Nearly Cut Off By Flood Water

 When I arrived at the river it was up and slowly rising. By the time I'd found a swim it started to rise a lot faster. The swim I found had a slack on the far side and a large eddy on the near side. Initially 3oz was enough to hold on the far side, but very quickly 4oz then 5oz weren't enough especially given the amount of debris coming down. With the eddy slowly disappearing I dropped a 14mm pellet down the bank on the corner of the eddy. The 8mm pellet went down the bank under the rod tip to the left. Over the next three hours the river rose around four foot.

The rods were regularly dragged over by debris during this time. Much to my surprise I found a small gudgeon had attempt to swallow an 8mm pellet and managed to get itself hooked. I had seen some knocks on that rod but I assumed it was the twigs drifting around that were hitting the line. A while later while talking to a chap by the name of Ian, a reader of the blog, he pointed out that the other rod had lurched over. I had my back to it. After a brief but hectic fight a nice barbel was landed. We estimated around 7-8lb. It weighed in at 7lb 2oz.

Ian wander upstream to try a slack up there. I carried on for a while before noticing one of the banksticks was surrounded by water. The branch in the first couple of pictures was now drifting around in what was left of the eddy. I thought that if the river continued to rise it wouldn't be long before it was well and truly over the bank and into the meadow. Time to pack up. As I was packing up I discovered that the bottom of the rod holdall had a hole in it and the umbrella pole was poking through. Given it was nearly twenty years old the holdall hadn't done bad. Ian haddn't caught anything as I passed. When i got to the stile it was surrounded by a foot or so of water. I let Ian know and we both managed to get over it before we could be marooned, ended up filling our wellies.

 

Not a bad day considering. Nice and warm with the odd kite and buzzard drifting about. I'm sure the bag is repairable.

Definitely Not A Barbel

 With the rivers rising steadily on Thursday after the previous days rain It seemed like a bit of barbel fishing would be a good idea. Common sense would be to head to one of the known barbel spots, but not wanting to be common I headed to a stretch I'd only ever caught one barbel from. 

The river hadn't risen as far as I'd expected it to when I got there, but was moving through at a fair old rate. I suspect sluices were being opened to run water off. Ledger rigs baited with a pellet were dropped in close to the nearside bank. One upstream, one down.

The upstream rod was soon abandoned as the debris coming down, mainly leaves,  just dragged the lead  back towards me. Even with 5oz of lead.

One thing I noticed after a while was the lack of bird song. There's normally something making a noise down there. After a couple of hours I got my first bite which I suspected to be a chub. To my surprise a hand sized roach had taken the 8mm pellet and really whacked the tip round.

 That was it for the day. Once the lovely sunshine disappeared the big coat was out. I fished on to dusk but just added to my collection of leaves.

Barbel Session And A Half

 Friday, after a spot of River Fly Monitoring, I headed to the a river for a short session after barbel. With the river up and coloured conditions looked just right, but he lack of cars was a bit of a surprise. A wander about found three others fishing none of whom had had anything. I settled into a swim that normally produced when the rivers was a metre up. Standard pellet feeder and ledger tactics were used. One rod dropped in upstream next to what would normally be the bankside vegetation. The other downstream on the edge of a slack. Apart from a large branch and a lot of leaves there was no action at all.

 Sunday I went up to a stretch of river that years ago I wouldn't have considered deliberately fishing for barbel. Have have always been there but not in any numbers. They would occasional turn up for anglers fishing for other species but would often be lost. The barbel seem to have spread down the river to the point where they are worth fishing for along most of it's length. The unusual tactics were employed. Feeder and ledger with pellets. A14mm on one rod and 8mm on the other.

The weather was quite breezy by the time I got sorted. The sun was nice but kept being blotted out by the clouds. A woolly and fleece was required most of the time but a bit warm when the sun appeared for any length of time. The river was about a foot up and carrying colour. The feeder was dropped into a spot I knew to be around nine foot deep in these conditions. It was three quarters  filled with 4mm and 2mm pellets. the smaller pellets would drift out of the feeder while the larger ones would slowly dissolve leaving a scent trail. I'd found a tub of paste with a production date of 2018 at the back of the cupboard. I squeezed this onto the ledger which was tossed out into the middle. initially. After regularly having it dragged about by a build up of leaves or snagged twigs I cast it in upstream on the same line as the feeder rod.

The day wore on with very little happening. I replenished the feeder and paste at regular intervals.Tossed an assortment of pellets along the line the two baits were on. A kingfisher shot past every now and then. In the distance. Three buzzards performed aerobatics. The most entertaining, though, was a kestrel attempting to hunt but being harassed by a couple of crows. Late in the afternoon, as the temperature dropped, the downstream rod looped over and the baitrunner sounded. I wasn't sure what I'd connected with. At first I thought it may be a chub. then one of the larger feisty bream. But a small barbel surfaced. Once it saw the net it woke up a bit and took a couple of attempts to get it in. Only small but very welcome. While I rested it in the net after unhooking it I tossed the rod back out. Sorting the unhooking mat out and preparing for a picture the rod went over again. This one felt like a barbel. I was surprised, though, to find a similar sized fish on the hook when i got it to the surface. My attempt to land it with the other in the net didn't quite work as planned as the first fish made a dash for freedom the moment I sunk the net, so no brace shot.

That little flurry of action was it for the day. Mission had been accomplished though. Unlike the first the second barbel was rather reluctant to leave the net. I ha to leave a bit earlier than I'd of liked but I didn't fancy navigating the muddy pot-holed track in the dark. Even in day light I'd managed to clunk the bottom of the car.

 

I don't know if these are stocked fish. They didn't look like the stockies as they are normally a bit tubby while these were quite lean.

Final River Pike Session

 With the rain in the Dales there was a distinct possibility that the rivers fed from there were not going to be fit to fish on Thursday the final day. The rain hadn't been anything like as bad on the Moors, so I headed for a a river fed from there. I know there would be a couple of decent slacks to fish in. One of which does produce some good pike, but is rather muddy as the field behind tends to drain that way.

 had two rods set up. One float and one ledger. The float rod had a small smelt on and was fished down the edge. The ledger rod had lamprey on and was chucked out into the middle. I worked my way back towards the hot spot with out so much as a sniff. The baits were given and injection of oil each time I moved.

By lunch time I'd reached the hot spot, a large slack. Upstream, to my left, it was seventeen foot deep and downstream, to my right, seven and a half foot deep. I started with the ledger rod to my right with a large smelt on. The float rod went to my left with a small roach on a circle hook. After lunch I decided that along with the oil a bit of movement may  be needed to attract the fish. The float rod was altered to a paternoster rig and the ledger rod had a pop up added. This seemed to do the trick as the float disappeared. Unfortunately I forgot I was using a circle hook and struck into the fish. It was on momentarily before coming adrift. Never strike with circle hooks. Allow the fish to swim away and tighten into it. Bugger. Out went another roach. When I went to recast the ledger rod and add some oil it was snagged. A good pull bent a hook out. Out went the bait again but it bit further out

Again when I tried to retrieve the ledgered bait for a recast it became snagged. When I moved up the bank to get a better angle the braid snapped like cotton. A new rig was attached and a popped up sardine was flung out to a different spot. Just before I interned to retrieve it and add some oil the alarm went and the dropback bobbed about. I lifted into the fish and started to retrieve when every thing came to a halt. I could feel the fish head-shaking. A good heave and ]I was again in proper contact with the fish then everything went light. Upon retrieving the rig the weak link to the lead had snapped but the trace and a very chewed sardine was was still there. A new lead and a large smelt went back out. Half an hour later I lost another lead in the snags, which seemed to cover a large area. Leads aren't cheap these days either.

I fished on until dark with only one more lead lost but no more action. Maybe I'd have been better downstream barbel fishing but I did want to try and get a double on my one of my new rods. While pondering the snags it occurred to me they may be masonry from the bridge as quite a bit had been knocked into the river by a lorry. Oh well there's always next pike season. Next up it's flinging flees at troot. I suppose I ought to sort the flee flinging kit out and check the waders.

Penultimate River Pike Session

My pike season on the rivers, like many other up here, hasn't been great at all. The constant floods have made life awkward with some especially slippy banks when the water has dropped. In the hope of picking things up a bit I headed for a well known hotspot. The river had been up about a metre following Sunday's rain but was dropping so things wouldn't be too bad I thought. Following a later than intended start due to finger trouble I arrived at the pot after a rather laborious trudge through muddy files and slippy paths. I was surprised to find nobody else there on either bank.

A float fished roach was dropped into a nice slack in thirteen foot of water and a large smelt was ledgered in twenty three foot of water. I moved the baits about as best I could in the slacks. A couple of other anglers arrived and setup in another larger slack that I intended to move to later if nothing was happening. Both baits were given a dose of oil after an hour or so. The slowly dropping river meant the slack changed shape necessitating changing the position of the baits. The drizzle and chill wind wasn't making life pleasant. Part way through the morning one of the other anglers landed a pike. A high single by the look of it.

While investigating a couple of other swims, now the rain had stopped, I spotted a Tansy Beetle loitering on some nettles. I don't know if the eat nettles when there's no tansy about. These things are rather rare. The Yorkshire Ouse and somewhere in Cambridgeshire are it's only remaining populations in the UK. After lunch I moved to another swim upstream that has produced pike in the past. The float now sporting a piece of lamprey had to be set a twenty two foot and was tossed in at the upstream end of the slack. The edger was dropped in at the downstream end with a small headless mackerel. The same angler that caught earlier had another. His friend, like me, ended up with  a stick. I must admit the stick I caught gave a very convincing impression of a pike run.

The trudge back up the hill was damned hard work with the sticky mud trying to rip my wellies off. Not the day I was hoping for but one more session to go and a my be able to pick things up, or not.

Earp Pike

Thursday I set off to a section of river renowned for it's humongous pike, that nobody ever captures. The rumours have been around years and just seem to stick. It has, however, been producing some pike recently which is why I was heading there. The info I has was that the pike were been caught late morning into early afternoon so I didn't get there too early. There weren't quite as many swims accessible as I'd hoped do to the water level,. but enough to spend an hour or two in each.

 

A float rod was to be fished next to any overhanging trees and in the slacks and a ledger rod for out in the middle. Bait was limited as I didn't want to buy any more before the end of the season. I had a small herring, some smelt, roach and lamprey. I put a section of lamprey out in the middle and a roach on the float was my starter.After half an hour or so the float started to drift downstream and I contacted with something that didn't feel like a pike. When I got it to the surface it was a pike, nearly. Probably about a foot long it thrashed about on the surface and detached itself from the hook. I put on a roach and cast out again, but with no more action after an hour moved on the the next swim. 

I decided on a cuppa after casting the baits out. This didn't result in any runs, but as I brought the float rod in to recast I thought i saw something following the bait so dropped it back close in. While I was waiting I got the lure rod ready. After bringing the float rod in I had a cast about with a eight in shad with a rattle fitted. After half a dozen cast I had the most almighty hit, obviously something big. I was somewhat disappointed when a little jack surfaced but at least I wasn't going to blank.

If one pike was active and willing to take a lure maybe more were. I therefore spent some time wandering up and down chucking lures about, but didn't see anything else. I settled down in an new swim with quite a large slack the was only about eight foot deep compared to the twelve to fourteen foot of the previous swims. Recasting the ledger rod I slipped and launched the whole lot up into a tree. While I retrieved everything else the lamprey detached itself and landed in the river. Time for the headless herring. It hadn't been out long when the alarm bleeped and the dropback dropped back. Pretty soon an 84cm 6lb 8oz fish was in the net. Despite the powerful rods it managed to put up a reasonable account of itself in the fast current.

Nothing else came from that swim so I had another go with the lure rod to no avail. two more swims were fished before dark, but nowt else had a go at the baits. I'm hoping the rivers have settled and the last few days of the season will produce something better. Hopefully it won't be washed out like last year.

New Venue New Rods

 Thursday I headed to a stretch of river I'd never fished before in an attempt to christen my new rods. Their previous outing had been a blank and fishing a unknown stretch of river probably to christen them probably wasn't the best idea. I'd been for a walk on this section previously so had a good idea where the pikey looking swims were. I wandered upstream to the first swim I fancied. There was no sign anybody else had been down since the water dropped. My tactics were to drop a bait in under a float just over the shelf behind over hanging trees and place a bait midstream with a ledger. The first bait out was a small roach under the float dropped into seven foot of water. A trout was flung out on the ledger. I also had smelt and sardine with me. After a runless hour I moved swims. This one was just as unproductive, as was the next. In the fourth swim the shelf was somewhat closer and the depth nearer nine foot. I changed to a smelt on the float rig. A spot of oil was added to the trout before it was plonked midstream. Just as the kettle boiled the float started to bob about. A quick strike and I was in. A small but rather athletic jack was quickly chinned. At least one rod was christened. Another angler turned up at this point. He was doing a spot of lure fishing for chub and/or perch.

After my cuppa I moved on to the next swim, then the next, then the next. I was all rather quiet apart from a Great Tit. Their 'singing' is OK for a little while, but when there's several of them doing their squeaky wheelbarrow impressions it gets a bit annoying. By now the collie from the farm had come down to investigate. Though it spent most of it's time sticking it's nose down rabbit holes and barking at them. I'd just got my Pot Noodle ready when the alarm went and the drop-back dropped back. Keeping one eye on my lunch in case the dog tried to nick it I struck into what felt like some debris. It wasn't until it got to the surface that the little jack woke up and started to thrash about. Second rod christened.

As usual I stayed on until dark but there was no more action. At least both rods are now christened.All I have to do in the remaining two weeks of the river season is find some bigger and better pike.

New Rod Curse

 Thursday the river level looked about right at 3.3m up. This meant it would be near the top of the bank giving a flat surface to fish from rather than having to slither down the bank. It also meant there would be some large areas of slack water between the overhanging trees for the baitfish and thus the pike to lounge about in.  This was the theory anyway.

I had two rods set up. One with the usual float-ledger rig and one plain ledger rig. The ledger rig would be cast out to the crease where one would normally fish for barbel, etc. It took an 8oz lead to hold bottom in twenty foot of water, but by casting upstream it did settle just down stream of me. The float rig was cast into the slack water which was around ten to twelve foot deep. Staring baits where smelt and lamprey.

 

 

I'd recently obtained a couple of more powerful pike rods for the rivers as throwing big leads and baits was really too much for the Purist Apex Predators. I'm still using them on small still waters and rivers, but for the heavier work I now have a couple of Agitator BR-S. While classed as long range rods they do bend well down to the butt as pike rod should. They had no problem throwing the heavy lead and a large bait about. Unfortunately they weren't tested on a fish. I alternated between four swims but failed to get as much as a dropped run.

I set up one of the older rods to drift  small roach about n the slacks but this didn't attract anything either. I even flung a bait out into the middle of the river in the fastest of the current.  I would of fished more swims but it was hard work trudging about in the alluvial mud that had been deposited by the floods. I'm just going to blame the curse of the new rods.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to test them against a fish when if the rivers drop a bit.

A Sort Of Barbel Free Barbel Session

 According to the gauges the river was still rising and should be about a yard up, so it looked like it may be a good time for another spot of barbel fishing. When I got to the river there was only a couple of cars there which was a bit of a surprise and the river wasn't quite as high as I'd expected. I also saw my first egret on this stretch. I've seen the further down, but not up here. As I got my kit out the car a couple more anglers turned up. Prospects looked good.

 

I headed downstream and plonked myself in a swim. Halibut feeder upstream and meat downstream. The upstream rod just beyond the weeds and the downstream rod in the slightly slower water midstream. The faster section being on the far bank. This was to change as the river slowly rose and the distinction slowly disappeared. A 3oz feeder held upstream, but 4oz was needed downstream. After an hour or so the upstream rod tip sprang back and I was in. Initially the fish was reasonably cooperative before it decided to head downstream. Something didn't feel right though, as if I wasn't in direct contact with the fish. The line was pointing at 45 degrees to the water but the fish had taken a lot more line and was a lot further downstream. It had clearly got under a snag. One reason I'd chosen this swim was that it was normally snag free. After a few minutes of too and fro everything went solid. I fed out some slack line and waited a good ten minutes, but it was coming out. I went for the direct pull and the line snapped with the greatest of ease. The last ten yards of the 15lb reel line was seriously chafed so of it came. I re-rigged. By now the 3oz feeder wouldn't hold bottom so I put a 4oz feeder in instead which held nicely. I'd forgotten to put the super heavy stuff in the tackle box so if things got worse it would have to be a double lead job.

Twenty minutes later the downstream rod lurched over. At first I thought it was more weed or debris on the line, but it set off downstream far far too fast for debris. Eventually i stopped the fish in it's tracks and it just hung in the current before swinging into the nearside and into some tree roots. Again I gave it so slack to no avail. I tried poking the landing net in and around the roots as this sometimes  frightens the fish out. I then went for the big heave and the 12lb hook length parted. That was to be it for me. I had expect more bites later on as this is normal ion this swim. A couple in quick(ish) succession and then nothing for a while.

The river rose around six inches while I was there. An angler I was talking to at the parking spot had taken four and lost three downstream of me. Another who'd never caught downstream of the bridge managed two, one of which was a double. Oh well. As I pondered weather to pack up as rain was expected imminently a flash of lightening and a roll of thunder made my mind up for me. I wasn't quite quick enough though. Halfway back to the car the heavens opened. By the time I got to the car it had eased off, before tipping it down again as I drove away. No fish and soggy tackle. Not a great day.