R.Blackwater Returns.

 

 Hmmmmmmm......the Blackwater is fast becoming a drain on my brain, god it's been a slog and not sure when its going to offer up that big chest of treasure, hours of moving, feeding (little bits here "n" there and putting a decent bit in when I know I'm coming back within a couple of days) and nothing seems to be working. I know the odd Barbel is still coming off the river but its so infrequent.

 Sunday lunchtime I got back down for another go and did my usual of moving around, 45mins in each spot with just a small PVA bag of six boilies each time, any touches I stay put, unfortunately I am not even getting that, six swims later and 35mins in whilst doing an update on my season so far on the challenge my rod FINALLY zipped off, on it in a flash I was bent into what was certainly a Barbel and it felt great, not a monster but great to have a fish on the other end. 

 A few minutes later a lovely dark BW Barbel was in the net. 7lb exactly on the scales it was a sight for sore eyes, unsurprisingly it was the only bite but my first Barbel off this particular stretch, boy its been hard and on Tuesday I went back down again in less than ideal conditions but still opted to try, but nothing.

 I will of course, like night follows day, I'll be back for another twenty four attempts.....

Hauling.

 

 Last Saturday with the conditions holding up well enough to sneak back out for Barbel I made the effort to go and that turned out to be a good decision, another long drive to Somerset was in order as I revisited the Bristol Avon and really try to make good of the successes of recent trips.

 It was wet, squalid, muddy and quite frankly everything I love about fishing in the autumn, gusts of wind dislodging tonnes of leaves, all I needed was some action. This time around I changed it all up, I decided to move around, single rod on the pin and an isotope on the tip which was keenly watched all night from 6pm when I started all the way through to 6am before heading off home. 

 The clouds broke up around 8pm giving way to lovely dark skies filled with stars, the occasional shooting star and silhouettes of Tawny Owls darting between trees above, but it wasn't just the natural world providing a spectacle, the Barbel put on a show too! The first two hours were quiet but by 2030 things began to happen and my rod slammed around with what would turn out to be the first fish of the night, a nice porky 6lb 10oz fish which was a new best for the river.

 I was really pleased with that fish, a big chunk of dynamite baits "source" meat on a hair fished with a lead just heavy enough to hold bottom which when leaves and other debris would cling to the line would gently dislodge the lead allowing the bait to creep across the bottom in an arc to settle finally beneath a fallen willow in a gravel channel, once that fish was released I just copied the same approach, bait went out in exactly the same position and an hour n half later off it went again!

 It was turning out to be good night! Another 6+ came along, which was followed by 5+ and a small one of around 2lb!  

 Toward midnight I got another good bite and Barbel number 5 was on and felt a lot better than the others that I had previously done battle with and in the torch light it looked like it was a much better fish, could it be a double? It looked like it could be. I started to get a little nervous as it crept into the net because it looked like it was but my nervousness soon gave way to disappointment (to an extent), she settled on 9lb 6oz, a new best for the B.Avon, it lacked length but was really thick across the back and deep, just quite a short fish, but five Barbel off the B.Avon in a night! It was one hell of a night. Or so I thought, as I had the "9" resting up I recast and before I could put the rod down it went again with the centrepin screaming off with a fish that was in the 5lb bracket, crazy! 

Best of six fish overnight.

A 9+ & 5+ brace shot.

 

 Amazing evenings fishing especially for this river which has had a well documented fall from grace in terms of barbel fishing, I certainly found a honey hole as it were, but it was missing one thing....