Farewell My Inflatable Buddy.

 

 After 10 years of "near" perfect service, run ragged, rode upon by a few hairy arsed men holding rods aloft my trusty fishing boat finally gave up as a rogue overwintering rat had a part of my right gunwhale for dinner.

 It took me 96 miles of driving and organise a couple days of angling for Rudd with my mate Chris to realise the hole that was there. Chris had himself made the journey over to the fens to sample some of the angling I and a few others have experienced over the last decade. Here are a few captures that have crossed the walls of my boat, it had done well. 

A pic from a couple years back.

PB Zander for me

A good upper double pike

Brian with a sparkling esox

Ditto

Brother Rich with a 13lb 3oz Zed!

PB Rudd last summer, 3lb 0oz

Hundreds of beauties like this.

No pomp and circumstance, to the tip!

Oh HELLO! Bigger, more spacious, my new boat!

My Opening Gambit.

 

 Well, it wasn't the opening day/s that I had planned, to cut a long story short during the winter the rat or rats that I had in my shed had gnawed a whole in my boat the size of a credit card, I was fuming considering I didn't notice until I had reached my launch site 93 miles from home, having set off at 3am and inviting my mate Chris to join me for a mission across the Fens in search of monster Rudd. SS Rudd was no longer.

 Chris and I both did what we could on the bank to get her afloat but there was to be no salvaging that. Around 9am we decided bank work was our go to alternative and did so for a few hours and I managed one decent Rudd of 1.13 along with a load of fish around one pound, but there was an overriding sense of complete disappointment, I was super pissed off at it all and no doubt Chris was happy just being there but for me it wasn't enough and really wanted to captain us to some brilliant fishing which I know can be had.

 We got to around midday/1pm and decided it was best if we tried somewhere different where we stood a chance of better fishing so we packed away but unfortunately Chris didn't make it to the new venue as his car was giving him trouble and had to head off home / garage to get the issue resolved. With that I carried on went about my business but the fishing in the high sun was tough going and a lot of the Rudd were tucked away in the eel grass, I knew the latter hours would be best but I packed up at 8pm, to be honest the disappointment of the eaten boat had killed the enthusiasm so buggered off home. 

 Less said about that trip the better.

2024 Review.

 

 The past 12 months have really been lean in terms of angling opportunity, being self-employed was supposed to mean more time for me (potentially), that has not turned out to be the case, my last 10 years have flown by and expectedly busier as that time has marched on, now time is very sparse when work and family have been taken into account, that said I think it has been a calender year that has surpassed expectations.

 January consisted of a trip to the Wye where I managed five Barbel which included 2x 9's as I turned the screw on my 40 Rivers Challenge in less than ideal conditions - 25hrs of fishing across two days ( blog here: Jan Wye trip )

Best @ 9.2

 February is always a random month, never know what conditions are going to prevail, but sometimes, even when the conditions are rubbish something tells you you should get out and make an effort, them gut feelings are almost always right and learned to listen to them and bloody glad I did, because I caught a fish I'd worked very hard for and represented possibly the best fish of the year. The month of February could have been even better if it wasn't for the last minute loss of a river Wye double just a few feet from the rim of the net, the sense of loss was epic which haunted me for weeks. ( blog here: River Itchen Giant )

River No 24: 15lb 2oz

 

 March was once again lean in fishing time and only managed one trip for Grayling where I had fish to 2.6 and one trip to the Wye to try and put that previous loss to bed, unfortunately for me that didn't happen and scratched around for bites, seven Barbel in two days with the best only going 7lb.

 April was going to be the start of my Bream campaign where I had a certain water in mind, the target a 15lb specimen, I didn't think I would crack it on my first trip! 15.10 to be precise and what a fish it was. It began to cement my thinking that the Bream when they feed in big weather systems feed off the back of the wind rather than follow it, this did lead to additional fish as a result. PB Bream time!

 May only had one trip on the bank and that was back on the Bream trail, unfortunately the fish began spawning a bit earlier than the previous spring so I will bare that in mind! I did catch six doubles up to 13lb 2oz, those big ones had other ideas, this spring I will start my bream campaign as soon as the river season ends. More Bream!

 June came along with many plans in mind but the re-occuring theme of limited came to bare once again, but it didn't stop me achieving something I've wanted to do for eight years! I've had many "two pound" Rudd off the various fenland waterways but that "three pound" specimen eluded me, until the 17th of June, 3lb on the button and my season was made already, anything else was / is a bonus. 3lb River Rudd

 During July I made a couple of trips to the Blackwater and one to the Nene in search of Barbel of course but the prior resulted in just a couple of five pound Barbel and my Nene resulted in a blank but possibly should have been a lot better, but I'll learn from that mistake.

 August is usually a very good month for stalking with the long summer days but this time around I was met with poor barbel conditions on the Wye and the Aire / Wharfe trip was a total blank as the Wharfe was un-fishable where i planned to head and the Aire didn't produce a bite for me.

 September was a whole lot better than the tosh of the previous two months, first trip of the month was spent on a fishless Kentish Stour (as per usual) but my next trip up to the midlands proved to be a roaring success! Two rivers fished on consecutive days resulted in catching my targets off both rivers which started off on the Nene and ending a three year stint when a powerful 12lb 8oz specimen was banked, not to be completely content I drove to the Soar the following morning and spent the day walking the stretch and sunbathing before getting the rods out just before dusk, the following hour and a half was epic, two chub, 1 bream and a old warrior of a Barbel weighing 12lb 9oz ensured this trip will be remembered for a very long time and as my challenge goes it was a pivotal 24hr window.

 Nene trip - Nene Double - 12.8  Soar trip - Soar Double - 12.9

No 25

No 26

 October is my birthday month and normally a great month for Barbel and so it proved! I didn't catch much else but a Wye double figure Barbel was high on my hit list and didn't expect it to happen as the previous 9 trips had just been a case of catching fish and hope for the best. She was close to the mark but my god I was stoked it made it having come close with one last season and losing a certain double last winter. Wye trip - Wye Double - 10.1

No 27

 November I managed two trips on the bank and had a lovely day trotting for Chub, a decent keepnet of skelly's to 5.1 warmed me up nicely, then a trip to the magnificent R.Wylye for Grayling where I managed my best haul to 2.6, a lot of younger ones coming through which is great to see!

 December consisted of two trips once again, one of the Kentish Stour resulted in a couple of Chub but the Barbel remained elusive, no such issue on the Dorset Stour though as I managed to pick one up on the maggots in very testing conditions but not a double, so my trips to the DS aren't over yet.

 I wish you all a happy new year, I saw my new year in with the mrs and friends with a hangover...another year older but not wiser, anyway, onwards we go, the best 3 months of the season for specimen fishing is upon us! Let's go get em.

 Total sessions over the calender year: 25! A shade over two trips a month, that is awful for me, but over the bloody moon with what I caught.

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.

8 Years in the Making.

 

 So we find ourselves finally able to get back on the rivers and thank god for it too. I don't mind stillwaters and canals now and again, running water however has no substitute. Before the season started I set myself a few of targets as I do every spring and my 15lb+ Bream target was achieved on my first trip so I was happy to graft, get plenty of money in and await the 16th of June.

 The targets I set myself were the following:

 - 15lb+ Bream

 - 3lb+ River Rudd

 - A double figure Barbel from 6 different rivers across the UK for my challenge to put me on 30!

 - 3lb+ Grayling

 - 1lb+ Dace

 - 8lb+ Chub

 That is some list above I grant you but certainly possible and given the time of year its only the Rudd and Barbel that I'd target. 

 I didn't fish the 16th for the first time in a while as I haven't been particularly well of late and didn't feel up to going out but was starting to feel a bit better for the first time in a month so I decided upon Rudd and loaded the car, ready for a trip deep into the Fens on the 17th (yesterday). 

 By 0630 the boat was already set and ready to let slip, the morning chorus had ended but the distant Cuckoo's could still be heard and watched on as a Hen Harrier glided across the reed beds in front of me, majestic creatures they most certainly are, but I sought something even more majestic.

My Rudd set-up.

 The Fens spanning across three counties I believe offer hundreds of miles of clear water of varying sizes and hold some wonderful fish and not just Rudd. Carp, Pike, Tench and various species call it home. After years of trying to catch a 3lb+ Rudd I set that as my summer target as I have done for the last seven years without getting too close.

After the last few weeks this was a joy!

 As I pootled along I could see scores of Rudd but nothing large, anything over 2lbs I would advance beyond the shoal and let them settle down whilst feeding copious amounts of bread crust, sometimes it took 15-20mins before the larger fish would start to take the bread but it was slow going. Knowing what was down there I didn't mind waiting and you always know when the bigger fish are moving around as the smaller fish don't come up as much as they get bullied off and the bigger fish begin to feed with gusto, I find its very important not to start fishing too quickly, catching the smaller ones often switches the bigger fish off but oddly if you wait and begin to fish and catch big ones you can do this with successive casts as is what played out around 9am.

Beautiful!

 First up was a smaller fish of 1lb 10oz which was followed by a warrior weighing at 2lb 10ozs and my second biggest river Rudd, so I was mega chuffed and couldn't believe what a start I'd had. She didn't behave like big Rudd usually do either, the bite was so subtle I almost missed it, a tiny slurp at 30 meters away, luckily for me my float started to veer off to the right which is when I knew it was on, the fight was very Rudd like and dived into every patch of pads, then down into the grass and marginal reeds. 

2.10! Yea man that epic :) 

 Wow, 0930 and already had caught a very big Rudd, I must admit I was happy with that and continued to fish the section without another rise so I moved on. I cruised on for about another mile and a half without seeing anything of note, there was a distinct lack of fish of any real size. Around 1130 I found a pod of Rudd maybe 10 strong that all looked to be upper 1's and low 2's so I opted to get some of those as I hadn't had a fish for a couple hours. As usual I got above the shoal and fed bread for a good 20 mins and fish were rising, then I started trotting down to the feeding fish could tell that some of the bow waves made as Rudd approached the bits of crust were pretty big, if you have fished for this species as much as myself you come to learn what sized bow waves can be made by certain fish, some of those were not of fish of mid-high 1's at all.

 I kept feeding the section until the regularity of crust being taken dwindled, I knew it was time to start fishing as the smaller fish should have had their fill but could still see the occasional bow wave of that / them big Rudd still, so I knew they were still active and in the run. My first cast down kissed the wind and sent it right into the marginal reed bed and set my hook in a reed stem, I was fuming at my luck and had to lift the drogue and drift down to the stem, the only fortunate thing was it was still a good 15-20 meters from where the fish were still moving around. I unhooked the stem, dropped the drogue and cast straight out in the middle channel and ran the crust down to the hot zone. It took a good 2-3 mins to get there and then a fish gently took the crust off the top, no gusto, no bow wave I thought no please don't be a pisspot Rudd, the float sailed away and struck into the fish and the round slammed over and line started to peel off my fairly slack clutch, this actually wasn't a bad fish at all and when it dived in every bit of vegetation on the way up I got a glimpse of it and I knew it was very big!

 I couldn't ship the net out fast enough, this surely had to batter my original river best of 2.11 that I had last year and when I lifted it out the water and on to the mat she looked immense! thick across the back, long and very deep... a solid gold bar! Could she go over the 3lb barrier? could, after eight years this be the very fish I wanted? I certainly didn't see any fish in that shoal when I passed over them of that calibre.

You bet it did, a fish I didn't think I'd ever get to catch!

What a special fish and very rare indeed!

 Yes it may have only just made that magical mark but that it did is all that matters. I was honestly lost for words and marvelled at her for ages as she rested in the net before letting her drift back into anonymity possibly never seeing an angler again! This was a long journey, but my god one I have enjoyed for the most part. The wasp stings, the mozzies, the unrelenting winds, the baking hot sun, the storms that build and dump in minutes, the lost fish, the endless rowing through rafts of vegetation was all worth it. 

 I can not overstate how rare Rudd of that size are and know many anglers who after decades of trying haven't managed it, on the 17th of June 2024, it was my day.

Just a fraction of what I have to deal with.

 Once I had released that Rudd my head wasn't really into it, I had achieved my goal! So I opted to slowly make my way back about 2.5 miles to where I had parked up. I cruised over numerous pods of Rudd but nothing of note and just wondered if I had passed over anything big in the morning that I had missed. 

 Something I didn't mention above was that I had a couple male Rudd milt as they were bought in and suspected both the 2.10 & 3.00 had not finished spawning and the water was still very cold, they must be quite far behind and the 3lber was pristine on both sides, no signs of spawning damage, odd...

 A few decent fish around the 1.12 - 2.3 were had on the way back up and were hitting the bread like I expected the bigger ones too, the two best offered up gentle slurps of the bread and then fought like demons. By 3/4pm I was ready to pack down, job was a good'en!!!!

My best of the way home, 2lb 3ozs.

 Target number two of my list achieved, Fens....over and out !!!!! for now at least, I do love the Fens, maybe a change of scenery for a while :)

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.