barbelboi
Well-known member
The difference for me Alan is that I don't mind admitting I caught a minnow.................
How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
- Start date
The difference for me Alan is that I don't mind admitting I caught a minnow.................
rich66
Well-known member
We’ve been lucky with the weather this week. Making the most of it. I fished at Frisby again today... another day off from the dreaded W word!
Anyhow had a few maggots left over so took those along, started catching silvers from the off. Kept feeding maggots, sweetcorn and micro pellets. Nice start to the morning, switched later to sweetcorn and caught myself some bream. I used a 2nd rod trying out the method feeder. I used a mix of groundbait, micro pellets and 4mm bloodworm pellets, with 8mm pellet on a hair. Caught 3 carp think the first one was an F1, either that or a crucian. Caught a few bream on the method too. Few more roach on the float line sweetcorn on the hook. Just packing up and my highly technical bait indicator (a bit of pole elastic) trembled and popped up, another bream not huge but bought a smile to my face.
Think that’s me done for a week or so fishing wise it’ll be at least next week now.
Know you all like a bream picture
One thing I did notice all the carp had messed up mouths, it’s a shame when that happens
Anyhow had a few maggots left over so took those along, started catching silvers from the off. Kept feeding maggots, sweetcorn and micro pellets. Nice start to the morning, switched later to sweetcorn and caught myself some bream. I used a 2nd rod trying out the method feeder. I used a mix of groundbait, micro pellets and 4mm bloodworm pellets, with 8mm pellet on a hair. Caught 3 carp think the first one was an F1, either that or a crucian. Caught a few bream on the method too. Few more roach on the float line sweetcorn on the hook. Just packing up and my highly technical bait indicator (a bit of pole elastic) trembled and popped up, another bream not huge but bought a smile to my face.
Think that’s me done for a week or so fishing wise it’ll be at least next week now.
Know you all like a bream picture
One thing I did notice all the carp had messed up mouths, it’s a shame when that happens
rich66
Well-known member
Thanks John I couldn’t make my mind up.
Another Dave
Well-known member
Had another quick session in the park swim yesterday. Threw some pieces of floating bread out in the 1ft deep water and watched as several thousand minnows went nuts. There was a chub of about a pound or two cruising around but not taking. There's a deeper hole at the back of the swim, maybe 2ft max, the rest is dead shallow.
I had what has become my go-to rod with me, the 8ft Darent Valley, baby baitrunner with 6lb braid to 5lb fluoro. Tiny link swivel on the end of that. Size 16 Drennan Silverfish hook to nylon, no. 1 shot at the link swivel and a no. 8 on the hooklength. I alternated between freelining this at passing dace and sticking a 'strike indicator' on with a tiny piece of bamboo skewer and casting nearer the deeper section. Took a few lively dace and kept feeding floating and sinking bread all over the swim.
A jack that must have been 12oz on a good day kept smashing into the minnows, over and over. Despite my absolute minimal kit, i had a few mini lures with me that matched the hatch, from floating hardbaits to popped up soft plastics. Absolutely no interest whatsoever! Bloody cheek of the thing. Back to trotting the 'deep' hole at the back of the swim then.
Dace bites were getting scarce now but i could tell them from the minnow bites quite easily as they sailed away. Still using corn on the hook purely because it's harder to whittle, and fish going mad for bread don't seem to mind the difference. Hit the next bite and was shocked to find i had a lump on, rod really hooping round like a dream. And then the hook straightened.
Still not sure what it was. Only thing i ever hooked in this stretch that went like the clappers was a foulhooked 2lb trout, keen readers will remember that tale from last summer.
Sorry no pics for this one but in my wildlife report i can give you the first swimming snake of the year.
I had what has become my go-to rod with me, the 8ft Darent Valley, baby baitrunner with 6lb braid to 5lb fluoro. Tiny link swivel on the end of that. Size 16 Drennan Silverfish hook to nylon, no. 1 shot at the link swivel and a no. 8 on the hooklength. I alternated between freelining this at passing dace and sticking a 'strike indicator' on with a tiny piece of bamboo skewer and casting nearer the deeper section. Took a few lively dace and kept feeding floating and sinking bread all over the swim.
A jack that must have been 12oz on a good day kept smashing into the minnows, over and over. Despite my absolute minimal kit, i had a few mini lures with me that matched the hatch, from floating hardbaits to popped up soft plastics. Absolutely no interest whatsoever! Bloody cheek of the thing. Back to trotting the 'deep' hole at the back of the swim then.
Dace bites were getting scarce now but i could tell them from the minnow bites quite easily as they sailed away. Still using corn on the hook purely because it's harder to whittle, and fish going mad for bread don't seem to mind the difference. Hit the next bite and was shocked to find i had a lump on, rod really hooping round like a dream. And then the hook straightened.
Still not sure what it was. Only thing i ever hooked in this stretch that went like the clappers was a foulhooked 2lb trout, keen readers will remember that tale from last summer.
Sorry no pics for this one but in my wildlife report i can give you the first swimming snake of the year.
I had another evening on the river after barbel. I've not fished for them much in recent years, but a bit of simple fishing is suiting my mood just now. (I don't mean barbel fishing is simple, I just mean you can, if you like, just tie a hook on the line and drop a bait in the edge). There's not so many barbel about these days; while they don't grow on trees, they do like to live under them, so I picked a swim with a lot of bankside cover.
A small piece of flavoured meat bounced under the downstream willow with the help of a 1/4oz bomb took a while to get a response, but after an hour this barbel decided to eat it
With no further bites, I decided to feed the swim. I was reluctant to do this, as it seems better, especially when it's hot, bright and sunny with the colour dropping out, to put a single bait in the right place rather than risk spooking them. I droppered in some pellets and chopped meat and went for a walk for 15 minutes, came back and decided after a biteless half hour, that that hadn't helped.
I moved to a swim with a lovely crease on the edge of a big revolving slack about 25m out. A bit of punched meat had barely hit the bottom before a barbel took it, but when I thought it was all over bar the netting, the fish became snagged in some obstruction new to the swim, probably something brought down in the recent floods. I hate it when you have to pull for a break with a snagged fish. I cast 20m down, hoping to bring another fish in on a different flight path. This one gave me one of the most uncontrollable fights I've ever had from a barbel, and I was lucky to get it in - a good 5m of line needed to be discarded thanks to being roughed up by whatever had lodged at the bottom of the nearside shelf.
A couple of chub followed; decent as they were, about 4lb, they were unceremoniously hauled to the surface to beat the snag. Another smaller barbel helpfully avoided the snag. When another barbel got snagged - this time my bomb was out of the water 10m out, so the snag - possibly a tree - reached to 3' below the surface in a 10' deep swim, I lost heart and packed up, even though the swim contained a lot of good fish and there was an hour of daylight left.
A small piece of flavoured meat bounced under the downstream willow with the help of a 1/4oz bomb took a while to get a response, but after an hour this barbel decided to eat it
With no further bites, I decided to feed the swim. I was reluctant to do this, as it seems better, especially when it's hot, bright and sunny with the colour dropping out, to put a single bait in the right place rather than risk spooking them. I droppered in some pellets and chopped meat and went for a walk for 15 minutes, came back and decided after a biteless half hour, that that hadn't helped.
I moved to a swim with a lovely crease on the edge of a big revolving slack about 25m out. A bit of punched meat had barely hit the bottom before a barbel took it, but when I thought it was all over bar the netting, the fish became snagged in some obstruction new to the swim, probably something brought down in the recent floods. I hate it when you have to pull for a break with a snagged fish. I cast 20m down, hoping to bring another fish in on a different flight path. This one gave me one of the most uncontrollable fights I've ever had from a barbel, and I was lucky to get it in - a good 5m of line needed to be discarded thanks to being roughed up by whatever had lodged at the bottom of the nearside shelf.
A couple of chub followed; decent as they were, about 4lb, they were unceremoniously hauled to the surface to beat the snag. Another smaller barbel helpfully avoided the snag. When another barbel got snagged - this time my bomb was out of the water 10m out, so the snag - possibly a tree - reached to 3' below the surface in a 10' deep swim, I lost heart and packed up, even though the swim contained a lot of good fish and there was an hour of daylight left.
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mikench
Well-known member
Well done Kev; nice fish.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
12 codgers fished GUC near Tring yesterday in sweltering sunshine. There was barely a breath of wind.
The venue fished so well on our evening match the other week so hopes were high. In the event it was disappointing. The roach hardly showed so it was skimmers that most concentrated on. I caught plenty but they didn’t were really small wafer thin specimens. There was an abundance of carp cruising about across by the moorings and at least 2 were hooked and lost.
The end peg won the day with 8lb:5. of slightly bigger skimmers. I had just 2lb...All on single red maggot.
There were a lot of terns about and one took a liking to discarded floating casters...
The venue fished so well on our evening match the other week so hopes were high. In the event it was disappointing. The roach hardly showed so it was skimmers that most concentrated on. I caught plenty but they didn’t were really small wafer thin specimens. There was an abundance of carp cruising about across by the moorings and at least 2 were hooked and lost.
The end peg won the day with 8lb:5. of slightly bigger skimmers. I had just 2lb...All on single red maggot.
There were a lot of terns about and one took a liking to discarded floating casters...
theartist
Well-known member
One good Tern deserves another Simon
I was out yesterday with Old Codger dad and it was pretty hot in the sun and the river was gin clear on arrival. It was one of those trips where I didn't really care what was caught as long as dad did so I gave him the better spot as ever and went upstream to a shallow swim.
With only small barbel present I decided to just muck about with the matchstick again and starting on maggot was not a great idea as the free offerings were getting hammered by bits and it was just too hot and I was too lazy to try and get through them today. I wanted to catch one barbel on a matchstick and the pellet worked well as it was heavy I didn't need any weight, no weight meant no disturbance and the fish were feeding freely by the time I hooked the first one, in fact they continued to feed freely and lets just say more than one was caught as the matchstick rocketed away each time. No fish were lost and none were foulhooked in the shallow water, it really worked better than I could have hoped for and was a lot of fun. I tried to do some self timer action shots but it's actually quite hard and they were all blurry
There were some really good looking redfins about feeding freely but no doubt my 5lb hooklength looked like rope to them, but that's the catch trying to get roach in barbel swims, I did manage to trick a nice plump fish that had the potential to be 2lb maybe next year
In the evening I returned to see dad who had a good day despite knocking over both his bait tubs and not drinking enough water which I nag him about on days like these. I'll never know anyone so disorganised, maybe I'll get like that and I don't care if I'm still fishing when I'm his age.
I was out yesterday with Old Codger dad and it was pretty hot in the sun and the river was gin clear on arrival. It was one of those trips where I didn't really care what was caught as long as dad did so I gave him the better spot as ever and went upstream to a shallow swim.
With only small barbel present I decided to just muck about with the matchstick again and starting on maggot was not a great idea as the free offerings were getting hammered by bits and it was just too hot and I was too lazy to try and get through them today. I wanted to catch one barbel on a matchstick and the pellet worked well as it was heavy I didn't need any weight, no weight meant no disturbance and the fish were feeding freely by the time I hooked the first one, in fact they continued to feed freely and lets just say more than one was caught as the matchstick rocketed away each time. No fish were lost and none were foulhooked in the shallow water, it really worked better than I could have hoped for and was a lot of fun. I tried to do some self timer action shots but it's actually quite hard and they were all blurry
There were some really good looking redfins about feeding freely but no doubt my 5lb hooklength looked like rope to them, but that's the catch trying to get roach in barbel swims, I did manage to trick a nice plump fish that had the potential to be 2lb maybe next year
In the evening I returned to see dad who had a good day despite knocking over both his bait tubs and not drinking enough water which I nag him about on days like these. I'll never know anyone so disorganised, maybe I'll get like that and I don't care if I'm still fishing when I'm his age.
A quick 2 and a half hour session on my local park lake today. 7 or 8 tiny roach and 8 greedy little perch helped pass an enjoyable afternoon.
View attachment 7054
This was the stamp of all the perch, all falling to treble maggot float fished on a size 14 barbless hook.
Any help identifying this very little chap? Golden colours on top and head, is this a young Rudd? I photographed it as the colouring was markedly different from all the roach, and it was considerably smaller!
View attachment 7055
View attachment 7054
This was the stamp of all the perch, all falling to treble maggot float fished on a size 14 barbless hook.
Any help identifying this very little chap? Golden colours on top and head, is this a young Rudd? I photographed it as the colouring was markedly different from all the roach, and it was considerably smaller!
View attachment 7055
Mark Wintle
Well-known member
Golden rudd, a variation on rudd.
mikench
Well-known member
Some lovely photos in recent posts particularly the tern taken by PC. After that I am loathe to post but my fishing companion Gordon( wetthrough) certainly deserves a mention in dispatches.
The Dam is probably Gordon's favourite water and I wish I could say the same. I have no excuses I just fished poorly and still have a lot to learn on difficult waters. Matters were not helped by my poor execution of setting up my slider rig . I missed the eye of the top ring on my 15' threading the line through the ring bracket insteadmg: No wonder I couldn't cast. I used a premier loctite float which needs 11 g to cock and after redoing the rig I continued with all manner of baits but to no avail.
Enough of my incompetence as Gordon fished as consistently as always and had 20 or so roach. I switched to a 13' rod and had 3 small roach and 2 perch so a blank was avoided. I must confess to feeling despondent and frustrated at my efforts. The Dam is a difficult water imo and i have yet to crack it. There is always another day.
I even used gb today involving liquidated bread and some horrible sensas stuff which turned my hand red. It still is
The Dam is probably Gordon's favourite water and I wish I could say the same. I have no excuses I just fished poorly and still have a lot to learn on difficult waters. Matters were not helped by my poor execution of setting up my slider rig . I missed the eye of the top ring on my 15' threading the line through the ring bracket instead
mg: No wonder I couldn't cast. I used a premier loctite float which needs 11 g to cock and after redoing the rig I continued with all manner of baits but to no avail.Enough of my incompetence as Gordon fished as consistently as always and had 20 or so roach. I switched to a 13' rod and had 3 small roach and 2 perch so a blank was avoided. I must confess to feeling despondent and frustrated at my efforts. The Dam is a difficult water imo and i have yet to crack it. There is always another day.
I even used gb today involving liquidated bread and some horrible sensas stuff which turned my hand red. It still is
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wetthrough
Well-known member
Felt for you Mike. I don't think anyone would call the Dam an easy water and I have fished it a lot this year so should probably have done better than I did. Roach weren't a bad stamp though so not too disappointed.
Snapped another glow tip antenna
Snapped another glow tip antenna
Mark Wintle
Well-known member
Snapped another glow tip antenna
Worth making some simple peacock wagglers using the hollow glow tips sold on EBay, then chopping off the tip and putting a hole an inch down. Very sensitive, easy to see and practically unbreakable. I made some up last winter on some big wagglers with 3mm tips and was very impressed. I keep meaning to make some for summer fishing.
HOLLOW FLUORO POLE FLOAT TIPS (25s 20s 50s) (POLE FLOAT MAKING) (FLOAT MAKING) | eBay
theartist
Well-known member
I even used gb today involving liquidated bread and some horrible sensas stuff which turned my hand red. It still is
Its best to used liquidised bread as liquidated is insolvent :wh
mikench
Well-known member
Cheers Rob. I had run out of dough
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
It was far too hot today for fishing so I left it until the evening.
Went down to the Colne in town and walked all the way to one of the furthest downstream pegs. Bit of a high bank but a nice long trot down. Set up 15’ ultralight, a 4bb stick float and a 20 red maggot hook.
Alternating between single maggot or caster I was immediately into a steady stream of fish.
Nothing big but most enjoyable...
Went down to the Colne in town and walked all the way to one of the furthest downstream pegs. Bit of a high bank but a nice long trot down. Set up 15’ ultralight, a 4bb stick float and a 20 red maggot hook.
Alternating between single maggot or caster I was immediately into a steady stream of fish.
Nothing big but most enjoyable...
The Runner
Well-known member
Last minute decision to fish today as low cloud put me off original plan of a climb up Bruach na Frithe.
Went up to the Aird at Kilmaluag and decided when I got there to go to the north side rather than the low peninsula to the East. Not the easiest walk in, not too bad at the start just picking a way through the maze of sheep tracks but sooner or later you're faced with at least 600 yards of this, a swampy pathless mix of tussock grass, heather and bog myrtle.
Started at the Rubh na Tragha section as the most westerly ledges had a line of pots about 20 yards out. Looking W towards Rubha Hunish..
And straight into fish on the old favourite roach paddletail. Three pollack in the first half hour working along the edge of the tide rip before the edge moved out of casting range as the tide dropped and so presumably did the fish.
Had to work harder for takes after that, a couple more from a bit further along at Rubh an't Saillear where the swell started getting a bit lumpy as the tide ebbed
then another from a shallower bay and finally one last one back where I started.
Six of the seven pollack around the size of these two, with the other about a pound and a bit. Five on paddletails two on a silver Toby
So not a bad day.
Good one for wildlife as well, wheatears and twite as well as the usual skylarks and meadow pipits on the walk in, ravens about all day and loads of gannets. And had a fleeting glimpse of what was probably a minke whale a couple of hundred yards out. Just a fin and a bit of back but far too big for a dolphin, and I know that there were at least half a dozen of them a few days ago a bit further south
Went up to the Aird at Kilmaluag and decided when I got there to go to the north side rather than the low peninsula to the East. Not the easiest walk in, not too bad at the start just picking a way through the maze of sheep tracks but sooner or later you're faced with at least 600 yards of this, a swampy pathless mix of tussock grass, heather and bog myrtle.
Started at the Rubh na Tragha section as the most westerly ledges had a line of pots about 20 yards out. Looking W towards Rubha Hunish..
And straight into fish on the old favourite roach paddletail. Three pollack in the first half hour working along the edge of the tide rip before the edge moved out of casting range as the tide dropped and so presumably did the fish.
Had to work harder for takes after that, a couple more from a bit further along at Rubh an't Saillear where the swell started getting a bit lumpy as the tide ebbed
then another from a shallower bay and finally one last one back where I started.
Six of the seven pollack around the size of these two, with the other about a pound and a bit. Five on paddletails two on a silver Toby
So not a bad day.
Good one for wildlife as well, wheatears and twite as well as the usual skylarks and meadow pipits on the walk in, ravens about all day and loads of gannets. And had a fleeting glimpse of what was probably a minke whale a couple of hundred yards out. Just a fin and a bit of back but far too big for a dolphin, and I know that there were at least half a dozen of them a few days ago a bit further south
Neil Maidment
Moderator
Each season I host a series of 4 Barbel Teach-Ins on behalf of Farnham AS. The first one for this season is next week so I thought I'd make the trip to the Blackwater at the club owned Yateley East Complex to see how the river was looking.
Several hours were spent wandering the bank and I came away with lots of positive thoughts and looking forward to hopefully enthusing newcomers to the world of river angling and barbel in particular.
I also had my basic trotting gear in the car together with a couple of pints of hemp and caster so it would have been rude not to put in a couple of hours on a pleasant evening. I managed some fine dace, plenty of gudgeon and six nice chub which were like peas in a pod, all around 3lbs to 3lbs 08oz.
A few days later I had a further look around a club stretch of the Hampshire Avon mainly with a view to working out a few late autumn/winter chub areas. I eventually stumbled upon a couple of exceptional chub lazily drifting around in the shade.
An hour or so with freelined flake sparked some interest from the "smaller" of the two but I succeeded, quite deliberately, in snatching the flake away from its mouth not once but twice. The bigger of the two didn't seem too disturbed by all this.
But I was too slow at the third time of asking and only succeeded in hooking this fine fish. In very good nick although pretty empty, and weighing in at 6lbs 10oz. Just 2oz shy of my heaviest Avon chub and in high summer as well.
As for it's companion, God knows what it weighed? But it disappeared at a quite a rate!
Later on in the evening as the light began to fade, I managed to net two more chub. Somewhat smaller in stature at around 5lbs but both very fine fish.
Several hours were spent wandering the bank and I came away with lots of positive thoughts and looking forward to hopefully enthusing newcomers to the world of river angling and barbel in particular.
I also had my basic trotting gear in the car together with a couple of pints of hemp and caster so it would have been rude not to put in a couple of hours on a pleasant evening. I managed some fine dace, plenty of gudgeon and six nice chub which were like peas in a pod, all around 3lbs to 3lbs 08oz.
A few days later I had a further look around a club stretch of the Hampshire Avon mainly with a view to working out a few late autumn/winter chub areas. I eventually stumbled upon a couple of exceptional chub lazily drifting around in the shade.
An hour or so with freelined flake sparked some interest from the "smaller" of the two but I succeeded, quite deliberately, in snatching the flake away from its mouth not once but twice. The bigger of the two didn't seem too disturbed by all this.
But I was too slow at the third time of asking and only succeeded in hooking this fine fish. In very good nick although pretty empty, and weighing in at 6lbs 10oz. Just 2oz shy of my heaviest Avon chub and in high summer as well.
As for it's companion, God knows what it weighed? But it disappeared at a quite a rate!
Later on in the evening as the light began to fade, I managed to net two more chub. Somewhat smaller in stature at around 5lbs but both very fine fish.
Another Dave
Well-known member
Good Lord.