Biggest Crowd Ever at the BS Conference is Testament to Group’s Increasing SuccessThe largest ever number of Barbel Society members and guests gathered for the 11th Annual Conference at Hinckley on Sunday 14th May 2006. They enjoyed a day filled with barbel talk, general fishing stories, camaraderie and friendship as well as being able to browse the trade room with numerous bait suppliers parading some of the latest baits along with tackle both old and new, books and clothing. President Fred Crouch – ‘Mr Barbel’ A legend in barbel circles opened the proceedings. After welcoming everyone Fred emphasised how important it was that we should all take great care of the fish we all enjoy so much. We should all feel that one fish dying is too many, and with low water levels and the predicted hot summer this year, it is likely to be even more important in the coming months. Fred stressed how The Barbel Society was as committed as ever to Research and Conservation, and would always continue in this vein. He then thanked the membership for their continued support and wished everyone an enjoyable day. ‘The Early Days’ – Tony Miles & Trefor West Tony and Trefor, two of the most accomplished barbel anglers, gave an enlightening and interesting insight into their experiences – mainly on the Wensum and Cherwell – back in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. During that time Tony and Trefor spent many hours making visual contact with barbel and found it to be an invaluable learning curve. They learned of mistakes they had made previously and set about improving the way they approached fishing for barbel. For instance, how and what spooked the fish, more about feeding and movement patterns, actually seeing that fish would avoid and move away from heavily fished swims. A lot of time was spent wading and looking for holding areas in streamer weed, time spent wading and targeting these areas brought significant rewards. Trevor introduced the question of deciding whether to strike or not, and gave his views on ‘twitcher strikers’. Either it was a shy audience that were not prepared to debate the issue, or everyone was already committed to Trefor’s philosophy. Both Tony and Trefor have had their share of the larger fish, and they told of how these fish become dominant and will feed confidently given the right swim preparation and proper presentation. In response to a question on temperature both felt that a settled spell of consistent temperature was as good as a rising temperature, certainly ever changing weather patterns did not help. Finally, one of Trevor’s jokes left some juniors demanding an explanation, and some seniors concerned by the fact that their juniors understood it! ‘The Warwickshire Avon’ – Ashley Burton Ashley shared his knowledge of this excellent river, how its characteristics change over its course from the source in Leicestershire to where it joins the Severn. His pictures showed the audience the immense opportunity on the river for not just barbel but also for other species including river carp. He gave details of some excellent day ticket venues including Tewksbury, Stonely, and Evesham. In closing Ashley shared some of those pictures we have all tucked away – eyes closed – the out-takes that were not exactly as we had planned. ‘The ACA’ by Mark Lloyd The Barbel Society was pleased to invite Mark to update those present on the workings of the Association. Establish in 1948 for anglers by John Eastwood, the ACA works tirelessly in the pursuit of cleaner rivers and supporting angling clubs across the country. It is justly proud to be able to say that it has only ever lost 3 in over 2000 cases. Mark went on to explain how, whilst it works closely with the EA, it also will not hold back in reminding the EA of its own responsibility. The way in which they work is to address cases using Common Law to obtain compensation for clubs and riparian owners. This differs from the EA insofar as the EA will pursue cases using Criminal Law. Mark pointed out that this was only possible when funds were available, a typical case can cost in excess of £ 25,000 and involve scientific experts and well as a lawyer and barrister. Currently with 8000 individual members and over 1000 affiliated clubs, Mark urged those present to join the ACA and increase those numbers to ensure the on-going fight against pollution of our river systems is maintained. ‘Fishing on the Ribble’ – Gary Knowles The name and face will be familiar to those who read the Angling press and Gary shared not only his wealth of experience on this beautiful river, but some of his tackle tips and his own perspective on what fishing is all about. His love of fishing and fish welfare was evident throughout. He showed some techniques for safer rigs, particularly important on snag ridden rivers like the Ribble, and explained that it was not always the kind of river where you could make visible contact with the fish, and how this sometimes required different tactics, and that your first view of a capture might be when it appears over the rim of the landing net. The question of which river has the hardest fighting fish remains unanswered, Gary’s theory is that the harder you pull, the harder the barbel will pull back! Finally as an appetiser for lunch Gary shared his recipe for the best cheese paste in the world, before closing with a competition with prizes for all the juniors who had to guess the weight from a picture of a magnificent pike he had caught. ***LUNCH*** The trade room was busy throughout the lunch break and many members took time to renew their membership and join the fisheries. There was also the opportunity to try your hand at casting with a centre-pin with expect guidance from Chris Lythe and Steve Hastie. ‘Barbel Fishing Abroad’ – John Bailey John returned to the Conference after being unavailable for a few years. He opened by re-emphasising the need to support the ACA and the excellent work they are doing, he felt the Association was in very capable hands. John has travelled extensively over the past years in pursuit of his fishing – France, Austria, areas of the former Czech Republic, seeing rivers not unlike his beloved Wye, and many rivers virtually un-fished and consequently requiring techniques other than those commonly used in the UK. He indicated that many of the fish in these rivers would not recognise bait and in many cases only natural baits would bring success. John gave an insight into the wide range of species found in Spain, where nine species of barbel can be found, and although not huge, there was plenty of opportunity to enjoy good sport. If it was large fish then there was nothing better than to go in search of Mahseer in India, described by John as ‘ten times’ what you would expect in the UK. He closed by giving everyone a word of warning that it is not just a case of a cheap flight, accommodation and a hire car. Whilst there is tremendous potential, care needs to be taken to ensure local laws are understood and adhered to, and local knowledge is essential to avoid upset and disappointment. ‘Modern Methods for Barbel’ – Gary Newman Following on from very successful carp fishing experiences Gary had moved on to barbel, and he explained how many of the techniques he had used for carp, he has transferred to fishing for barbel, and in doing so avoided the ‘Carbelling’ image of bivvies and buzzers. The key to his success was presentation and attention to detail, particularly when trying to conceal the line and hook length. This coupled with the selective use of loose fed pellets and PVA bags had brought excellent results. Gary also shared a tip on how slightly longer hair rigs can be used to avoid ‘unwanted’ species, no doubt some in the audience felt that they might not take up that advice, considering that on a bad day any species would be welcome to give the line a tug and the rod a bend. Gordon Scott Award A highlight of every Conference is the presentation of the Gordon Scott Award, awarded in recognition of contributions to barbel fishing and The Barbel Society. Peter Wheat took the stage and described how Dave Russell was such a worthy winner of the award for 2006. Dave has been involved with the Society since the beginning, having devoted many hours and worked tirelessly for the Society in several roles including that of Regional Organiser, a worthy winner of this coveted award. A Special Presentation to Steve Pope A complete surprise almost went wrong when Steve Pope rushed backstage to ensure everything was going according to plan, but what was about to happen was not in the plan that Steve had, this was the surprise – a one-off presentation of a piece of engraved glassware to Steve himself for his dedication to the Society and barbel fishing.
Steve has often had to take time out from his own fishing pursuits to serve the Society and he has always done so unselfishly over many years. Peter praised Steve for leading from the front with a true balance of authority, recognition of others and with the members of the Society uppermost in his endeavours. It was fitting that Steve himself was up next, along with ‘Mr Barbel’ Fred. ‘Stories and Fish Tales’ – Fred Crouch and Steve Pope Sharing some of their stories, Fred and Steve told us tales of; Being shot at, Panthers in deepest Worcestershire, and unscrupulous swim snatching on the Royalty. Sadly time was against them; otherwise I am sure the audience would have enjoyed many more amusing and interesting tales. Many of these can be found in Fred’s book, and judging by this brief introduction it will definitely be well worth reading. ‘River Dane Re-Generation’ – Steve Beech It was perhaps fitting that a Conference where fish welfare had been repeatedly mentioned the penultimate presentation was from Steve Beech, not only had Steve worked so hard to bring about the regeneration of the river Dane, but he had also managed to get a ‘No keepnets’ rule passed in a predominantly match orientated club. His thought provoking and inspiring talk truly reflected in the title of Steve’s talk – ‘The highs and lows of the river Dane Angler’. ‘Closing Speech’ by Steve Pope Steve brought the Conference to a close by thanking all members for attending, also the tackle dealers, guest speakers, and everyone who helped on the day. Mega Raffle The ‘Mega Raffle’ was MC’d by Paul Owens, with some tremendous prizes being won, including rods, and reels, etc. Two very generous members donated their prizes to the Junior section; A member of a very secret forum (the Beardies?) donated a barbel rod, and Steve Legge donated one of the top prizes, – a pair of Fox Barbel Rods! Extremely generous gestures on their part! |
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