Barbel, Warks Avon

A fairly uneventful session yesterday taking a Barbel first cast and a Chub about an hour later and nothing else happened. Managed to get soaked for the second time running.

She weighed 9lb 8oz and took rolled luncheon meat.

Bullocks to Zander

11 foot of carbon feeder rod is probably not the most obvious choice of weapon for fending off a herd of inquisitive Bullocks but Steve thought it was. It worked for a while anyway. 

The rain properly arrived this week and we had a difficult session on the Avon. The river was a few inches up and with that came a constant barrage of weed through the swim making delicate presentation an impossibility. We had decided to cover all the bases and I had a small Roach dead bait cast out for Zander on one rod, a lump of luncheon meat on another for Barbel and Steve also tried for the Zeds plus a maggot feeder for anything else that came along.

We arrived mid afternoon and it took quite a while for us to get the first fish, a Jack Pike of about 7lb to my Roach rod. Steve followed this up with a cracking Perch of about 12oz and then another a bit smaller. The heavens opened around 5pm and that seemed to slow the fishing down.  Just as it was getting dark Steve had a big Dace at least half a pound. 

It was my turn next and I landed a 4lb 6oz Zander which had ignored the deadbait, preferring the Luncheon meat instead, fishing is a funny old game!

As you can probably tell from my jacket that by this time we were soaked through. The thunder and lightning had started and we know bolts of electricity and lengths of carbon are not good bedfellows so it was time to call it a night.

The trek back to the van is across three fields, two of which now had skittish Bullocks in them due to the storm. The first field we gave our bovine friends a wide berth and they ignored us. The next field was darker and we did not see them until we were virtually upon them. This spooked them and they set off for a run. They ran across and behind us which was a tad scary with the lightning flashes to illuminate them. They then turned and followed us but thankfully slowly and at a distance. We reached the stile in record quick time, I leapt over it and just as Steve was about to follow a Deer jumped out of the trees and ran for it. He nearly died, one more shock would have finished him off. We then drove home in a spectacular storm, via the Oddfellows for a nerve calming ale of course.

Blanks, Struggles and Freebies

Avon sunset

All good things must come to an end and my recent run of success did just that. The last two weeks have been a real battle, firstly two blanks and then a couple of sessions with fish caught but not the species or the size that I wanted. Still if it was easy and we always got what we wanted we would not come back for more.

10.08.11

The first session was an evening Barbel foray and the successful tactic of rolling meat finally let me down, two bites, no hook ups therefore no fish.

14.08.11

The following weekend my brother and I headed for linear as confident as ever and we were sent away with our tails between our legs. A bite apiece, mine came off, my brother's hook link failed.

17.08.11

A short evening session chasing Zander. I avoided the blank by landing a pair of Jack Pike, both around the 5lb mark, one of them in the pitch black which is unusual and I was sure was a Zed til I shone the head torch on it. Better result but still not that satisfying.

18.08.11

Today I decided to go for the confidence building session we all need some time so the local commercial chasing Silver Bream was my plan. I still struggled for the first hour as I targeted the margins. Once I realised all the fish were in the middle of the pool I caught and fairly regularly. Despite the torrential down pours I enjoyed the session and ended with a very varied mixed bag.

The only fish I weighed was the biggest Silver Bream which was a new personal best at 10oz! 

One bit of good fortune was the new Land Rover arrived last weekend with a pretty awesome number plate absolutely free. The chap selling it is an angler but did not twig that to the right person it would be worth good money and he just left it on!

 It is pretty unmissable so say hello if you see it on the bank somewhere.

Feeling Blue in Plymouth

The first of two shark trips I have booked in this year. I hope the second one is more productive than this one. Not one single beast landed, not even a dropped run either. We drifted the exact same area as our skipper did Thursday and that day the lads landed 10! I still thoroughly enjoyed it though.

This time I had decided to bring my travel spinning rod along and play around with other species whilst waiting for the shark action. I did not expect any success with it but it had to be worth a try. Just after lunch I tied on a sidewinder and chucked it out as far as I could behind the boat, into the rubby dubby slick. Within a couple of turns it got nailed, I could not believe my luck.A cracking fight ensued on the light gear and I landed a 4lb 12oz Bass. 

My first ever Bass so a new personal best and another species crossed off the bucket list. 

I carried on playing with the lure rod but no more Bass were forthcoming. Mid afternoon I changed to a spinner and a garfish followed it in. They get attracted by the slick. On the skipper's advice a freelined strip of Mackerel on a size 6 hook was chucked out. Within minutes I had one of these fascinating little creatures on board. 

First time I have ever caught one so another pb but I did not bother weighing it. I fished on and caught a couple more of about the same size before we headed back to shore. 

All in all a disappointing day in terms of sharks but I was well pleased with what I did manage.

More summer Barbelling, Warks Avon.

My last Freshwater session for a couple of weeks (shark trip) and no surprise, I went Barbelling. Similar result as last week I had eight Barbel to 8lb 11oz. All on rolled meat.

And three Chub to a very pleasing 4lb 14oz

My wife and kids popped along for a few minutes and I tried as hard as I could to show them a fish but they did not play ball as I hoped, Sod's law.

Roll me a fat one

Another summers day spent chasing Barbel on the Warwickshire Avon. Today was a real red letter day as I landed eight Barbel and a solitary Chub. The first two fish were around the 5/6lb mark and were not put through the weighing and photo rigmarole. Next one along weighed 8lb 6oz.

The rolling meat was doing the trick again but it had to be in exactly the right spot each time to get a bite, a foot away from the shade of the willow and it was left untouched. Four more fish followed including a couple of 'sevens' and then I hooked something that snagged me up before I could get a grip on it. I released the line to see if it would swim out. It didn't. I could still feel it wagging so tried putting some steady pressure on it, suddenly I felt it kick and we were back in. I could see the fish battling in the shallow crystal clear water quite a distance away and she looked decent which did nothing for my heart rate. It seemed to take forever to get the fish into the net but it was probably only a few minutes and I knew that I had nailed my biggest of the season so far. I let her have a rest in the net while I had a breather myself and then did the weigh in and photos. 

10lb 14oz of pristine Avon Barbel. A super way to round off my best ever Barbel session-so far!

Still Rolling, Rolling, Rolling.

It may be making my blog posts monotonous but I don't care, I am completely addicted to rolling meat down fast swims for Barbel. It is a devastating tactic and it amuses me to see loads of other anglers sat behind lifeless stationary ledger rods. I popped down to the river tonight for a couple of hours literally and came away with two Chub and two Barbel. The biggest fish was nailed on the first cast of the session and weighed 9lb 2oz.

Must get some sleep now because I am getting up early tomorrow for another fix. Hopelessly addicted!

Barbel and Otters

No need to panic, this photo was not taken on the Warwickshire Avon or anywhere else local for that matter. It was taken in Buckfastleigh, Devon at a Butterfly and Otter sanctuary(strange combination!). I have just returned from a long weekend with the family in Torquay and the rods did not go with me. I could not manage a whole weekend without wetting a line though (much to my wife's disgust!) so I sneaked a short Saturday morning session in before we went. 

I headed back to the same swim as last week and rolled meat was again the method of attack. Between showers I took three Chub and four Barbel, the biggest weighing 8lb 7oz. 

I also pulled out of a couple of fish too, all before 9am. This style of fishing is getting addictive and I feel certain that it is only a matter of time before I nail a double this way.

Joe 1 Steve -3, Warks Avon

We popped down to the Avon last night for a short session. I had the intention of catching a Zander and Cockney Steve fancied a Barbel. The river is still low and clear so I opted for a slightly deeper section with plenty of tree cover. I was using small Roach deadbaits ledgering one under the far Willow and the other on the nearside drop off. 

The first disaster of Steve's evening was when he realised he had left his pellets at home so he also set up for a predator.

The second disaster was the BAA bailiff coming along to check tickets and he had left his at home. He was politely asked to refrain from fishing. 

These things always come in threes and his hat-trick was knocking his nearly full can of beer all over his chair. He then came and watched me fish for a while. Just as the light was fading I had a bite from the far willow and after a cracking battle through the weed landed this lovely Pike. They fight really well in the summer and I was careful to make sure she was all right and fully recovered.

She swam off strongly and soon after we retired to the ale house. 

Rolling Back the Years. Barbel and Chub, Warks Avon

Last week's Barbel has started an addiction to the species again and this week I arrived on the Avon at dawn as the sun started to beam through the trees. I decided to begin in the same swim that I landed the double last week. Typical fishing, it did not go to plan. If it did every week it would quickly become monotonous and boring. 

The swim had obviously taken a hammering through the week and was full of litter. Three empty luncheon meat tins plus lager and sweet wrappers. Some people are just plain idiots.

I had taken pellets with me this week to try and I thought my boilies from last week were still in the bag but they weren't. I then remembered that Wifey had asked me to glue one of the kids toys back together and the superglue was back in the house so I would have to drill the pellets. This did not work and I kept reeling in an empty hook. The attention from the minnows and the weed was making me lose the bait stop and therefore the bait also. All was not going to plan, not even close. I had imagined a couple of doubles in the net by now. By ten o'clock I was fed up and staring down the barrel of a blank. 

The sun had risen to full height and peering through the clear water the swim looked lifeless so I decided to up sticks and move on. I wandered down stream looking for fish and spotted just a solitary Barbel which flew off when it saw me. 

About an hour later I shook my last throw of the dice. The fish must be somewhere and the fast water below the weir looked likely. I was not confident but I thought nothing ventured nothing gained. I had one tin of meat in the bag and I have never tried rolling it down a swim before so I gave it a go. 

The swim in question is fast and shallow and the main flow runs under some willow trees. Looks very fishy and gives good cover in the midday sunshine. I rolled up my trousers and waded out to the biggest rock in the photo above. With all the weight off the line I ripped a lump of meat off the block and chucked it into the flow. Bang, unbelievably a Chub took it first cast and it put up a great battle in the strong current. Probably weighed closed to 4lb. I let her recover and she swam off strongly.

A short period of inactivity was the followed by another Chub and then a 4lb Barbel.

 I was beginning to suss out the swim and the fish seemed to be mostly under the third Willow from the right in the picture below. Due to the flow I had to cast into the gap between the willows and let the bait trundle down below the trees hoping that it would not get snagged. If I got it right I caught, if not I lost the bait and occasionally the hook too.

I landed another Chub and two more Barbel before I ran out of bait. I was really pleased to have turned the session around and although there was no real biggies it was great fun and the fights were excellent. It must be twenty odd years since I caught fish freelining!

I have read about Barbel clamping down with their pectorals but never seen it happening. I helped this 6lb fish to recover and then it swam into the rapid shallows and held on with it's fins. I watched it for about five minutes to make sure it was ok and it swam off eventually, splashing me in the process.

Holding station but barely moving!

River Tench Best, Warks Avon

Most of my fishing this year has been for Tench, chasing an elusive double. It was becoming slightly monotonous.  In the last couple of weeks I have enjoyed the fresh challenge of running water and fishing for Barbel and Chub. It has made a pleasant change. However I still cannot escape from the Tench. I caught them while after Silver Bream and tonight on the Avon I landed another. 

Do not misunderstand me though, catching the red teddy bear eyed fish is always an enjoyable experience especially when they put up a tremendous battle like this one did. The whole intention was to land Barbel but I suppose Caster and Hemp could lure any species though.

Believe it or not this fish was a looker. The flash on the photo has managed to blanch out the stunning red belly that this fish had. I should not complain, it was a new pb of sorts (rosettes for everything) but I hope the next few battles are with the target species.

Barbel Double, Warks Avon

Family commitments are restricting my time on the bank at the moment but with the river so low and clear it would be pointless fishing all day anyway. Same scenario as last week then, a morning only session but a 4am start gives me enough angling time to satisfy the itch. 

There were two swims that I wanted to fish and in my experience they require two different approaches. One is an extremely popular swim and the fish that reside there are used to man made baits like pellet and boilies. The other is barely fished and I tend to attack it with particles and feeder. I ended up in the former mainly due to the walk being only half a mile and not the full mile. It was early and I had not had a lot of kip!

I fished boily with stringers and my usual approach is to cast as little as possible in the shallow fast water. It took about half an hour before the rod did a two foot twitch and after an excellent battle through the weeds I had my first Barbel of the season safely in the net. I was happy with that but even more pleased that the scales went just past the double mark by six ounces.

No wonder the fight was good with the paddles she had!

That wasn't quite the end of the whiskers action as I also landed another of about 5lb. As the light started to increase and the sun came out the Barbel sulked off and I added six Chub to 4lb 9oz. 

A cracking mornings fishing and I was back home by 11am for a sausage and bacon brunch.

Mornings Only

I managed to fit two morning sessions in this weekend as the title suggests, and they were very contrasting. On Saturday I went down the Avon looking for Barbel and on Sunday I visited the Lenches fishery with a fly rod to catch the resident Trout.
Saturday 25th June
The alarm woke me up at 3.30am and a quick cuppa later and I was in the van and down to the river at first light. Normally I am first on to the river but this year I have noticed an alarming number of bivvies and this was no exception. Two bivvies already in place in the swim I wanted meant I had to take my second choice. I wasn't 100% confident of catching old whiskers and it proved to be the case. No Barbel took my boilie but I did catch a decent Chub to avoid the blank. I haven't double checked but I don't think I have blanked yet this year which is really pleasing but there have been a few similar sessions where I have come close.

A quick self take with too much fingers not enough fish and I was back home for a 9.00am breakfast.

Sunday 26th June
My fly fishing buddie Uncle Ken was down at ours for the weekend so that could not pass by without some fluff chucking. We headed off early morning to the Lenches. There were three other anglers already fishing on the top lake and Uncle Ken joined them. I headed down to the bottom lake so I was alone and no one would notice my amateurish attempts. I prefer the bottom lake because it is shallower and easier to see the fish. This helps me learn which fly does what in the water and also the fishes reactions to each. Most of the time they ignore the fly completely, odd occasions they come for a look and turn away. I kept changing flies all morning but to be honest it was probably my casting that kept them away.
After an hour or so I put on a fly that my daughter Maisie would have chosen first. It was barbie pink and large and fluffy and I thought the fish may attack it in the bright sunshine. Apparently it is called a pink Cactus fly. I cast somehow into the middle of a few and they all seemed to rush at the fly as soon as I started to retrieve it. A 2lb 6oz fish won the race but lost the ensuing battle with me. Result.  Half an hour later and I had one of his mates too, 2lb 2oz.

If you look closely you can see the fly just above the rod handle. The Trout looked shocked to have fallen for such a thing. I was only on a two fish ticket and had reached my limit before the 'experts' which shows that it is better to be a lucky angler than a good angler!
I extended my limit and within no time had anglers fishing either side of me and one opposite! That did not bother me as I knew my casting would soon scare them off! A couple more fish came out but not to my rod and we were home for 1pm.
Two pleasant fishing sessions and still lots of time to play with the kids, it cannot get better than that.

Silver Bream, Willow Farm

I took advantage of the longest day of the year to do an evening session and went back to Willow Farm to try for a larger Silver Bream. I managed it but only by a meagre ounce and I know there are bigger in there. They are not the only species in this pool though and I caught examples of them all tonight. 

I started the session using up the remaining maggots from opening day. This was a mistake. I took two Carp, several Roach, two Gudgeon and three Tench including one of about 5lb which put up a great scrap on light float rod tackle. I also had a brace of Goldfish!

When I ran out of maggots I changed to worm and then I started catching the Silvers. The largest going half a pound. I still caught a couple of Perch and another decent Tench but it was mostly the target species. 

A thoroughly enjoyable session watching the float until I could no longer see it.

Opening day jungle warfare and the big one that got away

The glorious 16th finally arrived and the excitement is still massive for me. I set my alarm for 3.30am but as often happens I was wide awake well before it went off, so I switched it off (before it woke the missus) and made a brew.

I headed for one of my favourite stretches of the Avon and knowing how popular it is I went for the peg as far away from the car park as possible. No one had been down that far for months probably since I last fished it and landed a 5lb Chub way back in February.  The path was overgrown and it was not possible to see a peg or a pathway to one. I am 6 foot tall and the nettles were over my head. As long as I did not fall over I would be fine and I know where the steep bit is. I got down to the waters edge and as quietly as possible made a gap in the reeds to fish through. Proper fishing!

This was my view back to the top of the bank and the pathway back to the van. I made the effort for the peace and tranquility but also the swim is faster flowing than the stretch before, and no walkers or other anglers would spook the fish from the high bank in the clear water.

The fish had not seen anglers baits for 3 months so I figured maggot and hemp would be the best to get them competing and more natural than pellet and boilie.

My primary target was Barbel but it soon became clear my approach was working for all fish, it was not specific at all. The first landed was a Gudgeon, a big one but I did not weigh it. This was followed by a succession of Chublets shaking the tip and eventually hooking themselves or chewing the maggots to empty.

It became frustrating but I knew if I waited old Barbus would come along and he did. A typical three foot twitch and I struck into a dead weight. He took a second or so to wake up but when he realised what was happening he powered towards some downstream Willow trees. I applied pressure, as much as I could but it was not enough and as soon as the line hit a snag it parted. I was gutted, opening day disaster. It felt like a good fish but all Barbel do.

The bites kept coming from the smaller fish and I was pleased to land a nice river Perch of about a pound.

A big headed but empty fish, never the less stunning. My biggest surprise of the day and probably the best fight was this baby Pike which took the double red maggot and did not bite through the line. 

All in all a good start to the new season, about 30 fish caught, Chub, Dace, Gudgeon, Perch and Pike but the edge taken off it with the lost Barbel.

Crucian Pb, Marsh Farm

This weekend I made the long arduous journey down to Surrey thinking I would nail a three, possibly four pound Crucian and be home in time for tea. Fish never read the script, do they? It turned out to be a  difficult day but I did manage one example of the species, a 1lb 7oz stunner that took a Strawberry pellet about mid morning. As I have never weighed a Crucian before it was more a case of setting a best rather than beating a previous one. I have only landed two previously and this example was definitely the biggest.

I tried every bait and everything possible to land more but they were playing hardball. However I did manage to land a small Tench, a few Rudd and several Roach, up to a pound, so there was action during the day. I missed quite a lot of bites too.

I fished with what I thought was sensitive float gear but looking back it may have been a little heavy for these shy biters, next time I can make it a lot more Crucian friendly.

Silver Bream, Willow Farm

The 2011 bloggers challenge includes a few species that are out of my comfort zone, in other words I have never seriously fished for them. I like to fish waters that hold big fish but that is probably being a bit short sighted as fun can be had fishing for smaller species and tonight was one of those evenings that proved my point.
A couple of weeks ago I was sorting through the photos on the computer and deleting the rubbish ones when I came across a photo of my daughter, Maisie with a fish she had caught on a day out with her Daddy. It looked like a Silver Bream.

Big eye, Anal fin, silvery scales etc, had I stumbled across some possible points close to home?  Tonight I decided to give it a try.
When I arrived at the puddle I had a quick chat with the two old boys already fishing and one of them had a decent Bream in the net, I explained what I was after and he pulled out his keepnet to show me what he had caught. To me it looked like several Silver Bream, including one of over a pound! plus a few very small Crucians and a Goldfish! This got me excited and keen to get fishing.
I baited up my swim with maggots before I set up to give the fish some time to find the bait. Having fished this lake previously with Maisie I knew that it was full of stunted Roach so I thought that if I loaded the shot low down then the maggots would get through to the pond bed and that would give me the chance to pick off the silvers. It worked! First cast a gudgeon, next eight fish were Bream.

The biggest weighed in at 7oz and not being an expert I have included several photos in hope that Jeff (silver Bream) Hatt can verify that they are true Siver Bream. Having studied his ramblings closely I certainly think they are.

I have included this photo so that regular readers can see I now have a new butch fishing Transit van and am not turning up at the waterside in my hairdresser's Mazda!