Pictures by Adrian Kiddell, Tom Sayer and Richard Wells
PART 4 – GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY The Beep Beep Beep signalled an early afternoon text from Ginger that read, ‘river up a few inches and water temperature up 2 degrees from yesterday do you want me to bait swim for later?’ A quick phone call to Ginger confirmed his text and with the river at 43F and carrying a tinge of colour it was well worth a try. Ginger had to work so he could’nt fish but would cycle up and sprinkle a few pellets in a couple of likely areas. When baiting up in the winter it’s important not to overdo it so he fed less than half a pint of pellets over the three swims, which was enough to spark some interest and nothing more. A bit like the product demonstrator in the supermarket; a little taster of something very nice making you want to have some more. I picked Richy up on the way to the river. We had three hours before we had to be back for his nightshift, enough time for an hour in each swim. Well, we needed around five minutes of that to know we had a chance as early indications of fish activity were signalled on the rod tip as plucks and pulls. These plucks and pulls I am sure, should you be touch legering, would fool many people into striking which could be fatal and spook the barbel as a false strike is made. My advice is sit on your hands watch it develop but don’t strike until at least a foot of movement is signalled – oh by the way, that’s a foot on the butt, not the tip. Yes I am a great believer that the worse thing you can do is try to feel every little movement and strike willy nilly at plucks (which will often move the tip 12 inchs or even more). Get your rig right and barbel will hook themselves every time. My Activ-8 boilie wrapped in paste fished in conjunction with a Funnel web bag no bigger than a walnut soon proved irresistible as this time the positive plucks and pulls developed into a hooked fish. Initially I felt perhaps I had been outwitted by a chub but was soon reassured as the Harrison took on a pleasing curve as a large barbel scrapped for its freedom. A few heart-thumping minutes later Ginger did the honours with the net. It was obvious at first glance it was a corker and once on the mat I knew I had a new PB At 14.04. It cleared my old PB by over a pound; a stunning fish, I was well pleased. Ginger did the business with the camera. I am sure he was as pleased I had caught it as I was. We returned the fish and retired for the night with a hot mug of tea to celebrate.
The Following week another text from Ginger was met with the same response as I arranged to pick him up on my way to the river. I was quite confident as we walked across the field to the river, not cold for January and a steady rain was falling, warming the river as it did. First port of call was the same swim as last week. The first thirty minutes were uneventful when without warning the rod was pulled from the rest as a hooked barbel headed downstream. The fish surfaced mid river and showed us its golden flanks before again diving in a bid for freedom. My tackle held and another large Wensum Barbel graced my net and at 13.05 I was over the moon. With a couple of hours to play with I moved to the next peg downstream and flicked a bait out to the crease between the fast and slow water. Not many minutes passed before a rod wrenching bite had another barbel hooked and a hard battle ensued which the barbel unfortunately won as my hook pulled. Dam blast I muttered to myself. A small chub from swim number three completed my night. I was well happy but a tinge disappointed on what could have been. A few days later myself Ginger and Tommy headed for Newark for a two day stay on the Trent. The weather was a bit blustery and colder than we had hoped for. Sadly, the river was very low and clear which would make it hard work. And so it turned out, Tommy managed a couple, myself and ginger one apiece. I did manage my first Trent carp like a fat little football at 7.01. The trip was memorable though first of all I was woken around 3am by someone with a chainsaw trimming trees, which turned out to be Ginger in loud snoring mode. I could not resist some covert filming and videoed him snoring for several minutes without waking him. He was most surprised when I e mailed him an edited version when we got home.
Tommy was very keen to go on our Trent trip and we found out why when we got there. He had brought his Rupert bear pyjama suit with him, which was not too bad but we were very surprised when he put them on at 3.30 in the afternoon. He then went on to have a bad night and woke me and ginger around 2am to claim he could see cowboys in the sky on horseback; we laughed him off and told him not to have so much fizzy drink in future. The weather remained generally poor; not really cold but not mild or wet enough to produce a good feeding spell. The Wensum remained low with the temperature around the 40F mark, so I was surprised when Richy called to say the river was up a few inches and had gone up four degrees in two days. He had fished the previous night with a couple of chub to show for his efforts. If I wanted to fish he would bait up and join me later. How could I refuse? The only downside was that it was pouring with rain. The Boilie paste combo was cast to the normal crease and within minutes signs of activity developed into a full scale thump as the butt hit my outstretched arm and battle commenced. There were all the signs of a big fish as it fought hard and hugged the bottom, determined to take me upstream, and with two hands on the rod and the clutch refusing to give line it still managed to find a snag. Before I could react it had managed to destroy my hooklink around something sharp in the swim. I was a bit annoyed to say the least but I had a hunch: normally on the Wensum if you have had or lost a fish in a swim then that’s the kiss of death for a while but on this occasion something told me to have another cast. I rebaited the hook with the normal boilie paste combo, hooked on a bag, swung it underarm and it plopped in right on the button. Not many minutes passed and my hunch proved correct as the rod tip nodded than flew over into an alarming curve. A strike met the solid resistance of a hooked barbel, this time I was giving nothing as again the fish fought very hard. My heart pounded in my chest as I knew I was playing a very big fish, the Harrison was well curved as I played the fish very hard, slowly gaining line but unable to move the fish far from the bottom. Several minutes later Ginger netted what looked again to be another possible new PB. With the fish going 14.11 so it proved and what a fish it was. Absolutely stunning. I shook as a mixture of emotions and adrenalin flowed through my body. Ginger again took some excellent pictures and although it was pouring with rain and we were soaked we were also jubilant.
Now I am a firm believer that things run in threes so decided that after dropping Ginger off at work I would head home and top up my flask and dry out before returning to the swim for another go.The rain had stopped as I walked back across the meadow but as the sky had cleared it was now much colder. I decided if nothing came from the same swim I would go home after giving it about an hour. Ten minutes after casting some small indications on the tip became more violent until, bang, off it went again. The strike met firm resistance and I had hooked another big barbel. The Harrison did its job as I gained line. This one decided on different tactics as it came off the bottom and surfaced mid river. I caught a flash of its golden flanks as it dived down and a rap of my knuckles as the hook-hold pulled and the lead smacked the back of my hand. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement but that’s fishing. I fished on for a while but my heart was not in it; even a chub of 5.04 did not help and I returned home. In all honesty I had a superb night with another new PB, and could only dream of what might have been had I landed the other two fish. An overnight trip to the Trent for me and Ginger and it proved hard work, we were met by a rising river but not very warm. The forecast was not good with winds north easterly with frequent wintry showers, and how right it was; a real miserable night, the wind at times blew gale force with rain, sleet, hail and snow. All this and yet again the Trent came up trumps. Richy had three barbel, best 8.08, and I managed just one. Not bad, all things considered. That turned out to be our last Trent trip of the season.
Keen to get back on the Wensum both Ginger and myself were to be beaten by the weather. The last two weeks of February in Norfolk saw snow fall on 13 consecutive days, not large amounts but an inch or two here and there was enough to kill the fishing. Tommy and myself normally finish our season at the Team Barbel Worcestershire Headquarters. This year we had persuaded Ginger to join us. I would leave Norwich a few days before them and they would arrive with four full days fishing left. With the weather so bad at home I was not looking forward to 10 days barbel fishing, in fact I had serious doubts about going when the five day forecast predicted cold winds and wintry showers. I was very surprised as I travelled over Bewdley Bridge to see the Severn at summer level and running clear. Once at headquarters I helped the wife sort out the caravan and prepared it for our stay after its winter shut down. Around 2.00 pm I was on the riverbank. A couple of anglers were fishing but had not had any barbel. But my confidence grew when the thermometer read 42F. I took the reading twice to reassure myself. I then made the biggest error of my season, I decided not to fish. I was very tired after only three hours sleep in the last 24; a 12 hour shift the previous night had left me shattered. I started fishing the next afternoon around 2.00pm with a session planned until dark, which I find is the best way on the Severn anytime of the year. I have spent many days fishing to remain fishless then as the sun drops over the horizon the barbel feed. I did not have to wait long as the first cast produced a lively 5lb fish, I finished with five barbel all around 5lb and was positive things would just get better. With the next afternoon producing three fish and the third afternoon seven, I was really starting to enjoy it. I was feeding small bags of pellet and groundbait and fishing 10mm pellet or boilie. It was more than I could have wished for. With one day left on my own before the Team Barbel boys arrived, I decided to fish a different area a few hundred yards from my normal swims to try to locate some more barbel to give us all a chance of fish when they arrived. The river temperature by now was 45F, but the river was very low and clear. The previous day’s bait and wait approached had paid off, perhaps waiting up to an hour between casts to give the fish confidence over the baited area. I did not have to wait very long on this occasion though within minutes a nice 4-pounder lay in the net, one soon became two became three and by dark I had managed 12 Barbel, the best a superb 9.02.
Tommy and Ginger could not wait to get fishing when they arrived early the next morning. A heavy overnight frost did little to dampen their enthusiasm. Unfortunately the barbel did not share our mood and we all struggled. Ginger in the peg that produced 12 for me the previous day never had a bite, myself and Tommy managed one barbel each. The next day followed a similar pattern, Ginger again blanking and Tommy and me managing a couple each. We now only had two days left of the season but the weather had started to improve again after a couple of cold days. Ginger broke his duck, Tommy was having a tough time, which is unlike him for the Severn as he normally bags up but not this time. I managed five with a best for the day just over 8lb with all of them coming to boilie. As always when on Team outings we use Walkie talkies to keep in touch. Ginger does struggle a bit as he keeps looking for the string to pull tight. A couple of things worth remembering is that they can be a great way to keep in touch with pals on the bank working as they do over several hundred yards range. If you do use them change the channel to one of your choice and beware of people listening in to your conversations, as me and Tommy found to our cost one afternoon after taking the mick out of somebody via the walkies for several hours. He approached and reminded us in no uncertain terms we were not the only ones with walkie talkies and although he was over 60 he was born in wedlock. (Think about it) On the last day of the season an early lunch saw us on the riverbank ready for action just after midday, the place was deserted with only us and a field of sheep. After only a few minutes of fishing I had a corker in the net at 8.10, my second best of the week. I added four more to my total before dark. Tommy was still struggling and again only managed one fish. Ginger faired much better, managing seven fish and a new Severn PB of 8.08.
Final figures for the trip were Ade 40, best 9.02, Ginger eight, best 8.08, Tommy four, best 6.03. As we sat in the caravan and drank a toast to the season past we sent and received texts to and from a few mates. It seemed like although we had not had a great end to the season we had done very well compared to reports we got back from the Trent, Wensum, Teme, Kennet, Thames, Avon, Ribble and so on. On reflection the 2004/05 season had been good to me, Ginger had done well, but was disappointed not to up his PB. Tommy had a fair season but had not put in as many rod hours as normal and this reflects in his totals.
What a great seasons fishing. In our opinion any barbel is a good barbel, but to be lucky enough to see nearly 300 grace our nets in the season then we are indeed very pleased. Ade: “My highlight of last season has to be three fish that all beat my previous PB and which were landed over a 10 day period from the Wensum. My Biggest mistake was not to fish the first afternoon of my end of season Severn trip. If I had I would have had the three fish needed to break the 200 in a season mark for the second season running. Even so, I finished on 197. My hopes for next season are to catch barbel during every month of the season.” Ginger: “My highlight of last season was to witness weigh and photograph three different 14lb Wensum Barbel. My hopes for next season are that one of them graces my net at over 15lb. I also hope to continue to learn more about the Trent and would love to up my Trent PB.”
Tommy: “My highlight of the season was a 14.08 I had from the Wensum. Work commitments curtailed my fishing a bit last season, I hope to put that right next time. I was very pleased my Rupert bear suit fitted, as I am sure Ade and Ginger are very jealous of it.” On a final note Ginger and I were very worried about Tommy and the cowboy ghosts he claims he had seen. It was not until we were on our way back from the Trent after the last trip that it hit us. Now we like a bit of country music and old Ginger used to sing in a C&W band so we are talking real shit kicking stuff. Well, on the previous trip with Tommy we had a Johnny cash CD on in the car and ‘Ghost riders in the Sky’ was one of the tracks old Ginger sang for us. This must have stuck in Tom’s mind and when he went off to sleep he must have dreamt about them Ghost riders In The Sky. Well, me and Ginger wept with laughing. What a boy, Rupert bear suits and bloody cowboy ghosts! Whatever next? 30lb Barbel? Without doubt fishing memories are not made without great mates and I got 2 of the best in Tommy (Tom Sayer) and Ginger (Richard Wells). |
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