The Sessions - November 2015

A red letter Trent session and the trip to Spain.

2nd of November – River Trent

I drove up after work as this was my only window before my trip to Spain to get my November double. I got there just before dark to find one car in the car park and I was lucky enough to get the swim I wanted so confidence grew straight away as I wouldn’t have to disturb the swim by leading around.
There had been a lot of rain over the weekend which had passed leaving it warm for Nov with foggy evenings. I put two out on my standard rig with Madbaits Pandemic and my pva bags and had them on the spots for 18:00 hours.

After the success of the Barbel on meat in the last session I put the would be Zander rod out on quarter of tin of Garlic Spam. The only slight change I make to my standard rig is obviously a longer hair with a piece of tapered rig tube slid onto the hair, with the wider end at the top. The meat is then threaded onto the rig tube, perfect, this stops the hair cutting through the meat and its surprising how much pressure can be put on the meat before it pulls off. This gives me the confidence of a good cast and being able to leave it out there after being plucked by small Chub.

With the swim set up I sat back to enjoy a fresh brew.
19:00 hours – I didn’t have to wait long for the first bite, but this was a Bream, so I re-baited both boilie rods.
19:40 hours – They hadn’t been out long when the downstream rod smashed over, the fish felt heavy but didn’t fight to much. The good thing with the swim was there were no rocks in the margins just a gravel slope so there was no real danger of a cut-off or snagging up. I coaxed it over the net and it weighed a pleasing 11-07, mission accomplished within two hours.

20:10 hours – the meat rod crashed over and immediately I knew it was a good fish, however the fight was “odd” to say the least and it seemed to kite into the margin, I got the net ready and popped on my head torch to be met with two eyes lighting up in the margin. Straight away I realised it was a good Zander, 6 nights fishing for them and I get one on meat!!! Fishing always throws up a surprise and it was my turn on this occasion, it was a good one at 11-05, although not how I wanted to catch it, it was another season target achieved.

3rd of November

00:50 hours – after having a Chub drop off it went quiet and when the tide was at it’s lowest the meat rod went again, this one was definitely a Barbel and another good one at 11-08.

02:10 hours – sometimes with good application your lucks just in, the meat rod smashed over again and nearly took the rod in, this was another big fish and fought really hard and was a new Trent PB at 14-04.

During the next two hours I had another 3 Barbel, all 9’s with 9-06 being the biggest, although I’d had no sleep I was buzzing big time.

08:10 – I fell asleep for 3 hours only to be awoken by the shrill of a delkim as the downstream boilie rod went again, this was another double at 11-14.

I had planned to go home early but with the fishing this good I made a phone call to my good pal Glen Patterson to get him to drive down. The most well known Barbel swim in the country was available and not booked for the next 24 hours so it was a no brainer to get him in there and for me to join him for the early evening.

The day remained cloudy but cold and rain was forecast for later in the evening. Glen arrived and after a lovely fish and chips, cheers bud, we moved up to the weir for 15:30 hours. Glen started setting up in 1a and I dropped my kit in peg 2 and cast my two boilie rods out before doing anything else.

16:10 hours – they had hardly settled when the Pandemic did it’s magic and I had another double at 10-11.

This was one of those sessions when everything I touched turned “bronze”, Glen just stood there laughing at me, he’d not even got a rig on and I’d had a fish already.
17:25 hours – the same rod smashed over again and it was yet another double at 10-13, what a magic session this was.

18:30 hours – it started raining but I couldn’t leave yet so set up my shelter as I was doing that both rods went. It was ridiculous; one was a Bream the other another double at 11-05.

I had another two Barbel at 8-06 and 9-06, incredible fishing. The rain finally stopped at 21:30 hours and it was with regret I packed up and drove home as I had work in the morning. I’d always wanted to fish these pegs and finally had the chance and had to leave when Barbel were literally crawling up the bank for a photo.

But it’s always good to leave my pals in with a chance of good fish and Glen took fish to mid 10’s during the night.
One of my pet hates is jealousy in fishing, we all have good and bad days and these are better shared with good friends, not getting bitter and twisted with each other. Glen stands there laughing at me when it’s going my way and I look forward to returning the favour.

This session rates as up there with my best, 12 Barbel, 7 being doubles and a bonus Zed….wow! To put into context I only used 23 pva bags, approx 30 boilies and 1 tin of spam……..fish for a bite.

9th of November – Rio Segre, Mequinenza, Spain

I’ve been fishing the Rio Segre in Nov for 12 years now and always go for my birthday, with this year being my 50th I was hoping for that special fish to cap the celebrations.
I arrived on the 8th and spent the day catching up with friends from the village and had far too many sangria’s in the evening which I paid for dearly when I woke in the morning.
For people new to my blog I have been associated with CatMaster Tours for 15 years now and count owner Colin Bunn among my closest friends. We have 4-6 weeks a year fishing together giving us both time to be away from work and catch up. We decided to start the session after Catfish and spent most of the day sorting the gear.

There had been a lot of rain the week before so the river was just recovering and getting back to normal. The weather was warm for Nov at 19 degrees and cloudy with a gentle breeze.
There were two areas that had been fishing well but we had a lot of clients over so they, quite rightly, were in the going areas. We spent a couple of hours driving round looking and eventually settled on an area I hadn’t fished before and got set up as it was getting dark. I hopped in the boat with the echo sounder and had a look for features and found one obvious area, a hump at 12 feet that would be a patrol area so that was one spot identified.

I put one rod on the hump and the other up the far shelf at 9 feet. Both rods were set up the same, fixed 28oz leads, 5 foot 100kg braid hooklinks to a size 8/0 Gold label Penetrator hook. Bait was three 22mm halibut pellets hair rigged on a KD rig, these were lowered in from the boat and three good double handfuls dropped around each rig. Colin set up 50 yards upstream and got his rigs out, and then it was sit back and wait for a take.

23:50 – you can’t fish past midnight in Spain and we were just thinking about reeling in when the rod I placed on the hump went over, the fight was epic in the deep margin and it felt a very big fish. Eventually it popped up and at first look in the water I didn’t think it was that big but we got it up and weighed it and it went a pleasing 171 pound.

12th of November

The good start didn’t last, after 1 small fish on the 10th, we moved on the 11th and blanked in a normally reliable swim so moved again. We set up in another known good swim but for some reason it hadn’t fished well all year.

The weather was still warm and cloudy and mild at night so it all looked good. The clients were catching in the going areas so fish were feeding we just had to find them.

After setting the swim up I decided to Carp fish for the afternoon. I’d had some phenomenal catches from the swim in the past so knew it well. I set the rigs up and rowed them 170 yards across to the top of the shelf in 5 foot of water and lowered them in. When Carping on the Segre I bait up as if sitting in the middle of a snooker table, 6 pellets, one in each pocket. This may not seem like a lot of bait on such a huge venue but it definitely works and if you put too much in it attracts Catfish and obviously the Carp will make a quick exit.

I didn’t have to wait long for a take, approx 20 mins, and a Common of exactly 29 pound graced my net. I had two more within an hour and another just before dark when I packed the Carp rods down and rowed out the Cat rigs. The biggest Carp was a pleasing 33-14.

14th of November

The Catting continued to be a struggle in our spots although a couple of good fish had been caught from the clients’ swims up to 218, so we were in the right area for a biggie.

The Carp didn’t show on the 13th apart from a lost fish to Colin. I changed the rods over early in the morning on 14th and was rewarded with Commons at 26-02 and 26-04 in the morning. I then suffered two losses, one being the sickening feeling when you know it was a good one but that’s fishing.
I had one more at 27-06 before packing the Carp rods down again. The Cats again didn’t show in our area so I packed the swim down and moved at midnight to one of the going areas as it was now available; I set the swim up and got my head down.

15th of November

The night was really cold; the morning was thick fog and cloud with a cold northerly wind. I’m fortunate to be sponsored by Jack Pyke and they very kindly kit me out with my fishing / country wear. I was using the 3 in1 coat for the first time and I can honestly say it’s the best fishing coat I’ve used and I’m very happy to wear and promote the brand. It is wind and waterproof, with a fleece jacket that zips inside and is very warm indeed, please take the time to look at the Jack Pyke website a see for yourself, or if you see me on the bank you’re welcome to try mine on for size.

I was very familiar with the swim we were fishing, I chose the downstream side and Colin went upstream, I rowed my rigs out to the spots at 08:30 hours full of confidence and anticipation. Confidence is something I’ve written about before, when you’re struggling if you know yours rigs and bait work you’re half way there, it’s then only location. You have to remain confident in your approach, if your head goes down you don’t fish well and the end result is often a blank.
I decided it was Cats or bust for the second week so packed up the carp gear. The day stayed cold and foggy all day and that was to be for the rest of the week.

Nothing happened until just into dark when the rod placed on a “dip” at 14 feet went over, the fish again fought really hard and well above its eventual weight of 145 pound.

I suffered a hook pull on the same rod that came off straight away, this sometimes happens with Catfish if you hook them in the front pad they come off.

23:55 hours – I was just about to reel in for the night when the near shelf rod went over, the strike was met with a real thud which from experience often means a good fish. This one clearly was a big fish and took a lot of line making strong runs downstream, it took me well over 15 minutes to get it to the top of the shelf and then I had that sickening feeling when the line went slack, to add insult to injury there was such a lot of pressure on the line the 28oz lead flew back into the reeds so I had to go out in the boat to retrieve the rig. As I suspected I’d been cut off just above the hook by most probably a clam, I was gutted, I’ve caught a lot of big Cats in my time and knew that was a very big fish and couldn’t get it out of my head for the rest of the week.

16th of November

My 50th birthday and is there a better place to wake up for an angler?? I was in my favourite swim in a lovely country and despite then loss still loving it.

I had a fish at approx 70 pound during the day and Colin came back for the evening session just after dark. We always have a running joke that I should take all the rods for my birthday but I never do it, just doesn’t sit right with me, it would feel like reeling some one else’s fish in.

18:15 hours – 15 minutes after starting Colin had a 169, his first fish of the trip.

20:40 hours – then true to form the same rod went again, at first it didn’t feel big but then turned into a real tussle, eventually I gloved it and it was huge. He’d done me again with a monster at 213 pound, that was the 7th 200+ I’d gloved for him over the years and I was chuffed to bits for him. The joke was it would have been a PB for me if I took the rod but it wouldn’t have felt right, my time will come.

23:10 hours – Colin had added another at 119 pound and took both my rods out with it but I put them back out and was rewarded with a good fish at 176 pound.

17th of November

I got up early and rowed my baits out without waking Colin up and was rewarded with one of the Rio Segre crown jewels. The take came pretty quickly and when I struck it didn’t feel big at all and swam straight at me, at one point I thought it was gone but caught up with it and carried on with the fight. Colin realised and got up and one of the clients and Mark (a CatMaster guide) arrived all at the right time as the fish rolled we could see it was a full Albino. I’ve been lucky to have caught one before, a big one at 185 pound in 2011, but to catch two is dreamland stuff.

Colin gloved it and to be honest weight is irrelevant with these special fish but we weighed it at 107 pound, a truly memorable capture.

The same day one of the clients caught his second ever Catfish, a monster at 229 pound that’s just how the dice roll, he was over the moon and it was lovely to see.
That was the high light of the trip, we continued to catch a couple a day but no real monsters but as always it was an enjoyable trip and I’ll be back for more in the spring with hopefully more tales to tell.

See you next month… tight lines to all.

Julian Barnes

Barbel – 12 fish / 7 doubles – 1 night on the Trent