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Hemp and Caster

August 18, 2011 by nathanwalter


Kevin and I decided to have another crack at the Kennet this week.  Geoff had gone AWOL, using some sort of family holiday as an excuse. Mind you when I spoke to him on Wednesday he was trying to catch roach at Britford.  Hmm, family holiday? My foot!

Anyway the real anglers headed to Aldermaston and were taught a very valuable lesson.  Don’t pretend to be real anglers when you can’t catch fish! Unfortunately it was another tough session here.  One or two fish rolled, just to prove there was some life down there.  I was fortunate to catch a barbel of around 7-8lbs and that was my only bite.

I did change tactics this week.  I dropped the pellets (they went everywhere!) in favour of a more traditional approach.  I cooked up some hemp (peace, man) and mixed in a good helping of casters.  I superglued 4 casters onto a hair and masked the size 14 Pallatrax ‘The Hook’ with another one.  I then coupled this with a longish hooklink and a 2.5 ounce Preston blockend feeder.  This was then filled with the hemp and caster mixture.  First part of the attack was to bait dropper 10 loads into the swim.  Leave it for 45-60 minutes and then fish over the top.

It did produce some interest early on when a really nice dace pulled the rod top round and then a little while later a barbel  did an impression of  Usain Bolt and ripped the tip round whilst tearing off down stream.  The fish put up a good fight and looked around the 7-8lb mark. It was an awkward swim to fish and I decided as dusk was approaching, I would move into an easier swim.

Kennet Barbel

I adopted the same tactics but this time nothing was forthcoming.  I decided to call it a day about 10.30pm as I was totally cream crackered.  Kevin was happy to turn in for the night as his rods had remained motionless since arrival.

The next day we decided to move to one of the other beats.  Again, adopting the tactics of the night before I decided to be a little more patient and move a few times into baited swims.  The first swim which is a really nice shady spot only produced a few dace and a roach.  The next move proved more productive.  Just as I opened a packet of crisps and took a bite out of my Tuna and sweetcorn sandwich (and you thought I was unhealthy) the rod tip slammed round and my lunch went about 7 feet into the air! The result was a small barbel of about 2.5-3lbs.  Nice result and I moved on feeling a little more pleased with myself.

The 3rd swim had a lovely big bush opposite.  This time I decided not to use the bait droppers.  This was a small, narrow section and I thought it may cause too much disturbance.  So I kept recasting a smaller feeder out at regular intervals, to keep some bait going in.  This seemed to work, as over the next couple of hours I had 3 more barbel to about 5.5lbs.  Then the swim died.  I would have moved but the heavens had opened and it was tipping it down.  So at around 8pm we decided enough was enough and we packed up and headed back to Kent.

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The Asscociation of Barbel Fishers

August 18, 2011 by nathanwalter


The Association of Barbel Fishers

Some time ago a group of like minded anglers formed the Association of Barbel Fishers.  It was formed because the people involved wanted a democratic group that put its members first.  The other great emphasis was on having fun.  Something anglers seem to forget sometimes.  It’s really a social group that goes fishing.  However, to be fair, that sells the group a bit short.  They also intend to do a great deal of fund raising  and eventually would love to involve themselves in more complex research and conservation projects.

Still it’s early days.  The Association has already managed to raise £500 for the MacMillan charity and will be following this up with numerous fund raising events along the lines of fish-ins.  They have also managed to produce an Association magazine named ‘Riffle’ .  This is an on-line or e-magazine available for the membership.  Its not a single species magazine and offers articles across a wide spectrum  of angling subjects. They have also acquired the fishing rights on three separate waters; 2 on the Trent and the other is the famous Downton fishery on the Hampshire Avon.

They have an on-line forum where members can chat about fishing or life generally.  You can expect a bit of light hearted pi…. taking er I mean banter, from a really great bunch of guys.  Help and advice are always on hand for anyone needing it.  Quite a few of the current crop of members are from north of the border i.e. The Midlands and up and in particular Yorkshire. So you will need to study the local lingo and remember water is pronounced without the invisible ‘R’ between a and t! Oh and remember to say “mi duck”

The group have also just had their inaugural AGM.  The Association now have a strong team in place have have outlined their plans for how the group will be run.  Elections will be put in place and a full financial report was presented to the membership in attendance and then replicated for viewing on the Barbel Fishers website.

I wish the group well and hope that they can continue their good work and for their great Raison d’etre – having fun.

Check out their website: The Association of Barbel Fishers.

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Kennet Re-Visited

August 11, 2011 by nathanwalter


The three musketeers arrived at the Kennet Tuesday afternoon full of anticipation.  We have found it tough going so far this season.  In 8 sessions I have only managed 5 barbel and lost 4.  Geoff and Kevin have taken 5 between them.  So not the best of starts.  I have tried altering my approach slightly this season and so far my results have been slightly better than the other two guys, but its only a very small difference.

The Kennet

Tuesday night saw me fishing 2 areas.  I opted for a open-end cage feeder (Andy Witham’s feeders) stuffed with barbel bomb and small pellets, all mixed in together.  I then used 2 of the medium sized elips pellets superglued to a hair on a size 12 hook.  Usual hooklink: 3 feet of Suffix camfusion.  I also incorporated a flying backlead a further 2 feet up the line from the feeder.  Its been difficult to use backleads this season on some parts of our Kennet, due to the amount of weed in the river this year.  There is more weed than I have seen over the past 5 years.  I suspect it was due to low river levels and the unseasonably high temperatures through April and May, which were obviously perfect for weed growth.  Its good to see it in the river in such abundance but we’re just not used to seeing on this part of the Kennet.

The only barbel during this part of the session came to me about 7.30pm, in a nice deep run over a thick ranunculus weed bed.  A spirited fight resulted in a barbel of around 5lbs.  I was just putting a few bits into my rucksack, as I was just preparing to move, when I turned around on my chair to check the rod and see the butt right up in the air and almost heading off into the river!  Luckily I fish with the rod often resting on my chair, but if not very, very close to me.  I managed to get my hand on the rod before it disappeared.  Never take your eye off the rod for a second.  I would normally put the bait runner on if I am going to be distracted for a few moments.  Anyway disaster averted.

A move proved futile as no further action came, nether did Kev or Geoff have any success.  Another tough day.

The following day saw us move beats. We headed to the Warren and Dalston sections.  I had decided to knock the barbel fishing on the head for today and concentrate on the quality dace and roach fishing to be had on these sections.  I set up a light quiver tip rod with 5lbs mainline and a small blockend feeder.  I used a 2 1/2 foot hooklink with a 16 hook and tied a small bait band to the hair rig.  I was using single small elips pellets as a bait, which I know these roach and dace love.  I filled the feeder with some large pellets (these are for flavour leakage) and some small micro pellets.

Action was steady.  A few nice dace took the bait but no sign of any roach.  I moved to a lovely shallow gravel run, with a deeper glide on the inside of a crease.  A few knocks resulted and then the tip pulled round.  The strike met with solid resistance followed by the steady pull of a decent fish.  This was either the biggest dace ever recorded or a barbel.  After a lovely fight on the lighter tackle a barbel going 7lb 6oz was returned to the river.  A little while later another barbel took the pellet and this time it went 7lb 7oz.  Like peas in a pod.  Maybe the smaller baits and lighter set-up made the difference with the barbel.  Both Geoff and Kev sadly blanked barbel wise although Kevin lost a fish in a snag.  Food for thought.

A very big dace!

I have certainly been toying with the idea of returning next time armed with hemp and casters.  Certainly the larger baits, perhaps in particular pellets, don’t appear to be working.  It’s time to re-think and change tactics again.

The roach sadly failed to materialise.  Another time perhaps.

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Clear Water Barbel

August 7, 2011 by nathanwalter


I fished a gin clear river recently for barbel.  I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who do this week in week out and so will already know what observations and opinions I am about to express.

Firstly I am often surprised how much feeding fish will tolerate from an angler before finally giving up and spooking out of the swim.  Providing an angler is sensible in his concealment (or not as the case maybe), feeding barbel will continue to do so despite the obvious presence of an angler.  Slow, deliberate movements don’t seem to cause too much alarm.  I would still put a great deal of importance on stealth of course, but not to the extremes that some may think.

What I think is far more important is how the bait and tackle is presented in the fishes environment.  Let me quantify that.  I have seen on several occasions barbel moving into the baited area and then suddenly spooking off.  Now its fairly obvious to me that this was due to the mainline being either visible or coming into contact with a fish.  When one spooks, it does tend to spook the others.  The fish then tend to retreat, but will often return to the swim to continue foraging for the food that they know is present. However the more spooky those fish become the less confidently they seem to feed.

How can we overcome this problem? My set-up has evolved over many years of fishing for barbel.  It works for me although not 100% of the time.  I doubt anything works 100% of the time and there will be many occasions where you have to think about what you are doing and alter it to suit on any given day.  Keep ringing the changes as they say.  However I like to use a long, coated hooklink.  I particularly like the ones made by Suffix.  The one I use, is a fast sinking one and lays on the riverbed very nicely.  I also like it because it is available in lower breaking strains, which is unusual for this type of line.  I don’t like the idea of using 15lb hooklink with say a 10lb mainline. Anyway, above this 3 foot hooklink I will use a backlead.  Sometimes a standard flying backlead sometimes though, depending on the river and flow, a standard in-line lead of an ounce.  This is an important addition to the set-up.  Why?  Because it pins your mainline down on the deck so the barbel can’t see it as easily and more importantly can’t swim into it.  Nothing seems to spook barbel more than touching a tight mainline, that is often not actually visible to them, in the case of a flourocarbon mainline.

They are occasions when adding a further backlead would be beneficial, I think.  Sliding one off of the rod tip, so it pins the line down from the rod tip.  What you have to remember though is what the riverbed is like.  If there is quite a bit of weed, this becomes a bit pointless.  But its worth playing with the set-up to see what works.   I also like to keep the rod tip as low as possible.  What I won’t use is leadcore.  I don’t like the idea of large lengths of leadcore being possibly tethered to a fish.  The thought of leaving a long hooklink attached to a fish is bad enough, but heavy leadcore leaders as well is just too much for me, so I won’t contemplate using them.

Anyway the end result of this is less spooking of fish.  Perhaps not entirely but a significant improvement.  But of course this is geared towards people fishing a static bait with either a lead weight or a swimfeeder.  We all know that there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Float tactics, rolling meat, free-lining etc.etc all work well on their day too.  That’s what makes fishing so enjoyable.

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Cagefeeders.com

August 6, 2011 by nathanwalter


I have recently received some absolutely superb feeders from Andrew Witham.

I have used them a few times recently and they are first class.  Probably the best, well made feeders I have yet come across.   They are exceptionally robust and I like the coating the feeder has on it.  Its a sort of gravel/sand coating similar to the type found on some ledger weights.

Andy Witham's Feeders

The ones I really liked were the large diameter ones that are perfect for the bigger rivers.  I used mine up on the Wye and they worked a treat.  They also do smaller diameter ones which I’ve been using on the Kennet and in the Lea Valley.  The weights vary from 1 1/4 oz up to 4oz, but Andrew does them in even bigger sizes on his website, up to an incredible 10oz I believe. 😮

Take a look at his site:  www.cagefeeders.com

Prices are very competitive and his service, help and advice is excellent.

Thanks Andrew.

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Lea Valley Fishing

August 6, 2011 by nathanwalter


Fished the Lea Valley Tuesday and Wednesday.

By God it was hot.  30c when I arrived.  Walked the river for about three hours just to re-familiarise myself with the old girl.  I used to fish this particular section a few years ago.  It has changed a bit.  Some for the better I must say, some maybe not so good.

Ended up fishing a couple of lovely swims until about 10pm.  The rod top barely moved.  Ah well, next time maybe.

The following day I moved to a different river.  This proved a bit more productive.  I was hoping for the roach.  I set-up with a light quiver tip and decided to fish a small feeder with mini pellets in.  I used a small elips pellet banded on to an 18 hook.  I thought this might just do the trick for these big, wary roach.  First bite was…..yes you’ve guessed it; a barbel.  Not too big fortunately.

I persevered with the roach fishing for a while and then swapped over to bread flake when I had pulled out of 2 more barbel.  I did end up with a couple of roach, but only small ones.  The barbel kept coming and I ended up with 15.  Some days barbel seem to just hang em selves.

A Lea barbel

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Fill your hands you sonofabitch

August 6, 2011 by nathanwalter


I watched the new True Grit movie recently.  I can’t say that I was disappointed because I knew it wouldn’t be as good as Duke’s version.  I know that the Coen brothers wanted to make a movie that was a closer depiction of the book, but nevertheless, there were always going to be comparisons.

To me, John Wayne is Rooster Cogburn and there can only be one True Grit and it was his version.  Certainly, Jeff Bridges’ portrayal added a much darker, earthier element to the character, but it lacked the lovable rogue quality that Wayne brought to the role. A role in which he almost parodied himself.  It remains to this day one of the finest westerns ever made.

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Robin Hood Country

August 6, 2011 by nathanwalter


I didn’t find Sherwood Forest on my last trip to Nottingham, or the Sheriff for that matter but I did find a few fish in the Trent.

Its a big river and with a bit of extra water on, it can be pretty daunting, especially when you are used to fishing small southern chalk streams.  The level in itself is not a great problem.  The weed on the other hand is a pain in the proverbial! It just seems to be everywhere when the river rises.

On a recent trip with Geoff we found the river as described: high with just a touch of colour.  Things looked good and we couldn’t wait to get started.  However on casting out we found we had got a problem.  A big problem.  The weed was a nightmare.  Within a couple of minutes the rod tops were dancing as the feeders were being pulled round in the current by the weed.  Tons of the stuff, all over the line, feeder, everything.  Oh dear, now what?

Well the answer was simple; fish in a bit closer and out of the main flow.  Here the weed problem was better.  Not cured, but better.  At least like this it was fishable.  So setting up with a decent feeder and 4 small pellets on a hair, I swung out the bait, just off of an overhanging tree.  It was slow at first but at least the bait tended to stay in position, at least for a while.  After a few casts of getting some bait down, the rod tip slammed round.  A hard fighting Trent barbel was attached to the other end.  After a spirited fight I managed to coax it into the landing net.  Not a big fish but a real confidence booster.

Well the action kept coming.  By around 10pm I had taken 10 barbel to about 6 or 7lbs.  The action really started to hot up and by the time we packed up at around 2am, I had taken 23 barbel to just over 10lbs.  Wow what a session.  Most of the fish were in excellent condition and fought well.  Lots of good, rod wrenching bites too.

Geoff was just up from me but found it slow going.  I think all he was achieving was to bait up my swim for me, so the bugger moved.  Typical.  Once he was far enough away, he started to catch and ended up with 8.  Of course he wished he had taken the decision to move earlier.  Had he have done so, I’m sure he would of had twice as many.  Luckily he didn’t 😉

So after visiting the local boozer for lunch the next day, we headed back to the river.  I was stuffed after having fish and chips and just fancied a snooze.  However it was time to fish.  The river level had dropped and the water looked clearer.  The weed problem had lessened, which was a relief.

Sadly though, the fishing was pants.  I managed a couple of smallish barbel and then we decided to pack up, as we had a long drive back to Kent.  It was a very enjoyable visit and I hope we can return soon.

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Kennet Perfection

August 5, 2011 by nathanwalter


Without doubt (in my mind anyways!) the Kennet is one of the country’s most beautiful rivers.  The area I fish is wild, unspoilt and left to its own devices.  That’s a rarity in this day of flood prevention and housing estates!

The Warren Beat

I am a member of the Wasing Estate syndicate.  They have several miles of the Kennet from Brimpton to Aldermaston.  The river here varies greatly.  Some areas are shallow, gravel riffles, others deep runs with overhanging trees and lastly deeper, darker waters of Aldermaston, home of the big fish.

One thing is common though and that is the beats are left untouched by man.  The Warren in particular is a lovely wild section.  Its overgrown with vegetation and thick woodland.  Its dark and foreboding and yet on a bright summers day full of light and life.  The sounds of wildlife and bubbling water allow the angler to totally submerse himself in his surroundings.  Its a wonderfully relaxing place to spend a day.

9lb 12oz kennet perfection

So far this season the fishing has proved difficult.  In past seasons I have caught well here.  All the beats have provided me with some excellent sport.  The fish have ranged in sizes from a few pounds to over 13lbs.  Plenty of doubles have come my way, but this season I am struggling.  So far I have managed 8 sessions, some short ones and only 5 fish have been coaxed into the folds of the landing net.  Sadly I have had 4 hookpulls as well, which is a high percentage of fish hooked at the moment.  All in all very frustrating.

However fishing is not just about catching.  Luckily this area of the Kennet is so unspoilt and beautiful that blanking is almost a pleasure.  Actually no, that’s a lie.  Not a pleasure, but you know what I mean.  It doesn’t seem quite such a bore when you fail to catch when you are immersed in such serene tranquility.

On a recent trip to Aldermaston we were fortunate and perhaps privileged to watch 2 magnificent Red Kites quartering a freshly mown field.  These majestic birds circled overhead and then swooped down to grab at perceived carrion.  Sadly for the birds these were only lumps of cut grass and as they lifted off with them, they soon realised the error of their ways and dropped the useless bounty.

Red Kite

They worked the field for some time and I watched them on and off throughout the day.  It made my trip.  I was spoiled again because the following day we moved to a different beat and I witnessed a Kite floating on the thermals high above me. Later I disturbed another one in a quiet avenue of trees.  The bird lazily spread its wings and climbed over the tree tops.  They are an impressive bird at a distance but close up you realise just how big these birds of prey are.

The fishing as I have said has been slow.  Generally I fish Tuesday evening and Wednesday.  I am able to pitch a tent out of the way.  I use a small pop-up tent along with Geoff.  The two tents are small enough to be fairly unobtrusive and yet can accommodate an angler comfortably.  These are not pitched in swims of course, that would not be cricket.  Instead they are set up well away from the river.  When I’m fishing, I’m fishing.  When I’m sleeping then I’m sleeping.  I’m not in to the bivvy scene, but each to their own.  I have no problem with bivvies if the rules allow.

Anyway so far my biggest Kennet fish was 9lb 12oz from Aldermaston.  Not a particularly big fish for here but nonetheless a stunning example of a Kennet specimen.  The other 4 were of a smaller stamp but just as welcome and just as perfect.  Hopefully my angling ability will improve as the season wears on and I’ll start to improve on my success rate.  But I truly hope that I never loose sight of the importance of just being there even if I’m not catching.

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Wye Bound

August 4, 2011 by nathanwalter


Spent a week during June on the banks of the Wye.  It has become one of my favourite places to fish.  Yes, it’s a prolific barbel and chub river, but for me its the stunning scenery and the river’s diversity that won me over so quickly.

The Wye

Staying at Whitehouse Farm (a caravan club certified site) opens up this area of the middle Wye.  Being based near Foy means we can travel either up or downstream to find planty of beautiful, prolific stretches.  Whether they be member’s club waters, day ticket stretches or Wye and Usk controlled, there are plenty to choose from.

We like to mix the week up with visits to all of the above mentioned stretches. Being a member of Ross Angling Club gives me access to plenty of good river and at an affordable price.  Next we target W&U as they offer limited numbers on their stretches, so you tend to get the place to yourself.  Lastly we may go for the standard day ticket stretches and some of these can be very good.

So after arriving to find the river several feet up and chocolate brown in colour we wondered what the week would bring.  I have to say that the Wye does fish better with some extra water on, but I prefer it when the colour is dropping out a little and it’s not pushing through quite as hard.

Still we were here and so gave it our best shot.  We only fished a few hours but managed a few between us and we all caught which is nice.  We hoped that for the second day the river may have dropped a little and the colour too.  Sadly it seemed no different but the fishing was more productive.  We ended up with about 20 barbel between the three of us.  Sadly the session was cut short by the weather.  A big thunderstorm moved in and I don’t do thunderstorms!  As Freedie mercury would say “Thunderbolt and lightning – very very frightening….”.

We then moved on to a Ross club stretch.  It turned out to be a very attractive, tree lined section.  I’m sure its one that deserves some further exploration.  It looked quite varied in terms of depths and flow and on a return visit I hope we can wander more extensively.  Still today we just targeted one area.  The river was still quite coloured but the flow didn’t seem quite so pushy.  I fished a bigish cage feeder with Hinders barbel bomb and added mixed pellet.  It’s a deadly combination in the right conditions.  I use 2 superglued medium elips on the hair to finish it off.  Today proved good for me as I ended up with 10 barbel to about 8lbs and 2 bonus shad.  These are members of the herring family and fight like tigers.  they were only small but boy have they got big mouths on em.  They reminded me of Tarpon.

We targeted a few W&U waters over the last 3 days.  One was a new stretch for us and certainly one of the prettiest we have visited.  It was in a lovely wooded valley.  The scenery really was beautiful.  The river appeared to be very weedy and so it was to prove.  The fishing was tough.  Well finding a clear spot was tough.  We all ended up catching but lost a few in the weed.  I had a great day taking 13 fish.  Geoff and Kev caught a few too.

The last two days were at a familiar stretch for us and we were joined by Dan.  Over the next two days we caught in the region of 80 barbel.  Great fishing in great surroundings and a wonderful end to an enjoyable week.

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