Floodwater Barbel Fishing

 Whilst at work yesterday I was pondering on a couple of trips around the south for various different species of fish, one being the large Crusian Carp that inhabit Marsh Farm, knowing that the fishing is brilliant during the spring and early summer I will definitely be having ago then probably sometime around May or June but also enquiring about a winter trip there in search of the Tench and Crusians. The other 2 trips are visits to the River Wey for the Barbel and also the famous Walthamstow Reservoir for the enormous Bream and Carp, but them sessions will have to wait a little while until the time is right but on to the present.

 As the title suggests, today I decided to have a go at fishing my local river whilst it was very coloured and pretty high by it's standards and I don't normally fair well in these conditions but I fancied giving it ago and I wanted to roll meat for the daylight hours, so I started my day in a swim that I walked past initially but thought about the conditions and the big slack that is created by a tree up river on the inside edge and I'd run a rolling bait along the crease and after my third roll I got a pluck which I hit and my rod lurched over and fish on, I really didn't expect it but that's the way it can go and in the extra water it fought very well and didn't give up at all which was fantastic and after I managed to set up my net whilst playing my fish, a short chunky Barbel was banked.

                                                                A lovely 7lb 1oz Barbel.

 After I caught that Barbel, I had a few more rolls through but with no more pick ups but I know there was more in there, for a little while after I just had a nag with Jeff Snr who had a nice 9lb Barbel last night and then headed up river to another good looking swim that was pushing through alot of water and again I rolled a bait through the swim in the slack water bordering the fast powerful water and I got a very slight pluck on my finger and slowly flicked it as I thought it was caught up on a bit debris on the bottom and then the rod got tugged as a Barbel tore off downstream with my bait, a good fight ensued for around 3 minutes when it came up to the net and a Barbel between 8 and 9lb rolled over and headed back down to the bottom where it hit something and shed my hook, I was totally gutted to say the least and that's the fifth Barbel I've lost this season more than any other that I can remember, disaster.

 The rest of the short afternoon passed and dusk fell without another touch, at about 6 Stu and I headed up river for an hour and put a bait out and within 5 minutes Stu's rod slowly bent over and he struck into a Barbel, jammy sod!, a good fight followed as usual so I did the honours in netting it and taking the photos and weighing it.

Stu and his 6lb 13oz beard.