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With a few months left to go.....how has your season been so far ?

No marathons for an oldie like me. Haven't had a barbel this season, kinda took a year out mostly and fished for other species, and apart from 3 pb perch to 3lb 12 and a pb 19lb pike on a tootie frootie pop up meant for a carp I've had a poor season, probably because I haven't been focussed. I have had a sprinkling of barbel sessions before the big freeze, but struggled to even catch bream. Will try hard when the thaw comes (presumably it will) for the remainder of this term, and should be business as usual come the glorious 16th.
Phil
 
hello guys not having to bad a season on the tidal trent had over 70 barbel and 6 doubles to 11lb 15oz and i`ve not been near that weir can`t wait for the weather to improve and get back to it my avatar is the only tidal flatty i`ve caught this season it fell to meat .

Ian. martin hannet is a legend
 
Didn't fish as much as I have done in previous years but had a great year catching my new pb barbel from the Wye, good tench and carp from my local club lake and some nice grayling at the beginning and end of the year.

Hopefully more of the same in 2010.
 
Started of pretty well with a 38 from my syndicate lake in May but went swiftly downhill after that.
Worst year ever on the Thames,still not given up.
Phil.W
 
Pretty mediocre season for me but have not been out even a third as much as past seasons.

Have managed two Barbel, one from the lower Thames and a scraper double from the middle on a fish-in but have been concentrating on Tidal Thames carp and again have only had two fish but one was 20lb+ and the other really made my season and was a mint 33lb Common.

I have to give credit to Cassian Edwards for helping me with that one because as I was trying to pull the fish up the wall my landing net arms snapped and the whole lot went crashing back into the drink 6/7ft below me. A call to Cass was answered by his missus [he was in bed, it was after midnight] and she got him up and he was down with me within 15mins with a new landing net and his camera ;) Champion geezer.
 
Had a few nice Barbel out of the Wye(9lb biggest),Have not fished the Wensum much at all but have given the Pike on the Broads a good go and have had several nice ones(21lb biggest).
 
On the barbel front, the Thames has been a nightmare, only 2 fish, 1 double, and 2 lost to snags, OK so I didn,t fish it quite as hard as usual, but still very disapointing. Fished for salmon on the Itchen a fare bit and caught some nice fish including a PB 15lber, loads of trout and chub too, so not all bad.
peter
 
With a few months left to go.....how has your season been so far ?

Terrible...

Not really improved at all....but gonna go for it, av the last week of the season off work to fish a few fave haunts.

Locally the worst ever and really worrying and will have to re think what i'm doing next year in what i'm after.

Cheers
Jason
 
Well I came back to Barbelling around end of Sept after not fishing seriously for 6 or 7 yrs, didn`t catch much in the low autumn water but was hopeful for a good winter as I`m quite happy in **** weather, then watched it go from bugger all to over the banks in no time.
 
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I've had a good one so far. Started fishing again in mid July after a 20 year lay off and fished for barbel for the first time since the 70s. I've had nearly 100 barbel, 80 from the Dane but my best has only been 7.4 from the Severn and 6.9 from the Dane. Still hoping to break 7lb on the Dane before the season's end, if the snow eventually goes. Roll on next summer.
 
Ended last season quite well, Roach of 1.8 and 1.10 whilst trotting with the pin.

Barbel wise, not had one since 2007(?), mainly tried the Hants Avon, but not enough time on the bank, too busy trying to juggle everything.

Last couple of trips have had some good Perch from a small club water, best 2.7
 
On the Lower Thames barbel front,dire,not one,and believe me I've tried.Had 5 carp in 4 sessions on the tidal back in September,best being a 22lb12oz mirror,a tidal pb.Also managed a 3lb2oz crucian from the Wandle which was a bit of a turn up,but hey,there's still 7 or so weeks to go so staying positive.
Pete;)
 
Not fished since moving to Wiltshire 6 yrs ago, but after finding myself out of work with time on my hands and the BA on my doorstep got the kit out of the loft.I had previously only caught a couple of small Barbel from the Severn many yrs ago,but this year ive had 48 Barbel from the BA to 10lb 5oz.
 
On the barbel front 14 trips to the Ouse yielded two barbel, 11lb 4oz & 14lb 14oz & one interloping chub exceeding 5lb (so can't complain,even though in previous seasons i used to average a barbel every 3 trips). My one carp foray saw me improve on my p.b in the shape of a 25lb 2oz common (so very fortuitous indeed) & from a handful of piking excursions (on a boat on the Bure & a well known Essex stillwater) i have had 9 fish with the best weighing 17lb (the resulting photo winning me a free day out on a boat):).
The last few weeks has seen me attempting to land one of those elusive monster chub from the River Lea, with a 4lber being my reward from four short afternoon sessions.

Regards

Andy
 
I have had a great season so far, mostly fishing the Trent. This has been my first true full season barbel fishing, as i was still learning the basics and not having the right equipment, fit for purpose. 1st day had 13 barbel and loads of bream and chub from the middle. from this i knew my rig was spot on, and have only needed to change it slightly through out the season. The end of June brought me to my first Tidal trent session, in a 6 hour spell i banked 5 barbel and 2, 12lb carp. I was hooked literally to the tidal, but i had to wait, as i had to have a couple of operations and be in plaster for 17 weeks. But having an excellent supply of friends, Jim, Stevee and Conrad, i was able to get a few sessions in. Its very hard to catch barbel when you have only the use of one leg, but i still managed it, even being spun round and pirouetting, attached to an angry double figure barbel in a raging flood, i found my limit. Back to the tidal, after my pot came off, i was unleashed. I had found 3 new areas, and decided to concentrate my efforts here. It paid off, the average size was at least 2-3lb bigger than the middle reaches, my PB was 11lb 13oz, and i knew it was going to be broken. After banking 9 doubles from around a 40 fish total haul, including 3 11's, i finally got a new PB of 12lb on the nose. Job done. October came and with the trent out of limits i finally went for a session to my local river, which was bank high. I was informed to fish a certain area, and after seeing it, it was the only area. After stripping debris off my line every half hour and fishing with my biggest lead all of 8oz, i banked my first yorkshire barbel, a pristine 6lber. I thought i would give it another hour it worked, the rod was wrenched round to its limit, fish on. It was dogged heavy and powerful, all 13lb 11oz of it. I had surpassed my wishes for the season. How lucky am i, a fantastic river on my doorstep and probably the best barbel river in the country, 45 miles away.
All this would not have been possible without having the right equipment for the job. I personally think, to fish the Tidal Trent properly, you need some fairly extreme equipment. I use 2 Harrison 13 foot, 2 and 3/4 lb rods, specially built and developed by Bruce Ashby, they are beasts of a rod, which are perfect for this river. Lobbing 10oz in the margins in a flood to casting 6-8oz to the far bank, then having the playing action to subdue a barbel close in, you will never be out gunned with these rods. Coupled up to a pair of Daiwa Basia's they perfectly complement each other.. For smaller rivers a pair of 12 foot Torrix 1.75's complete the full outfit.
My next goal is a January Barbel, and give my fingers a rest.

Good luck to all, still 39 days to go for another PB IMO.

Jon
 
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Hi Andy,
i reckon that quite a few of us would swop our climate for a bit of sunshine at the moment, as a bailiff on Throop fishery, what i find totally depressing at the moment is to walk along the river without an angler in site, when an angler does appear, it's the same old story, no fish.
The weather is so unsettled with the river rising and falling like a yo-yo, if you read my river report this week on the Davis Tackle Website, it would sum up the season the barbel boys have had so far.
Good luck to all our oversea friends.
Brian Willson Throop bailiff.
 
After a few years of doing a lot more shooting than fishing and suddenly finding myself with a lot more time and cash on my hands, I suddenly got the urge to do a lot more fishing. I simply didn't fancy fishing muddy holes regularly but the proper carp fishing isn't all that in this neck of the woods. I don't have the inclination to drive miles and put in overnight sessions so I thought I'd have a go specifically for barbel on the Swale. I'd caught my share in the past but never specifically targeted them.
Initially, I had no particular targets other than to catch a few. That changed fairly rapidly into idly wanting a Swale double. I also changed venue from upper to lower Swale to boost my chances. I wasn't really expecting to actually catch a Swale double.
After a slow start to the early season, I don't recall fishing a river at all in June, a couple of blanks in July, it kicked off for me in mid July. By the end of the summer I'd had two nine pound plus fish and lots around the six/seven mark. I got very lucky in late September/Early October with a fish at 11lb 4. Work has meant that I've had less time and inclination to be out since then and that one fish has robbed me of a target that I thought might be on going for a couple of years, at least. Now I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to get in the future so there's every chance that this last year will probably be my best ever for the forseeable future.:)
 
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