Taking No Prisoners

After losing those barbel yesterday it was time to get serious.

This river is wide, ridiculously powerful and full of rocks and snags. If your gear is not up to it you'll soon know, as I found out yesterday.

Today, I was not messing about.

15lb Big Game main line with the same for hooklink, with a size 8 Korum Power hook.

I was up at dawn as per usual, quick cup of tea and on the push bike for the quick five minute ride to the swim, across the soft tracks and dew laden undergrowth. It had that unmistakable late summer feel on this misty morning. 

The river was dropping quickly and I noticed the flow was easing a bit. Still fast but not what it was.

First hour more clonking great silver bream to 2lb 5oz.

I then decided to fish further out into the flow, where a 110 gram claw feeder would just hold. First cast and I'm into a barbel and a good one too. Incredible power in this fast current but with 15lb BG I'm in with a very good chance.

I get it in to the slacker water and it surfaces and goes straight in to the net. 9lb 7oz and I'm well chuffed.

The next couple of hours it was almost a bite a chuck. They were in the faster water for sure.

Ide, more silver bream, roach and bream, all oblivious the the hideously stiff 15lb hooklink and heavy hook. Sweetcorn was what they wanted.

It then went quiet before the tip bounced back and the line was sing sawing as another barbel was on. This time a sleek fish around 6lb.

A small barbel next cast, then a bigger one broke me off over a rock. Bastard !

Put a few feeder fulls of bait out quickly and I'm in to another barbel, I gave it plenty of stick and it eventually rolled over the net and went 9lb 3oz. A real pig of a fish.

I packed up after four hours of practically non stop action, an absolutely brilliant session.

You can't hope to land these fish on normal feeder gear in this river, its just too fast, deep and snaggy and definitely not to be messed with.