Tag Archives: thames fishing

News

Weather fails to dampen spirits and this year’s Tidefest

Despite a dire forecast nobody let the wind and rain dampen their spirits at this year’s Tidefest on Sunday. All the activities went ahead as planned at Kew Bridge, Barnes and Chiswick including kayaking, paddleboarding, fishing, canoeing, river dipping and foreshore history walks.

Now in its 11th year Thames Tidefest is an celebration of the river whose future was in doubt until new sponsors stepped forward in the shape of the Port of London Authority (PLA). Tidefest began in 2014 as a coalition of volunteers from many river related organisations with the aim of increasing public awareness and appreciation London’s river as an environmental and recreational resource. It grew out of the desire to see a cleaner Thames with the successful Thames Tunnel Now campaign in favour of what is now the Thames Tideway Tunnel, which opened earlier this year. 

Special guests included Amy Croft (Mayor of Hounslow), Ruth Cadbury MP, Andy Slaughter MP and Cllr Gabriella Giles. This year’s event also showcased the In the Drink campaign, supported by the PLA, which aims to tackle scourge of plastic pollution in the Thames. 

The Tidefest Angling Championship run by the Angling Trust is London’s biggest angling competition and the catches give a good indication of the health of the river. With the Thames Tunnel now in operation intercepting sewage discharges from over 30 outfall points along the Tideway all eyes were on what the anglers could catch this year. The river fished extremely well with big catches of prime roach recorded throughout the match length in addition to dace, chub, bream, barbel, carp and even a couple of sea trout!

Lots of smaller species were collected in the nets including elvers, bass, mullet and flounder. 

Hammersmith and Chiswick MP Andy Slaughter said:

“ It was great to see so many people enjoying what our local stretch of the River Thames has to offer and being able to do so safely. A lot of effort has gone into cleaning it up and reducing pollution and from what I could see of the fish being caught by the anglers and collected in the river dipping trays, we have an improving wildlife corridor running through the heart of London. It was another great day out with Tidefest and I’m extremely grateful to the PLA for coming in to support this long standing and worthwhile event.”

Brentford and Isleworth MP Ruth Cadbury added:

‘It was good to see In The Drink at Tidefest this year. I’m fully behind the campaign to replace single use plastic cups with reusable alternatives in an effort to reduce pollution and litter in our river. This is something that the PLA also strongly supports and it’s great to have them on board. However, I think we need to consider using a cup deposit system as there are still too many reusables not being returned and clogging up street bins and pavements and then finding their way into the river.”  

Emmeline Endresen, Impact and Partnerships Officer, Port of London Authority added:

“Tidefest is a wonderful local event that brings people together to celebrate the Thames and the unique role it plays in our community. As the organisation responsible for looking after the tidal river, the Port of London Authority is pleased to support Tidefest, which encourages people to explore, enjoy, and appreciate the river right on their doorstep.”

Event details and location

Come Along and Enjoy London’s River Festival

With Kayaking, Canoeing, Paddleboarding, History walks, River dipping and Fishing, Thames Tidefest 2025 will be a cracker !

All the activities are subsidised or free to ensure a day at the festival is in reach for every visitor or just come along and watch the events unfold and enjoy beautiful a day at beautiful Strand On The Green

September 14th 2025 from 11.00am – 4.00pm

The festival takes place along Strand On The Green near Kew Bridge Buses such as the 65, 110, 237, 267, or N65 stop at or near Kew Bridge.

he closest tube station to Kew Bridge is Chiswick Park, which is on the District line. From Kew Bridge, it’s a 21-24 minute walk to Chiswick Park station

News

Mike Smith RIP

We are sad to report the recent death of Mike Smith, one of the early Tidefest angling regulars. Mike won the coveted Tidefest Angling Championship in 2017 with a fine net of bream and used to help with the competition organisation.

His son Clive says:

“My father Mike Smith sadly passed away on the 19th of September after a long illness. He had been fishing since he was a boy and always loved the Thames, we fished regularly at Kingston and Molesey. He competed in Tidefest on many occasions and even managed to win it once. He will be sorely missed by all of his friends at the Uxbridge Rovers and his family as well.”

Mike’s friend and colleague from Uxbridge Rovers Angling Club, Bob Lane, added his own tribute saying:

“We at URACS are still in shock following the passing of our former Match Captain Mike Smith. Mike joined URACS in the 80’s accompanied by his son Clive, they regularly attended the Club matches and soon became an integral part of the Match Group.
Mike was a very competitive all round angler and figured regularly in our club Championship Competition, he was also a past Tidefest Winner held at Kew.



Mike always wanted everybody to have a good peg on our matches, so he undertook the role of Match Captain, a role which he did successfully, whilst the match participants were enjoying their Breakfast, he would be walking the match Venue length making sure we all had a reasonable looking peg.

On behalf of all the membership of URACS as past Chairman and now President it was a total privilege to have Mike as a close angling friend and colleague,

On a personal note I had the pleasure of spending many holidays with Mike on his beloved River Ebro, where became a well respected guide in the Amposta Area, due to his knowledge of the area  I was able to land my biggest Catfish of 149lbs,

The void in our lives and URACS Match Group is immeasurable following Mike’s passing, firstly he was nice person, a talented angler, a great club person, a true Gentlemen and friend.

Thank you for so many wonderful memories Mike, get the venues ready  for when we meet up again in the great unknown

R.I. P. Mike”

Bob Lane President URACS

What's On

Our Amazing Angling Competition

Angling Competition

Some of the top anglers in the south will be competing for the annual Tidefest Trophy at Strand on the Green, Chiswick and Barnes.

Even if you don’t want to fish, why not come down and watch.. there are some amazing fish to be caught from the Thames.

Tickets are £20 and available through theAngling Trust at –  https://anglingtrust.net/competitions/tidefest-sunday-14th-september-2025/

Fishing is from 10.30am to 3.30pm and spectators are welcome for free.

News

Tidefest Angling Championship Results

For the second year running quality roach rather than bream provided the winning catches in the annual 40 peg contest fished on the tidal Thames at Kew, Chiswick and Barnes.

The winner was Tony Rice with a float caught mixed bag of 14lbs from Barnes netting him a cool £400. The Chiswick zone was won by last years champion Mark Brush with 12lbs of roach including a magnificent specimen of 2.04. The big bream shoals failed to show at Kew resulting in much lower than usual weights although a couple of surprise sea trout were landed.

Zones

Kew A – Martin Smith 6.08

Kew B – Tom Bolton 5.00

Chiswick – C – Mark Brush 12.00

Barnes – D – Tony Rice 14.00

Other activities included kayaking, paddle boarding, river dipping and Seine netting which turned up big numbers of small bass as well flounders and coarse fish.

The match was organised by the Angling Trust and Tidefest is sponsored by Thames Water

Programme

Tidefest Activities Tickets Go On Sale !

The summer is here and it won’t be long before Thames Tidefest is underway once again on September 4th. Book Your tickets NOW before they are all snapped up !

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Thames Tidefest

Paddle Sports

You could try your hand at Kayaking, Canoeing, Sea Kayaking or Stand-Up Paddleboarding..just head over to our booking page for details HERE

Guided Walks & Adventures

From archaeology and history to secret islands and rock legends our selection of guided walks and adventures will fascinate and thrill get your tickets booked NOW on our booking page HERE

River Cruises

Everyone loves a boat trip and our have amazing low prices and brilliant guides and historic boats ! Book NOW on the booking page HERE

FREE events and activities

Some of our activities don’t need to be booked and are absolutely free ! Find out more HERE

2021 Update

Thames Fishing History Book signing

Dr David Solomon will be signing copies of his new book A History of Fish and Fisheries of the River Thames at Thames Tidefest on September 12th. You can come and meet the author and not only will he personally sign your copy of the book, but David is giving a £5 discount to every purchase made at the event. So come along to Strand On The Green on September 12th to get your copy and have a chat with the author.

The book itself describes the fascinating history of fish in the Thames, and the development of fisheries to catch them both for food and sport. It is lavishly illustrated with old engravings, maps and photographs, and contains a wealth of anecdotes and stories that will delight the angler, natural historian, historian and fishery professional alike. The author is both a lifelong angler and a fishery scientist, and he draws on his long experience in these fields for the background and material for this book.

Interesting stories include:-

· the numbers and price of each species of local freshwater fish used to feed Thomas Cranmer, former Archbishop of Canterbury, in the days leading up to his execution in Oxford in 1556 (pike were the most expensive);

· the long history of attempts to re-introduce salmon to the river (it held good numbers until the early 19th century);

· a thriving fishery for roach at London Bridge in the 18th century, and the interesting methods used to catch them;

· huge catches of barbel in Victorian times, made by groundbaiting with thousands of worms;

· the decline of the fishery for eels using traps and weirs

· the man with a lifetime catch of more than 800 Thames trout over 3 lb (including several of more than 10 lb). Details of availability will be found at www.fluvialbooks.com