The Sessions - Feb 2024
Blanking and let’s talk rigs
The start of 2024 had been poor for me fishing wise and expensive with van repairs so I could only hope things would improve in Feb, little did I know it would be my worst month in many years with bad weather and poor choices.
8 February 2024 – River Trent, Cromwell
Following another long stretch at work I finally had a few days for fishing and was really looking forward to getting out, the weather had been mild with low pressure and fish had been feeding for the lucky people that had been out, but it was due to turn very cold over the weekend.
Unfortunately the bad weather had arrived 24 hours early and as I drove up the A1 in the morning it started snowing, and was down to 1 degree with a cold easterly wind as I arrived at midday, I can only get out when I get the chance so had to make the most of it.
The river level was at 1.39m and rising so I went in a swim I knew I could continue fishing if the level continued to rise as forecast. I started off fishing for Zander and put two deadbaits out on the spots, the weather was awful with sleet and snow as I set the shelter up that turned into heavy rain for the rest of the day.
I hadn’t had a touch by 19:00 so swapped over to Barbel for the night and put both rods on single 15mm BBB and baited the swim with 12mm Pandemic and 15mm BBB. It had warmed up slightly to 4 degrees but felt very cold in the easterly wind and it continued to rain heavily. The level was rising fast and brought lots of surface debris in front of the swim, I hooked a Barbel that I didn’t think I could get through it but it did go in the net at 7 pound. The rain was heavy and relentless so I reeled in at midnight.
9 February 2024
I was awake at 06:00, the rain had stopped and it had warmed up to 7 degrees, the level had come up fast to 1.79m and the front of the swim full of debris. I spent the first hour clearing the debris by fishing it out with my landing net, once the swim was reasonably clear I put the Zander rods out for the day.
By 10:00 the level was at 1.99m and the swim full of debris again so I spent another hour clearing it out, the water was highly coloured and tress and all sorts flying down the middle of the river at pace.
I persevered as I could present a bait, it continued to rain all day and the river kept rising, by 17:15 it was at 2.41m, both Potty and Paul had to move but were still managing to fish one rod each. I changed back to Barbel for the night and topped the swim up with more bait.
10 February 2024
The night had been quite mild and cloudy and I expected bites but it didn’t happen, when I got up at first light the level was really high at 2.79m and we all knew it would be time to get off the river soon. I recast and put the kettle on and almost immediately the rod crashed over and I landed another average fish at approx. 7 pound. With that we all packed up and made a hasty retreat as the river continued to rise.
17 February 2024 – River Trent, Collingham
The level had been right up to 3.30m again and streaming through, it’s hard to know what impact the constant flooding has but the fishing this winter has been very hard in comparison to winters past.
The level had started to come down and was at 1.78m so I drove up for a day session on one of my flood spots. I got there nice and early and was fishing for first light, it was mild at 10 degrees with a gentle breeze and I felt I would definitely catch as it looked perfect for the spot I was fishing.
By midday I’d not had a touch so I moved 200m downstream to another area that sometimes fishes well in flood conditions. By the middle of the afternoon other people had arrived and were set up either side of me and they all caught at least one, with one angler doing very well. I had two takes and annoyingly lost both to hook pull, with one being a good fish, I lose very few all season so to lose two in one session was very frustrating, I packed up on dark and headed home for a night out with Julie.
23 February 2024 – Johnsons Lake, Marsh Farm.
The Trent was still right up at 3.30m and in the fields so there was no chance of getting on there for the weekend, it had been quite mild for February so I thought there may be a chance of an early Spring Crucian so planned a trip to Johnsons, looking back that was a mistake and I should have headed for Kings Weir but I can’t change that now.
The trip was fraught with problems from the start, it seemed to take an age from leaving work to getting sorted and leaving home and then I forgot my glasses of all things and had to turn back at the 30 mile point to fetch them. It then rained all the way round the M25 and A3; it wasn’t forecast and had got quite chilly so I hoped it wouldn’t chill the water too much.
I eventually got there at 21:00 after leaving work at midday, crazy!! I walked round and of the three swims I like this time of year two were free so I was able to get my first choice and set up and was fishing by 22:30. I followed my usual approach and spombed out some hemp and caster and cast two method feeders baited with fake caster over the top.
24 February 2024
The temp really dropped, the sky was clear with a bright full moon and no wind, terrible conditions and by morning it was -1 degree with frost everywhere. I knew I’d made the wrong choice of species and venue, but I was there and would give it a good go.
The day started badly when the rod rattled of at first light and I genuinely thought I had a fish until I realised the shaking was a bloody Tufted Duck hooked in the tongue. He was carefully landed and the barbless hook slipped out easily and off he went, straight back to the baited area!!
I topped up the spot with 3 spombs at 08:00 and again at 17:00, it rained all day and felt cold in the chilly wind, but I did have company most of the day.
As it got dark I had two bites, one a Roach and then a Tench at 5 plus so it started to look promising but that was it.
I carried on until 10:30 the following morning after another frosty night without any more bites, and I didn’t see a single fish roll throughout the whole session, I will return in March, and that completed a very poor months fishing for me.
My Barbel set up
I have written about it previously and have videos on my Youtube channel but still get a lot of communication about my Barbel set up, so as I haven’t many fish to write about this month I’ll go through my set up in more detail.
Rods - Most of my fishing is on the Trent so the rods I use are the Free Spirit Hi S HW Barbel rods, they are 13 foot, 2.75 test curve, they are brilliant and excellent when tackling a big river like the Trent, especially in flood, they are well capable of casting big leads and are great for playing fish and are an all-round excellent rod.
On the smaller rivers like the Ouse and Derwent I use the Hi S Barbel rods, 12 foot and 2.0 test curve, again an excellent rod that I also use for my Tench fishing.
Reels - Shimano Ultegra 5500 Ci4 loaded with Gardner Hydro Tuff in 15 pound, a brilliant all round abrasion resistant line.
Rig – My rig for my static fishing has been fundamentally the same for years with only slight changes that I believe has caught me a lot more fish.
I always use a lead clip, it’s reliable, I believe has a better hooking potential and has never let me down. I make up a boom section with heavy fluocarbon, usually 15-18 inches long, I use Gardner Mirage in .47mm and crimp it with XS crimps, there were two reasons for this, I like the boom to be stiff and heavy so it stays pinned down, and the second, a crimp is stronger than a knot, is easier to tie and doesn’t kink the line, I attach a size 8 swivel and anti-tangle sleeve to one end and a link loop to the other. The only time I change the length of the boom is when I’m fishing a snaggy weir pool and then the boom will suit the spot I’m fishing, sometimes as short as 6 inches.
I then tie a size 10 Gardner Talon Tip onto a 3 inch section of Trickster Braid and loop knot it to the link loop; I get asked a lot about hook size, I always use a 10 when boilie / pellet fishing, I’ll only use bigger when using big lumps of meat and smaller when using maggots, but the rig will always be the same. I like the hook to be the weakest part of the rig so it bends out on snags and tackle isn’t left in the river but ensuring it is strong enough to land all fish hooked. The best two I’ve used that tick all my boxes have been the Gardner Talon Tips and Drennan Barbel hooks.
I’m totally confident in the rig and the bait I’m using, it’s caught me lots of Barbel everywhere so the only thing I need to be concerned with is location, if I’m not getting bites I don’t tinker with rigs and bait, I move.
The pictures below should help if anything above is not clear, I’m more than happy to answer any more queries by email 😃
British Record Pike
Although I had a poor months fishing some people did very well and it wouldn’t be right not to mention and congratulate Lloyd Watson on his new British Record Pike at 47-05.
His first visit to Chew and went as a guest I believe, and his first take was this absolute giant of a fish, a proper fish of a lifetime. This is why we all go and the pure joy of fishing, it can happen to anyone at any time if you’re on the right venue, put the effort in and you may just get this type of reward, really well done Lloyd, a fantastic achievement
Until next month, tight lines and be lucky 😃
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