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New to forums n barbel fishing

Mark Hooper

Mark Hooper

Senior Member & Supporter
Just thought I'd say hello one n all n ask any advice???.
After 26 plus years of chasing puddle pigs I've hung up my rods n decided to mainly chase barbel. Currently fishing n have been the last 6 months fishing kellaways at Chippenham.now when the water was very low n gin clear I went looking for the barbel in here BUT only seen the odd fish of three to four pound??? After trying my hardest I've managed 3 fish the biggest being 4lb. So every now n again pop to the wye for a confidence boost as it seems alot easier but at 15-20 quid a pop drains the funds.
Does anyone fish the same stretches n if so are any more sizeable fish or has it been butchered by otters. Any pointers would be great as they are driving me to a early grave
 
Mark Hooper said:
Just thought I'd say hello one n all n ask any advice???.
After 26 plus years of chasing puddle pigs I've hung up my rods n decided to mainly chase barbel. Currently fishing n have been the last 6 months fishing kellaways at Chippenham.now when the water was very low n gin clear I went looking for the barbel in here BUT only seen the odd fish of three to four pound??? After trying my hardest I've managed 3 fish the biggest being 4lb. So every now n again pop to the wye for a confidence boost as it seems alot easier but at 15-20 quid a pop drains the funds.
Does anyone fish the same stretches n if so are any more sizeable fish or has it been butchered by otters. Any pointers would be great as they are driving me to a early grave
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Hi and welcome Mark.
I used to live that way and fish Kellaways on the Chippenham ticket, and did OK, but I understand that last season was a bad one for the stretch, I have a
friend that fished there ( it's on his door step) and indeed it was tough in the summer, so you are not alone.
But then again the old haunts such as Lacock are also fishing poorly, and as to why there are possibly one or two reasons, angling pressure or predation, of course the convenient culprit will be the Otter, but have you seen any/many.... and any fish carcass?
I live by the Lower W.Avon Severn area know and have within easy access some wonderful rivers, they too have suffered as well, certainly the Wye is a 'go to' river for a confidence boost.
Don't give up you are on a good stretch, just need a bit more summer rain I reckon this time around, and just a bit of friendly advice I would be a bit coy about specifics as to when you locate those Avon girls as this lot will be all over it:)
 
Thanks for the friendly advice I'll just keep batting away it tge way I see it every trip I'm learning something new of the Avon jigsaw
 
The Bristol Avon has not been easy this year but I'm sure there are still some good fish through Kelloways and Peckingel. Try to chat to other locals without being to blunt I find that just general chat gets you more information than asking outright where's best. I haven't really spent a lot of time in that direction although I do have the licence if the conditions look favourable before seasons end maybe I might drop over your way and impart any tips I might have although i haven't caught one since November!
 
Mark Hooper said:
Thanks for the friendly advice I'll just keep batting away it tge way I see it every trip I'm learning something new of the Avon jigsaw
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Cheers Mark, I was actually meaning Peckingell as the Chippenham bit, not Kellaways.
I was thinking that 'Shippo' would be the best for advice and he duly obliged:)
You will find the Barbel start showing up below Malmesbury but the only club water in this area is Somerford AA who have a cracking weir pool, fees are not cheap and there's a waiting list (or was). You then mostly have Almagamated waters downsteam (Seagry, Christian Malford etc) and all along here you can catch.
As far as Chippenham is concerned the 'free' waters down stream from the town are as good as anywhere on the Avon, just have to scout around a bit.
Melksham Bradford on Avon tend to be not too over fished, unlike Limpley Stoke, Bathampton which used to be excellent barbel waters.
i used to fish Keynsham a lot as a kid, but not since, two big weirs there....loads to go at Mark, just avoid the usual haunts and you should be OK.
 
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Hi Mark,

Welcome to the site :)

I'm afraid the Bristol Avon is a shadow of its former self. Just look at how quiet the BFW River Reports for this river are to get a feel for the numbers of fish being caught.

The Kellaways and Peckingell stretches used to be a couple of my favourites. I've not fished them for a long time but I understand that barbel are rarely spotted from the bank there these days, though they do still get caught. Both areas used to be fantastic to go to during spawning so it'll be interesting this spring to see what the current population looks like. The skinny bit by the car park at Peckingell used to be a great place to watch the big girls!

I was talking to someone recently who informed me that a local 'environmentalist' realised some otters into the Bybrook (a tiny tributary of the Avon) a few years ago. Not surprisingly they all headed off downstream when they realised the Bybrook didn't have the levels of food they needed. Let's hope the Avon gets back to balance soon...

Good luck for the rest of the season, it'll be great to read of your results on the BA River Reports regardless of how you get on.

Cheers,

Andy F
 
Cheers guys for the advice. Have been chatting with other anglers trying to get a balance on what the river has to offer.Only the other week I was chatting to a old boy who was retired, lives close to the Avon walks it every day with his dogs n fishes 3 times a week,he was saying to his knowledge three half eaten barbel have been found n in the last three years has only seen a pair of otters once. Think your right Andy a bit of close season fish spotting is in order,I'll keep you all posted
Cheers guys
 
Welcome to Bfw Mark.

Shadow of its former self - that's right.
I've fished the BA for barbel since the eighties at a number of venues. Experienced it develop in many ways but the former days of regular multiple barbel catches seem to have gone.
In the years of 2000 to 2009 double figure fish were quite common but sadly now are quite rare.
Lots of evidence of slaughtered fish and well chomped ones, the larger older girls seemingly easier prey than the smaller 'fitter' fish. Mr and Mrs Barbel slow right down in colder weather which can make them more susceptable to predation - especially by the dreaded 'O'. Lots of sightings and tracks etc.
The upper BA is narrow and shallow which compounds the problem. Only hope things will improve but this will take time. Think I've seen the best times.
The cold spell last year was particularly 'dire' for survival of barbel.
Sorry to paint a rather bleek picture but tight lines and wishing you the best,
Managed a few January fish though :)
Bob
 
Crumbs Bob that thud was my jaw hitting the floor!!!
Thing is I'm not chasing multiple hits on the brizzle Avon I can get that on the wye. Was just wondering if there was any of the of the bigger girls left just to keep the motivation going n spirits alive really.but thank you for the advice it's all welcome

Mark
 
Sorry Mark - there are some fish around that have managed to evade being eaten.
The increase in barbel fishing over the last years has also pressurised fish making them harder to capture in known areas.
There has been an increase in feed going in - some amounts going in are inappropriate for the head of fish on the BA.
Put it this way I still go out after barbel but have lowered my expectations than in days gone by.
There are still pockets of fish if you can find them.
Keep trying and maybe try a few sessions where the river is wider and deeper.
Best of luck,
Bob
 
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