I have a love-hate
relationship with my local river stretch – there are some fabulous
specimens in there, but not much else. However, there are a few pegs
where trotted maggot can produce, so this was my tactical choice for
a few hours early on Sunday morning. I give each of my favoured pegs
a bit of time and then move on – it's a nice way to spend a few
hours.
I arrived at the venue
at 6am and wandered down to the one of the bottom pegs – it's
usually good for a few bites. A quick look showed the water level was
up a good few inches and still tanking through. This was a bit of a
shame as there is a gravel bar about 12 ft out that you can stand on
in wellies to trot the far side, but with the extra water there was
no way to reach it without waders. So I did the best that I could
from the bank.
A 4BB stick float was
paired with 0.10mm line and an 18 hook so I could attack with a
single maggot. First swing in and the float landed short of the main
run, however as I swung the rig back in it contained a ravenous
minnow. Not a bad sign, there are some in the stretch, and some days
this is all that shows.
A few runs through and
I was starting to get the presentation I wanted, just tripping bottom
and in and out of the fastest run. Towards the end of the run the
float dipped, I struck and what I initially thought was a snag
started coming upstream. A fairly long and difficult fight ensued,
whilst flashes of flank showed I have hooked a small-ish barbel,
landing it was a struggle. Although I had the fish beaten, getting it
into the bank and towards the landing net was a game and a half.
Overhanging trees, the gravel bank and a fish that kept reviving and
heading back into the flow did not help. However, after far too long
I waded down stream a little and found a slightly better spot,
managed to get the fish above the net and finally landed (but
managing the wrap the line around an overhead branch straight
afterwards).
I spent a little while
admiring my prize – 3lb of immaculate barbel – which still had
plenty of fight in it. Duly weighed and photographed it recovered
almost immediately and made off back into the river.
Try as I might, only
two more minnows showed in the peg (it's normally much better), so I
moved on upstream to some other favoured spots.
The 'inside' line swim,
which is normally good for a few chublets and dace produced nothing.
The pub swim, where I
normally blank, produced a minnow and then a bite and a half.
Whatever it was weighed heavy and headed straight for the upstream
snag, I did my best to arrest it's progress, but it was stronger than
my hooklength and we parted company.
Next peg, 'the
waterwheel', nothing.
Next peg, 'the ski
hut', nothing. (Although I did see the back of a large fish tight to
the nearside bank).
Next peg, '17',
nothing.
Next peg, 'the
confluence', nothing.
Last peg, 'above the
weir', nothing.
At this point it was
time to go home. One nice barbel, one good fish lost and a nice start
to Father's day. Job done.
Catch
list:
Barbel - 1
Minnow – 3
Total
weight 3lb
