Geoff, Kevin and I headed to a new stretch of the Kennet. We joined earlier in the year and went for a wander along this particular stretch about a month ago. It’s a beautiful stretch. Quite narrow and winding with lots of features, especially as you approach the end of the beat.
Geoff opted to fish the weir at the upper limit of the stretch and both Kevin and I decided to explore lower down. I ended up right at the lower limit, in amongst the woods. Its a beautiful spot down at this point, very intimate with bundles of overhanging trees and other features to fish to. Sadly though it lacked some depth, averaging only 2′ 6″ to 3′ at best. So after chub fishing and a spot of plumbing for a few hours, I felt compelled to move back upstream to find some deeper water.
The chub rod didn’t produce, so it was time to get on the barbel, so out came the Torrix. I found quite a nice, deep swim just off of a bend. I had around 5 feet, with numerous snags to fish to. I opted to fish a boilie with a paste wrap in conjunction with a small block end feeder loaded with maggots or hemp. I had plenty of time to admire the scenery and bird life, as the tip never moved! Unusually I didn’t see any Red Kites or Buzzards today, which is a rarity these days in this area.
With only 10 minutes left to fish, I jumped into a swim that had been vacated a few minutes before. The guy had caught 4 barbel during his session and had kept a bit of bait going in. So I thought it was worth a chance. I didn’t have time to mess about and so wherever the first cast landed it would have to do. It landed just about perfect. I didn’t know the swim so couldn’t be certain how snaggy it was, so just had to hope for the best. I had two knocks almost immediately and I started to worry that I may be caught up, when the rod top slammed over. Fish on. After a good scrap, a nice fit 7lb barbel was released. A great end to what had been a beautiful but tough day.
Sadly Geoff and Kevin could only muster a couple of trout and a bullhead! Shame. 🙂
The River Angler 
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