are dawn and dusk, with the latter being an amazing time. In winter, as 3pm approaches be sure to be ready because bites seem to arise as if you’d flicked a switch. It is by far the best time so if you can, try to stick it out.
Olney & Clifton Rules
James
Jimmy began his angling on the river Ouse with his father fishing for roach. His passion grew quickly and soon developed a love for big-fish across the globe!