The Sessions - March 2022
A Barbel bonanza
I finished last month’s piece on a high with a 15-07, having again only been out for two sessions during the month after suffering a life changing moment with a house fire. I’d got over the shock and was working through the insurance claim process and wanted to end the river season with some success and positivity.
05 March 2022 – River Trent, Collingham
After another week of rain and changeable weather I’d got the river conditions I’d hoped for to get back into the swim I’d been successful in during my last session. I’d got the final week of the season off work and wanted to maximize my time so drove up in the rain arriving at lunchtime. With the North Muskham level reading 1.68m I knew the banks would be empty so didn’t need to rush and I wasn’t surprised to find only two cars in the car park. A quick look over the fence at the river got my pulse racing, it was high, coloured and pushing though, perfect conditions if you find the right area.
It was pouring with rain so I got the shelter out of the van and walked up to swim to set it up first. One of the anglers was packing up having had problems with rubbish in the flow and no fish, I think he thought I was mad….
Once the shelter was up I walked back to the van, loaded the barrow and made the second trip down the field. Annoyingly I had to unload it, lift the gear over the fence and make a few trips down to the swim and finish setting up. The north easterly wind and rain put the new coat to the test and my top half was dry but stupidly in my excitement to get started I didn’t get the waterproof trousers out and my bottoms were soaked.
I knew the spots I was placing the rigs and got the rods out for 16:00, I used three rods again as there was plenty of room and put all three on single BBB dumbells with pva bags, and put a mixture of 30 OG and Pandemic through the swim.
The water was highly coloured and carrying lots of rubbish, although I was on the edge of the flow my lines were still picking up some and I hoped it wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
I didn’t have to wait long for a take, 40 minutes into the session the left hand rod crashed over and what a fight as it got into the main flow, I slowly coaxed it back into the net and a good start at 13-09 with Otter damage to its tail.
30 minutes later the same rod went again with another lovely fish at 12-08. After each fish I was topping up the swim with another 20 boilies.
Two hours later the same rod went again with another good one at 12-07, that was followed by an 11-05, it was brilliant fishing and very cold in the north easterly wind but still great to be out.
06 March 2022
I didn’t get a bite all night very similar to the last session, I was up and rebaited at 05:45 and topped up the spots. It was cloudy and still very cold, the level had dropped to 1.55 which doesn’t sound a lot but that 13cm equates to a two feet in real terms, and the rubbish was a lot less making things easier.
The first take of the day came mid-morning with a 10-11. The sun came out and it was clear but still felt cold and I sat there chatting to Neale most of the day.
At 18:25 after a long period without a take the same rod went again with another double at 11-12 and I was hoping for another busy evening, but it didn’t happen and just got very cold.
07 March 2022
I got up to rebait at 02:00 and everything was white with frost and it was freezing, I sorted the rods and jumped back in the bag just as it started to rain and it poured it down for an hour or so.
I got back up at first light to rebait the rods again, it was cloudy and very cold and the level had dropped again to 1.38, this had pushed the crease out further and when I looked closer I could see new flat spots had appeared so I got the leading rod out to check them. I cast a lead out to find them clean and the leads didn’t move which indicated a food gathering area. I moved two of the rods to these flat spots and left one on the crease and baited the areas with OG and BBB.
The first bite came just before 08:00 and for the next three hours I got regular takes with two singles and doubles at 11-09, 11-10 and 14-14, it was brilliant fishing.
The last fish came at 15:00 following a quiet spell with a 10-15 to end the session, the forecast looked to be very cold so I went home to spent a couple of nights with Julie.
9 March 2022 – River Trent, Cromwell.
The cold weather had knocked the fish off the feed a little with only odd fish being caught so I hadn’t missed anything by pulling off the river for a couple of nights and both my target fish had not been out so I still had a chance.
The river level had dropped again to 1.24m which opened up the swims I wanted on the other side of the river so I headed straight for the Cromwell side and arrived first thing in the morning to find the section empty. I was out for the final five nights and wanted my swim choice to be right so spent some time with the Deeper and leading rod before choosing which one to set up in, I know the section well but it is always worth checking again after a flood as things do change.
Once I was happy I set the swim up. The area I planned to fish was 3 rod lengths out in a channel at 13 and half feet deep so both rods would be cast into there. I found another depression along the middle of the river where it sloped down to from 12 to 13 feet, that was to be my back up if the close in spot didn’t produce.
It was warm and sunny with a strong southerly wind, I stated at midday and put both rods on BBB with pva bags and baited through the swim with a mixture of 30 OG and Pandemic. The Collingham side was not too busy with only a few people dotted along the field and I knew it was booked for the final three nights with only two people fishing from pegs 10-20 so it would not get filled in with bait.
The first bite didn’t come until 21:00 and was a high 9, I recast and topped the spot up, 50 minutes later the same rod slammed over and this felt much bigger and put up a strong fight and was a big fish at 15-02.
Two hours later the same rod went over again with another very good fish at 14-03, the prep had paid off and the session had started really well, I topped the spot up after each fish with OG and Pandemic. Using a mixture of baits as feed is something I’ve been doing for two seasons now and it really does work well.
10 March 2022
The sky remained clear all night and the temp dropped lower than forecast and the bites dried up but I wasn’t complaining with two good fish already.
The sun came out and it was clear and warm all day. Other people had arrived the previous evening and had all blanked during the night, Neale was on the other side and there was very little being caught so I was content that my swim choice and tactics were right. The level had continued to drop and was 1.18m and I knew from previous experience over the last two to three years the Trent fishes better on a rising river so it wasn’t going to be easy.
The day passed without any action and the only bite of the day was at 18:10 with another nice double at 11-10.
11 March 2022
It was a warmer night with thick cloud and low pressure, it looked perfect and I was surprised that after the early evening fish I didn’t get any more so I rebaited at 01:00 to freshen the area up.
I had a double take at 04:40, landing both, a high 9 and a 10-07.
The level continued to drop and was 1.15m, it was warm and clear up to late afternoon when the cloud came over and the forecast rain arrived.
I had another two fish through the evening period, a high 8 and a 10-02.
The rain stopped late evening, it was cloudy and warm with an air pressure of 1014, it looked perfect but was very quiet.
12 March 2022
The next bite came at 04:40 and powered off downstream, my initial thoughts were it was a Barbel and I thought I had it under control and got it back under the rod tip but then it just slowly went powering downstream again, I applied pressure to stop it and the hook pulled. There are some big Carp along the section and it may well have been one of them but I’ll never know for sure…..
It had been raining again through the night and finally stopped at 07:00, I recast and put some more bait through the swim. I was making a brew when I heard an unfamiliar sound to my right, it was a boat but didn’t sound like normal, when I looked I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was the dredging boat and they were dredging the lock on the final weekend of the season!!! The boat had come down on the Thursday and had broken down and disappeared before starting but they had come back. This was a total lack of consideration by the Canal & River Trust, they only had to wait two more days and no one would have complained but they decide to do it when the banks will be busy with anglers. The dredging made a complete mess, they lifted it out of the lock and motored out to the middle of the river in front of my swim and dropped it in the main flow. The dredging bucket was full of thick black silt and all sorts of big branches, weed, plastic, rags, etc, it stunk and left a film of oily water on the surface drifting downstream, there was no option other than to reel in for the day
It left me with a decision to make whether to move or not, I thought it through and stayed as the banks would have been busy upstream and moving down would not have improved anything as the mess was heading that way.
I sat it out until they stopped at 15:30 and cast the rigs out after giving it an hour to settle.
The first bite came at 18:25 and was a good fish at 13-14, that was a good confidence boost that the dredging may not have affected me too much. I had another two 9’s during the evening.
13 March 2022
I had another take at 02:10 landing an 11-00, it felt cold in the strong south easterly wind so I jumped back in the bag and checked my phone. A friend fishing on the other bank had landed a PB at 17-06, his second fish of the week but the one he was looking for, I was really pleased for him and sent him a congratulatory message.
The dredging boat returned at 08:00 on a Sunday morning so I wound in and due to club rules had to vacate the swim, so I moved downstream to the swim next door. I checked the same feature with the Deeper to ensure my cast was right and put the kettle on. I then received a text from the bailiff telling me not to worry about moving as there was no one on the section, and then the dredging boat broke down and cleared off, I was cursing myself for moving so quickly.
I stayed where I was cast the rigs out and baited the spot, it was on the same line so I was confident of still picking up fish. Phil arrived and dropped in the swim I’d vacated, it was good to see him as we hadn’t fished together as much this season and we passed the day by chatting and catching up.
The first bite came at 19:25 with a lovely fish at 12-02 and a good start in the new swim.
30 minutes later the same rod crashed over again with a stunning fish to end the season with at 16-03.
Two hours later the same rod went over again with another good fish at 12-15.
14 March 2022
It looked like being a very busy night but the feeding spell was a short two and half hours. I rebaited at 04:00 and put some more OG through the swim, it had the right affect as two hours later the same rod went again with a 14-04.
The sun came out and it was clear and very warm, I packed the swim up for the last time until June, a brilliant session to finish a great season for me on the rivers.
I had less time on the bank this year due mainly to work but what a season, in 40 nights fishing I caught 219 Barbel with 95 being doubles, dreamland stuff.
22 March 2022 – Johnsons Lake, Marsh Farm
With the lake closing on 15 April I wanted to get a few sessions in before the close with Spring being the best time to catch the Crucians at their heaviest. Phil and I had arranged to meet down there so I was looking forward to another session with him.
I arrived late on the Monday night hoping the day anglers had all gone and I could secure the swim I wanted. I arrived at 23:00 and it worked out as I’d hoped, I set the swim up, mixed up the spomb mix and groundbait, wrapped and clipped the rods up and went to sleep.
The weather had been warm at 17 degrees, clear with cold nights and high pressure so not the best conditions, the wind had been an easterly / south easterly so I felt the fish would be on the back of the cold wind so my swim choice took that into consideration.
I was up at 05:30 and put out five spombs of hemp and caster and cast both rigs accurately onto the spot, as I was doing this Phil arrived and set up in the swim next door.
It was 18 degrees and nice to be out but we did not see a fish all day, I kept up with the hourly reloading of the feeders and recasts and was still confident the fish would have a short feeding spell. I found in Spring last year the feeding spells were very short perhaps only 30 minutes and I had to maximize this when I had a fish by rewrapping and recasting straight away before weighing the fish as the next bite could come straight away.
I put another five spombs of mix out at 18:00. The first bite came at 19:10 and initially I thought it was a Crucian but it was a very lethargic Tench at 5 plus, Phil had one at the same time so we hoped this would be the start of a feeding spell, but it didn’t happen.
23 March 2022
When Crucian fishing I usually reel in at 22:30, get a few hours sleep and start again at 04:00 but with bites so scarce I decided to carry on and try to recast every two-three hours through the night.
It was very cold and clear and not looking good but I got a take at 02:40 and the second rod went as well, I landed both, the first being a 5 plus male Tench and the second a very welcome Crucian at 3-04 that was covered in leeches.
30 minutes later I had another take and landed a very big headed female Tench at 7-10 that had every potential of being a 9 plus come May.
Another Tench at 6 plus followed early morning before the final bite of the trip came at 10:40, another Crucian at a high 2 that I didn’t weigh.
I packed up for home shortly afterwards, a good start in poor conditions and I looked forward to my planned sessions in April.
Until next month, tight lines and be lucky 😃
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