"A Perfect Day"
By Dave Brittain
By Dave Brittain
For years I have felt as if something is missing from my fishing but I couldn't put my finger on it until a recent visit to the Bristol Avon. If you have been fishing commercials for the last few years as I have this may be of interest.
After taking the plunge and deciding to take a change in direction from my normal match fishing background, at the end of February, (probably not the best time), I made the decision to sell some of the match rods that I rarely use and to invest in a couple of Specialist rods, reels, a rucksack and a lightweight chair for Chub and Barbel fishing on the rivers.
After scanning the papers, fishing magazines and ebay, I managed to pick up a Free Spirit Specialist 1 1/4 lb T/C rod and a Free Spirit Barbel Seeker, (unused), with additional quiver tip sections for less than £180, which just goes to show that you don’t have to pay the earth to get good quality tackle.
Not wanting to wait until June, I joined the Bristol Amalgamation so that I could fish the Bristol Avon, deciding on an end of season campaign at Limply Stoke in the hope of catching my first BA barbel.
I arrived at the river at around half past ten on Saturday morning, (I couldn't fish Sunday or Monday due to family commitments). It was sunny but cold with a slight breeze. I was amazed when there was hardly anyone on the river bank especially considering that it was the last week of the season, so I literally had the whole of the stretch to myself with the exception of one peg.
As I was tackling up a Robin decided to make a nuisance of its self, flitting here and there, chirping incessantly, to let me know it was hungry. It was just like being at home with the kids. After throwing down a handful of maggots, it was promptly joined by a hedge sparrow and a wren.
After fishing commercials for the last few years, it’s the little things like this that you miss most and it’s easy to fall into the trap of forgetting why you like fishing so much. It’s not just the fishing and catching fish that count, it’s the whole package and it wasn’t long before I started to realise exactly what had been missing from my fishing for the last few years.
It is something that you will never find in a commercial fishery and that is being one at nature, in a natural environment.
With the river running low and clear I thought the chances of barbel were slim, but you never know. I decided to fish for chub for the first few hours using bread and then later on change to a bolie and paste combination to try and catch my first barbel from the BA.
I set up the F/S Specialist with a 2.5oz quiver tip, a small cage feeder with added lead and a size 8 hook to 6lb Maxima and a 6lb low dia. hook length. Filling the feeder with liquidised bread, with a large piece of flake on the hook, I was ready to start.
Just as I was drinking my coffee, studying the water trying to decide as to the best place to cast my feeder, a Grey Wagtail landed where I had thrown the maggots for the Robin earlier. It was quickly joined by two others which flitted in and out, trying to decide if I was a threat or not. Watching these beautiful birds was wonderful. Although I hadn’t cast a line yet, the day was turning out to be nice one.
Going back to the fishing, second chuck in and the 2½ oz tip gave a good sharp dink before dropping back. A nice chub of 2lb was quickly netted. This was soon followed by one of its slightly bigger brothers, weighing in at 2½ lbs, fifteen minutes later.
The setting was beautiful. Peace and quiet, just me, the the birds and the fishing, what more could you ask for.
The next hour was quiet, however it must be noted that when I had hooked the second chub you could actually see it flashing half way across the river due to the clarity of the water, so it was obvious that this had spooked the other fish. At a guess I would have said that the peg was two-three foot deep and crystal clear so it was a case of waiting for the fish to gain confidence and return.
Just when my mind was starting to wander the tip just started to quiver slightly. Do I hit it or wait for a proper bite? Well sometimes you don't get a second chance and my matchmans instincts took over, choosing to hit the bite and as I did, the rod bent blissfully into the fish. It was a much better fish and after a short battle I was pleased with a nice but tatty 4 lb chub. Not in the best condition but a nice fish none the less.
Half an hour later and I got a nice classic drop back. Another chub weighing about 2lb, in perfect condition. This was turning out to be a cracking day, however the next hour was very quite despite changing to a bomb and searching the peg for a few more fish.
The Wagtails, the Wrens and Robin had all been back several times for food and to be honest if I hadn’t caught another fish I would have been quite happy.
It was then that I saw a Firecrest in the tree above me, watching the Wagtails with interest, as they made a feast of my maggots. It’s the first time I have ever seen one of these beautiful little birds, (quite similar to the Goldcrest but not quite as common). No matter how much I willed it to come down out of the tree, it was staying put. If I could just get the camera and get a photo it would be something to talk about. Just as I was about to reach into my rucksack the tip pulled over. Up went the rod, off went the Firecrest, damn it I thought. It was a few seconds later, still thinking about the Firecrest when my brain engaged and I realised that I was into a big fish, far larger than the others that I had caught.
The fish kited off down stream, taking line off me as it headed for the streamer weed on the shallows. Could this be a barbel I wondered in hope. Applying as much pressure as I dared I managed to turn the fish just before it reached the sanctuary of the streamer weed. It didn’t take me to long before I could see the fish.
I knew by now that this wasn't the barbel I had been hoping for however it was a big fish and I was silently hoping for a new chub PB.
Although I have caught thousands of chub, my PB was a fish that weighed just over 5lbs from the River Tees in my native North East. Not a big fish by many standards but still a nice fish from my favourite river. After trying it's best to find somewhere to snag me and leave me tethered, I finally netted the fish after a short but exciting fight. I looked at it in the net, big, heavy, thick, bronze and beautiful. I weighed it in anticipation of a new PB and I was delighted when it weighed a cracking 5lb 10oz, not bad for my first proper session on the Bristol Avon, I was more than happy.
An hour later and I hadn’t had another sign.
It was at this point that I decided to move pegs, moving just upstream to one of the better known, winter barbel pegs. I put the F/S Specialist away and out came the F/S Barbel Seeker in anticipation of an epic battle and my first BA barbel. I was quite impressed with the Specialist and the way it had handled the Chub, but now it was time for it’s big brother. Ten pound line with an 8lb fluro carbon hook length and I was ready to go.
The peg I was fishing was very deep and the flow is mainly on the inside, slowing towards the middle, with the flow slowing and almost stopping towards the far bank. I decided to base my attack on just the other side of the flow, in the slower water, just past the middle.
With a 10mm Source boilie hair rigged and wrapped in Sillybait based paste, I was ready to give the Barbel Seeker a baptism of fire to end the perfect day.
Using a 2oz bomb and PVA mesh sock clipped to the lead, full of crushed boilie with one or two whole boilies as appetizers I was ready.
My theory is that when the lead hits the bottom the mesh sock will melt, (it was taking at least ten minutes due to the low water temp), leaving the bait to be released above my hook bait, my theory being that as the fish approach from downstream, my hook bait will be the first bait that they come across.
This is my theory which isn't the same as the approach adopted by many specimen anglers who hook the PVA sock or bag, leaving their hook bait in the middle of a pile of loose offerings which is fine when targeting carp on stillwaters but needs slightly more thought when tackling rivers.
From the start I was getting knocks and plucks all the time. These were often one inch pulls, (on an Avon top, not a quiver), obviously half decent fish. When I took the paste off the knocks almost stopped, but I didn't want to strike as the pulls weren’t what I would class as bites that warranted striking at, although I did gently lift into a couple of them just to be on the safe side.
An hour into the barbel session the tip flew over. Yes I thought. It has to be. Guess what? Yes you have it, another chub. It just over four pounds and it made a bee line for the nearside snags in the deep water under my feet. I had to reel in as fast as I could, to prevent it from getting in the snags there. This is a good pointer because if the chub heads for the snags there, then there is a fair bet that any barbel hooked, will head for the same snags.
The next hour was quiet with more knocks and then the tip gave a good dink with a good drop back. It has to be. It was certainly a heavy fish, but it wasn’t going anywhere quickly. It didn’t feel like a chub and in the current it felt big and powerful, however when it came up in the water and I glimpsed a flash of its flank, I knew exactly what it was, a slimy bream. Definitely not a match for the gear I had on especially weighing only four pounds or so.
I fished on until it was nearly dark. Fish were topping and rolling as the light began to fade.
As it got colder and darker, the signs I had been getting earlier stopped altogether as did the surface activity. It was time to go, as the wife was waiting to go out, to a do that she had arranged with her friends.
I would have liked to have given it another hour but to be honest I don’t think that I would have caught due to the low air and water temperature, even if I had stayed on for an hour or so which according to many is the golden hour for barbel.
It had been a lovely day, one that I will remember for a long time. Not for the barbel that I didn’t catch, or the Chub PB, or the Wagtails and the Firecrest.
It was the change in direction, which bought back to me that what has been missing from my fishing for so long.
Being on the river bank alone, at one with nature, in total solitude with the sound of the river the birds and the animals in the background is something that no commercial fishery can offer and unless you go out to the rivers which have been neglected by many of us, you may not realise what you are missing especially if you are like me and feel that for some reason you aren't enjoying your fishing as much as you used to but you just can't put your finger on what was missing.
© Barbel Fishing World 2005