Spanish roach fishing Nov 2015.

Travelling to overseas fishing holidays can be something to look forward to, if it is to be a still water venue you know what to expect within certain boundaries but with rivers the weather can have a major effect.   Travelling with my usual companions for the Spanish roach trips, Pete Reading and John Found we knew the forecast was for rain on the Monday after we arrived late Sunday but we could only wait and see the effect.

Sunday evening is a time to settle in, get a bit of shopping done at the local supermarket and get a meal at the favourite café, here we meet up with our Catmaster Tours guide for the week, John Dekin though we mostly look after ourselves.  He had checked the local weather forecast and advised the river would both colour up and rise by late Monday so things did not look that good for our trip.  Anyway we could do nothing about it so it was a case of finishing the meal then retire to bed.

                                                Rooms with a view over the town

As dawn broke about 7:00am we were stood on the banks of the River Segree choosing to fish swims that had produced well for us on previous trips, tackle comprised of quivertip rods with 6lb to 8lb main line and suitable hook length material.  We use swimfeeders loaded with either pellet or sweetcorn both of which had given good results but we need to find out which is best on the day.  As it turned out the rain started and after three hours without a bite we decided to give it best as by now the rain was torrential.  We packed up and drove round the venue to seek out potential areas should the river become unfishable.

The following morning our worse fears were realised, one look at the river and with a 20ft wide continuous weed raft coming down the middle of the flow we knew that no roach fishing, and very little other fishing, would be done for days.  Fortunately with our previous days look about we had other thoughts and we quickly made our way towards the dam.  With the Top Lake very low at the end of the summer there was very little water being allowed through and it was at least fishable.  Our first choice swims were already taken by a couple of carp anglers but the advantage of fishing for roach is we could slot into swims that carp our cat anglers would struggle to use and hence we did just that.  A very big attraction was that there were dozens of roach showing on the surface in the early morning light, all we had to do was get them down to the bottom of the 25ft or so depths and feeding on the corn/pellet offering.

Once fishing we tend to use a lot of sweetcorn in the feeders, two to four cans per day are the normal and this will attract the roach into the swim and by and large hold them there.  We were each catching a fair number of roach with quite a few over the 1lb-8oz mark but that first day only saw one fish over the 2lb mark this falling to John at 2lb-7oz, a beautiful immaculate specimen.

                                               First 2lb roach at 2lb-7oz.

With clear fishable water at a premium we dropped back into the same swims the following morning and continued to catch the roach but struggled to get over the 2lb mark.  If our scales had been just a little bit out we could have called many of the big 1lb+ fish into the 2lb range but at least Pete saved the day with a fantastic 2lb-10oz rudd that equalled his English best.

                                                     Pete's 2lb-10oz Rudd.

                                           It can be quite rocky here.

The days past by very much the same with just the odd 2lb roach showing, John had a red letter session in a different swim where he took five roach over the 2lb mark, a 2lb + rudd and a number of gibel carp [a continental version of a Prussian carp] to 3lb 10oz.  All the while we were hooking the king carp on the sweetcorn but the best that was landed fell to John at 16lb-10oz.  Most of the time the carp would run the bed of the river and catch the line on rocks, zebra mussel, or Chinese shellfish and the result was always the same, a lost feeder.  Between us I think we lost the best part of twenty feeders and the local tackle shop loved us.

                                         Best of the trip at 2lb-9oz.

                                                   Thick fog on some of the mornings.

By the end of the week we had got a reasonable total of twelve roach over the 2lb mark, John’s 2lb-9oz caught on the last day took the honour of being the best, Pete’s best just behind at 2lb-8oz and I followed up with a 2lb-6oz.  The rain on the Monday had caused major problems and even at the end of the week the Segree and Ebro down from the junction were almost unfishable.  Not sure of the results for the other lads but did hear of carp to 35lb and a cat over 190lb but many of those fishing really struggled. Better luck next time we hope.

                                             My best of the trip at 2lb-6oz

Two monster barbel in a week in September.

Most serious specimen anglers will be aware that the very big fish can come at any time and will normally be just a bit of a surprise that the planning has finally paid off.   On some occasions there is no planning involved and then it is just chance that you met a fish that sets the pulse racing and over the last couple of weeks I’ve had both experiences happen in sessions producing specimen barbel.

The first came off a river that I’ve fished over the last decade or more with various successes.  I’ve caught my fair share of doubles and these have come on a fairly regular basis, but I have not managed to contact one of the rivers very big specimens.  This session was exactly the same as many others in that I arrived with no particular swim in mind making my choice once I’d seen the number of cars in the car park.

The river was fining down after the recent rain and I felt confident of success, I had arrived at midday and intended to fish through to midnight.  The previous week I had been one of the northern team in the ABF Barbel Challenge and managed to get barbel off each of the five rivers we fished.  While we fished the northern element the southern lads were fishing the south river at the same time.  I took note that of the twelve anglers involved only one other angler beside me managed barbel off the five rivers they fished and that was Julian Barnes.  I was very impressed with his bait in that he also caught a good number of barbel as well as the doubles we were seeking; the bait was Mad Baits Pandemic a new product still undergoing trials.  By the end of that week I had asked Julian if he could get me some of the bait with me paying rather than being one of the team of anglers already being used for the trial of new baits.  Fortunately it was agreed and I got my first batch delivered shortly after.

The next trip after barbel I of course used the new bait on my main rod though I decided on halibut pellet on my second rod that would be cast out of the way of my baited area.  The tackle used was as normal for me, Drennan Specialist Barbel 12 ft. rod in the 1.75lb range.  Shimano 5000 RE reels loaded with 12lb mono main line going to a new hook link line I’m trying out.  I had watched a friend using this while tench fishing and was impressed with its breaking strain/diameter ration so decided to try it, labelled Konger Steelon in the feeder version.  I got two different packs off e-bay, one at 5kg and 18mm diameter, the other 9.25kg and 28mm diameter and today I was using the heavier version.  This was then used with the feeder loaded with hemp and mixed pellets a method that has shown its worth over many captures of barbel.

I started the session about 2.30pm and although I got a few knocks there was nothing of note as I went into dark for the night session.  I was here until at least 11pm and maybe I would stay up the 12pm mark depending on conditions and how I felt.  At about 9.30pm that plan was lost as I hooked and played a very powerful fish that I finally got it into the waiting landing net.  I left it safely in the net to recover before I took the hook out and got it weighed, meanwhile I gave a phone call to Rob Thompson fishing a little further down the river to let him know I had a good fish in the net.  He asked its size and I suggested at least 13lb and he offered to come and do photos but as I told him if it had bee 15lb plus I would take the offer but self takes would do.  I got all the bits ready for photos and weighing, but as soon as I lifted it over the nearside rushes I could see this was really big, the scales told the full story and showed a weight of 16lb-12oz, a monster!  I phoned Rob again and gave him the news, he was highly amused, ‘over 13lb he says,’ but made his was up to me straight away.  There is nothing to compare to the feeling of catching really big fish and this was way up there in my list of catches, it was also great to have a friend who could handle a camera and Rob took four or five superb photos that just gives the final touch to a memorable session.

                                                         16lb-12oz of power.

Over the following weekend I got permission to fish a very lightly fished section of the Warwickshire Avon,  over 2K of river bank with perhaps over half of it only lightly fished by two other anglers.  As you can imagine I wasted no time in going down to survey the length and have an evening session.  A lot of it was unfishable with a heavy tree lined bank and large bulrush beds, but there was enough fishable sections to be very exciting.  On that first visit I fished through to 10pm for one small 2lb bream.  Two days later I returned and having chosen a couple of good looking swims I again fished for a return of just one small bream, but I just knew it was only a matter of time before I got my barbel.  Another two days and back into the first of the chosen swims, a pool just below where the river rushed through a length where the rushes had taken the width down to less than half than its normal width.  This time I got my barbel and although it was only a small one it was still the first and as such I took a photo for my records.

                                                          An Avon barbel swim.

I stayed in the swim until 8.00pm without further action and then moved to my second choice, a long glide with overhanging trees on the opposite bank.  I had thrown a dozen or so Pandemic boilies in as I had come past the swim when I first arrived and now I threw another dozen in assuming at the very least chub would have taken those first few.  It was after less than an hour when I got the indication of a bite, not the powerful screamer, but enough that I struck.  At first I thought I had missed the bite, but then I realised that the fish was moving upstream going under the tree I was fishing next to.  Now I thought it was a chub since it seemed to head for a nearside snag and I put the anchors on only to feel the tremendous power of a big fish and yet again I re-assed my thought to a large carp that are known to swim in the Avon.  A couple of times I thought I would lose the fish as it got into the roots of the tree, but with the rod held directly above it its position and a very hard pull I got it free and eventually out into open water back below my position.  When it finally showed itself to be a barbel I was surprised to say the least, then when I lifted it after its usual rest period in the landing net I was even more surprised, again this was a very big barbel.

                                                             14lb-7oz Avon pb.

The scales showed me the good news of a new river best at 14lb-7oz, almost completely a surprise other than the fact the a big fish can come from anywhere on this river.  I had no more action that night and trips since then have only produced chub and bream but with two monsters in just over a week I am more than satisfied with my September barbel returns.

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?

Sturgeon fishing in Canada 2015

Following on from last year’s trip to Canada we had to return in an effort to get one of those big sturgeons that did not show for us at the time.  The group comprised of John Found, David Cook and me and we would be traveling with Cascade Fishing Adventures under Marc Laynes.  His organisation is located in Chilliwack in the province of British Columbia and we would fish for the sturgeon in the Frazer River.

The 9 hour flight from Gatwick to Vancouver is bit of a trek  and then we are picked up for the 1hr 30min trip to the hotel in Chilliwack arriving about 3pm local time after allowing for the minus 8 hour time difference between UK and the extreme west of Canada.  Since we will not fish until the following morning there is plenty of time to sort out the suit case and get cleaned up for a trip out to a local restaurant for a proper meal.  One thing I do see here is the apparent lack of cooked greens on the meals, nice meat but vegetables come mostly braised assuming you can get any.  Still after the meal we made our way back to the hotel and by 9pm I was in bed ready for the morning and our start at 8am.

We met up with Clayton Jones who would be our guide for the day and after a 20 minute drive we were at the boat launch along with a number of other boats setting for the day on the river.   Within a very short space of time we were travelling off to a nearby spot to catch bait in the form of a fish known as pike-minnow.  These are a pretty fish of about 6inch long and were to prove our most successful bait, the other being pink salmon in either a small fillet or just half the head form.   Tackle comprise 9ft rods with Shimano reels carrying lots of 130lb braid going to a wedge shaped leger weight of about 16oz to 20oz, the hooks are barbless size 10.0’s.

Once we had a supply of minnow it was off on the jet boat that seems standard transport for the guides with speeds of up to 30mph and the ability to travel over 6 inch of water.  It was not too long after stopping that Dave was into the first fish of the trip, a sturgeon of about 40lb and as such a real baby, shortly after this I had an even smaller fish of perhaps 20lb but at least we were off the mark.  It seemed that John was playing it crafty since the next two small fish that he caught both came off quite quickly so he stayed on his rod.  Meanwhile on the last chance of the day Dave went on to catch a real beauty.  At 7ft-9in and a girth of 40in it was put at 290lb.  This, using the time proven formula for converting length to weigh by using both length and a girth measurement taken directly behind the pelvic fins.   Using this ‘pelvic girth’ position means the measurement will remain constant and does not vary with spawn, hence it is a more reliable figure to give an estimated weight.  The fight was spectacular and we had to follow the fish downstream before it finally gave up the scrap and allowed us to take a couple of photos.

                                              1st of the big fish at 290lb to Dave.

Pike-minnow bait ready to cast out.

Pink salmon chunks.

Back out the following morning, we went through a similar routine of getting bait then off to one of Marc’s known hotspots.  It did not take too long before John had taken a 5ft-7in fish soon followed by me with a 6ft-2in specimen.  Although medium fish by the standards of this river they do give one hell of a fight and both of these would take 15mins to land.  Then at about 11am John struck into a fish that really did fight and it would 45 minutes before this fish thought it would be ok to have his photo taken.  At 8ft-5in and a 40in girth, it was estimated at 340lb, one hell of a beast and it prove such when after one very poor photo on my camera and one other better shot on another camera it broke free of our hold and disappeared back into the deeps.   Three other sturgeon followed that before close of play, but with the best at 5ft-10in to me they were comparatively small.

                                                   At 6ft-2in a little powerhouse.

                                              A poor shot of John's 340lb.   Better one later I hope.

                                               Clayton Jones our guide for three days.

The evenings had settled into a nice easy routine of wash and brush-up then out at 7.00pm for a visit to one of the many restaurants in the area.  With the weather holding at a very comfortable level of around 25C maximum the fishing was great.  Meet up with the guide at 8.00am and fish all day through to 4.00pm when the rods would come in and we would head back to the boat launch area.  Each day was different and today we had Mark Laynes as our guide and he headed right upstream to one of his favourite spots on the river.  With fishing being what we all know we moved several times in the immediate area and saw sturgeon roll, but not one fish took bait despite our best efforts.

Moving downstream and dropping into other good swims I took the first fish of the day, one of about 4ft but that was eclipsed by the next taken by John yet again.  This fish truly gave a fight worthy of one 50lb heavier and when it finally gave up it was measured at 7lb-9in length and a girth of 36.5in.  Again using the formula we got an estimated weight of 260lb a very worthwhile specimen to the growing list.  Just before close of play I latched into another hard fighting specimen that was eventually measured at 6ft-1oz to give a very pleasing end to our days sport.

                                               John's 260lb with Clayton & I holding it.

                                                Last fish of the day at 6ft-1in to me.

We were now at Friday and all along the forecast had been for rain to begin at that time and then to stay over our remaining days.   Fortunately for this day at least we only had the occasional shower and with four fish going to 6ft it was yet another good sporting day.  

                                                           John with his 6ft specimen.

John had been on several trips to the region from 1997 onward and in those days twenty fish catches coming to the boat were not unusual.  As with most fishing those that arrive early get the best sport and today a catch of say six fish would be slightly above average, between two and four is more the expected normal day

                                                       Rod watching on a sunny day

Saturday the weather had certainly come in with a vengeance, heavy rain overnight and early morning was accompanied by very strong winds and considerable damage was caused by falling trees.  Fortunately Clayton went upstream to an area that experience had shown him to be a little bit better sheltered in these conditions and it was not until evening when we returned that it was realised how fortunate we had been.  Three foot waves coming at us made it necessary to slow the boat almost to a crawl, but in the calm area we made hay while the sun shone.  John was first with a fish of 6ft-8in length and 34in girth giving and estimated weight of 180lb.  A very hard fight and only different to the larger specimens in that the fish gives up that little bit sooner.  That was at 11-15am and at about 1.00pm we were in action again this time with Dave having a good fish on his rod.  A very similar fight to John’s followed and eventually he landed an almost identical specimen.  This time it came in at 6ft-9in length and 33in girth and again an estimated weight of 180lb.

                                                      180lb for John.

                                                                  180lb for Dave.

With these larger fish coming to both John and Dave I was getting a little concerned that maybe I would miss out, just the rest of this day and one more to go and then it was back to England but I need not of worried.  My bait was taken and after an initial twitch the rod bent over and I struck into weight.  John and Dave went to bring in the rods positioned behind me whilst Clayton went to the rod to my left, This meant the he saw the fish leap as well as myself, and his comment as the fish came totally clear of the water was ‘that’s a big mother ***.’  One of the best feelings to any fisherman must be holding a rod with a tight clutch that is screaming as the line peels off with a very large fish trying to make his escape.  Once the other rods were in we could up-anchor and slowly, but surely, get back into control.  Not totally, in that the fish still went off in long runs but each time I could get line back onto the reel until he was just off the back of the boat.  At this stage I was tired and I hoped the fish was as weary as I, but Clayton obviously felt not and he powered the boat away from the fish with the reel giving all that hard earned line out again, dam!  It was probably another 15min to 20 mins before I got into a similar position as I had previously attained but this time we could take him slowly to the shore for the photos etc.  I had come out on this trip hoping for a 7ft plus specimen so I was well pleased when the tape showed it to be exactly 8ft long and a girth of 41in, 320lb of solid muscle and I left Clayton to hold the head for the photo as I was sure the fish could break my grip as John’s fish had done to him in making his escape.

                                                                           320lb for me.

Along with the rain the temperature had dropped by about 10C and this reflected in our bait catching, where we caught enough in 20 minutes at the start of the week it now took a lot longer and we actually left with less than we had hoped for.  Today we suffered a number of dropped takes and dropped fish which did suggest the fish were far more reluctant to take bait.  We did take three fish to 5ft-6in over the course of the day to give a final total for the week of 21 sturgeon.

That was the end of the fishing but not the end of the excitement if that was the right word for it.  The transport to the airport was arranged for 9.00am for a 1.25pm flight, plenty of time and we got to the airport at about 10.45am.  The journey took a little longer than usual due to some work still being carried out in clearing fallen trees and our driver had taken us via some back roads rather than the main highway as usual.  Walking through the doors into the airport my mind went to the paperwork etc. I would need and I immediately realised I had left my passport in the room safe back at the hotel, panic stations!

                                                  The Coast Hotel  - Chilliwack

A quick phone call to the hotel reception and the problem explained, ‘could they get the passport and have a taxi bring it to the airport’ a task that was done very efficiently.  Meanwhile we went to the check-in desk and explained the problem only to be told the gates close at 12.25pm on the dot, no exception.  In fact the chap said they were overbooked and were looking for three people to agree to stay over.  Although I hoped the taxi would make on time I knew it was highly unlikely and already I was prepared for and expensive delay with the need to get another ticket and overnight hotel room.  Sure enough the 12.25pm time came and went, John and Dave had already gone through and they wished me luck.  I had been in touch with Joe Taylor about my error as he is a well-travelled angler and would be more likely to be able to advise me what to do and I was actually talking to him when the taxi arrived a 12.45pm.  Once the passport had been sorted we continued to talk and Joe asked what airline I was on, I could not remember so as we talked I walked down along all the different airline check in desks.  I had gone right to the start of in international departures to meet the taxi and the check-in was at the other end so it was a little walk to get back there.  It would now be about 25 minutes after the desk had closed but as I spoke to Joe and related what airline it was I realised there were three people checking in, nothing to lose and I went through and put my case on the conveyer expecting to be told ‘go away’ or something like that.  Instead the chap started to issue my boarding pass and put the tickets on the suitcase.  He explained he had put me through as a priority passenger and explained I could use the express route through to the loading area.  Quite amazingly I actually got on the plane before the other two as they waited for the low number seats to be called.  Hopefully I will never leave my passport again; though I will never know how I got on that plane the gods were certainly smiling down at me.

I could not close without a couple of the animal shots taken at range.  A brown bear that swam across the river behind us and a deer with her fawn.

ABF Barbel Challenge 2015

Finally we come down to the Army Benevolent Fund [ABF] challenge for the third year.  Each year Gerry Gleeson has set different parameters for those taking place and this year is no different.   With two teams, one for the north and one for the south, each would be made up of five regular members and a guest and going on to the different rivers.     This year the number of rivers has been reduced to five for each region, four in the north, four in the south and then both teams meet up on the Wye.  With 24hrs allocated as the maximum for each river it obviously means that less time than this would actually be spent fishing since the groups would need to travel between rivers within the 24 hrs.   This year the target is to get three doubles off each river, then it is hoped to back up the doubles with singles as well, difficult but that’s what targets should be.

I’ll be writing this blog about my contribution with just a few comments about other members of the northern team, but I would say that the total doubles count was 12 for the north and 11 for the south, a worthy total even if it failed the targets of three off each river.

Arriving at the River Nene for the first element of the north challenge I was set up in my swim well before dawn and within 30 mins my challenge had begun with a 10lb-1oz barbel that took the Elips pellets.  Making the fish safe I made a phone call to Mark Smith, the PDAA bailiff, he was walking back down the stretch and was quickly next to me in order to verify the weight and take the photos.  A pleasing start, although I then went through the daylight hours without any further signs of fish.  I had moved slightly along the section I was fishing with the intent to move back to the successful swim in the evening.

Jerry fishing quite a way up the stretch had more luck in daylight and took another double of 10lb-6oz to keep us on track, better still he added a couple of smaller fish to his tally.  

                                              First of the challenge Nene 10lb-1oz

Meanwhile dusk approached and yet again I cast my pellet offering to the raft that had formed on a trailing branch on the tree opposite.   No instant response this time, but it was not too long a wait before the tip shot round in the expected fashion and the strike confirmed that it was a barbel.   The swim was full on streamer weed from my bank to about half way across; the first double had come upstream along the clear channel on the opposite side.  This time the fish shot straight into the middle of the streamer giving me one hell of a fight where I thought I would lose him several times having to wait as he pulled himself out of the weed.  Trying to net him was the next problem since there was a lot of weed collected on the main line, twice I netted the fish only to have him pulled out of the net by the weight of the weed, in the end I netted both fish and weed though then I could hardly lift the net.

I thought it was going to be a good barbel, but when I finally put him on the scales I was amazed to see a weight of 14lb-6oz.  Before completed the weighing I had called Matt Marlow down from the next swim and I got him to get his scales since this would be a new best weight for the largest known fish on this section of the Nene.  Matt’s scales actually showed a weight a couple of ounces higher so I took my scales reading being quite happy they are accurate.  By now four of the team had arrived in the swim and several cameras, both still and video went into overdrive in order to keep the fish out water for the minimum time.  

                                                 River pb for me at 14lb-6oz

Two fish and two doubles, it was a happy lad that made his way across to the Trent for the next leg of the challenge.

We had had some rain in the period running up to the start of the challenge and although it had not affected the Nene to any degree it appeared the Trent had risen and it was now on its way down again.  I tried a few casts and found that my normal half way out was not really feasible; too much weed was coming down so I came closer in to the side.  With the time of year there were plenty of boats going back and forth hopefully when these slow down on dusk it might help reduce the weed problem and so it proved the case.  The Trent is one of the in form rivers at the moment but today it seems to be a little slow.   Fishing my usual big feeders with a mix of pellets and hemp along with Elips on the hook I had to wait until near dawn for my first and only bite.  Fortunately it weighed in at 12lb-2oz and Paul Floyd came along to do the honours with the camera, another successful river for me and now we moved onto the Derwent.

                                                      Trent contribution at 12lb-3oz.

A stop off at a local café gave us a welcome chance of a full English breakfast before the onward trip.  We would be fishing at Borrowash where two different clubs meet at the bridge over the river.  Earl of Harrington upstream and Derbyshire County AC downstream.  I would be fishing downstream along with Julian Barnes while the other lads fish upstream.  A big thank you here to both clubs for the 24hr permissions for those without tickets.   The river looked spot on with just a little colour, but no drifting weed and Julian took full advantage taking barbel of 11lb-9oz, 12lb-8oz and 13lb-1oz.   I caught a near double of 9lb-14oz with a change of bait to one of the MAD bait offerings that Justin suggested I try.  Meanwhile Matt was in heaven having taking a monster of 13lb-10oz for a new river pb.  A very successful river and now onward to the Dove with a stop at the café yet again for breakfast.

                                                    My Derwent fish of 9lb-14oz.

The Dove has not been kind to me over the previous two trips and I’m yet to catch a barbel off the section we fish, not to be demoralised I made my way to my chosen swim and settled in for the night.  Following the usual routine of baitdrop hemp and pellet then sit back and wait.  Come dusk I cast out and caught chub but no barbel, in fact it was 3.00am when I finally struck into one of the target fish and yet again my luck held when paul could take photos of a 10lb-13oz specimen.  My third river double out of four – well pleased since I knew the chance of a double off the Wye was very low.   Matt again was well pleased with yet another river pb at 12lb-6oz. 

                                                    10lb-13oz beauty off the Dove.

  The next river was least interesting to me but off we went to the Wye only to find that the other team had arrived early had occupied the going swims.  I think this was reflected in the result of the south with 37 barbel and the north 4.   Fortunately I caught one of those four so I ended the challenge with barbel caught on all five rivers, very pleased with that.  Jerry did fish the following day having got a better swim and made the best of it in the form of a barbel of 10lb-0oz exactly, the same fish he caught at the start of the season obviously a friend J

By this stage I had had enough and so come dusk after that first day on the river I came home job done.

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.

The large bream campaign begins.

The river close season used to mean the end of fishing for three months, now I can continue to enjoy my sport but only on allowable still waters.  I have been trying to catch a large perch of one such venue and although I caught to well over the 3lb mark as mentioned in the last blog I still await the 4lb fish I hope is swimming around there.

                                                           A 3lb perch that still holds spawn.

As we move into April my thoughts change to the tench and bream potential and with very little change in the rigs I cast further out and hope for a large bream to show.  The main problem with bream is their nomadic nature on most venues, you may see them rolling but that only tells you where there are at that moment not where they will be or where they will feed.

Over the many years that I’ve fished for the bream I imagine I’ve tried every known method and bait in their pursuit, the only conclusion I’ve come to is when they are prepared to feed they can be easy and caught on almost any method.  The other side of that coin is that most of the time they are very difficult, if not next door to impossible.

This early in the season I had decided on a very frugal approach and just rely on maggot loaded swimfeeders and a double hook rig with the maggots on the hook nearest the feeder, then an artificial corn/maggot combination on the top hook.  This is not going to going to make a big catch of fish but so far this year just three bream have been caught, all singly with this suggesting they were not shoaled up.

                                              Pull the small hook into the corn and job done.

With the overnight rain I expected the water temperature to have dropped and with the east wind blowing it was not with the highest of expectations that I set out for an afternoon –evening session.  Rods are already set up and it was just a cast of casting for the horizon and sit back and wait.  I recast every hour but it was more a case of hoping a fish would come across the feeder offering and pick up the hookbait.  In the words of the famous saying ‘nothing kept happening all the time,’ but that had been the case on my previous visits for the bream so no surprise there.

It was well into the afternoon when one of the bobbins dropped slightly and then gave a little giggle.  It was not the usual bream bite that hits the deck in one movement and I was quite surprised to hit into heavy resistance on the strike.  Playing the fish to the bank I discussed the possible culprit with the lad who had come along from the next swim.  Not a perch, no bangs typical of their fight, possibly a tench or maybe a jack pike since they have been picking up maggot baits, not a bream though since it was too good a fight.  Fifteen yards out it flashed on the surface and to our surprise it was the bream I had hoped for, when the scales showed it weighed in at 13lb-8oz it was a very nice welcome to a new water venture for the bream.  The fish had taken the artificial bait proving yet again their worth in the angler's armory. 

                                                                   First of the year.