The Sessions - July 2019
Two very different trips to Gunthorpe Weir
I signed off last month after a great 16th and a fantastic family trip to Snowdonia and Conwy. In July I was looking forward to my first trip to Gunthorpe Weir.
5 July 2019 – River Trent, Sutton
I drove up after work for two nights, the weather had been warm and sunny at 30 degrees most days so on reflection I should have gone Crucian fishing but I still find the Barbel obsession difficult to drop sometimes.
I looked at Winthorpe but it was packed so carried on up the A1 to Sutton as generally it doesn’t get to busy. I arrived on the fishery at 21:45 hours and drove down the first field stopping and nipping over the flood bank to look at most areas, the river level was as expected very low so I could see down into the second field and my first choice swim was free so I headed down there and set up.
It’s on the outside of a big bend so baiting up accurately is easy and it a gentle lob to get on the spot. I put both out on single 18mm Pandemic and put ten 18mm and thirty 12mm Pandemic through the swim. I don’t put the bait all in one spot I put it through the swim on the same line and then put a boilie every ten paces down the section, this draws fish up and gives them confidence before coming across more bait and the hook bait, I’m convinced this tactic has brought me more fish, give it a try and see what you think.
6 July 2019
I wasn’t expecting much through the night as the swim has been a good day swim for me but I got up to check the rods at 04:10 to find a 5plus Chub attached to one and it had shook the lead off, I’d forgotten to turn on the Delkims….doh.
It started to rain quite heavily early morning but was still very warm, I hoped the rain and weather change might trigger a feeding spell. It did and I caught three Barbel all 8’s and then the Bream moved in, they can be relentless on Sutton and are in the 6-8 pound range and come one after another. I have found it is worth persevering as quite often Barbel will feed with them and this is what happened but again another three singles. I upped the bait to 20mm Asbo and double 18mm Pandemic but the Bream just carried on regardless.
The rain stopped but it had become quite chilly for July, I had one more small Barbel and lots of Bream before the swim died at approx. 21:30 and I fished all night without a bleep.
12 July 2019 – River Trent, Gunthorpe Weir
I joined Gunthorpe after seeing some of the great fish my friend had caught there, it’s quite a difficult ticket to get and you have to go on a waiting list but it’s worth the effort. To fish the weir you have to book the island pegs and can book two weekends a season, this would be my first look at the section and as it was free I had an additional weekend on the island and I was really looking forward to it.
As with most weir pools it is very snaggy so I got as much information as possible before going so I pretty well prepared.
It was 25 degrees and muggy making it feel warmer, cloudy with sunny spells. I drove up after work and arrived for 21:00 hours, unloaded my gear and walked it across the lock gates and set the swim up. I was well prepped so cast one towards the weir sill and into a deep hole and dropped the other under my feet against the wall. Both were on single 18mm Pandemic with pva bags and I put tem 18mm Pandemic through both areas.
22:00 hours – the first take came to the margin rod and was a Chub at 5plus. To be honest I’m glad it was as the swim is ten feet above the water and landing fish there is an art in itself. I purchased a Gardener extendable pole that locks in place and their big pan net, you then have to lower it down vertically and when the fish is ready put it in the water and coax the fish into the net. If the net is in the water more than 4-5 seconds it’s a struggle to keep it in place due to the flow so it took some mastering.
13 July 2019
01:00 hours – I’d been told the weir is a day swim and most people reel in at night but I was there so left the baits out and the margin rod went again, this was a Barbel and my first double from the section at 10-00 exactly.
04:05 hours – I’d had another Chub and a small Barbel on the margin rod when the other rod went, this was a bigger Barbel but a naughty nine at 9-09.
09:05 hours – I’d had another 5plus Chub and put a bit of bait in, the margin rod went again, this was a bigger fish and I was glad it was light so that I could see to land it, it was a lovely fish at 11-07.
By mid-morning I’d had another 8plus and the lock gates at Colwick had been opened, this raised the level by a foot and there was lots of weed coming down in the flow. This caused lots of problems as the weir was so snaggy and the rigs were being dragged into rocks. I don’t like leaving tackle and baited hooks in the water after breaking on snags and it didn’t look like stopping any time soon so I packed up for home.
21 July 2019 – River Trent, Gunthorpe Weir
I’d managed to book a Sunday night so arrived at 13:00 hours for one nights fishing. It was a lovely sunny day at 25 degrees with cloudy spells. Gunthorpe Lock is a busy place with three pub / restaurants, lots of dog walkers, swimmers and people coming down to watch the lock being opened, at times there was 50 people standing watching. Access to the island is restricted to the lock keeper and fishing club so should be reasonably safe, I know people that regularly leave their tackle and go to the café for breakfast and have never had any issues. So I must have been unlucky……
I’d set up and was fishing for a couple of hours when I had a take, luckily it was a Chub at 3plus because when I turned to get my net it was gone, I was fuming!! I hand lined the Chub up without a problem but could not carry on fishing without a landing net. The weir is very loud and some one had managed to sneak up behind me and steal my nice new Gardener net without me hearing them.
I packed up and loaded my gear into my car and then went hunting down the section. I’m not a small fella and went into every swim looking for my net, I had to apologise to quite a few people as quite obviously my appearance was not good and gave a few people the shakes. I didn’t find my net which was probably a good thing in reality as I was steaming and may well have gone too far in reprimanding the offender….
The bailiff couldn’t believe what had happened and had never heard of that before on the island so it just was not my lucky day but on reflection is was only my net, I have heard stories of far worse.
So that was it for July, again a busy month at work and at home decorating not leaving much time for fishing, I hoped August would be better and was looking forward to visiting Johnsons for the first time this season.
Until next month tight lines and be lucky😊
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