A Tough Spring, Bitter Pills.

 

 Sometimes in angling you do wonder why you are dealt cruel blows, like you are being punished for something and the world conspires against you in a moment you wish it wouldn't.

 I decided to drop on to the Stow for the first of two overnighters in May, I knew conditions haven't been great of late and the reports off there in the main have been very poor considering the calibre of anglers who ply their trade there. 

 My tactics were similar this time to what I normally opt for, three rods with varying hookbaits and rigs ( 1x helicopter rig with worm kebab and groundbait, 1x method feeder with 2x8mm robin red pellet and the other trimmed down boilee on the method feeder ) with a nice bed of spodded groundbait, chopped dendro' and 2mm and 4mm pellet across the space I wanted to occupy and offer up as the place to dine for some huge slabs!

 Around 0830 I was fishing and just slowly getting my area tidied up when I saw a fish roll over alongside some trees on the left hand side of the reservoir. A seed was planted. I fished for a few hours without seeing more than two mooching carp which passed in front of me, no doubt eating flies. Around midday I got itchy feet and decided to bring in the rods, go to the loo and on the way around I saw Bream in the margin, close to the roll I saw a few hours beforehand, so once I did what I needed to and I went back to my swim, snipped off a method feeder and tied a size 6 to the mainline along with a small shot to gently counter the bouyancy, the bait? Bread of course!

 Within 2/3 mins the bread was snaffled and a nice Bream immediately rolled and took off into the deeper water, it was a good sight, the fish approaching the slow sinking bread, the bread disappearing and the strike setting the hook, text book stalking! It wasn't a bad fish either which ended up weighing 11lb 14oz and my first Abramis Brama of the season on my first outing for the species.

 Love dark Bream like this one, nice and thick across the chest and back, a fish that didn't look anywhere near spawning either, strange as last season they had gone by May 2nd, this fish is a couple weeks away by the look of it, which gave me confidence that there is still time as I haven't made an effort at all with them and feel I went too early with my Tench exploits and probably should be here! 

 Anyway, I slipped that Bream back and with a quick glance around it was clear the other fish I saw scarped, so I headed back to my swim and fished the whole night without a bite.....yawn. 

 

Laverly!

 I planned to wrap it up early morning but I did think about having another look along the tree line I had the 11 from the day before there was another four Bream present but these were MUCH BIGGER! 

 I went around to my swim, packed everything up and marched round with the single rod made up and I was ready to try and persuade another Bream. The fish moved beyond the willows that I spotted them in 10 mins previous and hoped they would come back into view, I had to wait fifteen mins before I see a silhouette of a Bream come into view in the polaroids, this fish was soon followed by the other three I'd seen earlier, these fish were big and my knees were like jelly and my heart rate was cruising up and I hadn't even hooke.......got one! F*CK!!! It's the biggest one! My word its huge were my initial thoughts, but this fish had some fight in it and headed away from me kiting left beyond the willows and made a decent effort to take 25-30 yards of line which is unusual for a slab but this was a certain PB, when I got the fish closer to me I could see the hook right in the corner of its mouth in a thin bit of lip skin, this is when I started to really worry and as it got within 10ft of the net cord it rolled a couple of times and shaking its head and then the tension came off and took me a split second to realise she had come off.

 F*CK NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Gutted just does not cut it, not one iota. I seriously considered jumping into 6ft of water fully clothed as the Bream lay on the surface for what seemed like an eternity before righting itself and sauntering off into the distance, I simply could not believe that happened, those are the moments in angling you dread and wish you never experience another one.

 I would not be exaggerating if I suggested that fish was around the 17lb mark, it was easily the biggest Bream I'd ever seen and I got plenty of time to look at it, both attached and not !

End of Season Review.

 

 The 2024/25 season was certainly one of the quickest, I can not believe its over already but it was pretty good! 

 Highlights of the season are fewer than I would have hoped for along with only one new personal best set.

 My Spring angling was not easy but topped my Bream campaign with a 15lb 10oz specimen PB, I had a fair few doubles too in the aftermath but the 15lb barrier was always my target. 

 The summer seemed to come and go very quickly but the capture of my first 3lb river Rudd was most certainly the cherry on top, there was a couple of cracking back-ups too but barring that it wasn't until early September that things on the Barbel front kicked off.

 That trip up to the Nene in early September bought an end to a 6 trip drought when a 12lb 8oz torpedo slipped up as darkness fell amongst large swathes of cabbages where I found a gravel run which no doubt is used by the fish as a highway between areas, but the Barbel I had the following evening off the Soar was certainly not expected but sometimes thats how angling goes! 

 To be cradling a 12lb 9oz Soar Barbel was much more than I could have dreamt but as I said the angling universe works in strange ways. Rivers number 25 and 26 had been completed inside 24hrs!

 Next up was the Wye, a river that certainly gives up its fish, just not big ones, early October that all changed, when that rod went over around 10/11pm I knew it was a big fish, yes it only just made the cut but they all count! 10lb 1oz and river number 27 had been completed.

 For the majority of the autumn and winter I was on the tools and only fished a couple times, some nice Grayling were caught and Chub, it wasn't until recently on the Dorset Stour that I finally had another proper result when a day spent hunkered down in foul weather was rewarded, not only was it river number 28 completed but weighing 15lb 6ozs it was the 4th river I have had a 15lb+ Barbel off of, a figure I want to increase over the duration of this challenge as a sub-plot.

 And the STATS are in....

 Sessions - 20

 Blanks - 12

 Barbel Caught - 18

 Doubles - 4

 Mileage - 4120

 Only 20 sessions for Barbel in 9 months, now that is poultry! Next season I shall have to do more! and the majority of that was the Kentish Stour.

Filling In the Time.

 

 Fishing of late has taken bit of a back seat recently owing to my constant hectic work schedule, so in this episode of James' Angling Adventures we re-cap on the highlights of how my season has gone so far and I have to be honest given how little fishing I've done the rewards have been pretty good! Work as always gets the blame for curtailing my angling but also when faced with a little bit of time to go fishing I find myself too tired to get myself going and get the car loaded and set off. I don't know if that's normal or if I'm just getting lazy as I ticked past my 37th birthday last Monday.

Where I was sat there is currently 4.4m underwater.

 The Spring kicked off in fine style with a hat-trick of Bream on my first trip with fish registering 11.13, 13.7 and a new personal best of 15lb 10oz which to my amazement came after a pretty tame indication but the fight for a Bream was awesome. Link to session here --- Dream Bream Trip

 The subsequent visits for Bream either ended in blanks or scratched around for bites but did get one more decent trip in before they began to spawn. Link to session here --- Another Good Bream Trip.

 Once the Bream spawned my attentions turned to the start of the season that wasn't far away and amazingly on my first trip for Rudd once the season opened I managed to achieve a milestone that I had been longing to reach in 8 years of angling on the Fenland waterways, that milestone was a 3lb+ Rudd which was achieved by the finest of margins! Link to session here --- Dream Rudd Start

 Once I had achieved that my desire to get back on the Fens waned somewhat but with the rivers now open Barbel would soon be on the agenda but it did take me quite a while to resume my 40 Rivers Challenge and after a few sessions flitting around the country my long wait for a R.Nene double ended in fine fashion as a beauty weighing 12lb 8oz slipped into the net after a tense battle amongst the pads. --- Link to session here --- Nene Double Delight!

Bottoms Up!!

 The very next day with little time to bask in my success on the Nene I managed to do the unthinkable and caught a brute off the R.Soar just 24hrs later, like London Buses....my journey home was one of pure joy. Link to session here --- Soar'ing High!

Kentish Stour Stealth.

 A week later I went back to the R.Wye in search of a double and get myself up to 27 completed rivers but with a decent effort applied I was not fortunate to do so, three weeks later I went back with renewed vigour and after a total of 168hrs spent over 10 trips I at long last got the fish I had been searching for but only made the cut by a gnats whisker! but that was all I needed, I felt I had deserved that fish absolutely! Link to session here --- Wye Wonder.

 And since that trip to the Wye / reccy on the Teme I haven't wet a line, over two weeks ago... anyone who thinks being self-employed means you'll be able to have more time off don't get it twisted, you'll end up doing more, the money is too good to turn down and you'll find yourself busier than ever before.

Northern end of Windermere.

 Anyway that's my fault :), I hope you enjoy this little catch-up and hopefully we can catch a fish of our dreams and pray the rains ease up so the rivers will be more accessible than they were last few winters.

Breaming of a Slime Fest.

 

 As the weather begins to warm so does the water and slowly but surely the Bream will come to a point where they will go off and spawn, en mass. I have been hoping that they were going to hold off on the spawning for me to have one last trip out before I turn my attentions to Carp and Eels.

 On Tuesday I ventured out for Bream but drew a blank, my second on the spin. The pit I'm fishing may only be 25 acres in size and 10ft deep but the Bream can very easily be missed and over the last few years I have learned this very quickly. 

 So on Saturday I had a leisurely drive with the view of fishing for the day and night then re-evaluate on Sunday morning (yesterday). In terms of tackle I used my twin-tips duos, 12lb line, 1x fished 12mm robin red on a helicopter setup and the other rod I used a 55g method feeder with a 8mm white scopex wafter boosted with scopex spray. I fed the spot I picked with Hemp, Pellet 2&6mm which was on a raised plateau which was around 7ft and given the warming water thought it may attract a few fish to the area and hopefully pick off some fish.

 The day panned out as I thought it would with nothing but the odd liner but that gave me the confidence fish were in the area and as the sun dipped beyond the yard arm I got my first bite, the bobbin pulled up tight and needed no further invitation, a good fight out at distance had me wondering if it was a real beast with a 16+ my new target having broken my PB with a 15.10 back in April. As she approached the net I could see it was a decent fish, however I knew it wouldn't trouble my PB. 

A chunky female of 13lb 2oz.

 A good start and hoped it would herald the start of a bream fest! 2hrs drifted by as my bobbins were constantly registering line-bites ( opted against back-leads this time around) which kept me focused and as I began to cook my salt 'n' pepper pork belly and Jasmine rice my left hand rod came alive which turned out to be a nice low double slab, the following 5hrs followed a similar theme. 

 The liners came at regular intervals and fish came about one an hour and had numerous aborted takes too where I struck but nothing on the other end. 

The fish were of a good stamp and the weights listed below.

13.02, 11.11, 12.01, 10.10, 11.07 and 12.04

A marked up 12lb 4oz female. 2nd best of the trip.

 

 Unfortunately, around 4am the bites dried up and more worryingly so did the liners, this suggested to me that the Bream had left the area. Which did make my decision around 8am an easy one, the sun blazed above which did help as it did dry off all my gear that was drenched by the heavy dew. It did not look like I would contact anything else so I packed up and headed home. 

 Six doubles overnight made it a successful trip, just didn't find any leviathans, I'll now have to wait until next March for another shot at a monster.

Back on the Bream Trail.

 

 After that slow but very fruitful start to my spring Bream campaign I headed back out with the view to building upon what was a result beyond my expectations. Fish exceeding my new PB are certainly present and given my specimen fishing background I never stand still, a 16lb+ fish is now my target and on Thursday opted to get back out.

Ready and waiting.

 The evening before I had a peek at the forecast which didn't fill me with much confidence, my only consolation is that I've caught them in 30c+ on summer days and pressure of 1035mb+. I set off fairly early as its an hour and half drive each way and knew a few carp boys would be looking to follow the wind, this for the Bream is where I'd feel most confident of locating them and after walking round the pit twice with the glasses on I found a pod of 30 fish just basking but thought if I had found some I could try to get them down on the deck grubbing around.

FAF! 😅

 My tactic as usual was a;

- 90g open end feeder 

- 4" 10lb acolyte flourocarbon hooklink fished to a size 8 - 12lb mainline (only fishing stepped up owing to the carp present to over 50lbs!)

Fished with 2x 12mm Robin Red pellets.

 Also with this venue in particular I use a back-lead as the undertow is awful and without it presentation can be compromised. By 9am I was fishing and spodded out around 10 spods of 2 & 6mm pellet, given the water temp I didn't want to over feed, and only get more loose feed out if the Bream got feeding and I was seeing that as a return in fish on the bank.

Beautiful day, not quite Bream weather mind you. 

 As is always the case with fishing big waters you never know what is going to happen and after 10hrs of trying I got one half hearted pick-up. Not what I was hoping for and those Bream I saw remained for most of the day, out there in front of me at around 40/50 yards, so I'm sure if they decided to feed I would have picked off fish, alas, this time I drew a blank, but you never know, I could have landed an absolute monster, they do reside in these waters!.

What A Start!

 

 Since the river season ended I've taken a 3 week hiatus from fishing, work as usual the excuse! Storm Kathleen however was predicted to bring in some stiff mild conditions, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get my 2024/25 season started. There was only one species in my mind, Bream.

 For the beginning of the season before casting out a rod I had set myself a few targets, some are probably going to pie in the sky, but you never know what the fishing gods have in store as the season progresses. I'll add one element of that list of targets here because it does have a relevance to what occurred over the weekend. That being a 15lb+ Bream.

 As the week ticked by on site I was keeping an eye on the forecast and twice said to myself I'm going to cancel, then convinced myself to still make the effort and go. In hindsight it was a brilliant decision.

 Winds of 45mph were shifting across the 25 acre pit I am targeting with only a few trees to break the constant barrage up, however that was for me to worry about in the night when the stronger gusts were predicted. On Saturday morning I could see the 17-20mph wind was blowing from the top end straight down the pit and I opted to fish off the back of the wind where I hoped the bottom wasn't as unsettled as I know at times it can cause issues with presentation and not knowing what the Bream like here I had to stick it out and stick to what I know.

 After setting up my basecamp around 9am I got to spodding a mix of 2mm and 6mm pellet to around 40 yards where I found a clear areas about the size of snooker table, to begin with I put around 15 spods out and would top it up if I caught a fish. It was however very slow and didn't get an enquiry until around 1830 when I had a steady drop back which is a very typical Bream bite and there was no hesitation to strike, or so my brother tells me, I happened to be dropping the proverbials off at the pool! Luckily Rich was there so I could leave my rods out, and I was only gone ten minutes, so when I arrived back he'd only just netted it.

Super start.

 A good start, 11lb 13ozs and first Bream of the spring for me ( Yes, of course I'm counting it! ). After that I watched a procession of Bream (some very big fish too) roll and frolic on the surface at varying ranges for a good hour or two as the light failed, this ordinarily would have filled me with enormous amount of confidence, however I have had this experience before and doesn't normally translate to bites and so it would seem this time around too. 

 For the next few hours Rich and I chewed the fat and had a great catch-up, ate some lovely food and as we neared bed time (around midnight) I got the first indication of what would turn out to be a frustrating hour or so, numerous gentle pick-ups not resulting in a hook-ups was not filling me with confidence at all, then in the early hours of the morning one finally committed and I had a steady bite that I did manage to hit, a dull nodding out in the choppy water had my mind wandering as to how big the Bream was, I know they get big in this pit which is why I'm on it. I forgot to get my headtorch so had to net it in the dark, thankfully it all went to plan and a big slab lay up in the net! 

 Without faffing around I unhooked the fish gently, loaded up the feeder and got it back out on the spot hoping for a quick bite with the fresh bait, as I popped that rod on the rest I had a bite on my other rod, the bobbin pulled up tight then dropped back, obviously standing over the rod I didn't wait for anything else to happen, I picked up the rod and away I was again! This fish even at distance felt heavy but with a dour fight the Bream inched closer to the net where I got my first glimpse and my god, what a fish it was too!

 I had a big fish in the net already and this Bream made it look small! I knew I had something special, I had surely smashed my personal best. The adrenaline coursing through me is such a buzz, what a feeling.

 Once I got myself together I weighed both fish and opted to pop them in the retainer and waited for sunrise to get some pics which were kindly taken by my mate and fellow Drennan man, Chris. We were all in awe, my brother was shocked, as was I. 

Bream no:2 - 13lb 7ozs.

 I got the smaller one on the scales first when I had caught them and she weighed 13lb 7ozs which would have made anyones trip, however the fish I popped on the scales next had me dreaming and my target for the spring ( 15lb+ specimen ) was beaten and achieved. 

My new personal best, 15lb 10ozs!

 Don't look at the hair, just look at that slab, its a fish I've wanted to get my hands on for a couple of years now, first go this spring, jobs a good'en. Still time to get some more hopefully before they get their rocks off. The rest of the trip dripped by without another touch and the intense winds continued to a point I decided to pack up. 

 With 15lb+ Bream being as uncommon as they are, I thought this target was one of those pie in the sky targets. Just goes to show on the right waters it is possible.

Now also own a barrow...😕😂

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 pursuit of Barbel as I looked to reach 23 completed rivers for my challenge. I'm happy to say that I managed to surpass that initial target and settled on 24 completed rivers by the close of play.

 It wasn't all Barbel though and here are a few of my highlights.

Kicked it off with a brace of big Bream.

Then a big river Rudd!

No: 19 - Finally a Loddon double, 10.7 YEAHHH

No: 20 - A Ribble Ripper! 10.13 

No: 21 - Sunset Sussex Rother gem, 12.10 

No: 22 - ColnBrook mirage, rare beasts, 11.5

No: 23 - Severn (lower) powerhouse, 10.7

My only PB of the season, 3lb 13oz Perch, woah!!

No: 24 - My Itchen monster, 15.2 (season best).

Best Grayling of the winter, 2.8

Looking Back on 2023.

 

2023, where did it go? It seemed to fly by.

Looking back on it I think it was a successful year, plenty of blanking endured as a majority of my angling was focused on Barbel and trying to put a dent in the 40 Rivers Challenge.

January, I continued my year long run of blanks on the Loddon for a Barbel but the Kennet was a lot kinder to me with the 18th river chalked off my challenge in the shape of a hard fighting 11lb 12oz specimen at last knockings on my first ever visit to the river. Total of 3 trips across the month.

February heralded a new chapter in my angling when Drennan contacted me as to whether I'd like to join their specialist team, I of course said yes! Who wouldn't?. Fishing wise I blanked on the Ribble and grafted for a 7lb Tame Barbel over a 3 day period. Total of 2 trips across the month.

March is always an odd month with just a couple weeks left on the river, the Itchen was true to form and held out on me with nothing to show for my 194mile round trip, but the Grayling fishing on the Wylye was superb with my haul topped by a 2lb 11oz specimen. The Chub fishing was good too but nothing over 6lb was had. Total of 4 trips across the month.

In April I only fished once as work was super busy and I thought it was going to be a car crash as the Bream simply weren't in my area on a big reservoir, on my way home I swung by a canal with the stalking gear and tempted a beautiful 24lb 1oz mirror off the top.

Again, May was a very lean month fishing wise as I only headed out once with work touted as the excuse for not getting out but did have a return for reservoir Bream and this time was more successful, a brace of 12's was my reward for ringing in the changes.

June I started the season with Rudd as I always do and was a brilliant trip out with my mate Brian. With plenty fish caught it wasn't until I slipped the net under a 2lb 11oz river Rudd that I felt truly satisfied, it was wonderful to see and hold and my best off a river ever! But that wasn't the only good fish I had in June as I finally located and banked a river Loddon double, a thick set powerhouse which tipped the scales to 10lb 7oz which represented river number 19 being completed on my challenge, what a finish to the month. 3 trips out.

July saw me get out a bit more and a few after work trips to the ColnBrook which were mainly blanks did result in another Barbel albeit a long way short of my 10lb+ target. Another trip to the Fens was a success with a few good Rudd to just over 2lb. I did return to the Wye and upped my rivers PB to 8.4 but know there's some way to go. 6 trips out.

August is usually a good month for me and it was no different this year, 3 blank days on the Nene were followed up by a Blackwater 9.1 which was great to see, I am certainly in the right area. The last week of the month proved to be incredible. A family holiday to the Lake District gave me a great excuse to pack a bit of gear as the Ribble was only 40min down the M6, within in an hour on my second ever visit I landed a 10lb 13oz fish, river number 20 done! The following Sunday I was on the banks of the rock hard Sussex Rother, this time however I got it right and after an epic battle I clapped eyes on my Rother double! 12lb 10oz and river number 21 complete! That was a tough one. 6 trips out.

September turned out to be very busy with work so I didn't have much time out on the bank, but what time I did have out I took full advantage of as I finally chalked off the ColnBrook which had been a thorn in my side (3 seasons much like a few other rivers) a solid 11lb 5oz Barbel lay on the mat in its full glory! River 22, done! I revisited the Thames for a chat up with my mate Richard and managed 3 Barbel to 10.9 which was nice. 2 trips out.

October saw a total of 3 trips for Barbel and 3 blanks, but it was a PB Perch that was the highlight of the month, at 3lb 13oz it beat a long standing best of mine and a fish I've wanted to catch for years. A 4lber next on my radar!

November see me buzzing around the Severn and Wye as I looked to turn the screw on both, two rivers I know doubles are possible and nearly achieved it on the Wye (9lb 10oz) and did it on the Severn with a 10lb 7oz hard fighting lower Severn Barbel. River number 23 completed! It wasn't just Barbel I targeted, the Grayling also got a day of my attention and had numerous fish over 2lbs topped with a fish of 2lb 8oz. 7 trips out in total.

December has been a washout for the most part and two trips to the Itchen have resulted in blanks as has a trip to the Blackwater. I've certainly got around this season when I've had a chance to go fishing and to have caught double figure Barbel off of 23 different rivers so far is crazy to think, it has been tough but glad I have chosen such a challenge, I'm getting to see so much of the British Isles because of it and soon I'll be planning a trip to tackle the River Clyde as a Scottish double is also on my wanted list. 5 trips out in total.

Happy New Year to you all, I hope 2024 is a kind and prosperous year. 

Back to Plan A.

 

 I am well behind on this post, life has just been far too busy for fishing and all that comes associated with it, to tell the truth I am just trying to stack as much money away as possible and the work is coming at me at an unrelenting pace (not complaining)!.

 That said with June just around the corner I've been picking up a couple of tickets that will hopefully position me well to add to my current tally of double figure off of different rivers of 18, with the half way milestone just two away I'm getting giddy!  

Everything I need!

The Arsenal.

 However, before we jump head first into the new season I went back out for Bream a couple of weekends back, my previous two trips were blanks and apart from the odd liner I had literally no action, this time around I opted to change things up a little and target a different water, I felt it was just a case of having baits out in the water, the Bream if they were feeding will do the rest.

 With the subject of age starting to be uttered with more regularity I splashed on a bedchair....no I'm not soft, just got to a moment in time where comfort outweighs everything else. Bloody comfortable I must add and makes having a kip whilst fishing a joy rather than a chore as I often made matters worse for a bad back that i've suffered with for years and laying on a cold hard bank hasn't helped at all.

 Once I got all the gear to my desired area the heavens opened, thankfully I got the bivvy set-up with seconds to spare, the rods and bait didn't go out for another hour as the rain lashed down. Finally it cleared albeit for just half an hour so I got everything out on the dance floor, all I needed now was a bin lid or two to come along.

 Fast forward 19hrs.....yes it really was slow but out of nowhere I got the most Bream-like bite you'll ever get, a few bleeps and a rising bobbin only for it to start falling away as a nice drop-back formulated before I lifted the rod to feel the tell-tale nodding of the rod at 55 yards, a slow and again typical fight played out and lasted just a couple minutes and there, in the bottom of the net lay a double figure Bream. Twenty minutes later a carbon copy take and fight played out again. 

 One double figure Bream was joined by another! after all that waiting and two came in just over quarter of an hour, bingo!!!

 I couldn't wait to weigh them, photograph and take it all in, this has been a long time coming, but not PB's unfortunately, fish of 16/17lbs is possible and have managed fish to 14lb 6oz.

 On the scales they went 12lb 10oz and 12lb 2oz a pair of beauties and made me a happy boy, but there was still plenty of time to get more.

 

 But not on this session, my bobbins stayed very steady. Clearly I had a small pod of Bream pass over my baited area, caught two and then the rest moved on I suspect, mustn't complain though!