#3. A change in season...

With summer drifting further into the past and the autumnal feeling in the air, I was at a bit of a loss as to where to venture out this week. The weather forecast wasn't the greatest, wind and rain forecast on the south coast. A drop in temperature to.  My local Hampshire Avon where I normally fish is also very weedy still, there are signs of it starting to turn brown and it's slowly beginning to break up so it won't be long. Weighing it up I felt my best chance of catching was probably another overnight trip up to the River Trent.

A weedy Avon

The drive up again was blighted by stupid traffic yet again on the dreadful M25. It's still amazing me how 4 lanes can be so clogged on a weekend in the mid afternoon. I think next time I will take the A34 and A43 to join the M1. I don't know why they bother having speed cameras on the M25 as u never move fast enough to even consider speeding lol 😡😤

I arrived at the Trent around 8pm just as the last bit of daylight was turning into night. To my surprise after the recent rain across the Midlands, the Trent was painfully low 😦. There was barely any flow what so ever which did dent my confidence a bit. My mate was already set up and fishing. Turned out before I arrived he had already had a barbel run but lost the fish to a snap off on the jagged rocks on the river bed. This helped fill me with some confidence we may be able to temp out a fish or two.

I was using my normal Trent barbel set up, tripod with two rods on cage feeders and long rigs. 15 mm boilies as hook baits but this time I had pre soaked them in a krill flavoured glug. My god did the glug smell but the barbel love it apparently lol 😷😷

Pungent 😷

After about 20 mins I had a run, the isotope was moving all over the place like a sparkler! Feeling confident I lifted into it and soon realised it wasn't a barbel. After a short scrap the fish was in the net, a chub around 3lb. It was a stocky fish with lovely summer brassy colours to it. I quickly put it back and re cast the bait. This was shortly followed by a couple of bream. The Trent bream in this section are actually quite a good stamp. Annoying when barbel fishing but with an average size of 7lb ish there not to shabby ☺️

Shortly after this I had a good run on my downstream rod. Lifting into this take it was clearly a big barbel. It was solid and stripping line at will with big, powerful lunges. I managed to get the fish under control and was playing it well. Sadly, shortly after gaining this control it took me down into the rocky bottom and snapped me off. I lost the entire rig and just got back some line which the first meter off was completely frayed 😔. This was to be the last barbel action of the evening as all the remaining runs were bream. 

I slept in the car and woke early to get a clear run back down south. Nearer home I decided to have a few hours on a local pit for bream. I'd not fished this pit for a while, so was intrigued to try it and this proved to be a a good call as the rain descended so it was quite nice to get under the brolly and watch the bobbins. I fished for around five hours and managed a couple of bream weighing 9lb 2oz and 9lb 4oz 😃🎣

A moody Bream 

On the way home from the lake I decided I would stop at Hampshire Avon and check in on how the level and weed was looking. It was still quite high and weedy but I found a large gap in the weed and still had the barbel gear in the car. The light was fading into darkness but I had some small boilies in the car still and fancied a quick go for an hour or two. I cast one out into the gap in the weed and sat back watching the isotope. After about 10 mins the tip began indicating a bite which I lifted into and connected to a fish. It wasn't a barbel and I was thinking a small chub. As the fish moved into netting range I turned on my head torch and the light illuminated a gorgeous roach slipping into the net. I was surprised it took a mini boilie but then I remembered when my good mate Ryan Hayden had a roach haul on the Thames using them. 

I popped the roach on the scales and it went 1lb 13oz, I fired off a few self takes which sadly came out badly. The focus was messed up. Thinking it was a fluke I returned the roach and re cast looking for barbel. Slightly later I had another similar bite which turned out to be a second roach 😃 which looked a little plumper. This one was an honest 1lb 15oz. This pic turned out much better thankfully. 

Almost 2lbs of river perfection 😃

It was soon time to call it a day. I'm a purest so I'm not sure I'm happy catching them on boilies but it's possibly something I need to think about on my acolyte and lighter gear. As you know, big river roach really are my favourite fish so it's always nice to get amongst them. We're see how things pan out but it's certainly opened my eyes to other ways of tempting the most beautiful fish the river has to offer 👍🏻🎣

#2. Breams Can Come True...

For me there's always been something quite mythical about big gravel pit bream. Large shoals of big, bronzed, dustbin lid sized bream mooching about in the depths. Not everyone's fish of choice and to most carp anglers a complete pest. But not to me, I love em and have fancied a go for em for a while now. September is a good time to bream fish as well, so I recently decided to venture out to a pit where I know a few good fish reside 😃🎣

Rods out!

Well, as usual living on south coast, practically every lake I want to fish I have to head north. This one was not to far a run in the south of the country. Usually the M25 is a cruel bitch for me but on this occasion I chose to go up the night before and stay in a travelodge just down the road from the venue. This paid off as traffic was light and by staying close to the pit I did not need such an early start in the morning 🚗🚗

M25 behaving itself!

The following morning I arrived at the lake at first light, enabling us to get the pegs we wanted on the far bank under the cover of trees. It's not a heavily fished gravel pit but with rain and wind forecast if offered shelter, making it the most suitable spot. 

Fishing would be over a slight gravel bar at about 40 yards out. So first things first I chose my area using a far bank marker and began to spod out some particle and attractant. This consisted of a fine mixture of hemp, oats, caster, maize, molasses to add flavour and few other little bits. 5 to 6 spod fulls over my chosen area was plenty to begin with creating a cloud effect and covering the lake bed with some free offerings 🍽

Spodding out!

Once this was out there working its magic I set about tackling up. My rods of choice were two Drennan Tench and Bream specialist rods. Both 1.75 tc, coupled with a couple of shimano bait runners spooled with 8lb line. At the business end I would be using the method feeder tactics with hair rigged pop up sweat corn and size 14 hooks. A tired and tested method for bream and would also catch me any tench that may come my way. 

The method mix I like to use on the feeder is a simple bream method mix. It smells so sweet and I also like to add a little tutti fruity attractant to it for extra flavouring. Then mix it with a little lake water and Its good to go. It almost smells like something I could eat myself 😋

Having aloud around half an hour after spoding out I was set up and ready to go. The wind that was forecast was not materialising and the sun had come out. I set up the rod rests and turned on my alarms and made my first two casts. These method feeders fly through the air with little effort allowing me to hit my baited area with little effort what so ever. I attached the bobbins and sat back for the waiting game to begin 🎣🙏🙏

Tactics for the job!

By now the sun was up and warm and with it shining on my face I started to become sleepy and began dozing off 😴😴😴 Some 15 mins later I was woken with the buzz of my right hand rod going off. Oosshh I had a run but was it a bream? That question was soon answered when I lifted into it and got a few thuds on the rod. Definite bream lunges, after a minute or twos scrap my mate arrived from the swim next door to do the honours with the net. I swung the rod in and a beauty of a dark bronze male bream slipped into the net. A few quick pics and a quick weigh and all 9lb 12oz of him was swimming back off into its watery home 🎣👍🏻

Bronzed beauty!

About an hour later I had another run on the right rod, another bream was on the way in but this time I would have to land it myself as my mate had gone to get us some refreshments. I was just getting the bream into netting range when my left bobbin shot up and I had a double hook up! I was then playing both fish while trying to keep them clear of snags. This proved to be a nightmare and after a few mins the lines became tangled. At this point the second fish topped the surface, a huge bream that would easily be a pb. It was just at that point after struggling to keep pressure on both fish that the larger bream bolted into weed and the hook pulled 😭 

Dustbin lid slab!

After a few expletives I composed my self and went on to land the other bream. An 8lb 8oz bronzed slab. I've never seen such fat bream! I quickly got both rods back out thinking a large shall my have moved in. Nope! For the next two hours I don't have a sniff. Not even a bleep or a twitch. At this point I decided to spod out a bit more bait. Another 3 or 4 spod casts as bream can quickly hover up bait in no time at all 😊

Another hour passed before I got my next run. It felt a good fish and then it broke the surface. It seemed reasonable. My mate again arrived with the net and as it slipped into the net it was then we realised it was one of the bigger bream. There all roughly the same size in diameter but all of the bigger fish have such fat bellies. I was a bit nervous as It had to be a good double to break my pb. I needed not to worry as the scales went 12lb 10z. My pb was smashed and I was ecstatic. A few pics later I returned it 🙌🏻😃🐋

My new PB of 12lb 10oz

After this my session was relaxed with a further bream banked weighing 9lb 3oz as well as a 7lb 7oz tench. My mate also managed a 12lb 7oz bream and a tench to. At this point it was mission accomplished so I decided to call it a day. I left the lake buzzing and can't wait to come back in a month or so when hopefully the bream will be munching hard ahead of the winter and I may be able to smash the pb once again... 😃🎣

Breamtastic Session!

#1. Into the Breach...

I have been asked more and more by several friends recently why I don't keep a blog of my angling exploits. Not just to share them all with fellow angling enthusiasts, but to keep a running 'digital diary' of my sessions on the bank etc. It stuck in my mind, so I thought what the hell so here goes nothing....

The barbel divide, north v south...

A few weeks back I decided for my first proper campaign of this 2016 river season I would focus my attention on barbel. A species I do admire and have had some lovely catches of down the years with a healthy PB of over 13lbs. I love targeting them in the summer months, when they are carrying there summer sun tan look. Deep golden/ bronzed backs, pure white bellies and pink  pectorals. 

Typical H. Avon Swim

I started for them on my local Hampshire Avon, mainly because it's just down the road and a river I've fished for over 20 years. Plus Hampshire Avon barbel are in my opinion the pinnacle of the species and the most beautiful. The area of river I chose to fish was slightly off the beaten track, a good 6ft depth over a gravel bed, caped in ranunculus with a broken tree at the head of the swim creating a raft, a perfect feature for the barbel to make home. Having sat and watched the swim I started to notice barbel drifting in and out from under the raft, mouthing over a clear gravel patch next to the raft, then sliding back into there lair. An amazing sight for any angler to see. 

Using a baitdropper

With intrepid action I baited the swim with a mixture of hemp, caster and small pellet using my trusty bait dropper, around 5 or 6 drops followed by a few broken down halibut boilies. Rod wise I use a korum 12ft barbel rod and 4000 Stradic reel, usually only one rod, sometimes a pair. With the swim being so tight I opted for the single rod approach. Set up wise just a simple link ledger approach, 1.5 oz lead to hold with a 2 ft hair rigged 15mm sea salt and halibut boilie, slightly broken off to maximise flavour. A simple underarm flick was all that's required to get the bait nice and tightly under the raft. Then, the waiting game....

Well I waited, and waited and waited, tried longer hook lengths, shorter ones, different areas of the swim, smaller hooks, different hook baits including pellet and caster, even worm and meat. I could not buy a bite, not even a chub. The weather was overcast and not to hot, ideal summer conditions really. Soon it was time to pack up, the journey home was arduous, a bad accident on the M27 meant a long delay, which gave me plenty of thinking time to try and work out where I went wrong. 

I returned the following next two weekends, fishing the same swim with the same tactics but with nothing but a few lean summer chub to my name. Each time I would spot barbel working the gravel and drifting around the back of the swim and each time they kept getting the better of me. Week, at the end of the 6th barbel blank I snapped and put a joke status up on Facebook, something along the lines of... 

" these Hampshire Avon barbel are doing my head in, please someone take me barbel fishing where I can actually catch a barbel lol " 

I soon deleted it but before I did my good friend Michael got in touch. Inviting me up to join him for a barbel session on the mighty River Trent. Well, I know the Trent from my younger days, my dad was born in Nottingham and lived just down the road from beeston weir. Family holidays to Nottingham often involved fishing the Trent. So I excepted and the following sat eve I made the 200 ish mile drive north to barbel fish the awesome Trent. 

Sunrise on the Trent!

Upon arrival I was reminded of the sheer girth of the Trent. I thought to my self "bloody hell, you can fit the Avon into this 3 or 4 times". Even in the low and slow summer conditions it looked a mighty beast. Still, Mike said it's usually good for a few fish so with that we set up. We opted for a double tripod set up to fish with two rods, both 2lb test curve, couple of bait runner reels as the bites are savage holding 10lb line. There wasn't to much flow on the river so a 2oz cage feeder was enough to hold bottom, coupled with a 2ft Fluorocarbon hook length and size 12 hook. For bait we used a fishy method mix with pellets for the feeder mix and on the hair rig it was a 15mm sea salt boilie, sometimes with the end chopped a bit to release more flavour. Mikes top tip here was to only cast out a couple of rod lengths due to the sharp boulders in the middle of the river. With the traps set we sat back as dusk descended. 

About 2 hours into darkness, the isotope took one huge bolt to the left, followed by the gorgeous sound of the reel screaming. I was in business! A respectful battle followed, the fish doing its best to cut me off on the jagged rocky riverbed. Eventually Mike did the honours with the net and a lovely conditioned Trent barbel was in the net. 

After the fish was well rested, we quickly weighed her and fired off a few pics before getting her safely back to her watery home. See went 9lb 12oz, a long fish that come winter will be a healthy double. I had one more run later that night but sadly the hook pulled but I was happy, I had my barbel mojo back. 

My stocky Trent barbus

I returned the following week with Mike for another crack, this time we both fished. Same tactics, Mike had a run before I arrived and lost it to a hook pull. Unfortunately, we were in a new swim to myself and Mike. Therefore I had some issues with casting and kept getting the feeder stuck in rocks meaning several re casts. This resulted in more feeder fulls of bait going in, a lot more than I would have preferred. The end result due to over feeding was bream, bream and bream... Good quality ones at that going over 6lb, but they were in my swim and in mass which meant I had to cast out further, away from the better barbel areas.

Still, Mike showed me the way when his rod tore off and an epic battle played out. Strong lunges and plenty of runs, he was into a quality barbel. Eventually we got it in close enough to net, it was at this point we both did our best to knock it of the hook. Eventually, the barbel was in the net, a brute of a fish that tipped the scales at 12lb 12oz 😵🎣

Mike's stunning Trent double

That was it for that session, I returned home with fresh optimism to give the Avon another go. So two days later I decided to try the Hampshire Avon again. Only this time, I would fish the same swim but at night. I also invited a very good friend of mine to do the night with me. Ryan Hayden had been working for Drennan on the River Wye all day but selflessly offered to do the 150+ mile journey to join me. Ryan is an excellent angler who I have had the pleasure of fishing with on many occasions and is without doubt my closest friend in fishing. His superb understanding of different rig presentations and watercraft mixed with my own local knowledge and experience gave me all I needed. 

Ryan made a few changes to my rig and added a special glug to my hook bait. I lowered it into the swim using the head torch to get the correct position. I sat back with the isotope glowing in the dark like a small firefly. 

Twenty minutes later at 10.30 pm I started getting plucks on the tip, convinced it was a chub I ignored it. The taps continued, followed by a gentle drop back. Posed to lift into what was surely a chub, the tip suddenly pulled round, not a 3ft twitch more a 1.5 ft one. It felt a good fish and I was honestly expecting a decent chub but then out of the raft into the clear water came a lovely bronze barbel. 

Ryan soon netted it for me, and although not a monster at just under 8lb, it was to me a truly special fish. It's condition and summer colouration was stunning. My night was made, I relaxed and no further fish followed for me but I wasn't bothered.  It would have been nice for Ryan to land one but we have another session planned soon. 

A job well done, yes the north has bigger numbers of barbel, but the southern barbel sure win it in the looks department... 🎣

Gorgeous Hampshire Avon Barbel