The Sessions - March 2019
End of season success 😊
I signed of last month having fished through some crazy weather ranging from frosts to t-shirt weather in February and still managed to bag a few.
1 March – River Trent.
The temperature had cooled a bit to 10-11 degrees during the day and 5 degrees at night with southerly winds, still pretty warm for early March. I drove up after an early finish at work and was planning to fish the top end of the fishery in a spot I hadn’t fished before, but when I arrived there was a local day angler just getting ready to go home and another angler waiting to get in the spot, so after a quick chat I headed back to the bottom end which was empty. After the big walk with the barrow I was on the big bend for a 19:00 start and put the rods out on double 15mm Pandemic and pva bags, I then put 30 boilies through the swim and set about setting up the shelter and bedchair.
The night started well with two takes, a Chub and a hook pull and then I had nothing until the early hours when I had two high singles and finished with a 10-01 at first light. I’d had a difficult week and wasn’t feeling it so packed up for home, it’s not often I do that but you don’t fish effectively if your hearts not in it and you end up camping…..
7 March – River Trent
I’d booked the remaining 7 days of the season off work with the intention of fishing through to the end with the hope to end the season with a big girl.
The weather had been good but with lots of rain since my last trip, and a few big fish had been reported in the press and social media. Typically it turned cold for my week off with a lot of bad weather forecast, the rain had put a lot of extra water in the rivers and the levels were very high with rubbish coming down. When I arrived on the river I couldn’t believe the difference from the previous week, the level must have been up at least 8 feet!! I wanted to try to fish the top end and got the swim I wanted but it was clear straight away it would be difficult. It was raining and the wind was 45mph plus blowing straight into my face, I don’t give up easy so got the rods out, clipped on 8oz leads with double 15mm Pandemic and flicked them out. The deep water was close in so baiting up accurately would be fine if I could hold bottom.
I tried for a couple of hours but couldn’t keep a rig in position for long and the river was still rising, so I had to have a rethink. It helps to have contacts when travelling for your fishing so I always make the effort to remain humble and be friendly and find it pays of massively, after a couple of phone calls and a bit of driving I arrived on another section I know well to an area that fishes well in flood conditions. I arrived in the dark but wasn’t worried as I know the swim well so set up and put two rods out on 8oz leads. I’d met up with my pal Ian and we’d managed to get a good area but the problem is it gets busy and sure enough the cars started to arrive and many people just don’t have fishing etiquette. We were struggling to keep rigs in anyway so it didn’t help when two lads tried to squeeze in downstream of me. They then proceeded to hammer in the bivvy pegs, head torches were on like a light house and they generally made loads of noise. It was freezing cold, I was struggling to keep a rig out and then that so I reeled in and got in the bag. Then to my horror one of them somehow got a take and promptly lands a 16-03!! I guess that’s fishing for you…….
8 March
I was up at 06:30 and got the rods out again, nothing else had been caught though the night and most had given up so all in all it was a good decision to get some sleep.
The weather was awful, wind and drizzly rain and feeling cold. I changed a rod over to maggot feeder, fishing a bunch of red maggots on a size 10 hook and got a take quite quickly with a small Barbel at 6 plus but that was it for the day. People came and went all through the day, it was tough fishing to say the least.
Ian decided to go up onto the middle Trent and I decided to move back further down on the Tidal to Sutton.
Again I used social media to get an idea of what areas were free and I’d been told the big slack area I wanted was free with very few people on the section. So I packed up in the dark and drove back down to Newark and then up the A1 to Sutton. I was feeling pretty confident it was the right move as the slack normally fishes well in a flood. I went in through the gate and drove down behind the flood bank, as I got to the area I went over the flood back to find two anglers had just set up in the swim, I couldn’t believe my luck.
They were in the swim I fished in this slack in Feb so I went well above them at the start of it, not the best spot but I was hoping I could keep a rig out.
After casting out it was soon clear we would be having the same problem with rubbish in the flow even in the slacker water. I kept recasting up to midnight and realised it was no good so reeled in and went to sleep. Two nights spent on the river and very little fishing.
9 March
The strong winds returned with heavy showers, it wasn’t looking good, but the river had stabilised so I thought there was a small window of opportunity before it started coming up again. I walked the top end of the section and then drove all the way down and walked the bottom end looking for an area I thought I’d be able to fish. There was an area on the inside of a huge bend as it started to straighten up that looked fishable, I got the leading rod to work and found a near side shelf that dropped from 5-10 foot with a nice gravel bottom. Normally the 5 foot section would be dry land and you’d set your shelter up on it and fish to the deeper far margin, however in high water it changes and it was likely fish would be sheltering from the high fast water along this drop off, well I hoped so….
The added bonus was the wind was on my back so by positioning the car with the flood bank directly behind it and then my shelter up against the car it was well protected from the strong wind.
It just felt right so I shot back to my gear, quickly packed it in the car and flew back down to the spot. As I pulled up another car arrived, I’d beaten him there by a minute although to be fair he was only looking and not sure where to go, his name was Mick Foreman and an all round nice fella. He set up further round the inside of the bend and came back round for a chat and we discussed tactics and fishing in general. He told me he had a Deeper Pro and brought it over for me to have a look at the spot I wanted to target, what a great bit of kit, two casts and I had the spot precisely marked. It confirmed two things to me, my leading approach definitely works and I identified the right spot but the Deeper does it so much quicker, so that was decision made, I would buy one in the close season.
I got set up and put the rods out, one on double 15mm and the other on a single 18mm both with 8oz leads and put20 boilies through the swim. The rubbish was still bad but I was getting a little longer without them being moved due to the spot I was fishing. The wind was ridiculous, it’s so open and exposed at Sutton it feels a lot worse, but with the flood bank and the car I was quite well shelter while in the bivvy.
By 17:30 I’d had one Bream, the weed and rubbish was bad and I was struggling, after three sections and four swims I was losing my confidence and feeling a wash out coming on. After making a few calls it was evident no one was catching, Phil Smith rang to see how I was getting on and I bought him up to speed. He said “You’re not enjoying yourself, go home, have a meal with Julie and come out again in a day or so”
I had to agree with him so started to pack the swim down, I hate giving up but it seemed like a lost cause, everything was in the car except the rods and the shelter when the left hand rod cracked over…..
The fish took the single 18mm and fought well, making me think it was bigger that 9-09 but it was a Barbel…..
Now I had a decision to make, stay or go, it didn’t take long, I put the rod back out and set the swim up again
19:10 hours – the right hand rod bleeped twice and just bent over, I leant into it and it felt a very big fish staying deep and plodding about without flying off. It went slowly to the deeper water and I stopped it and tried to slowly turn it and everything went slack, when I reeled in it had cut me off just above my little link loop, I was absolutely gutted, you can never be sure but that one will stay with me for years. I’d only lost four all season and two were on this trip.
On the positive side it looked like fish were feeding so I put another 20 boilies through the swim.
21:45 hours – The right hand rod went again, this all went to plan and I landed another at 9-06.
10 March
A couple of Bream followed and then the rain started and it was coming sideways in the strong wind, the conditions were terrible but on the plus side the rubbish had reduced and that small window of opportunity was there.
04:15 hours – The right went again, it was hammering down and I got soaked but it was worth it landing a 12-02. Although wet through I was laughing, happy and felt justified in staying out.
I’d dosed of and woke up in the dark with rain coming into the shelter soaking everything, the wind had swung round to a north easterly with light drizzle that just gets everywhere, what a trip!! I got the front for the shelter and struggled with the zip, but got it up to stop any more rain coming in.
I had a couple more Bream before first light and then decided to try one rod on maggots and spoppered out a pint over the spot. The wind swung back to a south westerly and really got strong again, up to 50mph bringing a huge hail storm, and sure enough the maggot rod went over, it was a Bream at 8 plus but I couldn’t get it back quick enough as the hail was stinging my head. The weather was Baltic but I kept going strangely enjoying it.
16:05 hours – I was sat watching the rods, the sky had cleared but the wind was till gale force and it was very cold. The boilie rod nodded over a couple of times, very similar to a Bream take and I lifted into it expecting one so I was happy to meet solid resistance. It didn’t do much until it was over the shelf and in the margins then it was powering about and I started to think it may be a good fish. As it popped up and I saw it I was thinking it was possibly a 13+, then when it went over the net and didn’t drop straight in I was thinking 14+, when I looked in the net I thought bigger and was so happy after all the effort.
When I lifted the net I knew it was a good one an got it unhooked and in the sling, the wind was so strong it was lifting the sling with the fish in it so I had to weigh it in the shelter, the digitals fluttered over my PB but eventually settled an ounce under at 16-08, what a fish, what a reward. Mick came round and did the honours with the camera and did a cracking job.
After slipping the fish back and thinking over tactics, I swapped the maggot rod over to an 18mm boilie and spoppered out another pint of red maggots over the spot as I felt the maggots had drawn the fish up and they came across one boilie and took it.
I’d just finished when it went dark and a huge storm came over with driving rain, that quickly changed to sleet and then 50p size flakes of snow.
18:10 hours – the snow was heavy but not settling as the ground was so wet but the wind was still 40mph plus and you’ve guessed it the same rod went over and I was playing a fish in the snow. It went safely in the net at 11-09, a snow Barbel but unfortunately I couldn’t prove it in the photo due to the snow not settling.
I put another 10 boilies out and the last few maggots and tried to keep warm as it was freezing cold.
11 March
00:15 hours – I’d suffered another hook pull which was unusual as it was my third loss of the session and only my fifth of the season. The same rod went again and this one stayed on at 10-07, it was so cold I just did a quick mat shot.
The river started to rise again and the rubbish started to be a problem again, I had another two singles and by 05:00 hours I was so cold and the rubbish so bad I reeled in for some sleep. I tried again briefly at first light but the river was in a mess so I sat back with a brew while all the gear dried out in the sun and then packed up for home. Despite all the difficulties I’d had a small window of opportunity and took it with an epic session in Baltic conditions. I felt I’d picked the right spot and small tactical changes with the maggots had made the difference.
As I drove back through the section everyone had blanked apart from Mick who’d had four singles and I drove home with a huge smile on my face.
14 March – Bridigo Lake
After three days at home catching up on jobs I had one more days leave so went Perching for a final time before giving this ticket up. The weather was still really bad with 45mph winds and rain so I had to get in an area with some shelter but with a chance of some fish. I spent time with the leading rod before deciding on swims and was fishing by 09:45 hours. With the weather as it was I couldn’t float fish as normal so set up two rods with ¾ leads and 6 pound Suplex hooklinks to a size 6 hook with King Prawn as bait. I fished one tight to an overhanging bush and the other just of it and baited with maggots and broken prawns. The trip started well with a Perch at exactly 3-00
The next bite was from a 12 pound Common that trashed the swim as it would not give up and I had to wait until last light for another take which resulted in another Perch at approx. 2 pound to finish my time on this lake and the season.
My Barbel season finished on a high with the 16-08 and I ended up with 128 Barbel, 44 doubles with only 5 lost in 53 nights fishing. A good result considering quite a few nights were spent on the Ouse chasing shadows and my two trips to the Mersey 😊
To top a great month I appeared in the AT again and got a Drennan award for the big girl.
Now where are my Carp rods, until next month tight lines and be lucky😊
Big thanks to my sponsors for their continued support,