He is also a very keen angler, having come back to the sport in 1995 following a break of several years. In this regular column he will tell us about his progress as an angler – his thoughts about the sport, what he learns, the fishing trips he makes, the anguish, the humour, in fact everything he experiences as his angling career develops. | ||||
THE BEST BARBEL I HAVE EVER CAUGHT! If you read my angling articles regularly you will know that recently I decided to take a look at the River Sow in Staffordshire, specifically in relation to targeting barbel. It’s a river that I have fished a lot over the last couple of winters after chub, but I’ve come across neither sight nor sound of barbel. In dozens of trips, I’ve never hooked one and I’ve never been aware of any topping on the river while I’ve been there.
Nothing on the first trip The first trip that I made didn’t produce a barbel, although I did have a decent chub and bream that took a fancy to my home made boilies, that are all the rage at the moment with my fishy friends. It was a month later, but I felt like another visit to the Sow in pursuit of barbel. I didn’t bother getting there until an hour or so before dark, which gave me chance to bait up and then fish a swim that had taken my fancy on a previous visit. While setting up I realised that I had left at home the mono that I am currently trying out as a hook length. This is the curse of having so much fishing tackle that you can’t keep it all in one place, I guess! Anyway, I decided to fish with 8 lb Drennan Micro Braid. Usually I fish with no less than 10 lb line when barbel fishing, but as the swim I had chosen had no snags I was happy enough starting out with something a little lighter. In addition, as I had absolutely no idea what the fish potential is of the river, I didn’t want to go too high (or indeed too low) at first either, so 8 lb seemed just right. My favourite time of year Although this session was in the month of August and so still very much classed as summer, the evening had a definite autumnal feel to it. As the sun set, the cloudless sky saw the air temperature plummet. A mist shrouded both the water and the surrounding land, and as I exhaled, my breath hung in the air. Definitely my favourite time of the year!
Suspecting nothing more than a chub I struck. A good chub, I thought to myself, but still only a chub. Those initial thoughts however, were quickly reviewed when the fish put up more resistance than a chub would usually muster on that gear. A change of mind saw me settle on the encouraging fact I had hooked my first Sow barbel. Feeling the weight of the fish as it fought rather lamely, I guessed about 5 lb. Best barbel ever Not for the first time in my angling experience have I been pleasantly surprised though. As I slipped the net under the fish I saw that this was no ‘5’, but was indeed something much bigger. As it lay on the unhooking mat I wondered whether I had caught a double. The scales confirmed that indeed I had, as they were half ounce the right side of the magical mark of 10 lb. To say I was chuffed was an understatement! I have had bigger barbel, in fact already this season I’ve had one bigger fish from the Severn (13-11-0) and two from the Dove (11-2-0 and 10-13-8). But without a doubt this is the best of them all. Coming from a river that is not noted as a barbel venue, and the fact that it was all real, genuine pioneer stuff, I would go as far as to say that it actually rivalled my very first double as the most memorable barbel I have ever caught. Indeed I can truly say it is ‘The best barbel I have ever caught!’
Football and fishing And finally, I write this as I return from the Molineux after a disappointing 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. The passion of football brings out the whole range of emotions and tonight I experienced them all. The ‘head in hands’ stuff when Wolves went behind twice in the game, the elation of scoring two equalisers, the tenseness of surviving near misses, the frustration of easy chances lost. And finally the exuberant joy of knowing West Bromwich Albion lost on the same night, conceding five in the process!
To me, that’s a tragedy and one situation that we should never get ourselves into. Leave the frustration, the disappointment and the other negative feelings at the football stadium, where they belong. Our fishing experience should be one of contentment, satisfaction and pleasure. If it’s not, we need to do some re-evaluating in our life. | ||||
After the highs of this week’s PP, next week, I’m afraid, it’s back down to earth! In fact, there’s ‘ONLY ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE IT – HARD!’ is the title of next Thursday’s article. Still, I managed to find something to write about, which you will be able to find out the content of for yourself next week. See you then. The Reverend Stewart R Bloor Pilgrim’s Progress – read it every Thursday! |
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