Good Fortune for a Fortnight

by Graham Elliott

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It was just a magical, lucky fortnight really. One to embellish the last weeks of the season and remain tucked away and fortified in the age deleting memory cells.

I just love the River Loddon and it’s moods. Challenging, certainly, and there are days and weeks when the river just will not play fair, taunting and testing the barbel fisher.

Conditions of water and temperature often play no part in the perception of the barbel, the only guarantee of sorts being when the mighty Thames is in full flow and the Loddon backs up high and coloured… then the river is semi predictable.

The area I was planning to fish is part of the excellent Twyford and District fishing clubs waters, who run three stretches of the Loddon, the well known St Patrick’s stream, a mile of the Thames, small stretch of the Thame and a few lakes.

The Monday in February was like many others that the fisher makes time for, overcast and with that wonderful westerly wind tickling the browned bankside vegetation. Anticipation of some sport had led the car to a new stretch of the river, a part not fished before by me, but close by to the golden triangle of St Patrick’s Stream, the mighty Thames and the Loddon. Late in the season the larger Thames fish start to move into the smaller feeders as part of the spawning cycle.

As so often happens the swim chosen had picked me, called out to be fished. And so I settled down, until a mink "cheeped" through the far bank rushes, knocking aside the dead grasses and stared at me, no fear, just curiosity as to whether I was edible. A beautiful creature the mink, but also a killer of all things.

Warm enough for pellet today, but no heavy loose feed to fatten the fish and ruin sport for others. A simple end rig, superglued hair-rigged large elips on a size 6 Partridge double T hook. (See diagram)

Two walnut sized groundbait balls containing method mix, ground pellet and some green-lipped mussel extract to moisten, dropped in level with me, the purpose just simply to scent the water downstream.

The lightest feeder possible was selected and lightly filled with the groundbait mixture, allowing me to hold back after the water disturbing cast to the far bank, and letting the rig and bait work it’s way into the inside bank. Slack line to the quiver tip, allowing bigger and wiser fish a small amount of movement to allay any fear.

No caution there as the rod arched around and a fish is powering upstream towards me as I frantically try and regain line, finally contact is made and the fish turns sharply downstream as the hook pulls. It lasted 20 seconds and I had been fishing 30 seconds and was taken totally by surprise. I please myself by not swearing out aloud, but over the next three hours start to worry that my only chance may have gone amiss.

4pm. Rattle, jab and another 4inch pull and I make contact with one of the all too frequent sea trout that have invaded the Loddon. That’s six this season, all around 2lb, pretty as could be but an annoyance when disturbing the swim with their gyrations and leaps. This past season I have seen runs of twenty or so sea trout at dusk on this river, beautiful wild fish that migrate to the Thames estuary and return after a year or so. Known I believe as "slob" fish, I wonder if they decimate the fry, despite their beauty.

Two hours latter, the tip moves 3 inches and stays for a minute. It drops back erratically and I grip the rod awaiting the lunge. It happens twice more over the next 5 minutes but then stops. "Big fish", I mutter to myself, "Big fish".

I am not normally a night fisher, although lack of concentration after dark has led me to become a night diver on more than one occasion as the rod has departed river ways.

My face shape is still embedded in the deep mud on the Kennet at Calcot! The hyena laughs of my fishing pals still ring loud in my dreams.

Two hours into dark, the rod tip bends slowly downstream by 4 inches and stays in the same position, a leaf? No, a barbel, as the tip drops back with slight tremor, the secret taster of bait revealed. "A cagey big girl" I mumble again, Four more times the rod tip bows over the next 20 minutes until it jabs solidly and she finds she has made a mistake.

She keeps low and moves downstream against the softly set clutch. Rod held outwards to prevent a run into the nearside branches as I turn her with the finger on the spool and guide her back towards me. A sudden lunge, expected, as she realises I am teasing her toward me into open water, and then a surge upstream toward the deadened rush beds. A tightened clutch now as I draw her toward the open mesh, one more desperate lunge absorbed by the rod and she is mine. A wonderful Loddon barbel, dark scaled and large headed with a portly belly.

Rested she is weighed at 13lb.11oz, a river personal best by the odd ounces, I check and think this is possibly the same fish caught five months earlier over one mile away. It doesn’t dampen my joy. Dick Dowing comes from home and takes the photograph. Good friend Dick, sharer of many of this seasons adventures.

Wednesday I am back. Same swim, are the females getting together prior to teasing the males a few months on? Possibly, as the first cast is met with another series of "testers" jab, nudge, jab, not line bites but bait samplers. It’s early in the day so I risk a strike as the tip drops back. Wham, "is it a carp?" The fish charges downstream in an electrifying run that strips line and leaves me gasping. Upstream now after being halted and led back, another long run against a firm clutch. "Must be a carp?" but it isn’t, it’s a barbel and another beauty. Another angler hearing my shout comes and nets the fish for me, making a difficult task easier (Thank you fellow Barbel Society member)

The fish weighs 13lb.6oz.it is in superb condition and not one I recognise.

We release it after it recovers and it lies in the margins before venturing deeper and we both share and enjoy the moment of its return to the wild.

Friday I return. One bite for a 12lb.2oz beauty. Time to leave the Loddon for the last time this seasons, I bow to the water, give thanks for the sharing of its bounty and absorb the feeling of contentment. I spend the weekend with Dick on the Kennet and the Thames knowing that early next week I travel to the Mighty Trent to fish its waters for the first time.

It was a very generous offer from regulars on the Barbel Fishing World website that set Dick Dowing and me on the road to the Trent. A three-hour legal drive away we viewed it as a social event more than a desperate need to connect with out mania for barbel. The section that our pals had selected was a day ticket water on the non tidal and as we arrived the Trent was in a gentle mood with steady water and a hint of colour. It looked perfect for our 24-hour marathon. Meeting up with our host from Barnsley, Dave Wingfield we were soon joined by Steve Ralph and his friend John, also joining us were Steve Richardson (Eelfisher) and Mike (Biggun) to give them their website handles.

Given the width of the water (5 Kennets!) and the clarity I decided to approach the water by fishing the feeder but using the match anglers upstream line method to try and soften the resistance to any indications of interest. Rig was the same as used on the Loddon, but the tail was decreased from 12inches to 6inches to pin the elips pellets harder onto the bottom of the gravel shelf.

Minimal free bait was going to be used, because I had heard of the Trent Bream shoals and I didn’t want to attract them in any numbers. Tactics were to be much like our seasons Thames forays with a line just beyond the drop-off ledge 1/3^rd of the way across.

The fish switched on just before dusk, with Steve Ralph catching first downstream, a portly 8lber.

Slowly the initial prods and jabs I was seeing started to get bolder until a wonderful 6inch drop back bite led to first contact, and how these Trent fish fight! Long distance power reminiscent of the Severn and Thames, but these fish seemed to have rockets attached. This fish stayed out in the main flow, running along the drop off shelf until it was finally subdued and guided into the net.

Lucky? For sure, unbelievable it was for me a new river double at 10lb.6oz. But what a fish! Long and graceful with unmarked body and perfectly scalloped fins topped with a dorsal fin like a sail.

Twenty minutes later, another drop back and this time an even more powerful fish that took 10 minutes to subdue. 11lb 14oz of Trent torpedo and the most beautiful fish I have ever seen. Take a few seconds to look at the picture of the dorsal fin on this Trent fish.

Mike, who had been having a tough barbel time of late came and joined me and we talked about the way I chose to fish the river, rather than the seemingly normal big bait, lots of feed and wait until the rod arches round tactic that might reward on a heavily pushing river. By now the fish were very active, and having had such a good previous week on the Loddon I was happy to share with him my swim and tackle.

It took him a short time to switch onto the gentle indications of fish activity and the fact that a small sharp drop back meant that the bait was taken or the fish had lifted the feeder and pricked itself.

Within 20 minutes Mike had lost one fish and had hooked and landed another of 9lb plus, his first barbel since November. He was ecstatic and "nearly" kissed me but my schoolboy rugby training came in useful for a quick dodge! He quickly followed this up with another 9lber. I came to the conclusion that my presence was no longer needed, that he was much bigger, younger and stronger than me (or anyone else for that matter) and retired to my car to have a sleep!

His next fish was a new PB of 9lb14oz. Time to hide.

The fish were feeding well, and when I finally got my rod back I managed 5 more fish finishing in the morning with a lost VERY large fish that fought low, hard and found a snag that I never noted before.

With all the group catching and pal Dick ending up with 14 Trent torpedoes including two doubles it certainly was a red letter day and night on the Trent.

Superbly athletic fish and wonderful bankside friendships all add up to a valued time to cherish. I love my fishing, and now the Trent has a place alongside my own rivers.

Graham can be contacted on 01628 823408 or anglingexperiences@btinternet.com

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