Recent content by Neil Smart

Certainly agree with you in travelling light, even take a folding stool rather than a chair. The sudden drop in temperatures has made it difficult, I am itching to get out possibly with Chub in mind when the colour drops out s bit. Wife got me some blue cheese which I will blend with some crumb...

I would but being the furthest I haver ever lived from the coast... Used to wander down through the Chimes at Westbourne, fish for Mullet on the Itchen living in Hedge End, Bournemouth when it err was Bournemouth and not resembling Beirut, plus Torquay and Southampton. Then work took me to...

Bob's only interest was to scavenge a couple of rods it seems. :rolleyes:

I ran into them s few years sgo at Pershore on the Warks Avon..nice lads and well deserving of their reputation.

My local Warks Avon has had less barbel caught of late than the time I have fished it, seasoned anglers are still barbleless in November. But you live in hope and when you do catch it really is special. Never fished the Trent, and to think as a young RAF recruit I did my square bashing at...

Just as well Mike😉

Then come down to the Warks Avon and see how you do. Not crammed full of Barbel like the over stocked Trent. But it is what it is, you can only catch them if they are there.

Yes very much a WA thing too.

I do know that sometimes little plucks can indicate barbel activity, and they might be just ignoring the hookbait, and a change to meat had in the past resulted in a fish. My sentiment was they wanted the main course not the starter. So yes very much so, those little plucks can be barbel.

Downstream always for me.

Warks Avon

It seems to be a Severn thing whereby fry in the margins do not show on the lower. Hopefully up stream they do.

For me river records are fine as a gauge as to what any river can sustain as to larger fish stocks. But just how many fish are returned without weighing and any thoughts of publicity? There are some weird folk out there that are hell bent on ruining not only your hot peg.

Very true Luke, and of course the real advantage of a longer rod is mending the line, but that frankly has never been that much of an issue with a 13ft or my 14 ft rod, and as you say the task of netting a fish or 'to hand' is a lot easier with a shorter rod. Still if it keeps us lot shelling...