Nene Drought.

 

 I had high hopes for my first proper outing of the season for Barbel. Thursday's trip up is my seventh visit and to be honest I felt I should have chalked it off by now but thats not the way angling works and this challenge has highlighted that time and time again. I'm doing the right things just not getting the fortune that I've been afforded elsewhere.

 After work on Thursday I made the 120mile journey north, battling the endless queues for Dartford tunnel and hold-ups on the M11 and A14, a 2hr 10min trip took over 3hrs, doesn't everyone realise I had fishing to do! How inconsiderate. 

Most of the spots that looked good, real stealth required.

 I had a few ideas as to where to target and opted to start at the end and work my way back up to where the car was parked, I only 4hrs on the Thursday to fish so got to business quickly by sending out my sleeper rod whilst setting up my proper rods. I unpacked both rods and began to line the eyes when out the corner of my eye my sleeper rod jumped up out of the vegetation and was headed for the bloody river! Talk about caught totally off-guard, I dropped my other rod and scrambled down the bank to fetch my rod and hoped what I am certain was a Barbel was still on but it became immediately apparent the hook had not set and this was a timely reminder that anything can happen at anytime!!! 

 I was so pissed with myself not being switched on and not to ruin the rest of the guff I was left to rue that mistake for the next day of angling. A take inside ten minutes and would spend the next 24hrs (minus 6hours that no fishing is allowed) searching for another opportunity, one chance at redemption which simply never came and wasn't through the lack of trying, I covered 10.62miles in 20hrs of fishing, an effort on 4hrs sleep which was broken up by the pain I've been recently suffering with a broken tooth and I've procrastinated in dealing with it and now it's clear with the pain being what it is that I need to do something! 

A healthy brood of Small Torts.

 Yesterday evening I packed up and heading to the car I made the decision call time, the plan was to stay until lunchtime on Saturday but my tooth was just too much to deal with and couldn't focus. I made the 120 mile journey back home with another Nene blank under my belt, I'm kinda hoping this one falls on my next trip or two. Watch this space.

 A little release video and a fighting video of some Chub.

Chub Release  (----- vid 1     Chub Battle  (----- vid 2

 Yes, I blanked for Barbel but did have some cracking Chub into the 3-4lb range and it is a wonderful place to spend time, watching young Red Kites taking flight, Kestrels hunting the fields, the odd Pike drifting around, one of them was pretty big ( Easily mid-double ).

Blackwater Returns.

 

 Throughout my teenage years I spent many thousands of hours targeting Barbel in low gin clear rivers and really hammered home my love for fishing stealthily, so when I do make those journeys back to the Blackwater in search of a double figure Barbel its like going back 20+ years to those days of my well-spent youth.

 Last week I restarted my 40 Rivers Challenge on the diminutive Blackwater in search of a fish a pound bigger than what I have previously managed (9lb 1oz), now I haven't seen anything bigger than that, in fact I have seen very little for that matter, part of that maybe due to the fact in the summer it is heavily choked with ribbon weed and ranunculus so there is plenty of room to hide, but also I am not entirely sure the stocks are vast, in fact I do feel I am searching for isolated pockets of fish across a few miles of river.

 It really is a difficult conundrum to solve as I can't tell most of the time whether I'm in the right place or not! Last Wednesday I spent 12hrs down there, roving around and then static fishing toward the evening in a spot that looked like it should be holding Barbel but I left at nearly 11pm without a touch.

 Fast forward to yesterday. I had a few jobs booked in in the morning and had the roving gear in the motor, so when I finished in West London I shot out to Berkshire to try my hand once again at a Blackwater Barbel, or maybe just a fish! to get the confidence up a little bit. After a nights rain I thought the river would be a poor state but it wasn't too bad and I could still sight fish, but only just as the humidity was soooooooo bad that I couldn't regulate my body temp at times and sweated from pores I didn't even I know I had! So there were times I couldn't see into the water given the glare.

 Now, sometimes the Barbel can give you a little hint as to where they are and when one randomly flashes on a set of narrow gravels the radar kicks into gear very quickly and once I saw one I saw five! Over the next couple of hours I managed to catch two of them both of which were around the 5lb mark and those that I saw remaining on the gravels were of similar size, that double still elusive, I spent a couple more hours wandering around trying to find something a bit bigger but found nothing other than a few Pike, one of which was certainly a double, just hanging off the back of small Chub and Roach.

1st Barbel

2nd Barbel marginally bigger.

 It was great to finally catch another Barbel off the Blackwater but really need to find more prolific grounds, not sure I'm where I need to, or am I in the right place and the bigger fish just aren't showing themselves.. only time will tell.

Jungle warfare Barbel ready to go back.

Barbel Society 2024.

 A few weeks back I had a slot at the annual Barbel Society Show which was held at Notts County Football Ground in the heart of Nottingham on the banks of the mighty Trent. I was asked early in the year if I wanted to take to the stage to waffle on about all things 40 Rivers Challenge.

 Yes, you guys here know all about it but many anglers out there on the banks of the rivers don't even realise that there forty rivers across England, Wales and Scotland that hold Barbel, let or lone double figure specimens! For me it's some of the unknowns or catching specimens from rivers that don't usually produce them or not rivers anglers would typically venture onto to target Barbel of any size.

A section of the seating that would become filled for the talkers.

 In every region there is a big river ( Thames, Trent, Severn, Wye, Ribble, Yorkshire Ouse or Hampshire Avon ) those rivers are quite well spread out and offering vast amounts of water to tackle with good heads of fish throughout of all sizes, so why would anglers target lesser know rivers and areas when "easier angling" is available. That's one of the reasons I really love this journey so far, it has taken me to many different places, from urban settings like the Tame, Wandle and soon to be the Aire to paradises like the Wye, Hants Avon and Wharfe. 

 Yes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder but for me natural settings do it for me but once again, the rough and ready areas need the attention too. These are some of the things I touched on during my talk and for my first effort I think I did okay but I was nervous and was all totally off the cuff, I was supposed to write up some bullet points and expand upon those, but went out for curry and beers instead :) 

 My challenge has just restarted with a visit to the Blackwater which I will touch on shortly.

 I hope you enjoy the video, 37 mins of your life you won't get back but it's possibly better than the drivel on TV nowadays.... I hope you enjoy and possibly find something of benefit.

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Barbel Society "My Chat". 

Summer Barbel on the Pin.

 

 After a busy day at work I had two options once I'd finished with my last client, either go home or have a go for a Barbel or two on the way home. With the thick cloud overhead and cooler temps over the last couple days I opted for the latter and glad I did.

Real jungle warfare, great conditions for stalking.

 Three quarters of a loaf to use I opted to fish dead simple, a size 8 ESP cryogen hook and a single AAA shot when needed and trundled the flake to fish I could see or in runs I expected Barbel to be and was not disappointed. 2hrs later I had ended my short visit with five Barbel with the best weighing 8lb 11oz and in fantastic condition, the others were between the 3-5lb mark, all gave great scraps on the light gear.

Chalkstream Barbel at their finest.

 That was fun and a nice little teaser on local pastures before I restart my Barbel Challenge as I look to chalk off river number 25. The Kentish Stour or Arun will hopefully get a bit of attention soon once the weather becomes favourable and time becomes available.

Carp Fix Part One.

 

 Something satisfying targeting Carp but glad I don't do it often as I feel I enjoy it more. Monday morning before work a dawn raid was planned and with the glorious weather we are at last experiencing I thought the timing was good!

 Minimal gear and a loaf of bread was all I needed, I rarely Carp fish with more! When I arrived I saw very little movement on the top which was a surprise to me as I was expecting to see plenty of cruising Carp patrolling the surface for grub. Chances it would seem would be at a premium and I wasn't wrong either, that said inevitably one or two would show and in the two hours I was mooching around one Carp did fall for the oldest trick in the book and gave a very good account of itself.

 When its shoulders broke the surface before the mouth I thought it was a decent, when it ambled over the cord I could see it was a linear! That will do nice and just a smidgen over the twenty pound barrier (20.02). 

 That was it for me and off to work I went. Stay tuned for part two.

8 Years in the Making.

 

 So we find ourselves finally able to get back on the rivers and thank god for it too. I don't mind stillwaters and canals now and again, running water however has no substitute. Before the season started I set myself a few of targets as I do every spring and my 15lb+ Bream target was achieved on my first trip so I was happy to graft, get plenty of money in and await the 16th of June.

 The targets I set myself were the following:

 - 15lb+ Bream

 - 3lb+ River Rudd

 - A double figure Barbel from 6 different rivers across the UK for my challenge to put me on 30!

 - 3lb+ Grayling

 - 1lb+ Dace

 - 8lb+ Chub

 That is some list above I grant you but certainly possible and given the time of year its only the Rudd and Barbel that I'd target. 

 I didn't fish the 16th for the first time in a while as I haven't been particularly well of late and didn't feel up to going out but was starting to feel a bit better for the first time in a month so I decided upon Rudd and loaded the car, ready for a trip deep into the Fens on the 17th (yesterday). 

 By 0630 the boat was already set and ready to let slip, the morning chorus had ended but the distant Cuckoo's could still be heard and watched on as a Hen Harrier glided across the reed beds in front of me, majestic creatures they most certainly are, but I sought something even more majestic.

My Rudd set-up.

 The Fens spanning across three counties I believe offer hundreds of miles of clear water of varying sizes and hold some wonderful fish and not just Rudd. Carp, Pike, Tench and various species call it home. After years of trying to catch a 3lb+ Rudd I set that as my summer target as I have done for the last seven years without getting too close.

After the last few weeks this was a joy!

 As I pootled along I could see scores of Rudd but nothing large, anything over 2lbs I would advance beyond the shoal and let them settle down whilst feeding copious amounts of bread crust, sometimes it took 15-20mins before the larger fish would start to take the bread but it was slow going. Knowing what was down there I didn't mind waiting and you always know when the bigger fish are moving around as the smaller fish don't come up as much as they get bullied off and the bigger fish begin to feed with gusto, I find its very important not to start fishing too quickly, catching the smaller ones often switches the bigger fish off but oddly if you wait and begin to fish and catch big ones you can do this with successive casts as is what played out around 9am.

Beautiful!

 First up was a smaller fish of 1lb 10oz which was followed by a warrior weighing at 2lb 10ozs and my second biggest river Rudd, so I was mega chuffed and couldn't believe what a start I'd had. She didn't behave like big Rudd usually do either, the bite was so subtle I almost missed it, a tiny slurp at 30 meters away, luckily for me my float started to veer off to the right which is when I knew it was on, the fight was very Rudd like and dived into every patch of pads, then down into the grass and marginal reeds. 

2.10! Yea man that epic :) 

 Wow, 0930 and already had caught a very big Rudd, I must admit I was happy with that and continued to fish the section without another rise so I moved on. I cruised on for about another mile and a half without seeing anything of note, there was a distinct lack of fish of any real size. Around 1130 I found a pod of Rudd maybe 10 strong that all looked to be upper 1's and low 2's so I opted to get some of those as I hadn't had a fish for a couple hours. As usual I got above the shoal and fed bread for a good 20 mins and fish were rising, then I started trotting down to the feeding fish could tell that some of the bow waves made as Rudd approached the bits of crust were pretty big, if you have fished for this species as much as myself you come to learn what sized bow waves can be made by certain fish, some of those were not of fish of mid-high 1's at all.

 I kept feeding the section until the regularity of crust being taken dwindled, I knew it was time to start fishing as the smaller fish should have had their fill but could still see the occasional bow wave of that / them big Rudd still, so I knew they were still active and in the run. My first cast down kissed the wind and sent it right into the marginal reed bed and set my hook in a reed stem, I was fuming at my luck and had to lift the drogue and drift down to the stem, the only fortunate thing was it was still a good 15-20 meters from where the fish were still moving around. I unhooked the stem, dropped the drogue and cast straight out in the middle channel and ran the crust down to the hot zone. It took a good 2-3 mins to get there and then a fish gently took the crust off the top, no gusto, no bow wave I thought no please don't be a pisspot Rudd, the float sailed away and struck into the fish and the round slammed over and line started to peel off my fairly slack clutch, this actually wasn't a bad fish at all and when it dived in every bit of vegetation on the way up I got a glimpse of it and I knew it was very big!

 I couldn't ship the net out fast enough, this surely had to batter my original river best of 2.11 that I had last year and when I lifted it out the water and on to the mat she looked immense! thick across the back, long and very deep... a solid gold bar! Could she go over the 3lb barrier? could, after eight years this be the very fish I wanted? I certainly didn't see any fish in that shoal when I passed over them of that calibre.

You bet it did, a fish I didn't think I'd ever get to catch!

What a special fish and very rare indeed!

 Yes it may have only just made that magical mark but that it did is all that matters. I was honestly lost for words and marvelled at her for ages as she rested in the net before letting her drift back into anonymity possibly never seeing an angler again! This was a long journey, but my god one I have enjoyed for the most part. The wasp stings, the mozzies, the unrelenting winds, the baking hot sun, the storms that build and dump in minutes, the lost fish, the endless rowing through rafts of vegetation was all worth it. 

 I can not overstate how rare Rudd of that size are and know many anglers who after decades of trying haven't managed it, on the 17th of June 2024, it was my day.

Just a fraction of what I have to deal with.

 Once I had released that Rudd my head wasn't really into it, I had achieved my goal! So I opted to slowly make my way back about 2.5 miles to where I had parked up. I cruised over numerous pods of Rudd but nothing of note and just wondered if I had passed over anything big in the morning that I had missed. 

 Something I didn't mention above was that I had a couple male Rudd milt as they were bought in and suspected both the 2.10 & 3.00 had not finished spawning and the water was still very cold, they must be quite far behind and the 3lber was pristine on both sides, no signs of spawning damage, odd...

 A few decent fish around the 1.12 - 2.3 were had on the way back up and were hitting the bread like I expected the bigger ones too, the two best offered up gentle slurps of the bread and then fought like demons. By 3/4pm I was ready to pack down, job was a good'en!!!!

My best of the way home, 2lb 3ozs.

 Target number two of my list achieved, Fens....over and out !!!!! for now at least, I do love the Fens, maybe a change of scenery for a while :)

Breaming of a Slime Fest.

 

 As the weather begins to warm so does the water and slowly but surely the Bream will come to a point where they will go off and spawn, en mass. I have been hoping that they were going to hold off on the spawning for me to have one last trip out before I turn my attentions to Carp and Eels.

 On Tuesday I ventured out for Bream but drew a blank, my second on the spin. The pit I'm fishing may only be 25 acres in size and 10ft deep but the Bream can very easily be missed and over the last few years I have learned this very quickly. 

 So on Saturday I had a leisurely drive with the view of fishing for the day and night then re-evaluate on Sunday morning (yesterday). In terms of tackle I used my twin-tips duos, 12lb line, 1x fished 12mm robin red on a helicopter setup and the other rod I used a 55g method feeder with a 8mm white scopex wafter boosted with scopex spray. I fed the spot I picked with Hemp, Pellet 2&6mm which was on a raised plateau which was around 7ft and given the warming water thought it may attract a few fish to the area and hopefully pick off some fish.

 The day panned out as I thought it would with nothing but the odd liner but that gave me the confidence fish were in the area and as the sun dipped beyond the yard arm I got my first bite, the bobbin pulled up tight and needed no further invitation, a good fight out at distance had me wondering if it was a real beast with a 16+ my new target having broken my PB with a 15.10 back in April. As she approached the net I could see it was a decent fish, however I knew it wouldn't trouble my PB. 

A chunky female of 13lb 2oz.

 A good start and hoped it would herald the start of a bream fest! 2hrs drifted by as my bobbins were constantly registering line-bites ( opted against back-leads this time around) which kept me focused and as I began to cook my salt 'n' pepper pork belly and Jasmine rice my left hand rod came alive which turned out to be a nice low double slab, the following 5hrs followed a similar theme. 

 The liners came at regular intervals and fish came about one an hour and had numerous aborted takes too where I struck but nothing on the other end. 

The fish were of a good stamp and the weights listed below.

13.02, 11.11, 12.01, 10.10, 11.07 and 12.04

A marked up 12lb 4oz female. 2nd best of the trip.

 

 Unfortunately, around 4am the bites dried up and more worryingly so did the liners, this suggested to me that the Bream had left the area. Which did make my decision around 8am an easy one, the sun blazed above which did help as it did dry off all my gear that was drenched by the heavy dew. It did not look like I would contact anything else so I packed up and headed home. 

 Six doubles overnight made it a successful trip, just didn't find any leviathans, I'll now have to wait until next March for another shot at a monster.

Back on the Bream Trail.

 

 After that slow but very fruitful start to my spring Bream campaign I headed back out with the view to building upon what was a result beyond my expectations. Fish exceeding my new PB are certainly present and given my specimen fishing background I never stand still, a 16lb+ fish is now my target and on Thursday opted to get back out.

Ready and waiting.

 The evening before I had a peek at the forecast which didn't fill me with much confidence, my only consolation is that I've caught them in 30c+ on summer days and pressure of 1035mb+. I set off fairly early as its an hour and half drive each way and knew a few carp boys would be looking to follow the wind, this for the Bream is where I'd feel most confident of locating them and after walking round the pit twice with the glasses on I found a pod of 30 fish just basking but thought if I had found some I could try to get them down on the deck grubbing around.

FAF! 😅

 My tactic as usual was a;

- 90g open end feeder 

- 4" 10lb acolyte flourocarbon hooklink fished to a size 8 - 12lb mainline (only fishing stepped up owing to the carp present to over 50lbs!)

Fished with 2x 12mm Robin Red pellets.

 Also with this venue in particular I use a back-lead as the undertow is awful and without it presentation can be compromised. By 9am I was fishing and spodded out around 10 spods of 2 & 6mm pellet, given the water temp I didn't want to over feed, and only get more loose feed out if the Bream got feeding and I was seeing that as a return in fish on the bank.

Beautiful day, not quite Bream weather mind you. 

 As is always the case with fishing big waters you never know what is going to happen and after 10hrs of trying I got one half hearted pick-up. Not what I was hoping for and those Bream I saw remained for most of the day, out there in front of me at around 40/50 yards, so I'm sure if they decided to feed I would have picked off fish, alas, this time I drew a blank, but you never know, I could have landed an absolute monster, they do reside in these waters!.

What A Start!

 

 Since the river season ended I've taken a 3 week hiatus from fishing, work as usual the excuse! Storm Kathleen however was predicted to bring in some stiff mild conditions, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get my 2024/25 season started. There was only one species in my mind, Bream.

 For the beginning of the season before casting out a rod I had set myself a few targets, some are probably going to pie in the sky, but you never know what the fishing gods have in store as the season progresses. I'll add one element of that list of targets here because it does have a relevance to what occurred over the weekend. That being a 15lb+ Bream.

 As the week ticked by on site I was keeping an eye on the forecast and twice said to myself I'm going to cancel, then convinced myself to still make the effort and go. In hindsight it was a brilliant decision.

 Winds of 45mph were shifting across the 25 acre pit I am targeting with only a few trees to break the constant barrage up, however that was for me to worry about in the night when the stronger gusts were predicted. On Saturday morning I could see the 17-20mph wind was blowing from the top end straight down the pit and I opted to fish off the back of the wind where I hoped the bottom wasn't as unsettled as I know at times it can cause issues with presentation and not knowing what the Bream like here I had to stick it out and stick to what I know.

 After setting up my basecamp around 9am I got to spodding a mix of 2mm and 6mm pellet to around 40 yards where I found a clear areas about the size of snooker table, to begin with I put around 15 spods out and would top it up if I caught a fish. It was however very slow and didn't get an enquiry until around 1830 when I had a steady drop back which is a very typical Bream bite and there was no hesitation to strike, or so my brother tells me, I happened to be dropping the proverbials off at the pool! Luckily Rich was there so I could leave my rods out, and I was only gone ten minutes, so when I arrived back he'd only just netted it.

Super start.

 A good start, 11lb 13ozs and first Bream of the spring for me ( Yes, of course I'm counting it! ). After that I watched a procession of Bream (some very big fish too) roll and frolic on the surface at varying ranges for a good hour or two as the light failed, this ordinarily would have filled me with enormous amount of confidence, however I have had this experience before and doesn't normally translate to bites and so it would seem this time around too. 

 For the next few hours Rich and I chewed the fat and had a great catch-up, ate some lovely food and as we neared bed time (around midnight) I got the first indication of what would turn out to be a frustrating hour or so, numerous gentle pick-ups not resulting in a hook-ups was not filling me with confidence at all, then in the early hours of the morning one finally committed and I had a steady bite that I did manage to hit, a dull nodding out in the choppy water had my mind wandering as to how big the Bream was, I know they get big in this pit which is why I'm on it. I forgot to get my headtorch so had to net it in the dark, thankfully it all went to plan and a big slab lay up in the net! 

 Without faffing around I unhooked the fish gently, loaded up the feeder and got it back out on the spot hoping for a quick bite with the fresh bait, as I popped that rod on the rest I had a bite on my other rod, the bobbin pulled up tight then dropped back, obviously standing over the rod I didn't wait for anything else to happen, I picked up the rod and away I was again! This fish even at distance felt heavy but with a dour fight the Bream inched closer to the net where I got my first glimpse and my god, what a fish it was too!

 I had a big fish in the net already and this Bream made it look small! I knew I had something special, I had surely smashed my personal best. The adrenaline coursing through me is such a buzz, what a feeling.

 Once I got myself together I weighed both fish and opted to pop them in the retainer and waited for sunrise to get some pics which were kindly taken by my mate and fellow Drennan man, Chris. We were all in awe, my brother was shocked, as was I. 

Bream no:2 - 13lb 7ozs.

 I got the smaller one on the scales first when I had caught them and she weighed 13lb 7ozs which would have made anyones trip, however the fish I popped on the scales next had me dreaming and my target for the spring ( 15lb+ specimen ) was beaten and achieved. 

My new personal best, 15lb 10ozs!

 Don't look at the hair, just look at that slab, its a fish I've wanted to get my hands on for a couple of years now, first go this spring, jobs a good'en. Still time to get some more hopefully before they get their rocks off. The rest of the trip dripped by without another touch and the intense winds continued to a point I decided to pack up. 

 With 15lb+ Bream being as uncommon as they are, I thought this target was one of those pie in the sky targets. Just goes to show on the right waters it is possible.

Now also own a barrow...😕😂

Season Review 2023/24.

 

 Well, that was fun! I managed to get quite a bit of angling done over the last 12 months, as you could probably imagine alot of it was in pursuit of Barbel as I looked to reach 23 completed rivers for my challenge. I'm happy to say that I managed to surpass that initial target and settled on 24 completed rivers by the close of play.

 It wasn't all Barbel though and here are a few of my highlights.

Kicked it off with a brace of big Bream.

Then a big river Rudd!

No: 19 - Finally a Loddon double, 10.7 YEAHHH

No: 20 - A Ribble Ripper! 10.13 

No: 21 - Sunset Sussex Rother gem, 12.10 

No: 22 - ColnBrook mirage, rare beasts, 11.5

No: 23 - Severn (lower) powerhouse, 10.7

My only PB of the season, 3lb 13oz Perch, woah!!

No: 24 - My Itchen monster, 15.2 (season best).

Best Grayling of the winter, 2.8