| <----Page 1 - Barbel Wars Episode III
Glen says the reason he has to eat so much is to prevent him becoming hyperglycaemic, which is a very difficult word to spell. Hyperglycaemia occurs when there is a higher than normal level of glucose in your blood so I think he must mean hypoglycaemic which makes sense because this can happen when excess levels of alcohol are consumed. Anyway, to stave off his risky low blood sugar levels he stocks up with Mars bars and Snickers that are obviously for medicinal purposes only and by rights should be on prescription. At Fish’N’Things, Jim is genuinely interested and tries to help. He directs us to a new length of the river in Helperby village, which he urges us to have a look at. However, he is adamant that the pegs we were on yesterday are good swims for barbel and we should give them another try. Glen buys some hemp and a replacement catapult for the one he broke yesterday. We take a good look at the Helperby Village stretch but we reckon there is only one good swim so we decide to return to the same swims we initially fished yesterday. As I’m behind in the species war I put my float rod up to catch a few small fish in the edge. Micky moves from his swim after an hour and starts to catch gudgeon in a small parting between a large weedbed, twenty yards upstream from me. He knows that this will put me off, I can’t concentrate at the best of times but with him announcing every half ounce gudgeon he catches and how far ahead he is getting I know I’m in trouble.At lunchtime we both head up to Glen for a chat over our sandwiches. Glen’s new catapult has broken! He is throwing handfuls of hemp into his swim. Twenty seconds after every handful the ducks that have gathered downstream go ballistic, their little feathered heads diving underwater to gorge on Glen’s hemp. It makes for an entertaining lunch.Watching Glen cast I can’t help thinking that he may be fishing a bit too far into the fast water but when I suggest this he says the bailiff he spoke to on Sunday swore blind that you catch them with big bits of luncheon meat in the rapids.
Back at my swim I decide to put my borrowed barbel rod up and fish with an electronic bite indicator. I decide to keep it simple and don’t use any of my plans to fish with pellets and braid. I tie a size ten hook and a bunch of maggots, about seven or eight, and pop it down at the bottom of the fast glide opposite me with a  When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission, which supports our community.
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