The Sessions - Sept 2022
New method mastered
After another month’s fantastic Barbel fishing I started to have a more sustained effort at rolling meat and did manage to catch nine small Barbel towards the end of the month, my intention for September was to really try to master it properly.
1 September 2022 – River Trent, Gunthorpe
After a two week break from fishing due to work and family stuff I was itching to be back on the river, I had a bit of rushing around to do getting food and bits for the session and finally arrived on the river at 15:00.
After a few days of rain it was warm steady temps of 20-24 degrees, broken cloud and a light easterly wind, the river level was still within summer range at .39m. The area had had a 24 hour break from any anglers so I was feeling very confident of a good trip.
I got both rods ready with single BBB and pva bags and flicked them out; I waited 30 mins and then put some Asbo and BBB over each area. The first bite came after two hours and was a high single. I made good use of the time waiting for a take and set up the rolling met rod, a small box of bits and chopped the bait up ready. My pal Liam was set up in the peg next door and had been rolling meat up near the weir for the afternoon, he did well catching 7 fish and his first double on the method at 12 plus, he was really happy with that and went back to his peg for the night leaving me a couple of hours before dark to have a go myself, so I reeled in and went up to the weir with the rolling meat gear.
I wrote a little about my early efforts with the method last month and to re-cap I found it took a while to get the correct weight and the right bow in the line for the bait to roll at the right pace, and then having to recognise the difference between bites, line bites and the weight bouncing down on the gravel all took time but it was time well spent.
I found an SSG or two with plastercine moulded round them was best for two reasons, one it was easy to adjust the weight if needed as I could take some off or add some on, and two, if the rig got caught on the rocks the plastercine would pull out of shape and pull away more often than not ensuring all the tackle was retrieved.
The one downside to plastercine is you can’t feel it bouncing on the gravel as easily as lead weights, but with practise you can recognise it and a slow thud rather than a tap, tap you get with SSG weights.
So my set up for this session was 15 mainline straight through to a size 6 hook and one SSG with plastercine set 8-10 inches above the hook. I like to make my hook the weakest part of the rig so that in the event of the hook snagging on rocks it bends open and everything is retrieved, I haven’t quite achieved that with the current pattern I’m using so will continue to experiment, it’s a fine balance as the hook has to be strong enough for a strong fight in snaggy conditions but at the same time open up if snagged on rocks.
I had an experimental cast to check the single SSG was enough and the second cast was dropped on the small gravel run, I walked downstream slightly, got a bow in the line and it started to slowly bounce down, almost immediately I felt the tell-tale tap of a pickup and struck and after a strong fight an 11-11 rolled into the net, what a start and to say I was pleased was an understatement.
That was the start of a crazy two hours fishing, the next cast produced a 14-14 and the next a 10-10, literally four casts, three doubles. It carried on with a 9plus, 10-09, 10-02, 12-08 and 11-00, I spent more time weighing, photographing and returning fish than fishing, Liam couldn’t stop laughing every time I walked into his swim with another fish in the sling, it was a good night and we stuffed ourselves with a take away pizza in celebration.
I went back to my swim at 21:00, put rigs out for the night and topped the spots up with 30 Asbo but I was buzzing for the morning to get back to weir swim with the meat rod, what an exciting and active way to fish.
2 September 2022
It took a while before I had a take and I then had three to 10-15 and hook pull in a short period of time, so at 03:00 I reeled in for some sleep.
I woke up and put the rods back out at 07:45, it was warm and cloudy, really good conditions and within 10 minutes the right hand rod slammed over and I coaxed an 11-00 into the net, this fish had a size 6 hook stuck in its back, no doubt this was an unseen monster that couldn’t be landed…….and it was also a land mark fish for me, as it was my 500th double, with all but about 10 caught in the last 10 years 😃
I cooked breakfast and got my gear sorted for a day rolling meat and by 10:00 I was back in the weir spot, I fished up to 15:00 taking drinks and food breaks to rest the swim every hour or so. I really felt I was getting to grips with the method and recognising the line bites was crucial, as unnecessary striking spooks the fish and the risk of foul hooking was high, I did foul hook one, an easy 12plus in the dorsal fin that felt huge until I realised, it was eventually landed and slipped straight back.
The day session was brilliant fishing with two Eels and Barbel at11-15, 13-05, 10-03, 10-13, 13-07, 14-10, 10-09, 10-01 and two singles.
During the breaks I’d trickled boilies into the other swim and went back there at 15:00 and put the rigs back out for three hours, three singles were landed and by 18:00 I was back in the weir spot for the evening session. The fishing wasn’t as hectic but I had further fish at 12-00, a cracker at 15-05 and four singles.
On dark I put rigs back out in the main swim and had three low 10’s before reeling for some sleep just after midnight.
3 September 2022
I was awake and refreshed at 06:30 and put the rigs back out while I was cooking breakfast and packing the swim down, 40mins later one of the rods smashed over resulting in a 10-13, I didn’t bother to recast and got the meat rod ready to go again.
I spent two hours in the weir and had further fish at 10-12, 11-10, 11-00 and five singles to finish a brilliant session, I was so pleased to have mastered the method and couldn’t wait to get back.
10 September 2022 – River Trent, Cromwell
What a change in the weather with a week of rain, with all the surrounding land so dry the rain ran straight off and into the river making the level too high for me to roll meat effectively at Gunthorpe, I’d been tracking the river level with the app on my phone every day and had to make a last minute change of venue and headed for Cromwell and a social with Ian.
It was warm at 20 degrees, thick cloud and a northerly wind when I arrived at 15:30, Ian had had two good nights in the swim next door so we were both confident of another good nights fishing, I got the swim set up as we were chatting, flicked baits out at 16:30 and put 20 BBB through the swim. It was good to sit back on the bed chair buddy and relax after a tough week at work, I cooked my tea and watched the day slowly creep into the night and it was almost completely dark when the first bite came, a very strong fight and just a double at 10-02.
The next take came 40 minutes later and was another strong fish at 12-00 to make a great start to the session and another two 9’s and a smaller one arrived before midnight. As per my usual practice I topped the swim up after each fish with 10 BBB, I was conscious not to put too much bait in as the Mitten Crabs were active again. It’s uncanny and also very annoying how they can snip the loop on your hair and pull off the boilie stop and the boilie.
11 September 2022
I had three more singles and then nothing for three hours when at 05:10 the left hand rod smashed over with the biggest of the trip at 12-05 and with that I reeled in for a few hours’ sleep.
Ian had a similar amount and we both packed up happy in the morning.
17 September 2022 – River Trent, Gunthorpe
I’d been tracking the weather and river level all week and with the conditions looking reasonable for rolling meat I did another last minute change of venue and headed to Gunthorpe. Ian had been on the swim for three days and struggled as the level was too high, being the very good angler he is he did manage a few to 15-03 but left early as it was chugging through with the extra water due to rain.
When I arrived the swim had had a rest and the level was dropping making it just about fishable to roll meat. My plan was to bivvy up behind the swim, roll meat in the day light hours and relax at night and get some much needed sleep.
It had cooled down quite a bit through the week with night time temps going down to 5 degrees, it had warmed up a bit and was 17 degrees, clear and sunny when I started fishing at 16:30. The level had dropped to .43m and after a bit of experimenting I needed two SSG and a lump of plastercine to roll effectively, once I was happy I flicked out a lump of meat and literally it went whack straight away and what an epic fight with a 13-07 rolling into the net. The next cast was very likely a foul hooked fish as the hook pulled and the third cast produced an 11-07, what a great start to the trip.
I had a food break and rested the swim for 30 minutes and fished until just into dark catching a further eight singles and a 10-07. Rolling meat in the dark wasn’t easy but something I may try more in winter further down on the tidal stretches where there are less snags.
18 September 2022
I had a relaxing evening reading the latest Catch Cult, but it did feel odd being awake and not fishing, and had a good eight hours sleep.
I was fishing again by 07:45, it had been another chilly night and the morning was thick cloud and quite cold. The river level had dropped a little more making it easier to control the rig.
It all looked perfect but the bites were hard to come by, may be the colder weather had pushed the fish out of the area but very hard to say. I wasn’t getting the line bites but every now and again I’d get a take and had one good fish at 13-04, three singles, two lost and two Eels before a break at lunchtime.
The level came up again making it pretty tricky, I worked hard all afternoon and evening and had another five singles, a 10-08 and another Eel.
It’s a very active way of fishing and I felt pretty tired at the end of the day, cooked my tea, relaxed and went to sleep.
19 September 2022
It was another chilly, cloudy morning and I was in the swim for 07:30 and I planned to fish for four hours before heading home. The level had dropped back down again and it looked perfect but again it wasn’t easy fishing but I did manage one real good one at 14-11, a 10-13 and four singles to finish another brilliant session.
I actually spent more time relaxing, 24 hours, than fishing 19 hours, but to put it into context and how effective the method can be in the right area, I had 27 Barbel, and only 8 were caught between four anglers fishing static baits in the swims next door. It’s certainly something to consider if the area you’re fishing and the conditions are right for a moving bait.
30 September 2022 – River Trent, Collingham
After a marathon 10 day stretch at work I’d planned to be out on the Thursday but I was late home again as per normal so left it until Friday which only gave me 24 hours or so. My target species was Zander with a Barbel rod out for good measure so I wanted to look at three sections before settling on a swim. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but there was very heavy rain due at 14:00 which didn’t leave me much time.
I was up early but after 10 days at work I had life admin and running around to do before I could set off so it was nearly lunchtime when I loaded the van and headed up the A1.
I arrived on the first section as the dark clouds were rolling in, being an outdoor person you can sense the rain starting and I had that feeling, so jogged along the flood bank on the first section and found one area that looked favourable. I ran back to the car and drove to the second section and the rain started, I ran to the area I wanted to look at and found the wind was hammering face first into that area. Back to the car and sat there thinking for a bit, I know the tidal quite well now and thought about wind direction on the third section, I thought it would be going over my head so drove there. I was right and it is a good section for Zeds in winter so I decided to try there. The rain was hammering down with strong winds, so not the best start to the trip to set the shelter up. I got the camp set up and as I sat down to set the rods up I found my water proof trousers had lost that ability and it had gone through to my underwear…great!!
I did make a detour to Future Fishing for some dead Roach and I was glad I did as there was no chance of using the whip to get fresh bait any time before dark, I’d also forgotten a number of things with all the rushing about and hoped it wasn’t going to be one of those trips.
My set up for Zeds was a 5oz running lead to ensure it did not move on a take, 20lb trace and two size 8 trebles. Everyone has a different approach to Zed rigs and I’m sure mine will change as the winter progresses but I was happy with that for a start. Bait was half Roach, head sections cast out a two different ranges.
I put a Barbel rod out on a single BBB and pva bag and put 30 BBB through the swim and was finally fishing at 16:30.
I had a pick up on the Roach at 17:50 but it dropped it before I could strike, annoying but encouraging all the same.
Ian rang for a check in at 22:10 and as we were talking the Barbel rod crashed over resulting in a nice double at 11-00.
That was followed by a single bleep on one of the Zed rods, I shot out to watch the rod tip and saw a slight tap and struck and it was on, my excitement soon diminished as a crazy Pike jumped clean out of the water and was quickly unhooked and released.
One more Barbel was unhooked in the net before midnight and I’ll let you know how the rest of this session went next month.
That brought an end another fantastic months fishing, I hadn’t managed to get out much but had mastered rolling meat in two brilliant sessions catching some good fish, with 82 Barbel / 37 doubles.
Until next month, tight lines and be lucky 😃
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