A year to remember - month by month look at the years results.

Looking through my diary for last year I have decided it was not too bad a 12 month period at all.  I have had better, but that's the name of the game.   I though a look at my pick of the catches for each  month could make interesting blog so here goes.

January.     I'll cheat here and pick a catch from the last days of the previous year since my January results were crap.  It was the 29th of December and I had gone down to the Hampshire Avon for a couple of days.  The first of those days I dropped into a favourite swim which had done 6lb chub fish for me on previous visits - Fishing a maggot feeder it came up trumps with chub of 7lb-3oz and 6lb-14oz.

                                                                7lb-3oz Avon Gem

February-     Following that very cold and snow covered period of the previous month there were a few gaps that gave a chance on the rivers - I took advantage of one of those and came up with a very nice Warwickshire Avon barbel of 13lb-10oz to prove that if the bait's is in the water you can catch.

                                                              13lb-10oz - very nice!

March                      Still variable weather and the end of the river season did not live up to my hopes for a big chub.  I started off a good year for sturgeon though, with a  catch of 5 fish over 23lb with a best of 28lb-11oz.

                                                       Best of 5 at 28lb-11oz

April           With April came better weather, and my usual trips to the Colne Valley gave me double figure bream, and tench to over 8lb, but I thought a bit of variety here so I include an eary catfish of 30lb-11oz.

                                                              Wells Catfish of 30lb-11oz.

May          A few more 20lb sturgeon but May is for tench and although my first choice venue failed - it seemed the big fish probably died in the freeze up of the winter - a local venue came good for the month with a number of tench to a very pleasing 8lb-14oz best of the month.

                                                       A lucky Friday 13th tench of 8lb-14oz.

June.                        With the loss of the big tench I was also at a loss as to where to try for a double, I decided to return to my bream venue since it does occasionally turn up a nice tench - it did, in spades and gave my new pb tench of 11lb-14oz.
Another nice catch for the month was a brace of double figure barbel on the same day off the River Teme which included a new pb for the river at the time of capture. 10lb-2oz and 10lb-7oz.

                                                       Probably my best fish of the year 11lb-14oz.

July                     A funny month is July - sometimes great and at other times it can be a killer.  A couple of notable capture here, first a new all comers lake record for Orchid Lakes with a 55lb-9oz Wells Catfish. Then added to this for the month is a 12lb-1oz barbel off the Warwickshire Avon.

                                                     12lb-1oz Warwickshire Avon

                                                          55lb-9oz lake record.

August                    Probably the best thing that happened in this month was that I finally completed the book and it went off for the finishing touches.  A few more 20lb sturgeon hit the bank, with lots of barbel from the Teme, Avon and Derwent along with another river pb coming off the Derwent.   The best of 6 barbel on the day, and at 11lb-4oz it was over a 1lb increase over my previous best so obviously very pleasing.

                                                                Derwent pb at 11lb-4oz.

September.                  Always a good month and this was no different, still lots of barbel coming to the net, but I do fish a lot of time for them.  A increase on my Teme pb took it to 11lb-6oz to give it the month's honours, but a close second goes to a 10lb3oz zander - my first double for a long time.

                                                        A new Teme pb at 11lb-6oz.

                                                            10lb-3oz the first double for years.
    
October                  The river Derwent has been good to me this year but now it was really good, a catch of nine barbel includng three doubles of 10lb-8oz, 11lb4oz and another river best at 12lb2oz, it does not come much better than that.

                                                       The season's biggest so far at 12lb-2oz.

November               It makes a real change to trot a river and a trip to the River Test gave me the chance to do just that - when it gave up a 2lb-6oz roach that really made the day.

                                                                River roach are something special.

December     I started this blog by going back into december for a great brace of fish, this year the month has been dead for me.  Roach and perch fishing very quiet.  A two day blank on the Hampshire Avon for chub was disappointing.  I will close the peice with a Boxing Day barbel mentioned in my last blog, always nice to end the year with a reasonable fish.

                                                        Small but perfectly proportioned!

I hope that next year can give as much fun and success to both myself and all of you as well.