First Derwent Barbel of the Year

I'd  put the barbel rods away for the season and was going to concentrate on predators, but with the Derwent nicely coloured on Tuesday I thought I'd get them out again as I hadn't caught a barbel from the river this season. There was still a nice bit of colour in it when I arrived, in glorious sunshine, on Thursday. I opted for the same swim as Tuesday as it was in an area of the river I'd always done well in.

 The usual pellet tactics were to be used. A 6mm pellet on the downstream rod with a feeder full of well dosed pellets and two 10mm pellets and feeder on the upstream rod. It wasn't long before I had my first fish,  a foul hooked minnow on the downstream rod. Not he start I'd hoped for. There were a few sedges fluttering about and occasionally a fish would rise for one. The kingfisher was also flashing past every now and then. Around teatime, just as I'd made a cuppa anyway, the downstream rod lurched over and I was in to something solid which headed straight for the snag I'd forgotten about. It was solid, but after wandering downstream and pulling at a different angle, giving it some slack, etc. it started to move. With constant pressure it was slowly moving towards me when everything went slack. The hook length had been cleanly cut. In the past I'd normally fished the same spot from the far bank casting upstream to it. This allowed me to drag the barbel downstream away from the snag. Oh, well.

Re-rigged the rod went out once more with the clutch tightened up a bit more. I would have to give any fish a big heave and hope it headed down stream away from the snag. By now the bats were fluttering about and the owls were making themselves known. It was also big coat time as the temp had dropped quite a bit, as the light faded. It was a clear night and the bats were clearly visible. In true barbel fashion the tip on the downstream rod went over again. This time I though it felt like a chub, which after a couple of lunges came to the net rather quickly. I surprised to see a little barbel sliding over the net in the starlight. A slightly banana shaped fish of 4lb. Not quite the size I'd hoped for, but at least I'd caught.

It was quite nice sitting back in the bright starlit evening watching the bats flutter about, but the temperature was dropping rapidly and a barbel had been caught so I packed up. Apart from which we're supposed to be off by sunset, or there abouts. The best part of this rule, though, is no particular sunset is specified. You had a choice of; Official Sunset at 18:39; Civil Sunset at 19:14; Nautical Sunset at 19:55 and Astronomical Sunset at 20:28. Very useful to remember if you run into to some stroppy jobsworth of a bailiff.

Music while typing provided by: La confiserie Sonore - Electronic Music Roadshow

More Roach Fishing, Less Roach

It was back to the Derwent on Tuesday In search of roach. The weather in the afternoon as I set of was lovely, nearly needed the air-con on in the car. With the recent chilly nights and in some cases frost further up the valley I expected the river to be clear. I was really surprised to find it rather coloured and slightly up. Not the best conditions for fishing bread flake, but I did have some worms with me as well. Rather than wander down towards the bottom end I decided to fish nearer the top as I'd seen plenty of anglers there on the last two visits. It did cross my mind that it could be laziness rather fish catches that caused anglers to be there, but I'd had some nice catches here in the past.

 I set up a feeder rod to fish worm upstream with a bit of brown crumb in the feeder and a float rod. The float rod was rigged with a 4g bolo to a size 12 hook for fishing flake or worm. After putting in a few balls of brown crumb I then feed a small ball of liquidised bread every few casts. The first few trots down just seemed to pick up bits of weed that weren't evident when I was plumbing the  depth. It then cleared and I could trot the full length of the swim.  The first bite felt like weed when I struck, but as it kited across the river It gave the rod a nice bend. A nice dace around the 8oz mark. I'd brought a keepnet with me, so in it went. It was followed a few minutes later by a couple more around the 6oz mark. Then everything went quiet.

The feeder rod rattled and produced a minnow. Not hooked, but stuck on the end of the worm. It dropped off as I swung it over the keepnet. A change to worm on the float Produced a gudgeon and a tommy before things went quiet again. A change back to flake produced a little jack pike that had me thinking I was into a decent chub at first. A the sun dropped behind the trees I hoped things would pick up. They didn't Once it was too dark to see the float I moved the feeder rod onto the float line where it sat motionless.

If I don't take a keepnet I get a nice catch of fish that would make a nice photo. Take one and the fish don't want to cooperate. Same with the action cam. As I hadn't taken a spare battery I only switched it on for short periods, but not the periods when I caught fish. One of the strange things of the session was all my fish came to float fished baits, but talking to another angler his fish all came to feeder.

 

Music while typing and video editing provided by: Sequences Podcast

Missing Chub

A combination of events prompted today's short session. A discussion twitter about UL lure rods and a conversation last week about shoals of chub in a local river. The shoals had been there early season, several YouTube videos testify to this, then disappeared or thinned out. According to my mate they shoals had reappeared as he'd seen them while walking his mother dog, but like me had not got round to fishing for them.  As luck would have it, when I got to the river my mate had just arrived to walk his mother's dog and agreed to be chief fish spotter.

Not that he had a lot of work to do as the river was very very low and the fish had magically disappeared again. We did spot a shoal of small roach early on and apart from a couple of little jacks we spooked that was it. I did managed a small perch on a 5cm Salmo Minnow. It was at this point, having taken a photo of the fish, my phone announced it had zero charge and shut down. After wandering to the end of the stretch casting near any feature, to no avail. I left my mate who took a different route with the dog as I returned to the car.

I made my way to another section, but failed to spot any fish. A blind cast had what I think was a jack have a o at the lure. As it did a second time, but that was it. I did have a conversation with another chap who said that there had been a few chub about and some nice perch only a couple of days ago. He was quite surprised himself he hadn't spotted anything apart from tiddlers. He thought it may have been the chilly night, but where were they hiding. Next time I get a tip off I should act straight away, not wait a couple of months.

I currently have the action cam on a chest mount which meant that the pike swirling at the lure was just off camera, maybe I should try the camera on a head mount as I forget to point my body at the action.

Big Coat, Little Coat, T-shirt Weather

It's reached that time of year when you don't know what clothing to take with you. Thursday afternoon I set off was lovely warm sunshine, but I knew once the sun was behind the trees the temp would drop rapidly. So it was I set off along the river bank assault course in a T-shirt with the big coat and light fleece strapped the the ruckbag. The first part of the assault course involved navigating a new kissing gate that is so narrow even I, a streak of piss, had to breathe in to get through having chucked the bags over the fence first. Next up was the belly crawl under a partially fallen Blackthorn. Yesterday I tried with the ruckbag on and got it snagged, so this time I just shoved things ahead of me. This probably accounts for the fact there isn't much in the way of signs that anybody has been fishing beyond here.

My target for the day was more of the the roach, but this time on float. I also had a feeder rod with me in case they didn't want a moving bait. The baits were going to be both bread and pellet. After a bit of plumbing about I found about 11½' over water. This was to be fished with a 7bb Avon float with the bulk of the shot about 4' from the hook. A № 6 shot and a quick change swivel as droppers, with a size 12 hook at the business end. I'd also brought some groundbait with me - brown crumb mashed bread and a bit of hemp and pellet mixed to a stiff consistency so as too get to the bottom. Half a dozen balls went in to start with and a lump of flake on the hook. After half an hour of nothing I changed over to a banded pellet which was equally unproductive. Suspecting they didn't like a moving bait I tried pellet on the feeder for a while, which resulted in a small chub.

 

Two hours in and the sun had dropped behind the trees, so on with the fleece.  A couple more balls of groundbait then back out with the float rod and a bit of flake. The float buried and a 6oz roach was quickly on the bank followed by a few more in the 6-8oz bracket. for about an hour and a half it was nearly a fish a chuck. There appeared to be two shoals in the swim, as some bites came not long after the float settled and the other s some 20 yards downstream. Both shoals produced a few fish with fish lice, argulus,  on them. They only seemed to have one on them and seemed none the worse for it, even so I removed  the louse from the fish. Despite constant feeding with a ball of ground bait very few fish the nearer shoal disappear, but the downstream shoal moved closer. For another hour or so the bites kept coming but not as often before it all went quiet. The average size of fishwas smaller than the previous day, but I think I'd had more.

 

When the bites dried up I went back to the feeder for a while, but this did nothing. With half an hour, or so of light left I put on the big coat and chucked the remaining groundbait in and went back to the float. After a little while the float went under and up came a larger roach, which I some how bumped off. Next trot down and another that this time I got to the net. A fish of 1lb 2oz, even though it looked a bit smaller than yesterday's pounder. No more roach graced the net, but just as it was getting too dark to see the float I managed a 2lb chub, which I should have lost as I made a right mess of netting it in the dark. I did carry on for a while in the dark with the feeder rod, but apart from one slight rattle on banded pellet nothing much happened.

 

One problem I, along with many other anglers I've talked to, have always had on the Derwent is getting a shoal of fish to stop put. They seem to feed for an hour or two then move away. Many of us have always suspected that the shoals are quite small and soon notice when a few of it's members have disappeared.

Big Coat Weather

After a few bit of an Indian summer Wednesday felt like winter, with it's nasty Nor'easterly wind. A yomp down the banks of the Derwent soon warmed me up though. As did the walk back to collect the bait bucket I'd left behind. Nowt like a three mile walk to warm you up. The reason for wandering down to the bottom of this stretch was a tip off that barbel were showing and I haven't had one from the Derwent this season.

 

A double pellet, blockend feeder rig was dropped downstream under an overhanging willow. The other rod was was cast mid water, again with a blockend feeder full of well dosed pellets, but this time with a single 6mm pellet as hook bait. I'd been meaning to try this since last year when another angler told be about it. Rather than sit about bored waiting for a barbel to grab a big pellet or boillie he'd been using single 6mm pellets of boillies or double 4mm pellet. This has resulted in some nice roach apparently, along with barbel into double figures. 8-10lb hook lengths and heavy gauge size 12 hooks, while a tad heavy for roach, meant barbel could still be landed with out too much fuss.

 

I have to say the small pellet rig worked remarkably well. It wasn't long before the tip rattled about and a 8oz roach was on the bank soon followed by a couple more. It then went quiet for a while before a couple more, in the 8-12oz bracket were landed. This pattern continued into the evening. Two or three fish, lull, two or three fish, lull, and so on. Not sure how many I caught, but they were all like peas in a pod.

 

One though stood out from the rest and required a quick weigh. 1lb 1oz and in very good nick, lets hope it grows to be  a 2lb'er. In the meantime the rod under the willow hadn't so much as twitched. As it was now getting dark I started to pack up when round went the tip. A chub around the 2lb mark was quickly in the net. Even at that size it looked a bit lost in a 30" landing net.

I decide to stay on into dark, but nowt more happened. No sign of barbel, but some nice roach. A natter in the tackle shop, on Thursday, confirmed what I should have known, with my years of experience of the river. Barbel showing really means - I fished every evening for the past week and caught one, and only one.

Lazy Barbel

Arriving at the parking area on Thursday afternoon to find it empty was not a good omen. Normally I don't mind empty car parks at fisheries, but at a noted barbel hotspot this is generally not good. I know the river was falling, but there was still plenty of colour in it. Was it the wrong moon phase or the temperature. Any way I had a good wander up and down the stretch, which I hadn't fished for some years. As I was going to fish into dark I picked a good looking swim that I could get out of easily. It had a bit of a slack on the inside with a nice crease and down stream I could get a bait under some over hanging trees.

Tactics were, again, blockend feeders with well dosed pellets with Peperami on one rod and double pellet on the other. The meat went upstream into the crease and the pellets downstream under the trees. I didn't have to wait long before the upstream rod tip sprung back and started bouncing. What ever I'd contacted with shot out into the main stream then gave up. Very quickly I had a barbel in the net. It looked perfectly healthy at 6lb 10oz. No marks or damage on it. May have been caught before a few time and knows the routine, After a rest it swam back strongly.

I had to wait for another three hours before the next bite, this time on the down stream rod. After an initial thump everything went soggy. I assumed I'd lost what ever had given the bite especially as the feeder was covered in weed. As went to swing the rig in something started splashing on the surface. flinging weed everywhere. A nice little barbel of 2-3lb was quickly netted.

I sat it out for another couple of hours for nothing, although it did get exciting for a little while with the rods tops bouncing about. But it turned out to be bats fluttering about. I really should have brought the big coat as well, as it is starting to get chilly after dark.

If barbel fought like tonight's fish there'd be very few barbel fisherman, but like humans there's always the odd lazy one. Not really sure why I didn't take many photos, although everything seems a bit dull at the moment waiting for autumn.

Ousing with Barbel

As I arrived at the Ouse on Wednesday teatime a gentleman was just leaving having spent the best part of eight hours angling he'd managed ONE bleak. Not that it bothered me as I was after barbel. After a bit of a wander i picked a swim with a nice crease. Blockend feeders with well dosed pellets and Peperami or pellets on the hook were the order of the day. The meat was dropped downstream at the edge of the crease and under a tree. Double pellet went in upstream, again at the edge of the crease.

It wasn't long before the upstream rod  top dropped back and I was in to something odd. After a bit of a faff a fine stick-fish came to the bank. Some three hours later the downstream rod went over. After an initial short run whatever was on the end came in easily until it was under the rod tip. Then all hell broke loose. At first I thought a pike had grabbed whatever I'd hooked, but after a bit of to and fro a fair sized barbel thrashed about on the surface before trying to hide under the landing net. A bit more heave, though, and it was in the net. A deep set fish of 8lb 14oz.

The next bite came just after I'd taken the downstream rod out and was getting ready to pack up. I'm not a great fan of fishing in the dark on steep river banks any more. Apart from which it was getting chilly and I haven't broken out the big coat yet. As I lifted into the bite a willow branch turned in the river. It would have been the best stick fish of the day, but worse it had dragged the hook into a snag. Definitely time to go.

The nights a drawing in and the summer jacket isn't keeping the chill away any more. The next thing you know the rivers will be full of leaves and it'll be pike fishing time.