Well the suns gone for now and been replaced by showery and at times windy conditions,Good! Although the rivers are still running slow considering the rain we have had,I guess the ground is so dry it will take time to make a larger impact on water levels.
However it has no doubt helped and on Friday I just had to get out for an overnighter as I felt certain something would develop given the conditions,when I got down to the river it looked in fine shape and form indeed,I had some fresh freezer baits I had mad in my effort to get the fish to get their heads down and was looking forward to putting them to some use.
I always feel that it is imperative to not allow yourself to become to set in your ways and bang your head against a brick wall,do not misunderstand me,sometimes you can over complicate things,but I always feel if I am not trying something,be it even something just basic,then I feel I am doing myself a disservice,in this case it was just a basic adjustment partly of bait,nothing really earth shattering,but having some fresh freezer baits filled me with more confidence than usual,that and a combination of the weather which I will admit filled me with the most confidence.
I got to my swim a little later than I had planned after Mum had got stuck in traffic.Everything looked great upon arrival and I setup one rod downstream onto a clear gravel gravel area that had some streamer weed,just the right spot to lay a nice little table of food for Mr Barbel,my other rod was cast to a similar spot but directly in front of me in between some very heavy cabbages.
My Rod cast directly in front of me had fresh shellfish freezer boilie dumbbell shape 18mm size and with this I opted for a pva bag of crushed boilies,however not the same as the hook bait in flavour,I like to try never matching boilie free offerings to the hook bait as I feel sometimes this helps if the fish are wary,the pva bag was filled with crushed banana and caramel boilies.
On the downstream rod I opted for the old faithful 15mm halibut pellet with a pva bag or 8mm pellets.Both rods on running rigs with size 8 Animals and 2.5oz flat pear weights,Drennan sink braid hooklinks of 10 and 12lb respectively.
The scene was set and a wet evening drew in,feeling peckish I opened a Hotbox meal of Tika Masala and listened to the last few overs of the Ashes test match,lets hope we can ball them all out today and get a needed win at Lords!
Anyhow all was quiet,with just the odd Perch and Chub along with the freshwater Sardines that are Bleak breaking the surface,I was at peace though and a man could die a happy soul at such times,My Tika Masala was about ready and I tucked in.at 10pm my rod with the freezer bait on signaled one bleep followed by another and then just went into a full blooded run,I was into a good fish that powered off downstream and somehow managed to avoid my other line,it tried to snag me a few times but eventually was sat very lively in the net a lovely well proportioned linear of 11lb 9oz and a very nice looking Carp, 1-0 to the freezer bait,I was most happy indeed.
My central rod was placed back out and I sat back and had a cup of tea as a reward,however half way through the cup of tea and the downstream pellet rod tore off,no bite no warning just a single tone run,as soon as I set the hook i knew I was into a good fish which decided to tell me where it would run to and proceeded to bully me like hell on a stick or more aptly put,like hell on a Carbon stick.This fish just did not wish to give in and tried every trick in the book,but was in the net after one last long run,I was staring down on to a very nice Barbel,slipping it into the weigh sling i knew I was into a large summer double,sure enough it went 12lb on the dot,I was made up and thinking "I could get use to this".
So it was 11.15, I was sat thinking "Ok two fish in a short time,possible red letter incoming?".My central rod answered with another screamer,I was into a smaller but very lively Barbel of 5lb8oz and for its small size it put up a good spirited fight,I guess it was taking lessons from its larger cousins,perfection in miniature.
By this time I was wondering who had decided to bless me,so I paid tribute to the rain gods by sprinkling a cup of tea on the ground (no word of a lie).After this fish all fell silent and I was sat so pepped up I could not relax,so opened a pack of Hobnobs, no fisherman should be without a pack of hobnobs on an overnighter seriously!
I sat listening to the owls and foxes calling out as well as mosquitoes dive bombing me,least this time I had some deet protection.1 am came and went,a dormouse was sat at the side of my empty hotbox meal,eating some left over rice and was clearly enjoying what was for it a banquet. At around 3am my left rod gave a fast bleeeep,the swinger was back up and down in a swift jerky motion,half of me said Chub,but all fell silent again,I dozed slightly,nodding off,head rolling forward like the nodding dog from the Churchill insurance adverts,I was gone,awash with thoughts of what had been quite an overnighter,it was then that my rod placed downstream sounded again,this time tearing off,I was pulled out of my sleepy dream cloud and was playing a fish that has to go down for me as one of the most moody and agressive Barbel on and off the bank that I have had the pleasure of catching and weighed in at 9lb 4oz,happy times indeed.
The downstream rod was re-cast and I opted for a change in pellet size to some older 17mm pellets,which I unfortunately cannot seem to get hold of any more,so keep them for hook baits only,this with another tiny pva bag clipped on the hook.
I sat down to finish off my Hobnobs and have a cup of tea or ten,there I was thinking to myself "heck seems like my lucky night". 4am called to say hello,the cloud and rain had lifted and the night was clear,stars were out along with the moon,not full but still very bright,eventually the morning was making itself ever more evident as the sun rose to oppress the stars twinkling overhead the time drew on and it was gone 6am,I was sat considering that as it was clear and the sun was up,it would perhaps be curtains,apparently my central rod did not agree and single toned off upstream,I was into another good fight and had to lock the reel down more than usual as I felt the fish was going too far too fast,the Exage`s progressive and responsive drag replied and still gave a little,just enough but also with enough sternness that allowed me to bully the fish into the security of the near bank once more and back out in front of me,there sat in the net was a superbly proportioned and pristine Barbel of 9lb 8oz
Well what a session,was I happy? I think if I was not then there would have to be something very very wrong with me,four Barbel and a Linear makes Mark one happy fellow,at 7am I decided to pack up and head for home one very happy lad indeed,whilst packing up I saw a deer having its breakfast and sauntering my way,so got a small video of it and have added it to a montage video which you will find below,along with a couple videos of the 9lb8oz barbel and the 12lb fish as well as the pictures you see here.
I hope you have enjoyed this latest update,feel free to sign the guestbook,I have also added another anglers fishing Blog to my blog list that is the blog of Dave Lumb a very high quality and well written blog it is too.
Until next time on fishing for memories it is a very happy goodbye wishing you also some good catches with the current weather system we have.
tight lines and best fishes!
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