Wednesday 28 December 2016

Barbel on Bread.


 Our unseasonably warm winter has many down sides to it, the flowering of buds in mid-December and the appearance of certain animals that should be in hibernation as well as many other things, though it's not necessarily a good thing the warm weather has provided me with sport I seldom enjoy after October. Knowing that with the milder weather staying around for a short while the Barbel would be feeding fairly well, my hunch was right on my last outing on the float for the Barbel and I hoped for similar results.

 When tackling Barbel on the float it's easy to think that you'd have to set up the gear to withstand the sturdy fight's that you can be met with, in my opinion that couldn't be further from the truth, of course the watercourse that the angler is tackling may mean that the stepping up of gear is absolutely necessary due to snags and other obstacles, if however as is in my case then only the occasional snag may cause issue you can fish light, just as if you were trotting for Roach or Chub. One thing that is true for all Barbel is that they will seek clear runs and swift glides to fight where Chub will seek the nearest bush, tree or unseen snag to ditch the hook, so when targeting Barbel it simply is being able to overcome the power that they possess when in full battle mode.

 I love to use a Grey's 12ft Specialist float rod and armed with either a spool of 4.4lb line or recently I have been using 3.6lb Drennan double strength line and it being ultra-low diameter is effective in being undetectable, just perfect for weary clear river Barbel.

My typical trotting setup which has been deadly of late.

 On Monday morning I had a couple of hours in the morning to use and at first it was with Roach in mind, unfortunately where I wanted to go wasn't an option so I had to rethink my options and with the memory of that red letter day last week fresh in my mind I couldn't look no further than putting a loaf of Kingsmill to the sword. It didn't take long either! It's been a while since I had found Barbel feeding so amorously and these were not holding back, weary they were not. The pin sang within my first three trots and a perfectly proportioned Barbel of 6.07 was in the net, not a bad start at all and the next three hours was equally good fun as I took another four Barbel with the largest going 7lb 7oz.

A perfectly conditioned winter Barbel. 7.07.

 As I moved about I popped into a tight swim where only a short trot was available, I had watched a shoal of large Chub drift into a slack off the main flow, the largest was probably six-pounds with the majority in the five-pound range, any one of them would have been nice I thought and it took well over an hour to finally tempt one, huge pieces of bread went ignored for trot after trot. A slight change to a tiny piece of flake on a size 16 did the trick first cast!

Another good Chub, not the largest at 5lb 3oz but certainly happy with that!

 My GoPro got a good outing yesterday too as I got some lovely footage which I am going to edit soon but I have some snaps already prepared and I have been impressed at the quality, I have my missus to thank for that!

14 comments:

  1. Better put my request in for next Christmas, that's a cracking picture. I'm sure I'm missing a trick where I'm fishing at the minute, I can see why the tactics you are working would work. Might give it a bash next time I'm there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The rivers that we fish Mick are very different, I'm very lucky to have access to some wonderful waters and most free to fish, on the flip side the chance of a leviathan is very remote, Barbel wise a 15lb + specimen is a pipe dream unless I head down the Avon and strike it lucky and even then they are extremely rare fish, Chub wise I have a number of rivers that are capable of throwing them up but again, the distance I have to travel to surpass the 6lb mark is substantial, most of the Chub I've caught this season have all been a fair way away.

      On the W.Avon I know that special fish do exist and only recently I know a bloke who had a 14.10 off of there amongst other large fish, they do exist but on the tactics I'm currently employing, I suppose only you would know whether it's a viable option, I certainly wouldn't tackle the Thames on the float for Barbel but the other rivers I fish yes, especially in their current state it's absolutely perfect for it.

      Delete
    2. The problem for me is that the areas where I know there are big fish I don't particularly enjoy fishing and family duties take priority obviously so to venture further afield ain't going to happen that often.
      Hope you have a good 2017

      Mick

      Delete
    3. Don't worry Mick, I don't think it will be long before I start dealing with limited time, starting to try for number one.... be fun right?? I wish you and your family a happy new year and be safe and hopefully catch up soon!

      Delete
    4. Yeah great fun on the whole :) best of luck for 2017 then. Mine are 5 and 7 now so do take up lots of my time but I still manage to get out enough, just sometimes not the time I'd like to fish. The youngest is taking an interest now and for Christmas he had a fishing rod all of his own.

      Delete
    5. Nothing better than imparting the gift of fishing to the next generation, I sure hope ours would find it to their liking.

      Delete
  2. Cracking chub, James. All the best for 2017, I'm sure you'll get that seven pounder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheer Ben! I thought it might have been you!! It's been a very good season so far and I'll certainly continue my quest for a "7", I don't give up easily!

      When your'e in my neck of the woods again give us a message and see if I can meet up with you for a dabble and a pint :)

      Delete
  3. Bloody Blogger - that comment was from me (Ben Hennessy!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glorious stuff. Necton make the most of the next 3 months. ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Crazy fishing for a late December morning.....not going to knock a gift horse in the mouth! Happy New Year!

      Delete
  5. James.

    We fish the Trent, I'm sure you tactics would work on our big fish, few use trotting as I do. It's such a mobile tactic as you suggest. Do you pre-bait a few swims before starting as you would with chub when fishing bread? Nice piece, best regards.

    www.mydippingfloat.blogger.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From what I've heard, the stick float and bread/maggots tactic does work and very efficiently, especially during the winter when it's not high and coloured, I'm still hoping to get up on the Trent this season, the time may come around but looking doubtful.

      With any of my trotting work there is no baiting up/pre-baiting done but for my static fishing I prefer to either locate and fish straight away or pre-bait for around 3-4 days.

      I have found that it does work, just time is all I need, back to work on Tuesday so fishing opportunities will get slimmer, mobile for me wins hands down, perfect style of fishing and me to a tee.

      Delete
  6. My husband and I separated recently. We’ve been married for six years now and it’s been an abusive relationship in all types of way. I want to figure out myself and fix my own issues so I can be a great mom and wife but I feel like is a waste of time to try to fix my marriage because it’s broken down and I’m emotionally drained and I just want to focus on my kids. And I feel it’s unfair for me to try to fix something that I’m the only one that’s putting effort into. I’m so confused. That had been my decisions until i came across an article in a blog on how Dr.Ogudugu (greatogudugu@gmail.com) helped many people to restore broken marriages/relationships. I quickly contacted him, and he told me what i should do, which i did immediately. Within 48hours my husband came back and the greatest part of it is that my husband has changed completely, he no longer abuses or insults me. Today, he has become a loving and caring husband.

    ReplyDelete

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...