My Mistress, My Season (Part 2) - 2003 -2004
by Paul Thompson
My mistress, my season continued………
Did I say winter campaign? You would have thought that judging by the very low water levels it was still summer, except that it’s definitely getting colder.
The river and its surroundings were beginning to change into their late autumnal gold’s and greens and the Wye valley was becoming a glorious place to relax in.
So, after the broken rod was replaced, I continued on the barbel trail with renewed vigour, and returned to the river, and experienced my first blank for some time. I fished poorly due to feeling slightly unwell and wished I hadn’t gone and simply wasted the bait. Not even the chub would come near me and even Rayo catches them!
November arrived with high winds and the first real rain for some time, and at long last the river took on some extra water. Only a few inches, but it was welcome and gave the river the new lease of life it needed.
I headed back upstream to an area that always holds barbel, and had a couple of good sessions, landing several fish each time I visited, and receiving a surprise visit from Howard Hutchins into the bargain. Howard had been going on about how lovely a place the Wye valley is to his missus, she made him drive her across from Luton to see for herself. Must be a nightmare being forced to come back Skid!!
I landed a couple of fish from the swim, one being a feisty seven pounder which I netted just as Howard drove past on his way back up the forestry track. Guess he didn’t hear me shouting for a ghillie then..
The frosty mornings arrived, as suddenly as the rains did and every day seemed to throw up something different. The barbel continued to oblige with regular visits to the landing net, with two or three per session being the norm. I wasn’t catching the larger barbel I was after and the largest fish were in the 8lb bracket, not that I’m complaining as they all pull my string, so to speak! Most of the fish were being caught on pellet or boilie, and I was still using the recipe given to me in the summer by Chris. Typically It became difficult to choose between baits as they were both doing the business. I was fortunate in being in this position however, as previously it didn’t matter what bait I used, I couldn’t catch a thing!
As November progressed the levels rose as we had some proper rain, and I found myself exploring swims more and more, instead of sticking to the tried and tested few. This change in tactics came about mainly because it was getting harder to hold bottom in the main flow, with the extra volume of water pushing through. I’m not a big fan of fishing the main current in flood conditions despite its potential, and prefer to seek out the swims with fish holding features closer in.
One of these swims is a bit of a banker all year, and Silk, ray and Bob have had some good fish from it. A salmon croy stretches out into the flow at a right angle from the bank, with an inlet above it. It produces a marvellous feature in flood, and one I have never really investigated before. It seems to be one of those swims that you have to hold onto your rod, as you wait in expectation for the almost inevitable bite to occur, as it did on this day, shown below. The fit eight pounder isn’t really done justice by the self portrait shot, performed on a steep awkward muddy bank and a barbel that is wriggling like mad. Still, this shot is better than the other four, two of which don’t even have a barbel in them, just my arms, and the ground!! (Also spot the free advertising for BFW, don’t suppose there’s any chance of sponsorship now guys??)
After November, came a very disappointing December in which I only managed one short, wet session which turned into a poor example of a blank and is best forgotten.
The New Year arrived, and I managed my first sessions of 2004, midway through January. The river had been up and down like a yo-yo due to an abundance of the wet stuff. The first session was a blanker again with the river high and coloured and not a sniff of a fish. I caught it on its way back down the following week, and had a small barbel of about three pounds, before getting into roaming mode. The fish proved the highlight of a warm January day, but at least I’d stopped the disappointing run of blanks.
The weather continued on its helter skelter ride through the winter months, and the long hot summer seemed an age away, as we had various alternations of rain, sleet, snow, sun, and high winds. All of this combined to make fishing difficult, and my enthusiasm waned with the constant rise and fall of the river.
However, a warm mild spell in late January led to the first proper flood of the season and the Wye became a tumultuous and powerful river, described by Chris Ponsford as “a Bank high and flood raged Wye is not for the faint hearted, one giant, swirling, tumultuous washing machine on full spin, going at 100mph,with only trees and dead sheep for company”. I made the most of the conditions, by going out in high winds and heavy rain, and catching a lovely 8lb fish that fought like a demon all the way to the net from a river that was lapping at the brim, but beginning to drop off slowly. The fish came to a bait fished hard down the near edge within five minutes of casting out. Only barbel anglers dare venture down the river on days like that, with waves washing over the boots and the sound of flood warnings ringing round the valleys, and I felt great to have been there catching barbel.
The Wye burst its bank in the preceding days, and with Hereford cut in two by a river 19 feet over normal levels, and two thirds of the Victoria footbridge under water it was not a time to get out on the river, more like waiting for it to turn up at your front door. The roads leading to the fishery down in Symonds Yat were all closed, and the only traffic was the odd canoeist. Fortunately the waters subsided within the week, but were followed by a stark drop in temperatures and winter came back with a vengeance.
I found the fishing difficult during the remaining two months of the season, as I struggled to find the barbel with night-time temperatures dropping below zero almost every night prior to a planned trip. Working full time has its drawbacks in that I cannot cancel a trip because of the weather. Perhaps I should target other fish, such as pike, chub or roach during the very cold conditions. However despite all the best advice about water temperatures affecting barbel feeding patterns and behaviour, I have to admit to fishing for them whatever the weather because I love being on the bank, and you can’t catch ‘em sitting at home.
The only time I won’t fish is when fresh snow has fallen on the welsh mountains. Then you’ll find me donning the crampons, and heading up into the black mountains, or exploring the Brecon beacons. This is my other passion in life, and one that I save for the arctic conditions that really constitute a challenge. The feeling of being up in the fresh wintry air, with the deep snow crunching underfoot, looking down on the world is exhilarating to say the least. If not a bit concerning when dark clouds, heavily laden with snow are suddenly thrust upon you with the gusting breeze.
Back to the fishing then, if you can call it that. My last few sessions of the season were all blanks, including two over the last weekend of the season, one during which I watched an overnight snowfall gradually melt away during the following evening, and the very last day of the season saw me getting an absolute soaking, as it rained horizontally on a rising river Wye.
I enjoyed my season, despite not catching the large barbel I witnessed back in the summer. No hard or fast plans have been made for next season, except that I will renew my ticket for the Biblins, and join a local angling club. This will allow me to continue my quest in the forest of dreams, and to have a go on some other stretches of the Wye, and finally to hunt down some Barbel on the beautiful Wye feeder river the Lugg.
