"A Perfect Day"
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 thou
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
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