Target set and Achieved - 28th river double.

This seasons targets for further barbel river doubles included the River Itchen and the Ribble, one down and one to go.   A trip earlier this season to the north after the Ribble fish did not succeed with a very low river just giving up a couple of smaller fish for my efforts.

                                                           River Itchen at dusk.

Now after five nights spent on the River Itchen I have finally caught my target double from that river, not by much but a double is a double.  I went with the intention of using the caster/hemp ’bait and wait’ method that has proven its worth when looking at a shoal of fish.   My tackle is fairly standard and consists of a Drennan 12ft 1.75lb test barbel rod combined with a Shimano RE5000 baitrunner reel loaded with 15lb main line.  I had increased my line from the normal 12lb I used since I knew there were possible snags in the area and I would need to put the anchors on to avoid losing the fish.  A single buoyant rubber caster was placed on the hair along with a size 10 hook, I would then superglue a further two or three natural casters to this as the day progressed.

                                                     Rig making gear.

Starting about 8am I did a bait drop with about 10 or 12 droppers of a 50/50 mix of hemp and caster and then went for a walk to look and see if I could spot any other fish, unfortunately I could not but it passes the time anyway.   Another angler turned up named Robin Sewell, he had hoped to fish the same swim having had previous success there.  In the following conversation he did say the he had on two previous occasions caught a fish first cast by gently introducing a baited hook with a pellet and had an almost immediate take.  Something for me to note that I could well of missed a trick in not doing that before I baited up, never mind another day I will certainly try it.

As the morning wore on I would occasionally top up the bait mix and sit back, but eventually I did cast and hoped that in the normal fashion of this method I would get an early bite.  It was not to be and I had to wonder if previous pressure, perhaps even the day before, had made the fish even more nervous than usual.  Still I continued to bait up and spend time away from the swim; lines and movement on the bank will be detected so it helps to keep these to a minimum.  On infrequent times I would carefully look into the swim using a tree trunk to hopefully disguise my outline.   It was well into the afternoon before I finally saw barbel appear from wherever they were hiding and although they appeared small they were a welcome sight.

Shortly after their appearance I got my first tap, a sign that they were still about after my small lead had landed in their mist.  I was using a 3ft tail so the actual baited hook was well away from the lead and although I never sure as to the reason it does sometimes seem to work over my more normal 12in to 15in length.  Not long after that tap I got the more normal, and expected, three foot twitch, the strike was firm and good and I hooked into my first fish of the day.  This would be only my second Itchen barbel, I had caught a 6lb type of fish on my first trip, though I was not fooled having been told that the Itchen fish were hard come by.

                                            First of the day, quick phone shot and back.

The swim I was in was very confined with tree trunks either side of my position and braches overhead making lifting the rod tip a delicate operation.  With the snag just downstream of the swim it was quite a game but eventually the fish went into the waiting net and although it was again perhaps 6lb it was very welcome.  I did another bait drop and again left the swim to recover, a check had shown the barbel had all disappeared again but I was hopeful the lure of the casters would bring them back.

On a couple of these times away from my swim I had spoken with Robin who had settled in another swim further upstream.   He had been unfortunate in foul hooking a nice fish that would certainly have been a double, but he also went on to land a small 2lb fish and one in the 9lb range so all was not lost.  Similar to me he had travelled so good distance to sample the Itchen fishing, like many of the local anglers I’ve met here they all seem friendly and willing to pass on information whilst chatting on the bank.

The day was cloudy with sunny breaks though there was a distinct nip in the air as autumn definitely had arrived.  I did wonder how much this had affected the fishing as I think we all know that the changeover period from summer to autumn can make the fishing very patchy.  Still I’m here and at least some fish are feeding so back to the swim and I was pleased to see a few barbel had returned to feed and one of them looked a little larger than the rest.

I had been trying to leave the bait out as long as possible but drifting weed was causing quite a problem.  Sometimes it would be just a few minutes before the rod would bend around as a large bed of weed came downstream and caught on the tackle this time it seemed I got a break and it stayed clear for a little longer and it was enough time for a bite to develop.  The strike and following lunge from the hooked fish showed this would be bigger and with the rod top 2ft under the surface I fought to keep him from the snag.   As fortune favours the brave I was still playing the fish as Robin appeared behind me and he quickly agreed to help in netting this fish.  With that help it was so much more easily accomplished and as he came ashore I wondered if he would make the grade of a double.

Having made our was out of the tight confines of the swim we could check the fish properly, I thought a 9lb size but Robin said he thought better, the scales showed him to be right when they settled on 10lb-3oz, my 28^th river target met.  I fished on until dusk but no more action developed though it did not concern me at all and although I may never return to this river it will stay in the memory as a good time with good company.

                                                  10lb-3oz Itchen double.  Target met.

The River Wey and the 27th different river double figure barbel.

Anybody who reads my blog as a regular event will be aware of my interest in catching a double figure barbel from different rivers.  Started in the 2005/6 season and looking to get 10 different river doubles in a year, I failed for that season and the one that followed.  Then in the 2006/7 I hit a golden spell with 16 different  rivers completed.  That winter was perfect for the serious barbel angler in that there were almost constant SW winds bringing rain and warm weather, it also brought the start of the serious flooding of 2007 but that is a different story.

Bringing this up to date my total stood at 26 rivers completed and now I was considering the 27^th with an attempt on the River Wey.  I had several club books that held sections of this river but no other knowledge to work on.  Fortunately John Found, my angling friend of many trips, used to live quite close to the river when he lived in London and although his information was several years out of date it was at least a starting position.

                                                               The River Wey.

Using this I had obtained the appropriate book the previous season but failed to get down the 120 miles to the chosen venue, weather and other fishing choices often gets in the way of these trips.  I was being told that the river was fishing very poorly with barbel results thin on the ground so no encouragement there.  Now with the Thursday and Friday temperatures forecast to be rising quite significantly I decided that the effort must be made so a trip to W H Lanes for casters and a raid on the freezer for hemp and I was ready for a two day effort.

                                                  Caster & hemp ready on a previous trip

Every time I travel the M25 I wonder why anyone would want to live in this region, mid-morning and still a carpark situation.  Still after a stop/start time I eventually arrived at the venue’s carpark and could relax in the quite of a tiny hamlet, at least until the screeching parrots flew overhead.  I spoke to an angler fishing the weir pool that had produced barbel to 15lb in John’s time, but he related a sorry story of several trips over the previous weeks for just one barbel.  A walk along the length showed that nobody else was fishing so I made my way to John’s suggested swim, a slightly deeper run between two shallows that were loaded with ribbon weed waving in the steady flow.

I had come with the intent to try the bait & wait approach with caster and hemp in the hope that it would not be a method used in this area very much.  The price of casters in the Midlands makes them far more a proposition that the eye water cost of them in the London region.  I had allowed for three pint of caster and four pint of hemp for each day and I would use them as conditions dictated.  First task of the day was as always to bait up with a baitdropper, an essential tool in this situation.  I try to find a shadow on the water that will remain constant and this allows both accurate bait placement with the dropper and also when I eventually cast out my hook bait.  My idea is to keep the baited area compact so the feed and my hook bait will be in close proximity, I don’t want the barbel to be allowed to feed over a large area away from the hook as he might have had his fill before making the mistake I wait for.  I have all the time in the world before I start since the method is exactly what it says on the tin, bait & wait.  Over the next few hours I get my tackle ready and rebait the swim three times.  Each time the combination of the baitdropper and my chosen shadow ensures the feed is going exactly where I want it.

Eventually I decide that the time has come to begin and my baited hook is sent out into the swim.  Three casters have been superglued into a torpedo type shape about the hair with perhaps 5mm or so clearance above the bend of the hook.  Generally this is proof against the attentions of minnows and very small fish but the rod top bounced away giving the signal that something less than a barbel was looking at my offering.  It did not take too long before the culprit showed himself to be a smaller sample of the perch.  The bait was soon back out in place and I wondered if the smaller fish could possibly be a problem, I need not have worried and perhaps twenty minutes later the baitrunner gave out line in the rate of knots that suggested a barbel and the strike confirmed that idea.  A very good scrap followed and although I had seen the fish a couple of times he held too deep to be sure of his size, when he slipped over the net I could only hope that my double target had quickly been achieved.  I left him to rest in the landing net and approached one of the lads that were strimming the grass on the community field just behind my swim.  By the time I had the camera and scales ready I had a little audience and when the scales showed me my double at 10lb-12oz there was one excited lad holding the fish for a photo to be taken.

                                                            10lb-12oz of fine barbel.

I sat for the rest of the afternoon hoping that the barbel  had mates swimming with him, but if he did they would not make the same mistake of picking up my bait.  As evening approached one of the bailiffs came along and we got talking.  I advised him I had caught the barbel and he asked about photos which I showed him.  He then confirmed that he had caught the same fish the previous week and that possibly it was the only double on the section I was fishing.  Now that’s luck, one fish and it’s the right one.

I decided to check out another section on the club book, roving around in the dark is not unusual for me, but in the end I decided to call it a day and came home in the quiet of the very early morning with a job well done, the 27^th different river completed and now where next?

Giant bream and even better crucians.

The following couple of trips after the capture of the 13lb-8oz bream reported in the last blog I was just day fishing and I caught a few perch but no sign of the bream.  Then that good luck factor came in again and the next bite, mid-afternoon on a sunny day, I got a bite typical of bream, the bobbin dropped and then slowly rose again and the fight certainly suggested it would be a bream although with the power it would be big.  Sure enough it proved to be just that and the lad from the adjacent swim confirmed a weight of 15lb-4oz, yet again the target set and achieved.

                                                           15lb-4oz Giant bream.

It was now fast approaching the 1^st of May and the club water well known for its large crucians would become available for fishing again having been closed for six weeks.  Plans were made and I arrived on the evening before only to find the place already packed out.  I dropped into a small out of the way swim prepared to wait until a better choice became available and since anglers are always coming and going to their own personal timetable I got my chance midmorning next day.  The rules only allow the anglers to stay for two nights and then they must leave for a minimum of 24 hrs. Though this can be awkward for the travelling angler I’m in total agreement with the rule since it does allow swims to become available on a constant basis with no long term occupation of good areas.  I stayed in the swim for 36 hrs, but with no success so I moved to the opposite end of the dam to try a totally different area.  The results around the lake were generally very patchy with a blank or one or two fish the normal catch, one angler did very well with 15 crucian to a best of 3lb-13oz, but amongst the other anglers fish being caught were odd specimens of 4lb plus including samples to challenge the current record of 4lb-9oz held jointly be myself and two others.   My  move proved to be worthwhile when I caught a succession of tench to 6lb-11oz and two crucians of 3lb-6oz and 3lb-12oz a fish equal to my best for the venue, then I had to leave having reached the end of this session..

                                                  Equal pb for the venue at 3lb-12oz.

                                     The best of well over 50 taken over the 9 days at the venue 6lb-11oz.

My tackle and approach would be the same throughout my sessions here, two 12ft 1.25lb Drennan Avons were matched with Mitchell 300’s loaded with 6lb line going to flatbed method feeders.  Very short hooklink of 4lb Fireline with Kamazan size 14 hooks carried a single artificial caster on the hair rig.  I would use one pint of caster per day along with a similar amount of 4mm pellet put out with a Spomb at regular intervals, this to allow for the tench and rudd that invariably would be cleaning them up. 

My next three day session proved equally as difficult with the first day and a half almost totally blank so again a move to a different bank altogether.  Yet again the same potential record fish came out and again I was called on to witness it but I also saw a 4lb-2oz fish caught in the swim next to mine this giving me some hope and sure enough I again caught two crucian of 3lb-2oz and 3lb-5oz along with another load of tench to 6lb-9oz.  All the time I’m getting reports of lots of blanks but the average crucian being caught is up from last year by perhaps 4oz and that gives the chance for a good number of high 3lb’s plus fish into the 4lb range.

                                                              3lb-5oz best of the day's brace.

Again the 130 miles back home to recharge the bodywork and I’m back again hoping to beat the time when the crucians will spawn, last year I only got one trip and by the time I returned they had spawned.   Dawn saw me walking down the bank to find a vacant swim and I soon had my tackle in place and cast out.  There was quite a strong wind blowing into the bank and the wind chill factor made it quite cold until the afternoon when the sun got past the surrounding tree.  Fortunately the cool conditions did not stop the crucians and at about 11am I got one of 3lb-11oz to give a very pleasing start to the trip.

When fishing you never know what is waiting just around the corner and at just after 2pm I finally got my long await 4lb crucian, this one weighing a very pleasing 4lb-6oz to make the previous effort on the venue well worthwhile.  That said fate was not finished with me and just a couple of hours later I was calling Mark from the next swim again to confirm the weight on his scales and  photograph a magnificent sample of 4lb-8oz to give me the best confirmed brace of crucians in the country.

                                                       4lb-6oz smaller of the brace.

                                                          4lb-8oz larger of the brace.

The following day I topped the catch up with a 2lb-13oz and yet another big fish of 4lb-2oz though after that fish the next 30 hrs were dead but Of course I did not mind that, yet again target set and achieved.

                                                Third of the 4's at 4lb-2oz.

A new river double - The Mole, number 26 in my target list.

Having watched the weather forecast over the last several days I could see a window of better conditions for barbel coming up on Friday and Saturday when the temperature could go up by 8C or even 10c on the Saturday, time to go fishing.  Next question I ask myself is where, fish locally on rivers I’ve already caught my double figure barbel off, or spread my wings and try for another, easy decision, I’m all for new ground.  The three main rivers in my sights at the moment are the Ribble, the Wey and the Mole.  The forecast had shown colder conditions in the north as usual so it left the southern pair and having already looked at the Mole I decided that would be the venue for this two day session.

The internet and TomTom are brilliant aids to the travelling angler, one gave me my route at about 120 miles, and the other gave me the river conditions as falling to almost normal winter lever following a flood.  A trip to Alan Lanes tackle shop saw me top up with casters and maggots, although I would still take the usual pellets and boilies as back up baits. Now I was ready to go and I only needed to decide what time to leave.  For my last trip I had left at 3.30am in order to miss the traffic jams on the M25, this time I decided to leave at 9.30am in order to arrive and be fishing for midday on the Friday.

The journey went as planned and as I approached the venue it was with the anticipation of at least catching barbel, conditions were perfect.   The river section I was on held a number of good looking swims with deep glides, pools of steadier water, along with eddies where the flow had been deflected by bankside contours or debris.  I chose one of the eddy swims with an old tree stump sending the flow into mid-river and a nice deep pool under my own bank.  There was a nice crease in the flow and this gave an obvious target for the bait-dropper to unload its feed of hemp and casters, one pint of each going into the swim as the first task before even getting my fishing gear ready.  I would initially fish with a hair-rigged caster set up, the bait being placed torpedo style on the hair to avoid small fish attention.  These would be used until about one hour before I would be finishing the session for the day, then I would put hair-rigged Elips pellets on with my usual open-ended swimfeeder loaded with mixed pellets and hemp.

                                                                  Dinner for barbel.

Sitting and waiting for that first bite is exciting, but it was a bit disappointing when a bream of about 3lb made its appearance though it was the only one I caught over the two days so not too bad.  Time seems to pass slowly and a kingfisher kept flying up and downstream to keep me watching for that bite, but the bait change over time came and went without the hoped for barbel making its appearance.  The pellets went on and after perhaps 30 minutes the rod bent over as the line was taken faster than the bait-runner could give it, the strike was good and I was now playing what I thought would be my first barbel off this river.  I say thought since I had seen three carp of about 8lb moving about on my previous visit and there was just a chance this was one of them.  No need to have worried and in the fading light I could see the shape of a good barbel coming to the net and safely into its folds.

                                                               A very fat double.

My mind gave a mental leap since I was sure this would be a double figure fish and so complete my target of the 26^th different river double.  Weighing confirmed my thoughts and this very deep bodied fish came in at the pleasing weight of 10lb-14oz of immaculate barbel.  Nothing more happened and I retired from the river to decided how I proceeded, stay on this river for the following day or move over to the River Wey which was not too far away and on my list of rivers to complete.  I decided to stay and leave the other river for another day so off to the nearest pub for a meal, then to a suitable area where I could get my head down for the night in the van.

                                                  The 26th different river double at 10lb-14oz.

Being on a new river I had already decided to fish two different sections on the Saturday.  I would arrive at the first before dawn and fish through to about midday, then move over to the same venue that had produced the double for me.  I woke up to a wet and miserable morning although the temperature was well up as forecast.  Following a cup of tea and cereal I got the flask ready and set off through a very muddy path to the swim I had chosen on the previous visit.  A deep pool following a fast glide it looked perfect and local knowledge had advised me that it was known to produce fish on a regular basis.  That may well have been true, but they managed to avoid taking my offerings for the hours I had allocated to them so yet again I made my even muddier way back to the van since the rain had kept up most of the morning.

Fishing is one sport where the individual needs to be an eternal optimist, the next bite is just minutes away and of course it will be your target fish. This in in my case that means it will be a barbel, not a bream or carp and so it was to prove to be.  A big advantage of the second venue is that it was over a grassy field that although quite wet was at least clean and more easily walked over.   This time I decided to fish the pellets right from the start although I still bait-dropped the swim with the remainder of my caster and a balance of hemp.  The rain had eased off to a gentle drizzle and it was now almost warm enough to have sat in just my shirt sleeves, very pleasant and made even better when yet again I was playing a powerful fish in the flow on the far side of the river.  This one proved to be a barbel of 10lb-9oz, longer and far more slender than the previous specimen, but welcome all the same.

                                                               The second double at 10lb-9oz.

My time on the river was almost over but it still had an extra gift for me in the form of a 7lb-13oz barbel as a going away favour.  Having caught my hoped for double it is unlikely I will return to this river, it’s just too far away for such an indulgence but it does go down as one of the more attractive rivers I’ve fish and one that will stay in the memory for a long time.

                                                      A parting present at 7lb-13oz.

Further bait and wait tactics explained.

I was both surprised and pleased to see the very high number of people that looked in on my last blog and since this suggests a good interest in how to use the bait and wait idea I thought I would expand the topic a little further.  That first blog covers the barest details of the method and anyone approaching this idea thinking it is just a matter of buying bait and you’ll catch loads of barbel is in for a disappointment.  As with most angling technics it takes time and practice to get the best out of the method but once mastered it can be and is a deadly tool for catching a lot of fish.

That last bit mentioned is an important part of the equation, lots of fish.  This is not the method to try for just one fish unless that fish is a particular specimen that you are trying to catch.  Then this can be the tactic to fool that ultra-wary big specimen that refuses to look at all normal pellet/boilie/meat offerings.

                                                 A 15lb-3oz that fell to the method.

Under the best of conditions it can be useful if the initial practice to get familiar with the method can be done on waters where the fish can be seen.   This would give the angler the chance to observe the results of his efforts and then transfer them to the more normal situation where the water is too deep or coloured to be able to see in.

                                                        The artificial caster rig

                                                  Bait for a maggot attack

So what do you need to start with and I would suggest that in an ideal world you begin in a swim you already know or suspect there are a reasonable number of barbel present most of the time.  Now you decide on whether you will use maggot or caster, both can work well though the caster have the advantage of being heavier and hence hold in the swim more easily.  Whichever bait you chose they will be introduced into the swim along with the hemp via the use of a bait dropper.  There are many models on the market and currently I prefer the Dinsmore copy of the older Thamesly version.  These are a small plastic dropper that does not have the weight of the metal modals and hence I find I can cast and control them better.  I do wrap a length of extra lead around the stem in order that they drop through the water more consistently, lighter models can be affected by the flow.  Here it is worth noting the length of the stem is also important, too long and the body of the dropper is too high above the bed of the river and when the particles are released they can be washed well downstream rather than into your swim.  This is especially true for maggots as they are by far the lighter of the two baits.  You have cast the dropper out, it went straight down and opened; now you hold the rod low and just flick the tip in order to encourage the bait still left in the body to come out.  If you lift the rod straight away the particle left in the body will rise into the flow and be washed downstream.  It might be that with perhaps one drop in ten you lift on purpose in order to send some of the feed downstream to leave an extra food trail, this will be added to the scent trail of the hemp that is the main attractor to bring the barbel from downstream.

                                                     Bait for the caster attack.

Now to look at how much bait to use and here is the most difficult aspect of the method to identify.  I could say “how long is a piece of string,” but that would be no good to the reader trying to come to grips with the method so I’ll try to be more expansive.  As always cost must be an important part of the equation, general hemp is not too expensive especially if brought in the 15K sack and cooked yourself.   Expect to pay about £1.5 dry weight and this will near double in weight when it swells and takes on water when cooked.  The maggots and casters are very varied depending on your location but generally casters will be £3 plus per pint.

My normal comment on this point is that the most valuable thing you use on a day’s fishing is your time.  Once that day has gone you cannot get it back, you can replace money so in that sense it is less important.  Of course you need the money in the first place, but surely it is better to do one day fishing with good tactics, than to spend the time and fuel costs going three times with inferior tactics.

So how much bait?  I would suggest that a good day with a reasonable catch rate could be gained with 4 pint of caster or maggots.  I would take extra hemp since it is less expensive and can be frozen if left over.  This is another factor in the caster/maggot choice,  casters need to be used with say one week of purchase if they are looked after, maggots will last for weeks if kept in a bait fridge set about 2C.   That said you can try less caster well mixed into the hemp, say twice the hemp to caster rather than equal parts.  At a push this could be taken to three times hemp to caster but eventually the results will definitely suffer.

Now you have arrived at the swim with enough bait for a full days sport.  No rush to tackle up since this method is the most social system it is possible to try.  Put the bait dropper rod together first and drop out say ten drops of hemp and ten of caster [assuming your using the Dinsmore model].  Now you can go for a walk, read a book, have a chat with your mate a little way back from the river, it does not matter.  There is no set time table for the pattern that follows, experience, practice, gut feeling all play a part and this is where the top lads in the method show their skill.  Many anglers over the years have said that this is just buying you fish, get a gallon of caster and you will bag up, but nothing is further from the truth.  A gallon or even two or three gallon of caster in inexperienced hands will not have fish jumping onto the hook and all they will be doing is feeding the fish.

You need somewhere to start so try and use say 45 minutes as a guide interval between the initial baiting.  Following that first drop you wait the 45 minutes then drop again but this time slightly less, say four droppers of each then wait again.  Following that you can either do a further bait drop and wait, or you can bait drop and follow up with a first cast in straight away.  Either way when you do cast in then be prepared for an early take, often the fish are now well on the feed and even though a dropper has landed between them they will perhaps move away but they quickly return.  If it does not happen like that don’t worry just follow the pattern and watch for the slight movements on your rod tip that would suggest the fish are in the area and feeding.  As a guide if you see this tip movement and you wait a long time before you get the take then maybe you have put too much feed into the swim so when you next bait drop use just two droppers instead.  Whatever the case you do a bait drop after each fish and at least consider resting the swim after three fish are landed.  Complete the drop as normal following the capture but then just leave the swim for thirty minutes or so to give the fish the confidence to return without disturbance.  The days are long and you will definitely reap the rewards of this rest period rather than just catch, catch and so on.

                                                                             The caster rig.

Last, let us look at the tackle, mainly right at the hook end since behind that does not matter too much just as long as it is strong enough.  Much has been written about the hook length to be used for barbel and other than the fact that generally the short hook links used for chub and roach don’t seem to work I would be fairly open minded as to what you would favour.  I use between 12” and 18” and for maggot /caster work I would use a strong size 10 hook, currently I use the Pallatrax pattern but there are many others that will do the job.  I prefer to use about 10” to 12” of 15lb heavy mono to act as a stiff rig and to this I attach my 15lb braid with a loop to loop fixing.  For the loops I use a figure of eight knot and this has not let me down.  The bait is put on a hair and generally I would attach four casters in a torpedo style figure.  This will prove proof against most attacks from the small fish since it just moves out of their way when they try to grab it, should they still prove a problem then just slide one artificial along the hair and superglue two or three naturals to that.  Now if the small fish attack you always have a hook bait that the barbel will pick up.  If possible I will still use casters on the hook even when maggot fishing, the maggots are just too difficult to stop the small fish attacking them and leaving just skins when you reel in.  As a rule once I cast out I will use a straight lead with casters and leave it for 30 minutes or more whilst with maggot fishing I would use a swimfeeder and recast more often say every 5 minutes to start with and going to 10 or 15 minutes intervals later in the session.

There you have it then, catch fish you can use lots of bait, less fish will use less bait, no guarantees but when you get it right the sky is the limit and you can empty a swim of barbel.  Practice makes perfect and trial and effort will give a timetable to suit your situation.

Tight lines until the next blog.