Spare time has been very hard to come by this spring, so much to do and money to be earned. However with June 16th fast approaching now I can forget about all that and go catch fish. I must be honest I do miss the rivers, a lot! Yes we do have canals and stillwaters to target big fish, for some reason they just don't have the same appeal and never have to me.
Yes, there are certain aspects of stillwater fishing I enjoy but boy does pitting your whits against weary river monsters is an altogether different proposition where your quarry could be 10/20 miles away and you just don't know it. The ever changing mystery of a river is what I believe separates the two types of water.
With just a little over 2 days remaining before the starting gun sounds plans are afoot, Rudd are the target for the first few days and if the conditions improve for Barbel I will start targeting them as I look to resume my "40 Rivers Challenge" where I have currently completed Eighteen of the Forty rivers.
By the end of the season I would (yes I know its 9 months away and no, I am not wishing it away already) like to reach a target of 25 completed rivers. For what rivers these maybe I have an inkling, some of it will be targeted ruthlessly to plough through numbers, other rivers will be angled acutely to winkle out individuals on the lower stock rivers which are a world away from the Wye, Severn, Trent etc where numbers are much healthier than the extremely low stock rivers such as the Sussex Rother and Itchen where a bite from a Barbel will most likely be an animal! Finding one however will and has been a huge challenge already where over 120hrs have been consumed with nothing more than a brief sighting across both rivers!
So thats my plan, what might yours be? and what are your targets if any have been set?
Tight Lines,
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| One of just 26 Barbel caught over 25 trips last season. This fish broke the River Don record by 15ozs! 15lb 4ozs. |
Good luck James... and take sun cream ;o)
ReplyDeleteThanks Dave! always got plenty of that, its been a lovely close to spring!
DeleteLooking forward to reading and maybe listening (if you do some more videos) along the way! Tight lines
ReplyDeleteThink he might have conned some poor sod into being a cameraman… :-)
DeleteI am really looking forward to get some quality time on the bank! You never know whats coming next, hopefully we will capture some great moments on camera!
DeleteA new vocation Brian? we shall see how good your skills are :)
DeleteGood luck James !! Not a good start in the new season for us in the Midlands, many local rivers suffering some fish losses at the minute. Oxygen crash in the storms apparently, being low and no rain for ages didn't help that !!
ReplyDeleteHi Mick, I have been reading and listening about whats going on on the WA at the moment, such a shame it's happening again, is just an oxygen crash? or has the water companies taken the opportunity to clear some untreated sewage through in the higher water? I really hope it's not been too devastating, and have you managed to walk the banks to see the extent of the damage on your patch?
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