Another Season on the Bank.

 

 Well what can I say about the 2021/22 season. It was bloody brilliant, lots of lows but amongst those lows I caught some big fish to really keep me focused and well and truly on track with my target for a double figure Barbel off of forty rivers across England, Wales and Scotland. So here is how it panned out!

 May:

 I only fished once in April so there wasn't much to write about there and May wasn't too different, a single trip out in search of Golden Orfe and Tench resulted in a success on both fronts, a cold spring did make fishing difficult on the day but did finally come good.

A nice G.Orfe, but not what the lake used to produce.

7lb 7oz

 June:

 

 Again it was a very lean time for me fishing wise as the birth of my second child meant I was helping out at home and being Dad, I did manage two trips (1x Medway and 1x Mole) but these resulted in blanks.

 

 2 trips / 2 blanks / 6hrs / 0 Barbel / 0 Doubles.

 July:

 I found time slightly easier come by on the bank as I was back to work, this gave me the opportunity to fish a bit on my way home and did start to have some successes, two of the six rivers I had fished in the month of July produced double figure fish for me in the shape of these below. Apart from that I had the odd Chub too and three smaller Barbel to 8.13.

R.Colne 11.07

R.Medway 13.09

 11 trips / 7 blanks / 40hrs / 5 Barbel / 2 Doubles.

 August:

 Again, in August I found myself getting about quite a bit with most of my trips being conducted after work, but I did also manage a superb road trip up north where I struck gold on multiple fronts. Nothing could have prepared me for the achievement I was to receive. A tough start on the Mole did come good on the sixth time of asking with a stunning double figure Barbel slipping over the rim of the net, I also rocked up on the R.Derwent, having never been there before and had a red-letter-day to rival all!

R.Mole 12.10

R.Derwent 13.13

PB Chub 7.04!!! EPIC.

 Trips 12 / Blanks 8 / 51.5hrs / 4 Barbel / 2 Doubles.

 September:

 

 This was yet another lean month for me and considering its possibly the best month of the season to target Barbel I simply couldn't get away from work and family matters, which in the grand scheme of things is more important, said no angler, ever! When I did get out I had some successes on the river Lea and Nene, but most notably was my incredible capture of a R.Ivel Barbel and a double at that. A river touted by many as a river in serious decline over the last decade through varying factors, it only took me 11 hours in total to manage the feat...child's play this Barbel lark :). Plus I also managed a big Kentish Stour Chub of 6.01 whilst rolling meat for Barbel, quite a turn up as that's a huge fish for the river.

A big girl for the KS!

R.Nene 8.07 (not a double but a great start)

R.Ivel 10.14 (A fish I thought would take me years to catch)

 6 Trips / 3 Blanks / 35.5hrs / 6 Barbel / 1 Double.

 October:

 A few trips were made through October and I had high hopes for a couple of the trips, however things were starting to go against me as I found conditions weren't in my favour and was missing the good conditions to be on the bank, I was quickly finding out that learning new rivers in the cooler months was hard going as I found it difficult to locate and stalk fish/potential areas. This will be a recurring theme I'm sure and ended the month Barbel-less, in fact the only fish I did catch were off of a R.Test tributary in the shape of some beautiful Grayling to just over 2lbs.

The best of a dozen taken on the float.

 

 6 Trips / 6 Blanks / 37.5hrs / 0 Barbel / 0 Doubles.

 November:

 My Barbel fishing by this point had taken bit of a nosedive and given the cold crisp conditions I sought out other species to target and although I did try on the odd occasions for Barbel it was the Grayling fishing that proved most fruitful. Two trips to the splendid R.Wylye in Wiltshire provided some of, if not the best Grayling fishing I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Numerous two-pound plus specimens were caught whilst trotting with the best in November weighing 2lb 7oz. I did also manage a stonker of a R.Colnbrook Chub too weighing a massive 6lb 6oz which was taken whilst in search of the elusive Barbel that do call this river home, not that I can catch them!

R.Wylye 2lb 7oz.

R.Colnbrook breezeblock, 6.06

 4 Trips / 4 Blanks / 29hrs / 0 Barbel / 0 Doubles.

 December:

 Just two Barbel trips were embarked upon in the last month of the year and given how poor my previous couple of months were for the species I didn't hold out much hope, but what do you know! A mild spell just before new year produced a super looking R.Lea powerhouse which bought an end to my mini drought, but also my time on the river which to be fair had been tough, well earned and one of the hard ones taken care of. Also as the weather got colder I fancied a go for some river pike and was rewarded with a superb mornings sport, two Pike were landed but both well worth catching with the best just missing out on twenty pounds.

R.Lea 10.05

19lb 9oz river Pike in the winter morning sun.

 2 Trips / 1 Blank / 17hrs / 1 Barbel / 1 double.

 January:

 A month of almost seemingly endless frosty mornings, could only mean one thing, Grayling! A return to the R.Wylye produced my best ever days sport for the species and taking no less than 7x 2lb+ fish to 2lb 9oz, quite a day it was. The Itchen was also on my radar and although the Grayling didn't show for me in numbers the Roach put in a surprise appearance and managed a few to just under 2lbs.

R.Wylye 2.09 - (2nd best ever)

R.Itchen 1.14

 0 Trips / 0 hrs / 0 Barbel / 0 Doubles.

 February:

 A couple of trips out for Barbel were had, one on the R.Severn and one on the Colnbrook as I hoped with the slight increase in river temps would begin to stir the Barbel into feeding. That didn't happen. All I can remember was an expensive night trying to get out of a field....

 2 Trips / 11.5 hrs / 0 Barbel / 0 Doubles.

 March:

 At the turn of the year I had my sights firmly set on having a 7-10 day assault on the rivers towards the back end of the season to try and find myself another river double to boost my tally even further, and it could not have started any better as I joined friend and fellow blogger George for a morning (wasn't planned this way) on the Warks Avon to target a Barbel, I left the river at 1pm having not only bagged a monster Chub for the river, but also a big Barbel too. The blanks that had mounted up were all but forgotten, it was a brilliant mornings fishing and to share it with George was wonderful! 

 I then went on to fish the R.Severn, R.Bourne, R.Dorset Stour, R.Itchen all with the view to maybe adding one last fish to that now very impressive list, much to my dismay however I drew almost a complete blank on all of those barring a few modest Chub. It wasn't until the penultimate evening on the R.Wey that I got a chance to wrap up the season with a bang, that said the Barbel I hooked had no inclination to stick around and after a brief battle a large unseen fish smashed me up in a nearside tree, thankfully for me whilst still cursing my rotten luck and thinking of drowning my sorrows did my rod hoop over again to produce another double figure Barbel, I got that grandstand finish I had dreamt of. It was not the way I planned it, but when does it ever go to plan aye? What an end! Eight different rivers chalked off my list in just this season alone, which now brings me up to 13 rivers out of my overall target of 40. Can I reach 20 and the half way point by the end of next season? That will be my target.

R.Warks Avon 12.06

R.Warks Avon 6.03

R.Wey 10.04

 9 Trips / 75.5hrs / 2 Barbel / 2 Doubles. 

2021, A Year of Plans and Targets Achieved.

 

 I fancied writing a massive spill regarding this but to be fair I will keep it short and sweet. My escapades over the last 12 months have been enjoyable and although I have spent most of the time bite-less I have managed to catch some superb fish. 

 October 2020 saw me get the ball rolling with two superb Barbel of 15lbs 12oz and 13lbs 9oz off the S.Ouse and R.Trent respectively, then came a lull in action as I scratched around the R.Colne for a fish, 14 sessions over the winter culminated in just one Barbel but not the size I desire, mercifully for me, my efforts were rewarded as I made early season progress with a Barbel of 11lbs 7oz, this has since been backed up by successfully targeting the River' Medway, Mole, Derwent, Ivel and most recently Lea.

 Six rivers chalked off now bring me to a healthy tally of ELEVEN rivers out of forty and the best 2 months are ahead of me in terms of specimen fishing. But it's not just Barbel that have been a focus, some catches have been by-products of a successful Barbel mission, some have been caught in their own right and made for numerous excellent days on the river bank. Real red letter days.

 Six-pound Chub are still seen as a specimen fish and rightly so, a seven-pound specimen is widely considered " A fish of a lifetime ", it certainly ranks up there for me, after all - its a specimen thats eluded me for years and not through the want of trying, sometimes these things just happen when you least expect it.

 My winter fishing has not really been as prolific as I would have envisaged, mainly owing to the lack of time. When I have got out I have managed bags of very good Grayling to mid-2lbs and a couple of good Pike to just under twenty pounds, what with the indifferent weather my typical winter targets have been neglected and the Barbel gear has remained firmly at the entrance to my tackle den, not something I thought would happen. 

 As I write this we enter a couple of cold nights with temps expected to dip to -5c, incredible to think just 3 nights previous we had daytime temps of +15c and overnight temps of +9c....strange world we live in these days aye!

 My desires for 2022 is that I continue this rich vein of form on the "Barbel Challenge" front and get myself closer to the halfway stage of twenty rivers, not a journey for the faint hearted, but I have felt for a while now that my angling needed a refresh and that this would keep my focus on a single goal. Seems to be working thus far. A few ups and plenty of downs I'm sure will be experienced, one thing is for certain, I will enjoy it.

Tight Lines to you all for 2022!

River Ivel Double, That's a Wrap!!

 

 Well, what can I say. As the title above clearly indicates, I have somehow managed to achieve a feat I honestly and truly thought would take me dozens of visits, on just my second outing on to the R.Ivel a double figure Barbel lay in my net. But, let's rewind a little to fill in those blanks.

 On the 17th of Sept' I was on the Lea and Nene where I had caught on both rivers, on my way home I did take a detour to the Ivel to have a look around, lamping around with my bright torch I hoped to illuminate shapes on the bottom or amongst the weed, I spent roughly two hours doing this with no joy, having slept very very little I needed to play catch up. 

 Fast forward two weeks.

 Today's trip came as bit of a surprise as we were at Butlin's for the week for my daughters 3rd birthday treat...(where has the time gone) and got back Friday afternoon, Sat' night and Sun' day fishing time became available, so then came the dilemma of where to fish. Then I thought back to my wander along the Ivel and thought it would be worth a go again, this time armed with a bit more time and a rolling meat approach.

5lb 0oz

 There are not many techniques better than rolling meat and from the off at 1am I was catching, but of course it was Chub, the first one weighed 5lb and then the following fish going between 3lb - 4lb with another around 5lb that I didn't weigh. Barbel on the other hand, that are my target are extremely thin on the ground and coupled with the fact I don't know much about the river the odds were really stacked against me. After years of systemic Otter predation the Ivel has seen a majority of the old guard eaten and plenty of the back up fish faced the same fate. 

 Thats what made this capture so much more impressive as I was expecting to be on this river a lot! So when I rolled a bait a couple times under large set of willows following half an hour of static fishing before hand in the peg and maybe a hundred plus rolls along a half mile section my finger was nearly sliced off and the rod nearly pulled from my hand! There could be no doubt in my mind it was a Barbel, the outcome could have been so very different too. When the fish decided to tear off downstream on its first run it went under the willow branches and roots where the fish then became locked up, the glasses came off as I couldn't see through them anymore and relied on some patience, allowing the micro-barb hook to stay in place whilst I removed the pressure. Thankfully for me it did the trick after two minutes or so of negotiating the Barbel, she came free and I eased her upstream to a clear area where my brand new net awaited.

Respecting it's recovery time.

 A River Ivel double and also my 10th river chalked off, my pre-season target has now been achieved and what a fish she was too!!! 10lb 14ozs GET IN.....I was not expecting a result so soon if at all.

That winning feeling again :) 

  But the capture of that Otter dodger very nearly wasn't all, as I was making my way back to the car on the phone to a mate of mine I spotted two Barbel, both doubles, one clearly much bigger tucked away with four big Chub under a tree canopy, inaccessible but I could make the cast, these fish however clearly knew that they were being targeted and very quickly shut up shop and after twenty minutes of trying I admitted defeat, packed up and drove to the R.Lea where I hoped to continue this incredible run of form.

 That run of form on the Lea doesn't seem to be replicated and I am struggling to get bites or find fish, I must keep moving until I do, but the river is to die for, everything you could want from a bit of river fishing, oh except some fish!!

 This image is pretty cool though I think.

R.Lea and R.Nene Successes.

 

 I have to admit, I have wanted to fish the R.Nene for many years but have never made the effort, this 40rivers challenge is going to be a great way of seeing and fishing these rivers that have appeared in certain aspects of my angling life, whether its reading about them, knowing people who fish them or simply passing them on my travels elsewhere. 

 Before I made it up to Peterborough I stopped off on the R.Lea to try and break my Barbel duck after four attempts between the middle Lea and Fishers Green, its not been easy for Barbel at all. I decided to try a different section and see how I would fare, the answer was pretty good, although it took me over an hour to get in position, no doubts at all that these fish have definitely not been targeted. After my monthly quota of jungle bashing was over the bites came roughly every forty minutes and I opened the account with a 5lb+ fish, fairly typical for the middle/upper reaches.

Not the Lea monster I dream of, but great to catch regardless.

 As the night wore on another three came to the net with best going 7lb 4oz, yes it wasn't a double but a start nonetheless and packed away before jumping on the A1M northwards. Another 70 miles beyond the Lea bought me to a beautiful stretch of river in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside and the sunrise wasn't bad either once I'd grabbed an hour kip at 5am.

  I began the day rolling meat from a weir at the end boundary and was immediately pestered by Chub, some of which were not bad and over the course of the day I managed four with the best weighed 4lb 15oz, my target of course was a Barbel over the 10lb mark but would welcome any sized Barbel and given the fact that probably 8 out of 10 Barbel caught where I fished were doubles my chances of complete success was good!

 So when I did finally get a savage bite out of nowhere I quickly sprang into life but within seconds disaster struck as the run was so powerful it smashed me up, however this was no Barbel but a big Carp so the hammer blow of losing it was softened somewhat. Not that I dislike river Carp of course, I'm just not there for them this time around. Then everything seemed to go quiet so I spent more time rolling meat with very little more than the tentative plucks from tiny little mouths. 

 About 1530 I popped back to where I lost the Carp and setup in identical fashion and placed the bait in the pacy water and hoped another chance would come by.....thirty minutes later a couple of delicate taps registered on the rod tip which were swiftly followed by a savage slam towards the water, the next five minutes were played with a real I give you some and then I take it back, constant back and forth with the clutch was needed as this fish sought to make full use of the 9ft I had in front of me, my experience and suitable tackle got me over the line though and this beautiful 8lb 7oz R.Nene Barbel was in the bag! 

Happy Chappy with that one!

 Not that I knew it at the time but after releasing that Barbel it would be the last fish I'd see for the rest of the day, I honestly sat back into my swim thinking I had got them feeding, unfortunately for me it was wishful thinking, I did enjoy myself and on the way home I took a diversion to the R.Ivel to see if I could spot any big Chub or Barbel in the torchlight and potentially give them a go, but after 5 swims and 2hrs roughly I didn't muster a bite so I went home for some much needed sleep, one hour in forty two is tough going with over 350 miles of driving thrown in and don't worry, with a 3 year old and a 4 month old I'm used to sleep deprivation!!! This was just self-inflicted, to be fair though, so were the kids :)