When i've have a slow day in the labs i often find myself thinking about fishing trips gone by. Today I found myself reminiscing about, so far, the best summer of my life, it was between my second and third year of university, no job, no girlfriend, no studying and a stretch of the trent full of fish that are relatively unfished.
I finished exams about a week into the season and took to the river in search of my first barbel since I were a young lad fishing with my dad up at stoke weir. At first, i was not "geared" up for this style of fishing and went with a couple of tins of luncheon meat, a heavy feeder rod and a few triangular flat weights mate by my dad (based on an old trentman design). The start of the summer was cold and plagued by heavy rains, from the middle of June until late July the trent was 3-4 ft up on its normal levels. On my first trip i caught two chub about 2.5lbs each and a small barbel about 3lb (not to bad considering i fed very little and by hand).
Im pleased to say, although i do enjoy the banks so myself, i did not fish alone for the majority of the summer and was joined by my cousin James. At the time he was a postman who could get into work early, run his round and be out of work by 10:30 and on the banks at 12. We did this 3 to 4 days a week, and on the weekends i played cricket. Unfortunately i think i speak for the two of us when i say i don't think life will be as care free again (not at least untill we retire which i don't envisage happening for a good 45 years).
Our first barbel trip together ended in mixed results. I had a much better plan than on my first trip and fished close in off a gravel slope in about 5 foot of water, fishing with a cube of meat and regularly fed PVA bags filled with small pellets and chopped meat. Early on I hooked my first good sized barbel, i played it for some time however the fish was too strong and broke my 4lb line (a bit light in hindsight). Luckily that was not my only chance of the day and i had a bite an hour later on my heavier rod, this fish was larger and when i landed it it tipped the scales close to 11lb, the second barbel i banked that day was marginally smaller and was just over 10lb in weight. These two capture left James on "suicide watch" as he did not bag a fish on that day. Although I'm sure he will be swift to remind me about his 12 pounder caught on his next trip when he reads this.
Barbel were our main target throughout the summer however we did fish for other species. I remember following a tipoff from my dad about where the shoals of bream used to hang out on the trent. I fished worm and caster cocktail on a size 16 hook with a 4lb bottom. The first trip i only managed to snag 4 or 5 bream weighing between 3 and 6lb, this did however confirm that the bream still lived here and this spot has provided my with many a good days fishing since.
Fishing for large fish taught me that if you want to catch more than one or two of these creatures in a river as big as the trent it is crucial to get your feed right and build a big bed of bait. In a river like the trent it is difficult to know how much of the bait is washed away and how much is getting eaten (especially when feeding a large shoal of bream). I go with the principle if you are getting bites keep the bait going in, a feeder or or two full every 5 minutes or so.
Anyway I'm going to cut this blog post off shorter than i would like for fear of rambling, I've been eyeing up a new medium feeder rod for winter chubbing for over a year now. I might just pop out and buy it this afternoon!!
I finished exams about a week into the season and took to the river in search of my first barbel since I were a young lad fishing with my dad up at stoke weir. At first, i was not "geared" up for this style of fishing and went with a couple of tins of luncheon meat, a heavy feeder rod and a few triangular flat weights mate by my dad (based on an old trentman design). The start of the summer was cold and plagued by heavy rains, from the middle of June until late July the trent was 3-4 ft up on its normal levels. On my first trip i caught two chub about 2.5lbs each and a small barbel about 3lb (not to bad considering i fed very little and by hand).
Im pleased to say, although i do enjoy the banks so myself, i did not fish alone for the majority of the summer and was joined by my cousin James. At the time he was a postman who could get into work early, run his round and be out of work by 10:30 and on the banks at 12. We did this 3 to 4 days a week, and on the weekends i played cricket. Unfortunately i think i speak for the two of us when i say i don't think life will be as care free again (not at least untill we retire which i don't envisage happening for a good 45 years).
Our first barbel trip together ended in mixed results. I had a much better plan than on my first trip and fished close in off a gravel slope in about 5 foot of water, fishing with a cube of meat and regularly fed PVA bags filled with small pellets and chopped meat. Early on I hooked my first good sized barbel, i played it for some time however the fish was too strong and broke my 4lb line (a bit light in hindsight). Luckily that was not my only chance of the day and i had a bite an hour later on my heavier rod, this fish was larger and when i landed it it tipped the scales close to 11lb, the second barbel i banked that day was marginally smaller and was just over 10lb in weight. These two capture left James on "suicide watch" as he did not bag a fish on that day. Although I'm sure he will be swift to remind me about his 12 pounder caught on his next trip when he reads this.
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| A nice barbel weighing around the 10lb mark if i remember correctly, although i must admit that it does looks a tad smaller than that on this photo. |
Fishing for large fish taught me that if you want to catch more than one or two of these creatures in a river as big as the trent it is crucial to get your feed right and build a big bed of bait. In a river like the trent it is difficult to know how much of the bait is washed away and how much is getting eaten (especially when feeding a large shoal of bream). I go with the principle if you are getting bites keep the bait going in, a feeder or or two full every 5 minutes or so.
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| A picture take from close to the "Bream peg" |
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