Yes we've had a frost(s), depends who you ask as to how many, and I should have gone pike fishing, but... I'd chopped up all the wire traces at the end of last season with intention of starting again with some new ones. It was not until last night a realised and by that time I really couldn't be bothered making some up and I dislike making them on the bank. I seem to end up with swivels and hooks every where and loosing my wire cutters in the undergrowth. Armed with worms, pellets, meat, and cheese paste I set off to the Wharfe. Where, despite fishing three swims, I couldn't elicit a bite. My mate failed equally as well, along with a couple of other anglers down there. Despite being big coat weather it was a nice day out. We got to watch a Kestrel off in the distance hovering about. Another, larger, unidentified raptor patrolled the hedge opposite a couple of times. The odd sedge was still fluttering about. A skein of very noisy geese flow over head and I nearly fell in the river leaning back to take a picture. The one phenomenon we tried to photograph with our phones, but couldn't were the little spiders float about on long threads of silk.
The frost(s) earlier in the week and the now near normal river level were to blame for the fish not feeding. That's what we all decided after protracted discussion any way. Oh, well. We'll have another go tomorrow and then I'll make up some pike traces ready for next week.
As there'd been no frosts again this week I decided on a bit more barbel fishing. First port of call Thursday morning was the tackle shop to pick up a Gardner Specialist Landing Net Handle. I'd promised myself a new handle for a while. The storm pole I'd been using ha served me well, but was a tad on the short side occasionally and wasn't easy to collapse when a fish had been landed. Long handles in tight swims tend to be a bit of a hand full. The big knurled locking mechanism made collapsing the pole easy even with wet muddy hands. Unlike some I looked at i's nice and stiff even at it's full 3m length. The only thing I'd alter is the put some knurling on the area the net screws in to make it easier to unscrew the net.Having purchased the net handle it was onwards to the Wharfe, where the new handle would prove it's worth.
The river was still slightly up on it's normal level, but the colour had dropped out of it. MY plan of attack was chilli hemp loose feed via feeder ans/or catapult and meat or worm on the hook. The garlic meat went upstream into the a crease and the worm downstream under a tree. Not long after I'd go set up the rain started and went on for nearly four hours. In this time the only movement on the rod tips was when leaves had built up on the line. Not long after it finished raining sedge started to flutter about with the occasional fish seeming to rise to them. The reel on the upstream rod started to tick steadily and I lifted into something heavy. As I stepped from under the brolly my feet went from under me. The rain had turned the mud outside the shelter of the brolly into the greasiest of greasy. As I regained my foot the ih was still on. Obviously a barbel as it hung in the faster flow. For every foot I got in it took two. After a while it was reversed, for every two foot I got in it took a foot. After tin minutes of this it came easily to the net, no last minute run or other silliness. A nice fish of 8lb 6oz, which took a long time to recover.
By now the sun put in an appearance and two hours later the worm rod started to bounce about. The bite looked like that of a perch and at first that's what it felt like, then halfway in it shot off with some power. I thought a pike may have grabbed my fish, but changed my mind as it sat in the fast current like the previous fish. Keeping the rod low I soon made headway and ha i close to the net when, in true barbel style, it went for one last run. The next attempt at netting it had it lunge into the bankside vegetation. It and the vegetation were soon bundled in to the net. A slightly lighter fish than the last at 8lb 3oz, it clearly still ha a lot of fight in it as it rested in the net while I sorted the camera and scales out. Even after weighing and a couple of photos it still attempted to drag the landing net off into the river as if it had fully recovered. I've been caught out in the pat with this though and had a fish go belly up mid-river, out of reach, so it remained in the net for a good ten minutes.
Again I refrained from fishing into darkness given he state of the bank, besides I was more than happy with a couple of 8lb'ers. As I write this, on Friday, it's been raining for nearly six hours and the rivers are starting to rise again which bodes well for the weekend. Sadly I'll be working, as usual, so won't benefit.
I'd said to myself that I'd start pike fishing after the first frost. Well today we had the first frost, so I went barbel fishing. It wasn't really a proper frost, besides I'd I had the barbel kit all ready and the pike kit wasn't. Also I'd heard there were a few barbel coming out of the Ouse. Unfortunately the river had dropped quicker than expected since then and by over a metre. The first angler I met, who was just landing a bream, was the one that had had a few out, seven on Sunday. Other anglers told me there had been very few fish out since then. This did not fill me with confidence. This was not help by the fact that a lot of the swims were unfishable due to the height of the river, which was a neither really up or down. I did find one or two interesting looking fungi as I wandered round though. I do wish I could name them though. Although I could give them any name, as most have rather silly names, and claim that's what they known as round here.
I picked a known barbel swim with a nice flat bit within comfortable landing net distance of the river. The first rod, baited with worm was dropped slightly upstream next to an over hanging tree. The other rod baited with garlic spam/luncheon meat and a feeder full of hemp was cast downstream next to the trees. The first bite of the day , on the worm rod, produced a little perch. The second, on the worm rod, resulted in nothing. As did the third. While I waited for another bite a few sedges began to flutter about and the odd fish dimpled the surface Late in the afternoon the spam rod lurched round and I was in. Whatever it was dived straight under the trees then everything went slack. Everything came back bar the spam. The hook looked OK as did the rest of the rig, so out went another piece after I'd slipped and landed on my arse and the swim feeder. Thankfully I missed the hook. That was it for the day.
The slip persuaded me that staying till dark was not a good idea so I left with light to spare. I always seem to be working when the rivers a spot on. One day I may be able to retire and have all the time in the world. Another couple of barbel trips and then on to the pike. Once I've sorted the pike gear out.
The weather forecast was basically a very British one, wet and windy. The rivers don't seem to have any idea whether they're going up, down, or whatever. The River Wharfe it was then, for no particular reason. This was nearly thwarted as I set off. I was reliably informed Google maps that there was a thirty minute delay on my chosen route due to a crash. The other route wasn't an awful lot quicker as I, along with several others, got stuck behind somebody who thinks 45mph is reasonable on a 60mph road. They also thought the same speed was acceptable in the 30mph stretches through the villages. When I got to the river it was, as expected about two foot or so up and the swim I intended to fish was occupied by one of the two other anglers on the stretch. The only other accessible swim, with out a long walk, was one I'd fished before and didn't really want to fish as it is prone to debris drifting down. It had, however, a reasonably sized flat bit near river level meaning fish could be landed easily. While I was faffing about setting up a heron struggled up the river against the wind making slow headway.
The line of attack was to be half way across in the crease with a largish piece of garlic meat and a lob worm under an overhanging willow downstream. I wasn't going to bother with lose feed as I didn't think it would stay put in the current and I've often found smelly meat or lob worms do just as well on their own. The down stream gusty wind wasn't going to help bite detection on the worm rod. Between the wind and squally showers it wasn't the most pleasant of days. The brolly had to be firmly anchored as the ground was very soft bank sticks were used to anchor it. Apart from having to recast the baits because of debris nothing much happened until lunchtime. Just as I got my cuppa, pack of crisps and sandwich out the meat rod hooped over. I didn't rush as it had gone over slowly as if a large clump of weed had hit the line. Having carefully ticked my food and drink out of the wind and rain I lifted the rod which was nearly ripped out of my hand. After an initial short run the fish came in quite easily though it felt heavy a bit like it was covered in weed. About a rod length out I could see the fish, a large one at that, free of weed. At this point it took a dislike to me and plodded out into the current again. Where it hung with the taut line singing in the wind. It was just a case of slowly and steadily hauling it back. It then carefully bypassed the landing net and attempted to lodge it's self into the bankside vegetation. Thankfully it failed in this endeavour and after swimming round in circles finally came to the net. As I was weighing it another angler, having a walk along the length, commented how tidy it was, no split fins or marks at all. I was pleasantly surprised when it weighed in at 11lb. I could quite easily have given up at this point, very satisfied.
As I went to recast a family of swans crash landed in the swim. Managed to feather the lead short of them or I would of ended up killing one. A couple of hours later the tip of the worm rod pulled slowly round, similar to the first bite. This time I suck straight away and was rewarded with a little chub around the 2lb mark which put up very little resistance until it was on the bank. When I returned it the chub swam straight back into the bankside grass where it stayed for quite a while before making a splashy return to the river. That was it for the day. I decided to leave well before dark as I didn't fancy messing about on a very steep on slippy bank in the dark.
Despite the wind and rain a rather pleasant day in the end. I had taken my big coat with me, but didn't need it. I timed my departure just right as it started to tip it down just after I left and I hate packing up in the rain.
