The Sessions - July 2016

Barbel from four different rivers

4 July – River Trent

After a brilliant June and eight days at work I was itching to get out fishing again. It had been hot and sunny all week and had clouded over during the early evening becoming muggy and warm.

I arrived for 20:00 hours and had a look at the river, it was still carrying extra water and was too high to present a bait where I needed to in the first section I looked at. I drove upstream to find a match on the next bit so I eventually settled further up in a swim I know well. As I arrived the heavens opened and it poured down, I sat in the car and set up between showers, eventually starting at 22:15 hours.

I knew the Trent hadn’t been fishing that well but I managed 3 Barbel through the night up to 9-11. I didn’t fancy sitting there struggling all day so packed up first thing with the intention of dropping onto the Ouse for the night.

5 July – River Ouse

I’d had a productive day at home and got to the Ouse for 21:00 hours. This is a section that I bailiff and I knew none had been caught so far so thought it would be tough going. I went into a familiar swim with plenty of oxygenated water, it was low and clear so I wanted minimal disturbance. So I flicked out two rigs with pva bags and put 30 boilies in the area with the intention of leaving the rigs alone until morning.
I woke up just before my alarm set for 05:00 hours and started packing up for work when the right hand rod smashed over, the fight was fantastic and the fish was a good one at 10-10, a perfect start on the Ouse.

10 July – River Derwent

I’d got an unexpected rest day on the Monday so after a brilliant weekend with friends I had two nights fishing ahead so drove back up the M1 to the Derwent.

It was warm and sunny at 22 degrees with showers and after the heavy rain during the last week the levels were high and the river coloured. I arrived at 19:30 hours and went back in my hotspot, I was pleased to find the grass not worn and the margin reeds looking undisturbed which meant no one had been there.

I put two rods out on my spots with my standard Barbel set up, Pandemic boilies and pva bags with no freebies at first and quickly had two Chub at 4-07 and 5-05. There was still a lot of rubbish coming down in the flow which made presentation a little difficult but good enough.

After the Chub I started trickling in some broken boilies along the margin and the down the section to draw the fish up. Through the night I added another 4+ Chub and Barbel at 7-08 and 9-15 and after each fish I put another ten broken boilies in.

11 July

I added another long lean Chub at 4-13 in the morning and rebaited every two hours through the day. It rained on and off during the day and was cooler at 18 degrees, the levels rose a bit and more rubbish started to come down. But the regular baiting eventually paid off and between 22:20 and 02:20 I had five Barbel at 6+, 7+ and three doubles at 11-13, 11-01, 11-12 which completed a brilliant feeding period.

17 July – River Derwent

I’d done a night on the River Ouse during the week which resulted in a blank and three lost rigs so I was keen to get back on the Derwent. I’d arranged to meet Jerry there for a few days and having not seen him for a while I was looking forward to it.

Summer had finally arrived and the temperature had been up to 30 degrees, I arrived and went in my hot spot for 19:30 start, the levels were good and the water clearing but there was still a little weed coming down. I put the rigs on the spots and put 15 boilies over them and another 15 down the section. As the last session the Chub came first and I had two at 4+ and 5-05, after each fish I trickled in a little more bait.

18 July

00:20 hours – the right hand rod smashed over and this was obviously a Barbel and I was pleased with another double in this already crazy season at 11-09.
11-09 jpg here

Another Chub quickly followed and then it went quiet. After a bit of sleep I continued to bait up every two hours, the day warmed up and was hot and sunny at 27 degrees. The day was quiet apart from another Chub and then Jerry arrived and we had a good catch up and put the world to rights. He eventually set up at the bottom of the section and we were both fishing again by the evening.

21:40 hours – the right hand rod tore off and I was into another strong fish that eventually went into the net at 12-09.

19 July

I took another small Barbel through the night and Jerry had six Chub to 5-10. We decided on a move so walked both fields with a leading rod looking at new swims. In the end we went to an area I had caught well from last season and got set up in the new swims before it got to hot. I popped into town to get supplies and an ammonia pen as the Horse Flies were terrible and got back to the swim for 12:30 hours. I had a lead around the swim and found the streamer weed was not as bad as last season probably due to the flooding during June so presentation would be no problem. I then started my two hourly bait ups.

I took a Chub at 4+ and a Barbel at 9-02, Jerry had Common Carp at 15-05 that gave him a good fight in the flow during the evening. Then just after dark I had another double at 10-14, which was very easy to recognise as one of its fins was split into five like fingers.

20 July

I had another Chub at mid 4 and a Barbel at 8-01, then at 04:30 hours just as it was getting light my left hand rod crashed over and I was playing a very strong fish that wouldn’t give up and I had two attempts at getting it in the net but it was a good one at 13-09.

I then had another Chub, a Barbel at 9-06, while Jerry had two Barbel to 9-02, he then added a 12-01 and another Carp at 13-08. This was turning into a magical session.

Jerry rested his swim through the day but I carried on with my two hourly bait ups and added another mid 4 Chub, a Bream and a low double Carp.

This was followed in the evening by another double to me at 10-12 and Jerry had the fish I’d caught the previous night at 10-10.

I had another Barbel in the night and a 15-08 Common in the morning before we packed up, we’d caught 34 fish between us, a brilliant effort in far from ideal conditions.

27 July – River Derwent

I went back for a night to find people in my hot area, but I guess you can’t keep it secret for ever. I went up to the next field but struggled catching only one Barbel at 8-02.

30 July – Warwickshire Avon

I’d joined a syndicate managed by my pal Phil Smith on the upper Warwickshire Avon, it is on private farm land and early efforts by Phil and Paul “Gadget” Floyd during the back end of last season indicated it would do some big fish this year. I had a day spare and Gadget was fishing so I went to join him for a social and have my first look at the river. It was a pain to find but that was soon forgotten when I got my first look, it was lovely and had all the classic signs of a good Barbel river. I walked three fields with Gadget and didn’t realise until talking to Phil that I’d only looked at half of it, so there is plenty to explore in the future.

After being on the river four hours I settled in a swim about 300 yards downstream of Gadget, it was four feet deep, nice clean gravel bottom with a few onion reeds growing in the middle and along the margin. I set up with my normal approach and put one in the margin and one in the middle on Pandemic and pva bags. It wasn’t long before I had two 4+ Chub and after each I put 15 broken boilies out.

As it got dark Gadget sat in my swim and we had a good catch up and Phil soon joined us after packing up, we were all stood at the back of the swim talking when at 23:50 hours my middle rod smashed over. I picked up and started playing the fish that didn’t feel big, it was coming and then went solid, we flicked on the head torches and could see it had gone round one onion reed and was snagged. I tried all the angles but it wouldn’t move. I didn’t fancy a swim at this time of night and asked if anyone had a weed rake, Phil went to his van and came back with a rake and a weed cutter. The weed cutter was a double bladed tool he had made and attached to a rope which looked just the job.

Between the three of us we hatched a plan to throw it past the reed and gently pull it back in the hope it would cut the reed and free the fish which was some feet in the dark. Gadget did the throwing and second go it worked and the fish was free, we managed to bundle it into the net with the reed still attached, it was only approx. 6 pound but we were all chuffed to bits.

I picked up another in the night despite the disturbance at approx. 8 pound, Gadget had three singles which finished off a good first trip to the river and another fantastic month.

Another great month, seven nights on the Derwent, one on the Trent, 2 on the Ouse and one on the Avon, resulting in 24 Barbel, 9 being doubles