• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Lost the mojo...

P

Paul Dowgill

Senior Member
Fifteen months ago I was very fortunate to move to the Wye Valley knowing that in March 2016 I was to be made redundant from the Civil Service and would retire early compared to most. What more could one ask for; only minutes away from the River Wye and all the time to fish. And fish I did for a good period of time. In fact I fished more between January and November than the past three seasons put together. Being the Wye the catches were also incredible compared to what I had become used to, or is that not used to, on the Middle Thames, Thame and Kennet; many days saw me catch more barbel than I had in an entire season. And when the barbel would not show the chub did so much that I had only one blank in this time.

So what is the issue? Well since the end of November I have lost all interest in actually fishing the Wye. I still regularly walk by the river and it remains enticing but fish...no thanks.

I have tried to figure out why this is and so far have come up with the following.

1. The fishing is too easy. Having spent my life fishing waters (starting with the Nidd/Swale 45 years ago, via the Upper Medway to most recently the Kennet) which have not been prolific when I have fished them, the Wye seems ridiculously easy in comparison as reflected in my comparative catch rate. Do I need the disappointment/spur of frequent blanks to encourage me?
2. I have fished too much. When I was working full time fishing time, ie Saturday, was essential in helping me to appreciate the work–life balance one needs. Now I can avoid weekends and go 3 times a week that purpose has gone and I am not sure what fishing actually gives me now I do not have the pressure of work. Is it too much of a good thing?
3. The style of fishing is limited. Over 90% of the anglers I have seen (myself included) the fishing is feeder/pellet cast out to a specific line and wait, usually for not too long. I have tried to vary this approach and have used the pin/float on a number of occasions in an attempt to change the diet but like an incurable addict slip back to the ways of the feeder. It may be me but there does not seem to be the finesse needed when fishing the likes of the Kennet. Am I too blinkered and unwilling to do something different as I need to catch?
4. I am not used to seeing so many anglers on a river. The Wye is poplar and rightly so he says, stating the obvious. However, for someone who for most of a season would perhaps see a handful of other anglers this comes as a shock. Maybe I am becoming an anti-social so-and-so?

I realise that most anglers would give their prize rod to be in my position and many I have met on the banks have told me so. I would have said the same had I visited from further afield for a few days. I also understand if my current position makes no sense (it doesn’t to me, which is the problem) given what i have on the doorstep, and that it may seem more than a little odd and I should shake myself out of it as I do not know how lucky I am.

I am aware of all of this but cannot seem to get past this barrier so feel that by putting something on paper (or screen in this case) it may help me to fathom this out. Time will tell. Thanks for reading.
 
Paul. I understand you completely. In fact only really going back for barbel since it's got generally harder.

But.

Get the blinkers off. I've had some great days trotting for chub on the Wye. Piking also. Great Perch fishing too.

Grayling fishing at Builth Wells and the Irfon.

Trotting on the Warks Avon roach chub dace and skimmers. Zander there and on the Severn.

Trips to the Itchen, Frome and Stour. It 's still all there.

Youv'e got to make it happen. Life is not all barbel and rediscover your mojo.
 
Paul. Btw.

I havent fished the kennet since I moved.

The WAvon is a beautiful river away from the crowds in the week...in the right places. A cross between the Loddon and Kennet with super weed growth in places, onion heads and rushes lining the bank.

A great place to discover with effort.
Glad to try help you "recover" if you wish.
 
Paul, leave the feeder rod at home and just go with the float rod, I think that will prove more challenging and rewarding.
 
I went through a similar time about 8 years ago,i just could not be bothered to go,fishing was too easy.The answer as Graham said,do something different,take yourself out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself.Plenty of bass and mullet not too far away as are Seatrout to go with all of Grahams options.The buzz does come back
 
I know I think how you feel Paul, the Wye is a wonderful River, but waking up to Paradise every day can get a bit tiresome I guess. I treat myself every so often to the Wye, and then I am happy and content to fish the Lower Severn and Wye, back to reality if you like.

Thing is about the Wye you expect to catch whereas other Rivers you in the main do not, therefore those Rivers are more rewarding when you do.

For me the Wye is a sociable river, where I like to chat to other Anglers, wheres on the Avon I enjoy the solitude and the great variety it offers, I can never forget the odd occasion when I have actually caught Barbel from this river, and the many blanks are forgiven.

I have pondered with fishing the Lower Wye, it's a different animal, and perhaps Paul that might offer you new challenges? And don't forget all the other Rivers too, as mentioned, the Lugg has to be up there too.

Still, can't be a terrible problem you have, you are not going to get much sympathy from me. :)
 
Id say to you my friend" Have a week fishing some big match fishing commercial waters" you will have to buy there bait from there well overpriced tackle shop" Then read the 101 rules and take your shoe"s and socks off and dip your feet in the I must catch 200ib pounds of carp! wash!
Then do a Usain Bolt sprint to your peg that looks like the other 200 pegs on that pool" Only to be annoyed all day by the young wont to be gangster who"s smoking some sort of cigarettes that make you see 2 floats instead of just one!

That should do the trick for you paul :D
 
No sympathy at all for you Paul.My days off since the start of the year have coincided with weekends(not fair to fish at weekends,due to family and don't want to compete with the weekend warriors)Most anglers are in my boat unfortunately with limited time available.As for waining enthusiasm I like to fish for different species,keeps it interesting.
 
To me Paul, you speak the 'stuff of nightmares' and I have ever sympathy with you. It sounds akin to losing one's libido.
No one can help you, no words can make you want to catch again. Your desire to catch will either return or it won't. I guess, and hope, it probably will...but not in the form of lobbing a feeder into the Wye.
My guess is, you need a challenge, and that aint the Wye.
IMHO.
 
I have also recently moved to the Wye Valley Paul but still work in Reading/London and despite the Wye being on my doorstep, I have had little time to fish it. I'm looking forward to next season though and life settling into some sort of rythm. The Kennet was becoming something of a head banger and I used to try and get away to the Wye on odd days and the relative ease of catching barbel was a complete tonic. Not having to agonise over bait and rigs etc was a relief. But even then it was easy to see how that could become a bit boring.

We used to come on holiday here for a week in the early summer and I would plan to fish as much as I could. But in fact after fishing 3 days straight I would run out of enthusiasm and a degree of boredom through over familiarisation would creep in. I might then do another half day but that would be it. I then started to crave those long biteless hours on the Kennet, sitting in comfort and never having to lift a finger, other than the odd re-cast of course. Every now and again of course my serene surroundings would be violently interrupted by an annoying fish, sometimes a barbel. But after a few weeks of that I just wanted to experience a bite, any kind of bite and so the car would be packed and off I would toddle to the Wye.

Variety is absolutely key. I think fishing appeals to us, on some level at least, because there is mystery and there is anticipation and especially as a young angler, there is wonder. Arriving at the river knowing exactly how the day is going to unfold- whether it's catching many or catching nothing, isn't quite what we signed up for is it? I have already starting to consider other rivers reasonably accessible to this area and Graham has covered them in his reply above. The WA certainly looks very appealing and I intend to give that a go at some point next season. Other than that I think one approach is to just fish the Wye for whatever might be there rather than targeting a barbel- who knows what might turn up.

Knowing that something so plentiful will ultimately get boring because it becomes too familiar and too available is one of the reasons why I have never dated a super model, or Kelly Brook. Don't get me wrong, I've been tempted. But then that thought of rolling over in bed every morning and seeing the same curves just made me shudder.
 
I hope you find something to fill the hole soon, it's not the worst problem to have but when it's been such a big part of your life for so long it's not nice to lose the pleasure and joy

We're all big boys at heart, look hard enough and you'll find something to take its place
 
Hi Paul
Like you I've been fortunate to have had the opportunity to retire early and move close to my favourite rivers.
One or two mates suggested that I might find that having my cake and eating it could result in less time on the bank than before. That hasn't happened to me but has to one or two friends who are in the same boat. As you suggested in your OP, ... the reason they give is no longer having to use angling to counterbalance their time in the workplace, and that retirement has changed the habits of a lifetime.

We're all different of course and enjoy angling for various reasons.
When a group of us traveled to the Wye a decade ago for the first time, we were all blown away by the amount of barbel in the river and the natural beauty of the surroundings. One or two had always enjoyed the 'bagging up' aspect and the predetermined numbers game unlike me, who after catching a shed full of barbel one day didn't want to repeat it the following day, which led to much head scratching on their part I suspect!
That is why our lifelong fishing trips together eventually floundered because we all preferred different challenges. A few of us continued to favour the harder Wessex rivers while the remainder enjoyed the Severn at Bridgnorth catching ten times as many, all be it smaller barbel.

Going back to the retirement thing, .. I have to pinch myself some days because it's a dream come true after spending a lifetime in factories and a longing to be on the bank. I do indeed feel very fortunate.
Although I have tunnel vision with barbel I really enjoy fishing different methods for them now that I can be more relaxed with my approach and don't have to go from one weekend to the next. I also now get the chance to target all the other species as and when conditions are favourable, again something I had neglected to do when working.

One other bonus is being able to put something back, by which I mean weekly working parties and general river management which has enriched my fishing.
Also I enjoy the different characteristics of the rivers on my doorstep which all require a change of approach to succeed.

I hope you overcome your little retirement blip soon, and as suggested by others explore different venues and methods.
ATB Dave:)
 
Howard Cooke said:
Great post Dave T.
Click to expand...

Hi Howard, I read your usual excellent post and laughed out loud at your final humorous paragraph. I then read Dave Quin's piece which immediately followed yours, and nearly fell off my laptop. However, I think now that he was replying to the OP, rather than your post....which is a shame really :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
You could get a part time job is Tesco, you'd be desperate to fish then. Haha.
Alternatively as Dave suggested get involved in other ways, ballifing, conservation or tutoring. Angling is like magic, if the knowledge isn't passed on it's lost and unfortunately most magazines are more of a sales presentation than guidance.
 
I think the advice given by several posters about mixing things is salient. Variety is the spice of life and all that. I know I would get bored by feeder fishing for barbel three times a week, especially on the Wye, despite being the stunning a river as it is. I really don't know how Bob James can cope with it all year round.

Personally I would be thinking more about pike, grayling and chub at this time of year. I'd be heading to the Irfon and going after some of those grayling. On a crisp winters day like today there is nothing like roaming around with a float rod and a pint of maggots (on the bank that is - you might get some odd looks if you start doing that in Hereford town centre...)

Find yourself a nice stillwater for some peaceful dawn tench fishing in May and June, maybe a nice crucian venue for July and August (if your lucky enough to find one!) Maybe head west into the hills and chase a few small stream spotties.

Dave T's point about getting involved with work parties/river management is a very good idea, something I would love to have the time to do more of myself. Get in touch with the Wye and Usk Foundation and see if there is anything you can do to get involved - I'm sure there will be. Might enable you access to some of there quieter stretches as well.

I totally get your point about solitude, for me this is one of the things I love about fishing, yes it's nice to have the odd session with a mate or two and the odd social, but I get all that from going to the pub or match. Perhaps I'm a misanthrope but I prefer angling in solitude and I'd much rather be blanking in solitude on a picturesque hard venue than bagging-up with other anglers around me. Each to there own I suppose!

I'm sure you'll get your mojo back, more than anything it is perhaps understandable that retirement is not that easy to slip into - must be quite a shock to the system when you think about it.
 
I know that was a joke about working in Tescos but in our retirement the better half works one day in an estate agent and volunteers another in the Dog Trust.

I cricket Umpire in the Marches League most Saturdays in the season. Never found retirement difficult.
 
...and I retired 16yrs ago and moved house away from the Severn and close to the Teme. I never tired of the 'Wild River', but unfortunately the otters 'retired' to the Teme in numbers at about the same time. Time to move again methinks.
I reckon 'the challenge' is THE common denominator.. we set ourselves challenges/goals/targets, and most of the pleasure is gained from working towards them. So its the anticipation, not the actually success, that 'drives' us and pushes most of our 'buttons'.
Find a challenge or goal that you do actually do wish to achieve, and the rest will follow ....naturally. IMHO
 
An excellent thread and some great replies, especially from Graham, Howard and Dave T. I've been retired 5 years now and can only echo what has been said about variety and, in my case, not fishing too often - I average 1-2 times a week - and doing lots of other stuff besides fishing. I've occasionally just taken a break completely, and then come back full of enthusiasm. A friend once said to me that the joy of retirement is having lots to do, but that none of it needs to be done today. Just relax and do what you want, when you feel like it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top