Perfect conditions for a new pb barbel.

With all the recent rain we have experienced the rivers have been singing their songs again, and the sound I hear is ‘The barbel are feeding.’   Being one not to ignore such good advice I have been out trying on a couple of different rivers with varied success.

My first effort was a return trip to the local Tame for yet another attempt to catch a barbel off yet another river.  As always my hope is for a double figure specimen, but initially I would be quite happy to just catch a barbel of any size, I have not succeeded yet but I will.  This trip saw me arrive just after the river had returned inside its banks having been well over the top and back into the surrounding fields.  It does seem amazing how quickly the seagull descend onto these new feeding grounds and the sky was full of the screaming birds of all different varieties.

                                            A small section of the birds in the field.

My previous two trips had been well dogged with drifting blanket weed and this was with a low river and little flow conditions, I did wonder what this trip would be like with that extra water rushing through.  After an hour I knew the answer and the floods had done a great job in removing most of the problem.  I now had less weed on the line than previously experienced and I could leave the bait in place for a good 20 or 30 minutes before recasting with a fresh load of mixed hemp and pellet in the feeder.  I know the tackle and tactics were capable of catch barbel, I  havehad enough of them, but this was not the day for success, and next time I’ll try a different swim again until I find them.

A day on the River Severn with Merv early in the week before the rain, saw the river very low and clear with just chub being caught despite our best efforts.  Now, with this rain the river had come up and over the banks so I waited until the EA river levels site gave the indication that the river would be back within the banks and fishable again and then made plans to go.  Being a Saturday I invited Curtis along and he jumped at the chance of improving his barbel best of 9lb-5oz off the River Teme.

                                                                 9lb-5oz beauty.

 

We arrived mid-morning to find the river in perfect condition for babel fishing, just inside its banks and lightly coloured as you would expect for a river in flood.   We would both use similar tackle and tactics, these being a swimfeeder loaded with 6oz of lead used on 1.75lb test Drennan rods and 12lb main line to the usual 15lb braided hook link.  The baits would be boilies, Dynamite Shrimp and Prawn for me, and one of the Pallatrax range for Curtis, we both would alternate with Elips pellets on a regular basis just to see if there was any preference being shown by the fish.  The feeders would be loaded with the usual mix that I’ve used for some time now and fould it quite acceptable.  I mix up different sizes of pellet and types of pellet, and then load in drained hemp particles at a rate of about 50/50 into the mix.  The hemp holds just enough dampness to cause the pellets to hold in the feeder without going completely in to a soggy paste, which is not what I want.

The morning passed by without result and it was well into the afternoon before Curtis got the first action of the day.  I had been surprised at having had no fish as the River Severn is definitely on its way back in terms of barbel being caught, but once this fish was landed Curtis did not worry about having no previous action, he now had a very big fish on the bank.  As it came to the net I had suggested maybe 12lb, but on the unhooking mat I adjusted my guess to 11lb.  Curtis was understandingly very pleased with his new barbel pb at 10lb015oz, but I need to get my eyes re-calibrated!

                                                            A new pb at 10lb-15oz

 

Following the action that Curtis was still celibrating I did get a couple of barbel myself, one of 5lb and another of 6lb, I suggested we were equal on weigh but he would not have that for some reason thinking his fish was better than mine?

                                      My Severn average barbel with the moon over my shoulder.

 

River babel & Lake zander - A double of doubles!

Friday 23^rd Sept.

With all the various jobs and activities completed that go along with normal life I decided that trip to the River Teme would be in order.  The day had been promised as bright and sunny, a prelude to a promised mini heat wave next week.  With the river really low and clear there are many anglers that moaning about the fish being even more difficult to catch, I’ve perhaps been fortunate in that it has not seemed that way for me with barbel being caught on every visit to this river so far this season.

On many occasions I have related one of my current favourite statements of “If it isn’t broke don’t fix it.”  It seems obvious, but it is also well worth repeating since so many anglers seem to break the rule at the first minor problem.  We all have blank sessions so not catching fish over a trip or two, does not mean the method is ‘broke,’ keep the faith and give it a chance to come good again.  In sport the equivalent statement goes something like “ Form is temporary but class is permanent,” and this is shown to be true in so many areas, football, cricket, athletics, you name the activity and it will apply.  The manager/trainer keeps the faith and often he is rewarded with a return to form, do the same with your bait and tactics.

Still, back to my trip to the River Teme and the fact that my chosen method would be the same as had produced the goods so many times for me this season.  Open-ended feeders with a 50/50 mix of hemp and mixed pellets, along with 8mm pre drilled pellets on the size 8 hook.  No bait dropping, just regular casts into the same area to build up the feed and attract the fish to the hookbait.  Although I always approach the river confident of success it is still pleasing when the first barbel makes its appearance.  This time the fish came quite quickly, on other occasions it can be late on in the session, but as long as it happens who worries?

The capture of that first barbel was the prelude to a most enjoyable afternoon and before dusk fell I had added a further five barbel, and a chub of about 3lb, to give a very pleasing total.  The barbel ranged from the 6lb mark through to another double of 10lb-3oz, a fish that impressed the chap that sat talking to me at the time of its capture.  This angler had been relating that he had only caught one double off the river in the previous two years of trying, that fish gave me a total of five barbel going into double figures from the Teme this season.  Did that make me a better angler than him? I would suggest not, and the only difference is that I am more fortunate in which fish pick up my baited hook and long may that situation last.

                                                          10lb-3oz best of six barbel

Saturday 24^rd Sept.

I had arranged another trip after the zander with Mervyn, this time his grandson Curtis also came along.  Following that last zander trip mistake, I had a full compliment of tackle along with a chair for comfort.  I’m too old to sit about on the deck using just an unhooking mat, it gives you back ache and it takes too long to stand up to hit a run should you get one.  Years ago I could wonder the river without a chair for the whole day and think nothing of it, but as those years have passed I have done it less and less, now it is to be avoided at all costs.  Settling into my chosen swim I soon had two rods set up, with one to be fished using a dead roach section as bait, and the other using a lamprey section.  These baits were sent out into the swim and I settled back to enjoy the almost summer like weather that was with us at the moment.  First action came on one of Merv’s rods but he passed it over to Curtis and he went on to land a spirited 4lb jack pike that had given a good impression of being a medium sized zander.  Both Merv and Curtis then went through a period where they had a number of takes with line going out but nothing there on the strike, most peculiar!   Meanwhile I had no action whatsoever, I pondered the question, “Is it better to have nothing happen or is it better to have the takes but missed them,” I’ve queried this previously in my mind and as on those occasions I did not have an answer.   Then in the mid-afternoon Curtis struck a fish and went on to land a new personal best zander weighing 7lb-11oz.  A long, lean, fish that would almost certainly have been at a higher weight in its earlier days, that gave us hope, but then it went totally dead.

                                                              Curtis with 7lb-11oz pb Zander

 

About 5.30pm Curtis suggested I move along to the other side of their fishing position since at least they had seen a number of indications where as I had been totally dead, the move was made and an interesting discussion followed.  Curtis suggested that should I catch a zander he could claim the credit for suggesting the move, Merv made the point that I might have caught if I had stayed where I was, so should I blank Curtis would have the blame!  He was not too sure about that, but at 6:45pm he was happy as my roach section went for a walk in the company of a zander, good strike and I landed a fish that went exactly the same weight as the barbel the previous day, 10lb-3oz, my first double for many years but hopefully not the last of the season.

                                                               10lb-3oz Zander for a double of doubles

River guiding.

Merv's grandson, Curtis, has caught many good fish under his grandfathers experienced hand.  This has been done in such a fashion as to ensure Curtis does not catch monster fish at too early a stage in his angling lifetime, and each new personal best fish of any species is fully appriciated.

Currently his best barbel is one of 7lb-8oz, a fish caught from Makin's Pools at Wolvey, his best river barbel took the scales to 6lb-7oz and that was caught from the River Wye.  With the schools on holiday it seemed a suitable time to see if I could help him improve that target weight, and hence off we set for the river.

As with all rivers at the moment, it was very low, and running almost completely clear, even tap water might just have had a bit more colour to it.   Tackle was as I use on most occasions for barbel on the smaller rivers, a Drennan 12ft, 1.5lb test rod and a Shimano 5000RX reel loaded with 12lb line.  The hook-link is made in two separate parts, 10 inch of of 15lb Pro-gold acts as a stiff boom preventing the 6 inch of 15lb braid from tangling on the cast.  A size 8 Drennan Continental Carp hook is tied with a knotless knot leaving a 1 inch hair to take the chosen bait.  Of late I have had considerable success with 8mm pellets fished on the hook, along side a pellet loaded open-ended feeder, the pellets in this having been dampened to hold with an equal amount of cooked hempseed, not too damp since the pellet mix will go into a sludge-like consistancy.

With the swim chosen, a deep pool following a fast, shallow, run - I set Curtis the task of casting into the point of the flow where it settled down to a steady pace,  the rod then placed into the rest, we sit back to wait for action.  Young or old, this is where we anglers spend so much time, you can watch the river and its life go past waiting for the bite that announces the fishes arrival, indeed we watched as a dreaded otter swam across the river just at the bottom of the pool we were fishing.  That did give me some concern as I thought he might have disturbed the fish within out swim prior to our arrival, but shortly after seeing him the rod slamed over and Curtis was playing a nice barbel that proved to weight 4lb-14oz.   Knowing we would not blank takes a little concern off my mind, and just after that a 3lb-9oz chub gave Curtis the mixed species bag that so often happens on the rivers, neither fish was big, but Curtis was delighted with that result

                                                                            4lb-14oz the first barbel.

Then the next bite resulted in a far better fight, and Curtis with almost profesional ability handled it well, keeping it from reaching the snag just to our right.  It bored away into the deeper water in front of our position, but eventually it gave in to the presure and it came to the waiting net.  Let it rest after that good scrap in the hot weather, and then the scales came out again.  This time they showed a new personal best for barbel at 7lb-14oz, Curtis was delighted and with appropriate enthusiasm of the young, he soon had the rod casting a bait out again for another hoped for chance.

                                                                    7lb-14oz pb barbel

                                                       
                                                       It seemed to go quiet after that fish, and we sat for a few hours with no more than the occasional knock on the rod top from a suspected chub, then about 6.00pm the rod went over again and the strike met with solid resistance followed by the clutch giving line at great speed.  I leaned across and tightened the rear drag slightly and then battle commenced.  Again curtis played the fish well taking advice as it was given, but this fish had a mind of its own, and with little that could have been done it got snagged just to our right.  Curtis has not yet the experience to deal with this so I took the rod to show him how I would approach it.  Push the rod out as far as possible and try pulling in different dirrections, open the bail arm and see if the fish can take line, sometimes they will even swim out of the snag at this stage, but not this time.  This went on for some minutes with the line running back and forth over the snag as the fish took line, and I gained it back again, then he came free.  I quickly passed the rod back over to Curtis and I could now see that this barbel was quite a bit bigger than his previous capture, dispare followed that initial excitement at its size, the line broke!  That snag had done it damage, and Curtis was left to consider what could have been. This unfortunately is a lesson we all learn at some stage, sometimes the fish win the contest, hopefully not too often.

With a final total of three barbel to that 7lb-14oz, and a couple of back up chub it went down as a successful day, there is always another chance to get that big fish and curtis will certainly be looking forward to the chance.