Thank God

[Mark Anderson]

Hi men ,

Howard , write a bloody book , I look forward to your posts so much , like mini articles , and I'm sure everyone sits reading them , nodding along with your words !.

You should get pleasure at fishing for other species , this week alone fishing short sessions of only 2 hour ( ish ) along with James and Sue , Iv drop shoted for perch , caught some gooduns including a couple of canal pike , stick float trotted for roach and chub , sight fished for chub and barbel , and watched James roll meat . Add to that walking miles looking for carp on the canal , and a large local lake , but above all else look forward to the Gudgeon fishing coming up , and the warmer afternoons surface fishing with sue watching her hang on as the controller slide across the surface !.

BUT more than all off that , we will be looking for bits of river where we can fish for the barbel how we enjoy it most , snag fishing , making our own swims , watching them feeding , or even just watching them ! , but times are changing , and I feel that them times are behind us a bit . The words from the EA official that I contacted years ago are starting to come true , he commented that with the otter returning which they support in every way that we would in fact have to find something else to fish for .

I remember a fair few years ago Peter Frost sitting in my swim as I was carp fishing telling me to take Sue to Adams Mill as there was some massive barbel coming out , instead of stalking the small fish from the little rivers we was on . It's how we choose to fish , size in this case is truly irrelevant .


Hatter

 

[Cliff Turner]

Lovely post Howard, really catches the essence of our sport.

 

[Roger Cramer]

Compared to last season, I agree that this one one was a bit of an anti-climax overall. The most telling statistics being: an average(ish) total of 120 barbs (incl. just 11 doubles) banked in the six months to the end of 2014 but then just a disappointing 16 in the final 3 months (no more doubles)

Having said that, one highlight was that I did finally manage to 'upgrade' my long-standing, dual PB record (comprising a 13.12 from 2001 on the Kennet and another in 2007 on The Gt Ouse) with a quality 14 back in August from the Trent.

Not forgetting, when the rubbish, post-Christmas freezes forced me to pursue another species for a few weeks, that I also smashed my perch PB with a nice 4.10 from The Derwent in January.

So, on reflection, 2014/15 wasn't really all bad. And I'm now determined to set my sights on upping my Tench PB by June 16.... before the cycle starts all over again.

Optimism is surely what makes all us anglers keep coming back for more, regardless.

Happy closed season. See you all in three months.

Roger

 

[Tom Herbert]

I can sympathise with you Mark, after seeing an otter for the first time in my river last weekend the place does not have the same appeal anymore.

It has been yet another long grind of a season, few fish but i have had some very good days away which make up for the lack of fish............... or at least i am telling myself that

Next season will see me exploring a new river and making more road trips, it is great having mates all over the country who fish different rivers in different ways. I always try and take up an invite to fish elsewhere and likewise i extend to invite to however wishes to come and fish my rivers.

As for barbel stocks, hmmm, i am not sure i want to stoke that fire. People have there own ideas as do i and i will leave it at that.

Time now for a couple of weeks off, recharge the batteries, restock the tackle box and resharpen the mind. Mend a few bridges at home and remind myself of what a wonderful woman i married and what a beautiful daughter i have............................... bloody hell i am rambling

 

[Paul Dowgill]

Compared to last season, I agree that this one one was a bit of an anti-climax overall. The most telling statistics being: an average(ish) total of 120 barbs (incl. just 11 doubles) banked in the six months to the end of 2014 but then just a disappointing 16 in the final 3 months (no more doubles)
Roger

Roger i do not think that many fish came out all season on the stretches i fish, in fact on one i bet it is not a quarter so that would be an unbelievable season I think we all taper our expectations knowing the rivers we wish. On the upper Thames and its tributaries if you had said to me on June 16 5 barbel this year given then number of times i am able to fish i would have taken that, so i see my season as a success. A big plus was the kingfisher i saw on almost every trip and in the close season will be trying to photograph. As someone said above time to move the Midlands if you want barbel regularly it seems but is not just about the fish or we would all be there.

 

[David Barratt]

Last two seasons on my usual river have both been good to me on the barbel front, decent numbers, high average size and have increased my PB in each of the two seasons. I've definitely noticed a decline in the chub fishing though and this winter the perch fishing, which was very good last year, has been non existent.

 

[Graham Hunt]

Compared to last season, I agree that this one one was a bit of an anti-climax overall. The most telling statistics being: an average(ish) total of 120 barbs (incl. just 11 doubles) banked in the six months to the end of 2014 but then just a disappointing 16 in the final 3 months (no more doubles)

Having said that, one highlight was that I did finally manage to 'upgrade' my long-standing, dual PB record (comprising a 13.12 from 2001 on the Kennet and another in 2007 on The Gt Ouse) with a quality 14 back in August from the Trent.

Not forgetting, when the rubbish, post-Christmas freezes forced me to pursue another species for a few weeks, that I also smashed my perch PB with a nice 4.10 from The Derwent in January.

So, on reflection, 2014/15 wasn't really all bad. And I'm now determined to set my sights on upping my Tench PB by June 16.... before the cycle starts all over again.

Optimism is surely what makes all us anglers keep coming back for more, regardless.

Happy closed season. See you all in three months.

Roger

I don't fish the Trent for barbel much anymore, but i fish it for predators. Anecdotally, it seems most barbel anglers think the fishing is in steep decline, though the average size may unsurprisingly be bigger. As a record keeper, how do your results compare with previous seasons?

 

[Neil Smart]

Neil, if you are saying you have been carp fishing, you are going to get such a slap

Cheers, Dave.

No I haven't, honest, but years ago it was all about Tench around the start of the new season, living in Tench Mecca that is Cotswold Water Parks I just had to, with the occasional carp 'off the top' with bread crust, and trotting for anything that swam on the upper Thames, and Avon, and then the Barbel bug struck

 

[Terry Simner]

Most of my most enjoyable sessions last season (14/15) were when I was NOT fishing for barbel.. its SO nice when you stop banging your head against a brick wall (which was the Teme).
I've had a few new PBs..but my 'fish of the season' must have been a rudd. Although less than a pound, it was THE most 'fin-perfect-just-minted' specimen I've ever caught. Sheer beauty.
I intend to put more 'pleasure', and less 'drive' into my fishing in the future... but ooooh, I'd love to catch a 6oz gudgeon!!!!

 

[Paul Monaghan]

Great post Howard. Your comments do make me smile

Mixed it up a lot this season, but the lack of being able to fish daytime has limited me somewhat and especially during the second half.
However I did indeed have a good summer barbel fishing on a tough river. Whether I'll try there again next season I don't know. The many blanks does make me question my sanity and long to be lucky enough to fish the prolific rivers like the Wye and Trent. Those opportunities will come more often I'm sure in a few years when the kids grow up, not that I'm wishing my life away.

On my wish list next season is to find a stretch that contains specimens with big t*ts

 

[Roger Cramer]

In response to your question, Graham, I would say that 2013/14 (127 banked incl.12 doubles) and the recent season have been about the same in terms of numbers caught. My "catch records" are pretty basic; just how many caught each day (normally two trips a week) and where, just jotted down on a (cartoon-based) fishing calendar each year.

I would add that similar, annual results have occurred regularly, pretty much since my moving here (East Midlands) back in 2004. Although, with the advent of the major "barbel boom" during the intervening seasons, I've found it increasingly harder to find those "less-hammered" stretches that I always used to visit (and rely on) say 8/9 years ago. Everyone will, no doubt, have had this to contend with!

The majority of my outings tend to be on the mighty Middle Trent, followed to a lesser degree by the W.Avon and Derwent (smaller rivers that are now, to me, more weather dependent, i.e. requiring frequent rainfall to encourage confident feeding with better colour/levels). I am not now (at my age) so keen on late night vigils any more, which seem often necessary when combating clear/low water handicaps. This was very much the case this season with virtually constant, non-existent rainfall, hence my limited visits "near Derby" and "below Stratford" until very late on.

Whilst numbers (and size) aren't necessarily the be-all-and-end all, I find it useful as a season-on-season marker for me to prevent any complacency (especially when fishing from time to time with a character like Stef Horak, who constantly baffles me with his innate watercraft and fish-catching prowess to bring me back down to earth each time!)


Roger