hatterbarbel , diary of an average angler

Nice To Be Back

2008-03-06T10:37:00.000-08:00

It had been a while . Working overtime , daughter moving out , and weather had stopped us going . One thing had changed though , we had to fish for the quality chub when the barbel were iffy . We had caught some by mistake , and some good looking fish as well . Things started badly , I had been gagging to use a centerpin , so the night before we left for a day session I put it on the spare rod , rigged up , ready to cast out . We were very organised for a change , so I loaded the car neatly , but had to turn it round to load the rods . After I got out of the car , I see that a gust of wind had blown the rod sleeve inti the path of the car , buggering the reel , and butt section . So it was back to just carrying the one rod between us , and I will look for a new one latter in the year.

We arrived at the stretch at first light , and made our way to a swim we knew would produce in the conditions if the barbel were feeding , a good test for the rest of the day , and would make us decide on the chub fishing . Bingo , within 2 mins Sue was into , and landed a barbel , not big 4-5lb , but after struggling the last 2 trips its nice to see the baiting tactics working . This then went on for the rest of the day , with 7 barbel , best to Sue at 9lb+, and 3 chub . They were nice chub , but I felt that if we had not hooked them , and messed the swim up we would have probably caught barbel from those swims as well . Not being greedy , and having a good day we left early to do the dreaded motorway trip home .The dipping of the hookbait in lamprey dip , then into a bag of liquidised lamprey boillies powder worked a treat , and improved if you squeezed the bag forcing the powder into the paste , but be warned , you smell .

A few days latter , at short notice , we returned again . We arrived to a sharp frost , with the accompanying drop in temps . Into the first swim , and Sue gets a chub over 4lb, then another in the next swim . We decided to make our rigs chub friendly , and catch a few as the barbel looked to have turned off . In a swim I like , which is a bit tight, a big pull see the rod hoop over , and a 9lb 14oz barbel smile with me for some pics !!!. We then stayed with the barbel rigs , but no more came along , and in fact we missed many pickups from chub , doing our self out of another very good day . Another early trip home to miss the traffic , both pleased .

Last trip out see us return on a very cold day , and almost certainly only chub feeding . This was ok , as there are some nice chub to over 6lb in this bit , and one over 5lb would be a nice way to end this little spell of fishing. We went down the 5 best swims for a bite , with a couple of small pulls in one swim , and a smallish chub in another. The last swim is one of our favorites , and had good barbel and chub from it . The tip goes round , and Sue lands a chub . " We had better weigh this one as a gauge to the others we have been catching " I said . It went 4lb 9 oz, and we had in fact been putting bigger fish back saying " about 4lb " what pratts!!!. We then packed up , and drove to the river Thame , a small oxfordshire river that we liked the look of . Small , clear , narrow, and with a few chub and barbel in it. The afternoon was to be spent just looking to see swims , as it may be an option for midweek sessions where we can take our jack Russel's . We went into a nice swim with a small tree opposite , Sue dropped the lamprey doctored paste in above it , and 10 mins latter a 5lb chub gave her a bit of a struggle , almost making the roots . The bait had been on in both swims , but about 90 miles apart . We had a little walk , then left for home, nice place , and one we will look at in warmer weather . 255 miles , and a tank of petrol , madness .

Trying desperately to get out before the end , but work ,dogs , ducks , and horses need sorting out with baby sitters . Born to fish , forced to work, story of my life .

We Had To Go !!!!!

2008-01-21T09:16:00.000-08:00

From our last trip , we had a spell where I hammered the overtime at work. So it was into the christmas holidays before we could even think of going out again . We need more than good weather conditions to go , as we have 3 jack russles , horses , chickens , and ducks to arrange babysitters for .We were lucky that our daughter came round for the day , but it was a day she picked in advance , so that was it , we had to go !!!.

Conditions did not seem bad from the telly , and internet weather sites , but we had had a spell of coolish rain , and levels we defiantly up on the Severn as we passed over the bridge. We were still confident as we got to the bank , but it was obvious levels were rising rapidly , with only a hand full of fish able swims on the stretch , if that !!. We settled into the first swim , Sue upstreaming with a heavy lead , back lead , and weed guard . Within 5 mins the whole lot was swept away with the amount of rubbish coming down , and was something we could not get away from all day . We had a few casts , and I was sure we were doing it right , and was in with a shout , but the rubbish kept pulling the bait out of position , and eventually covering the hook in crap.

We moved 4 times , with the rising water coming over Sue,s feet in one swim . A rope was used at all times , even in what looked like a safe ish swim .We gave a swim where we had a few barbel from last winter a good go , spending a couple of hours in it , but it was clear we were on a loser. With plenty of daylight left we headed east , and the 2 hour battle on the motorways that we have now got used to . Had we lived closer , dare I say it , " been local " , then we would have been home sharpish , but thats life . We spent some of the time watching great rafts of trees going down , winding in so as to not lose the rod !!. Unbelievably , a large chest freezer came bobbing through the swim , getting stuck in a tree on a very good barbel swim . How do these things get in there ?. It did not just fall in , thats for sure.

If you are going to blank , then you may as well walk down to the bank looking at a sun rise like this, as the saying goes ," take time to stand and stare "

Hatter

Bang up to date

2007-12-10T11:13:00.000-08:00

Looking back at the last few post , they don't really convey the season we have had . The weather for everyone has been extremes of rain , and drought, all in a 6 month period . During this time we had to catch regular on what ever conditions were in front of us when we arrived at the waters edge , and never really seemed to hit a patch of consistent river conditions . But we did have a nice time , catching fish , and watching lots of wild life. The highlight was when a sparrow hawk chased a songbird around our heads for what seemed an age , eventually losing it in a bramble bush, magic times.

Last trip then , and we picked a weekend of rain , and high winds , but we wont moan as the river looked a picture . The added advantage of winter fish , is the lack of other anglers . Winter clothing was dug out , and Sue grabbed the minus 10 jacket , and I tried out the new prologic boots that had replaced the leaky ones returned to leslies .We fished a dayish session on the Saturday , having 3 fish , but it took some working out , and coming to the end of the day we were fish less. We dropped into a consistent swim , and tried a new tactic, and stayed longer than normal to try and sit them out . We dropped a lamprey flavored paste bait into a thick matching dip , then the whole lot dipped into a bag of liquidized boillies . The result looked instantly good , and tripped one up almost strait away. We took this strait into 2 other swims with the same result. No big fish , 7 1/2 lb was the best , but boy did they pull back. The thing with barbel at this time of year is they are mint , and have lost their tattyness from the bashing they took in the floods .

The Sunday was almost a copy , but had gale force winds added ,and a bit of sleet mixed in . Although the river had got better overnight , we moved stretches , as going back over the same swims as the day before would have been just given us similar results , and its nice looking at different swims .Once again the rope was used in all swims , with a dog spike clipped to it , and screwed in the ground to make it safe . 3 more fish gave as unbelievable fights , and were whacking the baits right back looking at the hook position when we got them in .The bags were working well , with a minimal amount of feed , and powdered boillies adding to the pulling power. It was a shorter day , as we layed in bed , not really looking forward to another 2 hour fight on the m40, but that's our choice , and you cant catch them watching telly !!. The trip home is much better for Sue , she closes her eyes , and hey presto , home in 10 mins !!!!!!!!.

Birthday Bash

2007-11-17T06:17:00.000-08:00

Before we started on the rivers we had a trip to celebrate my 50th birthday . Big parties are nice , and we had a cracker for Sue , but I had always imagined something different for my one . I wanted to hire a lake for some friends and family , with nice facility's , and all to our self s. This was a hard one to sort out , with not much choice to be honest . We ended up finding a jewel called olivemead lake , near Chippenham. I wanted to pay for it as a treat to my mates who put up with me piss taking , and non stop fishing talk .

It had everything and more . Two showers , two toilets , two lodges ,lcd telly's , cookers , all kitchen equipment , large bbq area , and to top it all , a balcony over the lake its self. The lake was about 2 - 3 acres with lots of rudd , tench , and obviously carp , the latter reaching over 30lb. Six of us fished , and wives came along , my mate Steve even collected his son Mitchel for a couple of nights . We had a great time with lots of tench caught to over 6lb , a few carp to 15lb .The highlight was fishing from the balcony of the lodge whilst having the evening bbq,s. Cheering as the young lad had loads of bites from the rudd , before the inevitable happened , and he hooked a tench !!. It rained a bit , and there was noise from the m4 , but we were so taken with the setup we tried to book again with the owner when he turned up to greet his next customers . Beds in the lodge for those who did not want to rough it , secure , hot showers , lights on the paths around the lake , we will be back.

This trip gave a couple of us a chance to try out the lamprey boillies . We had them in two sizes , and dips etc . The first night I went with tigers / maize , and lampreys. I had a fish from close to some pads , where a fished showed , and sent up bubbles . I feel I had got it wrong first night with the minimal feed / pva bags , and put all the bait I had left to this spot , and put 2 rods on it . Fish showed all over the lake , and some good ones as well. During the night , and at first light I had 3 more , losing one as well . I feel none of us really got to grip with it , and could have fished the open water more . The owner said that the syndicate had always caught close in , as the lake was a deep bowl shape , with the water dropping steeply down to 15ft close in , and this is how we started . Nobody told the carp though , and perhaps they had not read the books , and showed over 20ft + of water .My mate Steve also caught a carp , from next to the pads on a couple of lamprey baits , so it was working for him too. It was nice to get the carp stuff out for a change , and bivvi up looking at a nice view , different from the continuous roving we had done for the last few years. Nice as it was , hanging from trees , watching barbel is what I was looking forward to be doing .

Hatter

3ft Twitches

2007-11-13T09:55:00.002-08:00

After the September break we had a couple of nice days fishing . On one of them Sue had a 4 fish in a morning session, on a stretch where only she is a member , so I just guilly for her. This entails baiting the swim , climbing tree,s , and making the tea , passing it to her as she concentrates . In the first swim she hooks a fish that really give,s it the big one , bolting for the far tree cover, letting the rod do the work it swings out into the open water , then just fell off !!, not a happy woman . We then move to a nice swim behind a stumpy willow , with the x-line going strait down to the rig in a few feet of water. The bites like this are funny , with the rod top just bouncing as the lead follows the fish down past the rod, and Sue hangs on for a 8lb+ fish , happy now .
We then move a few miles downstream so I can have a go . Passing a lay by catering van , we stop for an all day breaky sarnie , the best we have ever had , and set us up for a long walk to the swims . We dropped in half a dozen , and had 5 between us. The lamprey bags working a treat , putting only just enough in to get a bite, then moving on .What we did though was to fish under used swims , and in fact made a couple while we were there .

Another day in the valley see us change the way we fished a stretch . It would have been easy to go back to the swims we were in most of the season , so we looked at a fairly long bit that we had hardly fished , perhaps once , and even then , not the swims we wanted to try out . We started in a swim Me and Sue had made last season , but had grown over again , not much room for a rod over head , a bit tight all round . Bait was lowered off the rod tip , with the barbel under the cover tight to the bank we hoped .We sat watching buzzards , kingfishers etc , when out of the blue the rod wraps round 3 foot !!, Sue hung on , like a dog on a lead , in the net it went . This was to be the way the day went , with every bite being the same , no liners , no warning , just full test curve. We were in contact with the club secretary all day , winding him up on how they were feeding , and he was stuck at home !!. At one point I had just bundled a fish in the net when Dave Mason called to see how we were getting on , " funny enough Dave iv just got one in the net , about 8lb", he laughed and said , " what on! " , " your lamprey " enough said.

It is nice to contrast the way we fish compared to the club sec. He keeps accurate records of every thing, and knows what we caught, and they are not so far apart. Him working swims , and as my mate says , us stealing a bite . The main difference is he can pick the best time to nip out , where as we go no matter what the conditions are.Where we have to take what is given , but Im not moaning you understand!!!.

Hotel Vectra , with Sue doing the b+b.Many a night spent in the car park on the luxury double air bed , we did a two nigh stay , but any more than that , and lamprey flavor would have nothing on us .

Nearly up to date , Hatterbarbel

Life Getting In The Way

2007-11-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

Horses , dogs , chickens , ducks , kids , mortgage. A recipe for a lack of fishing , all at some point wanting your time , and some your money , and most both . This in many ways dictates the way we fish , and where. The problem of short overnighters was solved by the hotel vectra . Sue was the brains behind this , and we have spent many nights in it, saving time , and money . Feet up on the back of the car in the evenings , watching the stars eating out of a takeaway carton , although we did not have much of a summer , I will remember that.

We had quite a few fish up until our holiday at the end of September. Some good fish as well . We were lucky size wise , as often we fished with the sectary of the club water who would catch the average stamp of fish , and a few times he watched as we had 8 , 9 , and 10lb fish , just shaking his head!. Both Sue , and I had fish just over 10lb , with mine a jammy capture with it being the first cast into a swim we had not fished before . I was also lucky enough to catch the same 9lb + fish twice in a week, about a quarter of a mile apart . We did our usual way of fishing two stretches in the same day on many occasion's , catching a fair amount of fish .But the day we had of fishing the kennet with our mate Coilin , then driving across the country to the Teme was the best, with 10 fish for our efforts . We also did a wedding in Barnsley, out of the reception at 11pm , and a drive down , and across to Worcestershire to sleep in the vectra, fish till the afternoon , then home to bucks , knackered.

This led up to September,s holiday , staying in the cottage we use , and love in Severn Stoke .This gave us the opportunity to fish like a local , relaxed starts , home at the end of fishing in no time , oh to do that all the time. We drove through an absolute down pore, to find the river spot on , even managing to get Mr West out of out fav half a dozen swims !!!. Trev West has been guiding on our club stretch , which had mucked us up a couple of times , making our way to the top of the stretch to find him , and a couple of clients baiting , and fishing swims we were heading for .We got round this by looking for his van , seeing if he was there,then knowing where to head for . But in this instant , with prospects good we went for it , catching in most of the swims we went into , finishing early , then up the takeaway for dinner in the cottage . The teme severn lamprey liquid realy came into its own , with bags dipped / soaked in it producing the most fish . Condition eased off as the week went on , but it would be boring to just fish , and we had a day round the antiques shops , and the last day was spent at Malvern show ground for the autumn show . We also managed to have an evening meal with the club sec , and another barbel angler in the club , and wives .A realy nice night , showing you can make friends on the net , and on the bank. By the end of the week we were sight fishing , watching fish pick up baits was top stuff. New swims were made / fished , and we even put bait to fish to watch them , and it seemed a shame to put the rig in , so we just left them to it .

A nice week , and almost up to date , next , the snag day , and poachers .
Hatterbarbel

Kennet , Its Why We Go

2007-11-08T01:59:00.001-08:00

The start of the season saw floods of biblical proportions , effecting large areas of the country. We ventured out , and after the close season break , just got back into our winter mode . We fished high water conditions , and caught fish , as they were on the munch . We caught fish regularly , and we were glad we had not booked our usual weeks holiday , so we picked our days carefully. We nibbled away at them , having 5 - 8 fish a trip, but no more than others that were able to get on the banks .

The problem of wet legs due to the meadows being covered in dew was sorted by Sue. We had discussed the use of gaiters , rarely seen on the river bank , but used for this very reason by shooters / walkers . At a county show Sue picked up a couple of pairs for £14 , and what a bargain they turned out to be , totally waterproof they solved the problem. To such an extent we use them even on dry days as they protect the lower calf from mud and getting caught up in the undergrowth !!.
It was on one of these early trips that we also had a visit to the hospital . After nearly hooking Sue in the cheek as she passed the rod ( we only carry 1 between us ) up a steep swim , I finally managed a proper job in the next . The hook was rammed home into her finger by a combined force of me pulling the rod , and the 3oz lead swinging free . The size 7 raptor was removed at Worcester hospital with a local , and we called it a day . We retired to the vectra camper van, slept the night in the car park , then started on a short morning session the next day none the worse , except my ears !. Vectra camper van ??????, yep , another problem solved , more of that next time , along with Teme Severn Baits , and conditions changing

2007-11-07T03:09:00.001-08:00

The Kennet in all its glory, a fantastic day in good company , the fact fish were caught was secondary. This diary will try to recount our season to date , but starting half way through , it may be disjointed . It is not a dairy of mega barbel , and chub , but of two average anglers , just catching our share.
We fish different rivers , and many stretches , sometimes on the same day , but that's a story for latter . The season starts last winter really , Sue was in a swim , and we had caught a few fish . I had text a good Friend of ours , Dave Mason , to tell him of conditions , and the fact barbel were feeding . I then received a call from him telling us of an offer to join the bait team , testing Teme Severn products , and of a meeting besides the Severn in June to all meet up . That was bait sorted out for the coming season , but we had a few problems to sort out . Each time we go , we try to improve things , thinning down tackle , trying new stuff out , and solving problems that annoy us!!. Couple of things that always seem to crop up were sleeping arrangements , due to the fact we are traveling anglers , and another is walking across dew covered meadows in the summer , and although not a wet day , getting soaked in the process. Our answer to these next time .