The River Angler

Yes, what a mixture!  I had arranged to meet some of my fellow Lone Angler and Pallatrax team mates on the banks of the Wye for a few days.  However things started to look a little unlikely having suffered with a dire bout of food poisoning a few days before the trip.  Despite feeling dreadful I decided to go anyway and in all honesty suffered for that decision.

The Wye

However I arrived around 6pm and there was Lone Angler’s team boss Jez Brown ready to greet me.  Also there was Geordie Ray Pulford and David Lidstone both Pallatrax team members.  David runs the highly successful Emperor Lakes in Devon.  After a quick chat Jez and I headed downstream and we set up the float gear to try and tempt a barbel or two.  This was a two man job to be successful.  Initially I would fish whilst Jez did the baiting.  On every trot through Jez dropped 3 or 4 LA squabs right on the float.  We were both wading and I was casting across to the other bank.  Jez’s catapult technique was a work of art and it soon paid dividends.  The float plunged under and a powerful fish fought for freedom.

I soon had a nice tally of chub under my belt including a number of fish well over 4lbs.  These are big, chunky man’s chub here on this part of the Wye and they really are impressive fish.  It didn’t take too long to hook a barbel which fought like stink, only to find it was hooked in one of it’s pecs!  It was time for a role reversal and so Jez took control of the float rod and I displayed my own expertise with the catapult!  “Well there’s no need to be rude Jez” I said.  Still despite my efforts, he was soon into a few fish including a nice 7lb barbel.

After that I dabbled with a fly rod and then a spot of freelining all with either sausage sizzle, cheese mania or ocean pride squabs.  The squabs can easily be fished directly on the hook with some careful effort and are perfect for float fishing.  The chub and barbel really seem to go for them.  Its a great way to fish and each capture is very rewarding, particularly in the flow.

The following day I was joined by my good mate Danny.  We headed downstream to fish off of a shallow beach and spend some time trotting and then moving on to feeder tactics.  We waded out to waist deep water and were soon into a few fish.  They all turned out to be good sized chub with me losing the only barbel on float tactics.  After a few hours we decided to take a rest and sit down and feeder fish.  It was incredibly warm, although overcast and the humidity was seriously draining me.  I had to retire to my tent for a couple of hours sleep.  The effects of the food poisoning were still leaving me with little or no energy and feeling generally unwell.

After a rest we fished on until around 7pm before heading off to the b&b and dinner.  The fishing had been pretty slow in all honesty.  I think I had 4 barbel and certainly a dozen chub with a couple close to 5lbs.  Danny also managed a few nice fish.  This area of the Wye is stunning and it’s just a privilege to be able to fish here.  The following day we returned and fished the top end of the beat.  We fished into a deep gully on the far bank and my rod hooped over almost immediately.  Two barbel later all went quiet.  By now the sun was up and the heat was becoming unbearable.  I wandered off and tried a few other spots before grabbing the float rod and taking a brace of 5lb chub.

The smile says it all.

Dan managed a few barbel too and a couple of chub but by around 2.30pm the sun was beating down relentlessly and I was still feeling ill, so I decided to call it a day and head the 180 miles home.  We’d had a couple of nice days in good company and I can’t wait to get back but hopefully after we’ve had some decent rain and a drop in temperatures.