Customer finds barbel in an obliging mood - Weekly report starting Sat Sept 14th 2013

Having so many things still in need of completing due to river Wye excursions, wedding images and guiding Saturday was spent getting my teeth into these and come 4pm when it was time to pick the girlfriend up I felt on the better side of these.

After dropping the lady of on Sunday morning I headed to the river with the main aim of introducing some bait to a swim in a big fish zone for later in the week, yet whilst doing so couldn’t resist trying another hotspot. Unfortunately the hotspot was a cold spot and the tip failed to show any signs of life. I only fished for 90 minutes as if a fish is about it will usually show itself in this time, and once back at home it was a case of clearing the desktop of any outstanding niggly jobs ready for article writing come Monday.

After the heavy rains of Sunday evening and knowing that the river was well up and coloured on Sunday arrived expecting to see it bank high, but I was wrong as it was back to its normal level. Once again I primed the same swim as Sunday then tried and old haunt but it was a repeat performance and I left hoping that the prebaiting was going to bring with it the rewards I desire, a fifteen pound plus barbel? On the way home I dropped into Yateley Angling Centre as I needed some waterproof boots and as always they gave me the usual sound advice before ordering me some in. Back at home I downed my second mug of coffee whilst replying to my emails, contacting customers for the next Wye trip and writing up my daily diary piece, before having lunch and starting on an article about targeting carp using method feeders which took up the rest of the day.

The alarm sounded at 5.30am and come 6.45am I was next to the river full of confidence after baiting a swim for the previous two mornings. Twenty minutes later my rig was in position and I sat watching the rod tip. Nothing happened for an hour and I was just thinking whether to recast when what had to be a fish picking up my rig and getting away with it was registered through the rod top. Contemplating a recast my mind was soon made up as the tip flew round, yet on hooking the fish l doubted whether it was a barbel as the fight just didn’t seem right, then the tail of a big barbel hit surface and left me in no doubt. In the net the fish grew and on the scales she went 12lb 9oz, another big fish from a new swim. I noticed a deep red colouration to the barbells tail, obviously sore and this had to be the reason for the lack of power. Slipping her back I resisted the temptation to recast, baited the swim and by 8.45am I was back in the car heading home for a late breakfast and a few hours shut eye. Having the afternoon and evening free I completed the words on the method feeder article.

Wednesday was bliss, a lay-in, the first for what seems ages, yet I was still up and about before 9am. After replying to my emails, one unfortunately being an unavoidable cancellation from a customer booked in for fishing the Wye for pike later on this month, I headed to Frensham Small Pond to try out the Helicopter rig as I had been told some good rudd and roach were showing. As expected a specialist approach is needed here as a pint of maggots lasted no time, an hour in fact as numerous rudd, roach and perch grabbed them, but no monsters. Back at home I managed to finish off a few images for the method feeder article, upload it to Vaclav before picking the girlfriend up.

Thursday morning I had a new customer, Aaron booked in for a spot of barbel fishing and meeting him at my house at 8am we travelled to the river together we talked about all things fishy. Arriving at the river we found we had it to ourselves and quickly headed for a banker swim only for Aaron to lose a big fish early on. Although disappointed Aaron explained how he is somewhat haunted by the lack of barbel and in 18months of searching had only caught one small fish from the river Blackwater, so just hooking one was a bonus as straight away he had confidence in a method. We headed downstream to another good swim but failed to catch so moved to a swim with a past track record and one that comes into its own as the cold sets in. It only took a few minutes for a fish to give itself away but this bite was different, a rattling type that slowly got bolder and eventually Aaron had to strike. A heavy fish was hooked but the fight again was different and as I watched a massive bream surfaced! Now I have fished this small stretch of river for over two decades and know many of the anglers that visit it and I have never heard of a bream being caught, this was truly a first. In the net the fish grew, it was huge and on the scales a weight of exactly 10lb was recorded! Where the hell did this come from or has it just always been here just avoided capture? That was the start of a truly rememberable session as a few swims later the tip signalled a bite and after an anxious battle in a tight swim I slipped the net under a big barbel which weighed 10lb 11oz, a personal best! After the standard high-fives and with other anglers beginning to arrive we headed up stream briefly stopping in a swim where Aaron managed a three-pound chub before lunch in the car park. Heading downstream to a harder stretch we headed straight for a swim where a customer lost a big barbel a few weeks before and after around half an hour Aaron was slipping the net under a four-pound chub. This was becoming one hell of a session, one that was just about to get even better as after settling in another swim the tip flew round and once again Aaron found himself locked in battle with another barbel, one that was to record him with another personal best weighing 11lb 7oz. Wow what a day, without a doubt my best ever result for a customer on the Loddon where getting a couple of fish in a day is classified as a red letter day. A couple of swims later we called it a day. We had been on the river for nine hours starting at 9am

And finishing at 6pm, proof that you don’t have to fish during the hours of darkness, all you need to do is get the conditions right, especially the river then place an effective rig in front of a barbel of two, then leave it to them! I don’t think that the days events had sunk in for Aaron on the way home but one thing I was sure about, the doubts and lack of confidence when it comes to catching barbel was a distance memory.

Here are a few words from Aaron –

‘I wanted a guiding session because I felt I needed some advise on locations and tactics for barbel fishing. I felt that Duncan with his years of experience was the right choice.
The day was everything I hoped it would be and more! I was given plenty of tips and tactics. 
I cannot thank Duncan enough for the help, resulting in a red letter day!! The results speak for its self 2 double figure Barbel, 2 Chub and a 10lb Bream. 
I highly recommend Duncan's guiding sessions, well worth every penny’.

With the river fining down, l knew that it would be far harder come Friday and although I thought I had a chance of another good barbel wanted to keep in touch with Enton and the crucians, so decided to meet Nash new boy, Chris for a short three hour session either side of dusk. Being Friday we found the lake quite busy and dropped into a couple of swim further away from where we wanted. Casting out ‘The Groundbait-Lead’ I had to wait just ten minutes for an alarm to sound and soon had a good crucian in the net. She went 3lb 8drams, a great start and fortunate as it was still light and crucians don’t photograph that well after dark. Rubbing my hands together I sat back expecting an eventful evening, yet come 9pm I hadn’t received even a single bleep. Chris was fairing the same however a small tench interrupted the session and just as we decided that it wasn’t going to happen, 10pm I had another bite resulting in another crucian weighing 3lb 2oz.

Certainly what you could call a red-letter week in terms of quality!