2015 Review

Hi all....

My biggest highlight of 2015! Well done Natasha x

Just a short and sweet one for this week as it's neigh on Crimbo. I thought i'd piece together a few words and some nice pics featuring my favourite highlights of the year 2015 and what I honestly feel has been the best river season of my whole angling career. In fact i'd go as far as to say my best year ever in angling!

This year has seen many new developments for myself within angling. Parting company with Ian last year and saying goodbye to C.B.S was a little bit of a kick in the bollocks, but in all honesty it's been by far the best move I've made. Now I am free to run my business as I see fit and it's gone from strength to strength without the huge investment I feared it would need.

She did it again! 10lb 12oz PB

I started the guiding service up and that has taken off really well this year with almost every angler catching a new PB, most over double figures! A great example of what's available to those booking up a days guided with myself.

Dave Brooks with a stunner

I've met some wonderful guys and girls and some lifelong friends along the way this year and I've also found out who some of the rogues and back stabbers are too. Unfortunate but there's always one or two amongst the groups of people involved in our hobbies. Each has an agenda of some kind and I always seem to find them out at some point along the way.

Among the highlights of this year the most memorable had to be when Natasha grabbed runner up spot in the Dave Mason Trophy for the best barbel capture of the year at the 20th Barbel Society Conference.

The kid was a total star for the day and it's something that will stay with both her and myself till the day I die. Watching my little girl up on that stage was one of the greatest moments in my life and I think she'd agree that she was very excited too.

Mat with his first ever double

The obvious outcome of the show was that she then wanted to go out and beat the PB barbel of 10lb 4oz and a few weeks later she did just that with another corking fish of 10lb 12oz! The girl's an unstoppable fish magnet!

I guided a couple of right old characters this year and I enjoyed the company of every single one. Dave Brooks caught his first ever barbel whilst out with me and caught no less than 2 over 10lbs in one short evening! Incredible.....His lovely partner Emma Dyer fished on a very tough evening and had her first ever barbel which went exactly 10lbs.

Dan Jones caught his first ever barbel after numerous blank guided trips out with others. He managed 3 on his first session out with me. Andy and Lewis both had doubles and so did Chris Tupper! He'd had 6 fish all season and managed to catch 7 in an evening with me including a new PB and first ever double! Gary Brooks had a double and a couple more to boot.

Another proud daddy moment for me...Thomas with his first ever double at 10lb 5oz

The Brumder Mathew Oneill has had an excellent season fishing with me and he's caught 30 plus barbel in just 10 trips out. Hes had numerous cracking fish including his first ever double on June 16th of all days too!

Lewis had his first ever barbel and a double as well!

Ian Oxley has been out with me a few times and is slowly wading his way through the coarse fish species list...He caught numerous barbel on his first ever session fishing for them and took a cracking one of over 11lbs!

To top the guided trips off my lad Thomas managed to bag his first ever double too at 10lb 5oz. And finally my beloved wife Marianne even had her first ever barbel at over 8lbs as well....What a year it has been for friends, relatives and clients on the barbel front!

My personal year has been just incredible....It's the first time I have pretty much set my stall out all season for just barbel and I have fished 7 different rivers this year for barbel and caught from 4 of them.

The wife with her first ever Barbel!

I have amassed no less than exactly 120 barbel captures and featured 16 doubles in that haul. I've had a double from The Wye, The Severn and The Kennet this year and realized a life long ambition in catching my first Kennet barbel and of course at over 11lb too!

I have so so enjoyed my club stretch of the Wye this year as the fish have been relatively easy to locate and as easy to catch. They've fed well all year up until the floods arrived. The Severn at Pixham has also been extremely kind to me and also incredible enjoyable too.

Despite the bastard of a walk with all my kit across the field to my favourite swim, it has supplied my need for rod bending action on every single trip up there to date.

Dan Jones first ever Barbel

The Kennet is a totally different river to all the above and with it's beautiful overhanging trees, meandering path, shallows, deep holes, tight bends and stunning scenery. It has me hooked in a way I didn't think was possible. I just can't wait to get back there to wet my lines in search of something really special....roll on 2016!

The carping this year has been poor on many fronts and that's probably down to my complete and almost non-existent interest in it at present. The club waters have provided very little interest to me with anything of any size already seeing my net....

This included the capture of the Treoes Grass carp which I had at 22lb 4oz one week and Natasha had it the next! Another amazing moment for the pair of us.....Apart from that fish I haven't seen much else on the carp front all year. If i'm truthful, I've not really missed it either.

Natasha with the big grassy!

I had planned to do a bit more Perching and Piking this winter but as yet it still feels far too mild out for me to want to get out chasing predators. I know the season for them is here and there's nothing wrong in going for them at any point after 1st October but I just can't get excited about them this year.

I'm still so very focused on the Barbel. This year I have had yet more written work published in magazines including the wonderful Barbel Fisher. It's been a true pleasure to write for the magazine and it's always put together beautifully.

Bob, a true friend and great angler.

I must at this point thank all those that have put their faith in me this year and booked days out. I must also say a huge thanks to those of you that have gone out of your way to help myself out too. You know who you are.....There's three particular blokes who stand out from the crown though. First up I must mention my awesome mate Bob.

Bob and I have spent many sessions fishing together this year and I must admit despite the abuse he gives me I've grown rather fond of the old git! He's spent many hours guiding me along the banks of his rivers and lakes and I've done the same on my waters. Our friendship has blossomed and I look forward to spending many more sessions with him next year.

Next up I must mention my best pal on the planet. Stuey....Stu and I have been mates for 30 years nearly now and we have both celebrated our 40th this year. Neither of us were greatly enamored with turning middle aged but we go on with it and went fishing. As ever we enjoyed the trip thoroughly and I always hate saying goodbye to him when I have to leave. I hope one day we'll be able to retire nearer to each other and see out our final years on the bankside.

My best friend Stuart...x

Finally I must mention a new friend of mine that has become a rather big asset. Lewis and I have only known each other for about 12 months or so but he's been a great friend, supporter and he's just finished building the new Nuts website for me. And what a wonderful job the fella has done too! Outstanding work that I could never have done myself. To top it off he's also a rather likeable bloke too! I find myself drawn to his company and I look forward to many more good angling and banter sessions with him the coming year! Thanks for your hard work buddy! x

I plan to try a lot of new waters in 2016...this will be split into 3 river formats. The Wye will continue to be high on the agenda but I will be getting 2 new tickets to provide my angling with some variety. Then the Severn which I will remain fishing at Pixham. My other venue with probably the highest priority will be that of The Kennet. I have penciled in as much time as I can muster up to fish this stunning river and I am adamant that I can beat my PB from the little venue.

Far from the biggest this season but almost certainly the most treasured. 11lb 4oz from the Kennet!

Well, that really is it for me for now so have a wonderful Crimbo and New Year...Remember to stay safe if your going out as the bank sides are very wet and slippery at present.

Love to you all

Keith x

canals and waste lands

Bikes along the tow path of the canal.

Hi guys.

Well, it's nearly that time of year again where everyone stops working for a few days, gets unceremoniously drunk and eats far too much turkey and mince pies! I for one am just looking forward to a new year and more fishing adventures! Don't get me wrong Christmas is great for the kids and nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing their eyes light up when they open their presents up on the big day. The wife and I have never personally bothered with Christmas ourselves and we usually just buy ourselves that something we need or want near the time. This year has been no different and I grabbed the chance of a couple of quick bargains on eBay last week. I purchased a pair of beautiful Fox Bob James BJ5 Centerpins. They were reduced down to £80 each from over £360! Supplied in a box with certificate signed etc etc. I know, I know....I've already get 4 pins so why did I need 2 more? God only knows but they're rather nice! Can't wait to get out there and use them now....that's if the bloody excessive flood water ever abates!

Talking of which, it's been a terrible time up in Cumbria hasn't it? Crikey, those poor people have had it really tough this last few weeks. I'm not only sure what the answer is in protecting these places prone to flooding really? I mean, yes you can stick a 20 foot high wall around the areas most likely affected but that's not only unsightly but also a huge expense. Even then the water has to go somewhere and it will still end up down stream in some other poor buggers house. I think the only sensible thing to do is to not build in the many flood plains that could have future housing developments put on them and possible canal/drainage systems dug to relieve the flow when it becomes problematic. I know these concrete ditches are unsightly, costly and lets face it always going to cause an issue for someone...but what's better? The drain-away ditches or high walls or worse still continually flooded homes and businesses. In the meantime lets hope the waters abate a bit and life can once again start to get back to some level of normality for those affected.

The weather in the Welsh Valleys has been foul for some time now with wet and windy conditions ruling the roost. It has however stayed exceptionally mild for December and a few nights back when I went out side at midnight to let the dog have his evening pee it was a very pleasurable 13C! I don't think I've ever known it so mild on a December night in 40 years???

One of the two nice chub i had before i had to call it a day due to flu.

Needless to say that I thought I would grab a last chance and head off back over the bridge and try a new venue for a river carp. I ventured off to Newbury and to one of the venues that is fast becoming a favourite of mine. The River Kennet. I purchased a late season ticket for a small club section of the River/Canal section near to Thatcham and met my good mate Bob down there for a guided walk along the bank. The venue looked top notch. The water was rather clear and still very low for the time of year....total comparison to that of other areas of the country! I chose a lovely spot with a couple of over hanging bushes opposite me and proceeded to bait 2 spots up with a bit of hemp, flavoured corn, mixed pellets and a few broken boilies.

Stunning and untouched

Bob left me to it and headed off to work and I sat back to await results with a hot dinner and a nice coffee. My little girl Natasha has been off with the Flu this last few days and I was hoping I wouldn't catch it as the wife and boy had also got it! Come 5pm that evening I was starting to feel the cold and wrapped myself up in my cosy bedchair. The rods were very quiet until around 11pm that night and the right hand rod broke the silence with a slow take. The fish was well hooked and spiritedly scrapped under the rod tip for a few minutes before succumbing to tiredness. A nice chub of 5lb 4oz. I took a picture and sent her back. I recast and the same rod was away again at 2am. This time it wasn't so much fun as it was absolutely chucking it down.

I played the fish out and netted another fine chub. I weighed her under the front of the brolly and at 6lb 1oz it was one of the best I've had this season. I made the decision to put her straight back and about a minute later I felt rather gutted I hadn't bothered to take a picture as it was a lovely fish. Nevermind....I thought to be honest that there would be more to follow but that was it for the session and as the next day unfolded, so did a nasty dose of the flu! I haven't felt so unwell in ages. As i write this 3 days after, i'm still feeling very rough. I hope it's in  the final stages now as I really need to get on with stuff.

Laid to waste......

Anyway, while I was away I watched with intent a thread on my local clubs Facebook page. It was originally posted by a chap who had been removed by the clubs head bailiff from a club lake almost an hour earlier than he needed to be off the water. The poor chap was forced to leave the venue and pack up during about the best part of the day despite the rules stating he was welcome to stay until an hour after sunset. The thread developed into nothing less than a war zone and i'm normally first to not get involved in someone else's argument especially on a computer...but i felt this guy had really been hard done by. What made it worse was the head bailiff was very rude to the guy. I had my ten pence worth in return and all hell broke loose on there.

One thing led to another and I then receive a threat from said bailiff via a text message! I posted this on the club page and it turned out he felt that it was ok to threaten club members with violence. I've since pulled myself away from the club site and I also won't be rejoining next year as they clearly have issues. To top things off I received pictures of their fishery management skills that week and to say they had obliterated one of the clubs prettiest fisheries was an understatement.... A stunning venue set in the rolling hills with amazing countryside had had nothing less than a nuclear bomb dropped on it....Not just a quick back and sides on the bank but a total flattening of every last plant and tree on the site. It now looks like every other commercial crap hole that they have laid waste to over the last few years....such a dam shame to see such a pretty untouched venue laid to waste yet again. I'm honestly lost for words as to why the club feels it needs to do this to all its venues?

Right, that's enough from me. I'm off for some more hot honey and lemon and back to bed to sweat this god awful flu off!

Tight lines all and please have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

All the best
Keith
xxxx

1 for the week

Top bloke Lewis, great friend, web designer and even catches a few fish too!

Evening everyone....

I've been a bit quiet for the past few weeks due to time constraints of work and family and not only that the levels of rain coming down has pretty much stuffed up my chances of getting out on the river.

The levels of both my favourite venues have been sky high for the best part of 2 to 3 weeks now and still rising! Such a pain as I really did want to get back up the Severn and see if I could grab another 1 or 2 barbel before the end of the year.

Not looking likely at present but if things do improve just slightly this weekend then I may actually risk the drive up and give it a bash. On the angling front I did venture out for a very windswept and wet few hours with Lewis and Natasha to a local club lake.

Tash managed to rescue the day with a couple of nice carp to almost double figures.

We decided to go after the carp in the margins and to be honest it was some of the hardest fishing I've known down there for some time. Lewis managed a nice fish around 8 to 9 lbs and Natasha had a couple up to 10lbs. The best fish of the day was lost to a hook pull at last knockings....bit annoying but I think it was probably foul hooked anyway.

The Severn is well up and almost over the fields....

My next and only other trip out was a fortnight ago to another club water. It's a nice little weedy pool that I tend to just concentrate on in the Spring time as it has a habit of becoming a stagnant, dead end pool through the colder months.


This time round was rather harder than I expected and despite one repeat capture fish early on, I had hardly another twitch in 48 hours. I managed a couple of the old slimy bream but that was it. The carp I did catch was a rather pretty low double mirror that I had caught on one occasion before.



The fish fell for a pair of tigernuts soaked in Cola and Molasses for over 2 years. I had put in around 30 or so of them in the localized area and decided to fish mid way across the pool to the side of a fallen trees roots and some pads.

Small but extremely pretty.......at last a fish for me!

The depth drops away to over 10 feet but I decided to fish it in about 4 feet as I felt that the mid water section would more than likely chuck up a fish rather than in the much deeper water. The session passed by with nothing really happening after the carp and I think the weather had a lot to do with it. There is a mining area behind the site and in my opinion there is a lot of minerals present in the localized land.


When it rains the water in the pool turns a very heavy grey colour and life just seems to disappear in the pool. I think that it's very likely that there is a high level of lime in the ground which would also explain the lack of life in the venue and why the fish seem to struggle to maintain any decent weight.

Anyway, not a lot else to talk about on the fishing front at present or certainly until the rivers drop a tadd. I may if I can get up the Severn next week if it drops at all but I'll have to play that one by ear and see how it goes.

This week I have the exciting job of seeing the new Nuts about Carp website going live too. The work on the site is all down to the hard graft of my good mate Lewis who has put in a lot of hours to insure it's as good as it could possibly be! Can't wait to see it live and working!


Tight lines guys and I hope the end of 2015 is good to you all

Keith
x

Still at it!

More fun on the Taff!

Good day to all of you!

What wonderful weather it's been yet again this last few days! I cannot honestly remember a November so mild as it's been? Lets hope it continues a bit longer....I took a chap and his son out for a days guiding up in Hereford on the Wye just over a week ago and the conditions were spot on for what looked like a pretty darn good day.

Well, it was great for teaching and the lads seemed to enjoy picking up a few useful tips but i'm sorry to say that was the extent of the day apart from one small chub right at last knockings. A very disappointing day on the fish front, but hey, that's fishing....

I did a few hours grayling fishing again on the Taff with Mathew last Sunday and after catching around 20 each we decided to head off to our local club lake to try for a perch or two. Things were tough there and I managed just one fish of about a pound and followed the perch up with two carp of 11lbs and just under 18lb! All on the float and centerpin as well!

My next chance to get out was on the Wednesday and after driving down to Dorset, I met up with Stuart for a day on the Lower Stour at Throop Fisheries. We decided to spend the day doing a mixture of different techniques trying to catch as many species as possible. We tried float, lead, worm, drop shot, feeder etc etc.

Bit of carp action....

We had a great selection of fish ranging from Stu having a lovely 2lb perch, myself a chub of nearly 5lbs and most memorably a 6lb 15oz pike on a 6ft 6inch drop shot rod! What a scrap that was! We managed about 6 different species in the end. A great day out with my best friend.....

On the Friday I grabbed a couple of hours on the waggler float sat in the harbour in Warham. The water was up due to overnight rain and also due to a super high tide. The current was a little strong and very coloured up. Needless to say I struggled to get a bite but it was a very nice place to spend some time. I may well make a B-line for the place at some point next season in the warmer months, as I know there are some very big roach present.

The weekend was a bit of a blur as it was my 40th birthday and everything that could have gone wrong, did. I won't bore you with the specifics but needless to say it's one I don't wish to remember in a hurry.

Well done Connor!

Monday saw me venture back up to the Lower River Severn at Pixham and another 2 nights of expected excitement. I chose the same swim I had fished a few weeks back on the 'Flats' and set up my brolly and got comfy. I decided to hit the swim with around 25 x 4oz droppers full of hemp, mixed pellets and coloured maggots. I slung them around an area of about 15 yards round and set about getting the rods tooled up.

Rigs were the usual running lead set up with a 5oz grippa lead and 8" Fox Cortex hooklink to size 8 hook. I teamed this up with a small stringer of River Monster boilies and one of the same on the hook. My first take came around 3.30pm and despite giving the fish a bit of stick, it made a nearside snag and did me good and proper!

Very frustrating but it didn't feel like a big fish thankfully. All the kit came back and just the hook point had flipped over. My next chance came in the form of a slimy old bream of about 4lbs and another of 6lb 8oz.

Species hunt with Stuey!

The first barbel came around 7.30pm and after a good old fashioned scrap I banked a nice little 7 pounder. Great start to proceedings and relieved a bit of the pressure I was feeling. After an hour it kicked off again and a lovely 9lb 7oz fish found the net. I had a chat with a couple of mates on the mobile and tried to settle down for the night. That was never going to happen though and around 3am I was 5 bream the better and another 2 9 pound plus barbel too.

I managed a quiet spell up until 8am until I was awoken rudely by a belting take on the right hand rod. I flew out of bed and noticed a chap sat just up stream of my doing some painting. I played the fish out and weighed her at 7lb 3oz. The guy looked very pleased to see one banked in front of him. I however needed a bit more sleep....I managed a few hours sleep before Bob turned up to fish the afternoon/evening for the Pike and Zander.

Picture perfect from Pixham! 9 fish found the net in just 45 hours fishing......Wonderful!

We chatted lots and it was great to see my good pal in fine fettle. Lots of banter flowed but the fishing was no less than crap! Despite his hardest of efforts and skills....nothing took any of his dead baits. I managed to get into a very nice Barbel of 10lb 6oz while Bob was still with me, which was great as he was able to do some nice pictures for me....I then let him into a couple of bream on my rods to stop it from being a blank day for him. Bob left around 10pm and by 11.30pm I had another on the bank of just over 8lbs.

A chub was next up at around 1am and then all went quiet until the early hours where I banked a couple more fish including yet another fine double of 10lb 2oz. This thing was as fat as a pregnant donkey! You could honestly have put a saddle on it and rode the thing! Proper old chunk of fish....I got some great close ups and put her back. Things then died off and I eventually managed to get a bit of sleep.

You could have put a saddle on her!

I awoke around 8.30am and noticed the chap was back to finish off his painting works. As I was starting to pack away my kit he came over for a chat. What a lovely fella he was too. Very friendly and thoroughly enjoyable to talk to. Turns out he does a lot of drawings and paintings of the Rivers. He'd been after a shot of the Severn at Pixham with an angler in shot for ages and not found anyone present on arrival. Well, to say seeing me there was pleasing was obviously true as he'd included my set up in his gorgeous charcoal and second pencil drawing that was sitting on his stand. Beautiful works of art.

Well that's it from me i'm afraid....not overly sure when i will next venture out as the car has its dreaded MOT tomorrow then the wife is away for almost a week working. That's going to limit my bankside time worse luck.

Tight lines all
Keith x

Zeds, barbs and Grays!

Stunning autumn grayling

Hi all.

What wonderful weather we've enjoyed this last few weeks! It's been a rather late and dry end to the summer of 2015. The rivers have been on their knees though and certainly in need of a bit of the old wet stuff. I've been quiet all round this last week or so, just enjoying taking a bit of time out from the guiding and bait rolling that has filled the summer period. It's been a wonderful summer with clients all catching some wonderful fish from that awe inspiring venue that is the River Wye!

Mathew talked me into a quick few hours float fishing on Sunday....I'd pretty much decided I wasn't going to go out to be honest as monies been a bit tight this week due to the bills all going out and in fairness with the prospect of 48 hrs on the Severn the next day, I didn't really have the pizzazz needed to get me up and going for either event!

Needless to say, with the weather looking nice and the prospect of a grayling in the net....I decided to go along with Mat and check out how the Taff was fishing. The water was extremely cold, low and stupidly clear! We gently climbed into the shallow margins and made our way up to the area we fancied our chances in.There were small fishing jumping all over the place and it looked like it was probably going to be fairly easy to get one or two to bite.

Mike Lyddon with a cracking Severn Zed!

I was ready to cast straight away and on my first trot through on the stick float and pin, I was into a good pound fish. They scrap so well that even the little couple of ounce fish give a good account of themselves. The bites came thick and fast on the maggot and within an hour and a half i'd had no less than forty grayling to 2lbs and Mathew had managed 25 to 2lbs as well. Great sport!

We decided after such a good little session that it was time to go and try out a new venue and see what the sport there would be like. We walked back to the car and headed to the other side of Cardiff and the little River Rhymney. The stretch looked devoid of fish and very shallow and clear. With the sun up high in the sky I wasn't exactly hopeful of a fish. Well, I shouldn't have been too concerned as my second trot through produced a clonking 2 pounder! What a fish for such a small river!

9lb 2oz boom...just ten minutes into the session!

Mat really struggled to find any fish but I was lucky and spotted a couple mooching around at the bottom of a swim covered in tree growth. I started trickling in a few maggots up stream and after spending ten minutes watching the fish circling the bait as it went down, i felt it was time for a run through with the float. First run produced a stunning 2lb 2oz fish. The next couple of trots did exactly the same and before I knew it i'd had 5 beautiful 2lb fish!

We finished up at around 4pm as I had a bit of bait to knock up and obviously there was the small matter of tackle needing to be sorted for the Severn trip the next day. I woke around 6am and after the quick brekkie stop for a Macdonalds breakfast and coffee. I got on the road up to Pixham to meet Nate Green and Mike Lyddon who were coming up for the day to target the Zander and Pike.

I met the chaps in the car park shortly after 9am and with the usual level of banter flowing we headed across the field to look at some swims. The chaps settled on the area we call the flats as there was a good level of small fry in the area that we all felt would attract the predators. The boys had a plumb around and settled down to fish while I made the coffees and teas. I set my gear up for the barbel some 150 yards up stream of the guys and got all ready for the night. I put out about 30 bait droppers full of hemp, pellets and maggots before heading back down to continue being the tea bitch!

12lb 2oz! Get in....so pleased!

Mike was to draw first blood with a cracking zander of just under 6lbs. Considering the clear, low water and bright sunshine, I think that this was a great capture! Nate and Mike continued to catch a few perch, some nice Jacks and Nate had a small Zed as well by the end of the day too. My friends Chris and Ben ventured down to barbel fish on the Monday afternoon and we sat and had a good chat before Mike and Nate left.

Cracking start to the day!

I eventually got to cast out around 9.45pm and to my amazement, just ten minutes later I had my first take of the session! A proper old scrap as well! The fish fought with dogged determination before succumbing to the net in the shallows of the upper flats. At 9lb 2oz I was very great full to have banked a barbel in the tough conditions. As Chris came up to have a chat and a look at the fish, we discussed the rigs and bait aspects of my fishing. Just as I was about to recast the rod, my left hand one flew into action. This fish felt like a totally different animal and hung low and steady. Felt all the more like a much better fish. Not knowing this particular swim that well bothered me a bit as there are so many no go snag areas along that stretch that it can be difficult to play and finally land one!

Eventually I sunk the net under yet another lower Severn beauty and at 12lb 2oz it was also my second double from the Severn and a new River PB for the venue too. What a result! The night wore on and despite a few odd bream to 8lbs and a couple of fat chub....very little else occurred until 8am.
The left hand rod buzzed into action with another searing take. This was a much smaller fish of 7lb 3oz but the fight was as spirited as the others!

11lb 15oz Severn Pb for Ben....well done pal.

Ben managed to land three while he was there too including a new Severn PB of 11lb 15 and Chris I believe had a 9lb 1oz barbel as well. Great results for us all considering we thought that maybe they had shut up shop.

Tight lines all
Keith x

Getting tougher!

Nice weather for October!

This last few days has been all about toughing it out! The day time fishing on the river Wye has been nothing short of tough with a capital T! My first session was with a very old acquaintance, Chris Tupper aka (Badger) (long story).....we go back many years as we used to fish together in my earlier angling career at a venue called Theale, near to Reading. Chris and I had seen each other a few weeks ago at the social event that we attended and I promised him a chance at a Wye barbel and possible PB.

We finally got ourselves sorted for a day out together and met up around 8am outside Sue's tackle shop in Hereford. We got our tickets and headed down to the river. Things looked bang on to start with and we set up in a swim which has done many great fish for both myself, friends and clients in the past. Chris managed to nail himself through th thumb with a size 8 hook that he'd left in his carryall and I spent a good quarter of an hour removing it with a pair of forceps! Blood and pain followed but amazingly the hook came out and Chris lived to tell the tale!

Finally Chris started to get amongst the fish!

Well, the fishing might have been ace before in that swim but it didn't happen there on this day though. 3 hours in and we were biteless! Not a dam sniff! We moved slightly further upstream to another hot peg and suffered the same plight bar a lost fish to a hook pull. The bailiffs told us that the stretch hadn't fished well on the weekend for the Wye championships and that it was showing signs of shutting up shop.

We eventually made the decision to move down stream and set up an hour later in another of my 'hot' pegs. It was an hour before things started to improve but then all hell broke loose and it was a game trying to keep a rod in the water! First out was a small one of 6lb plus. Chris was over the moon to have caught his first Wye Barbel but I wanted him to bust his PB of 9lb 10oz!

The next fish came at 8lb odd and was swiftly followed by better chunks of 9lb 2oz and then 9lb 5oz! I couldn't believe we were getting closer to his PB by the minute but just dropping short. Things then went very quiet for about an hour and I feared that it was probably all we were going to achieve to catch from the swim. I shouldn't have been too concerned though as his next bite, a very slow ponderous, upstream pull, resulted in a very good bend in the rod and a deep ploddy fight, akin to that of a better fish.

YESSSS! New PB and first ever double for Chris.....10lb 9oz! Well done buddy

The battle was different to prior fish and she hung deep in the water until the final moments of the scrap. I knew it was a better fish and so did Chris. The scales don't lie and at 10lb 9oz Chris was made up to have beaten his PB and finally grabbed his first ever double! Two more fish of 7lb and 7lb 14oz finished off the day with a tally of 7! Incidentally the same amount of fish that Chris had managed all season from his waters! He was totally blown away by the experience.....Well done mate.

I was going to hopefully get out myself over the course of the weekend to see if I could up my figures past the 110 for the season but I had a painful set of Kidneys on Friday and then Saturday we had 2 puppies born, which kind of buggered up mu whole likelihood of getting out myself. I did however managed to get out to guide the lovely Emma Dyer. Emma is a a budding newby to the sport and her other half is paving the way to helping her bag as many different species as they can catch her. I stepped in to help with the barbel though.....

Bob quietly getting on with business as usual! 11lb 2oz! NICE!

The fishing was totally different to the previous session though and after 4 hours fishing we were completely biteless. My mate Bob was just down stream and had 4 to 11lb 4oz but our peg was deader than a dodo....It took some serious hard work to get Emma her first barbel but finally 5 hours in it happened. The take was nothing short of boring and in all honesty if I hadn't have been watching the rod tip intently, I don't think we would have even known a fish was attached??? The bite was just a slight tightening up of the line and then a gentle release before re-tightening again. Emma lent into what first appeared to be weed but then the weed started to move upstream!

The fight was a lot better than the initial bite and Emma had to work hard to defeat her quarry. Some 5 minutes later though, she had a stunning long bar of gold sat in the net ready for her to weigh and photograph. I think she was quite taken a back by the fish and the picture tells the whole story really. A huge smile and another very happy customer! 10lbs exactly! A very bug well done Emma!

Well done Emma! First ever Barbel and it was 10lbs!!!!

Quiet week for me this week now I think....A bit of an opportunity to recover and get my body back into shape. The long hours out, getting soaking wet, eating poorly, lack of sleep and endless driving have taken its toll on me. I will however be back at it next week with a nice session penciled in with Bob again! Can't wait!

Tight lines all
Keith x

Two popped cherries!

Ian Oxley and his first ever Barbel!

Good day folks....

Another great report to talk about again this week. My first is about a days guided fishing I had with Ian Oxley. Ian's been out with me a few times in the past and he's broken his duck with carp, pike and he's been after a barbel for a while now. I promised the guy a trip out earlier in the year but due to work ties and bait rolling etc, we didn't manage to get together for the day.

Well, on Sunday the opportunity finally came about and we headed up the Wye for the day after a big old Bertie for him. Our first choice venue was shut due to a day long match running. We tried another spot which I had a feeling would produce a good fish for him but I thought that it would probably not happen until late on in the day.

I was right about the bites as nothing happened for the majority of the day. We had a few a nibbles early on which resulted in nothing at all. It wasn't much before it got dark that his first chance occurred. The take was nothing short of mental! The line suddenly out of the blue stripped from the spool at a silly rate of knots! Ian clambered down the bank side to get the rod and lent into a very powerful sub like specimen. With Ian being a fly angler, he's used to fast swimming fish, but I honestly don't think he was totally prepared for what came next!

The fight was dogged and determined and after a few minutes of line stripping, kiting, diving and barreling, Ian finally got to see his first ever barbel on the bank. Not a minster at 7lb 5oz but it didn't matter to him as it was his first and a specimen regardless.

I knew there was a good chance of him getting another so we got him back out there quickly. We had to cast around the swim a little for the next bite but this time the bite was a different take. Slow and determined. This fish knew all the tricks and didn't play nice. Ian was forced to keep moving about to stay in touch with the fish which was clearly a lot bigger than his first of the session. After 10 minutes of tussling for position, Ian managed to get his first glimpse of said beast! I think he had his breath taken away as he looked pretty shocked!

Awesome! Ian Oxley with only his second ever Barbel and a corker at 11lb 10oz! Well done pal

I slipped the net under the fish and immediately knew which fish it was. It has a set of 3 barbulles instead of 4. Ian was a gibbering wreck, much to my amusement he then could hardly stand through total excitement. The fish topped the scales off to a very impressive 11lb 10oz! What a fish for his second ever of the species! I think he was in shock for a while afterwards. The way home was full of great conversation and joy. Well done my friend!

What a spot!!!!

Monday came around very quickly and after just 3 hours sleep, I fell out of bed and donned the same clothes i'd worn the day before and reloaded the car. I then drove another 120 miles across to Newbury to meet up with Bob. The drive over was horrible, busy and the water spraying up from the road was no less than horrific! I eventually arrived around 11.15am. We drove over to Thatcham angling to get my guest tickets and then over to the River Kennet. The weather was persistent and after a walk along the bank we realised just how wet through we were.

Setting up the gear in the rain was no less than horrid and after an hour of sweating in my waterproofs, I removed them and sat on the bed to recuperate for twenty minutes. Bob made us a both a cuppa and we discussed tactical approach and baiting up. I then proceeded to introduce about twenty droppers full of hemp and mixed pellets. I then gently swung my 3oz lead and hookbait into the primed spots.

The water was pacey for such a narrow and small river and the 7 feet of depth was full from top to bottom with weed debris and floating leaves. This made keeping the rig still almost impossible. Darkness fell and so did the pair of us. We retired to our beds and both slowly nodded off to sleep. Both of us had to recast a few times and come 1.30am I had almost lost hope of keeping a bait in the swim long enough to get a take.

I rebaited both rods with a fresh River Monster Boilie and a reasonable size PVA bag of boilies and pellets. I swung it under hand out to the two spots again. The left hand rod dropping slightly shorter than my original spot. I then slopped back to bed and tried to nod off. Around 2.10am the left hand rod literally took off! BBBBBBBLLLLLLEEEEEEEPPPPPP!!!! To say it was a screaming take was an understatement! I jumped out of bed and donned my boots and flew into action. The rod was kept low and the fish did its best to stay low and hugged the deck too. Bob came over to do the netting and he had a huge grin on his face as he sunk the net under the fish. I knew it was a good'un by the cheesy grin he'd donned!

I couldn't be a happier man! 33 years I waited! Finally I got my girl! 11lb 4oz Kennet beauty!

We zeroed scales and readied mats and slings and camera. The fish was then given a minute or so of air time. What a fish it was too. Having wanted to fish the Kennet since I was a mere child of 6 and now I was finally looking at a barbel I had caught from there some 33 years later! The fish looked really fat! Not as long as the Wye barbel I had recently caught but this fish had a big gut on it! At 11lb 4oz I was ecstatic to finally have not just a Kennet Barbel but a double figure one as well! Magic, massive thanks to my close friend Bob for hooking me up with the great swim and sorting tickets etc.

Right, thats me done in for a few days! I have some bait to roll and a couple more clients booked in for days guiding this next few days too. Next week will be back on the river myself though and in search of double figure barbel number 14 for the season!

Tight lines guys
Keith x

Elevenses!

Well done Gary! New PB of 10lb 8oz!

Hi all.

Great little spell of late season sun we're having now. It's been great to get out on my own this last week and have some quality time concentrating on my own personal fishing again. Don't get me wrong, I have totally enjoyed guiding throughout the summer, I've made some life long friends and seen many clients land not only their first barbel but also some pretty large one's and personal bests to boot. Now, I intend on spending a little time doing my thing before the weather takes a turn for the worst. A little more on that in a moment though as I have a few paragraphs of  writing regarding another great session I had with a guided client last week.

I took friend and lovely chap Gary Brooks up to the river Wye for the evening with the intention of trying to get him into a new personal best fish. Gary's done a bit of barbel fishing with me in the past and caught about half a dozen fish to 9lb 10oz. We arrived late afternoon and got our gear all sorted and ready to attack the fish head on.

Great results for Gary...top notch fella

Gary dropped onto the two spots I had advised him to fish and I prepped him with regards to tactics, bait and approach for the bigger fish that are present in this particular swim. We had to wait a little while before any action occurred and it wasn't until well after the boats had finished doing their passes that Gary got his first inkling of a fishes presence. The first take was a little odd in that it didn't really do a lot more than just gently pull the tip over in a manner usually fit to that of a large clump of floating debris pulling the line down stream!

Gary picked up the rod and lent into the fish and a good bend in the rod saw us happy that a blank was now not on the cards for the evening. at 8lb 1oz Gary was over the moon with his fish.....I struggled to get so much as anything other than chub bites all night on the right hand side of the swim. Catching 3 of all around 4lbs to a low 5lbs.

Beautiful weather and scenery at Pixham

Next up was another good take on Gary's rod and this one took off like a submarine! Poor old Gar was bent double like his rod trying to keep in contact with the beast. A good scrap ensued and the battle raged on for a good five minutes before the fish succumbed to the net. I knew which fish it was immediately as I had seen it earlier in the month. I kept quiet and flipped the fish into the weigh sling without Gary having too muck knowledge of what was going on! I then informed him of his new personal best barbel which had just tipped the scales to 10lb 8oz! What a fish and what a pleasure to see the fella in such a fantastic heightened state of enjoyment and surprise. Magic!

He managed another smaller one to finish off proceedings and at 7lb 10oz he was again chuffed to bits with his 3 fish for over 25lbs! A great way to finish off the evening.

Just a small one from Pixham this time round

I decided to have a few days off then due to work load and penned my next diary entry trip for Monday. The session soon came around and I aimed the car in the direction of the River Severn at Pixham. I arrived shortly after 2pm to an empty car park. What a result. I decided to do the first night in the steps (peg 3) again and set about getting my kit all sorted for the impending night ahead.

Baits went in and brolly and chair went up. And that was about the end of that! I had a bream of about 6lbs in the middle of the night and lots of bleeps and knocks but no barbel at all???? Where had they all gone??? I decided after mid morning on the Tuesday that i'd move upstream to 'The Flats'. A swim I did well in on my first trip up to the Severn. I decided this time though to fish from the high bank. My reasons were that last time I had lost countless fish to the marginal tree roots and snags in the swim. I figured that if I could get way up high above them, I could at least then apply better aerial leverage on the hooked fish.

It doesn't get much better than that!!!! 11lb 12oz of Wye beauty!

I sat and waited and waited and waited! Things were stupidly quiet. I had a nice chat with Palatrax consultant Rich Shaw during the afternoon, who was fishing just above my swim. He too struggled with just an eel and a small chub in his catches I believe. He left around 12.30am and as he went through the car park gate, my left hand rod roared off! I fought the fish fairly hard and within a few seconds it was up on the nearside shelf in the clear water. At just 6lb'ish it was never going to break any records but it did break the duck and the boredom factor.

I packed up with just the one fish under my belt.....feeling rather hard done by and pretty beaten up, I thought i'd grab the opportunity to drop in on my club section on the Wye on the way home. I wasn't prepared for day style fishing with a chair etc as all I had with me was a bedchair and sleeping bag etc. This meant I had to rough it up a bit on the bank side with a rucksack as a back rest and unhooking mat as a base to park my back side on!

BBBBBBBOOOOOMMMM Another chunk! 11lb 14oz What a session!

The afternoon progressed and I had decided i'd try and fine things down a bit to see if I could grab a rather tougher day time take. The rig consisted of nothing new other than that of an 8lb mono hook link and a size 14 wide gape Drennan hook and 6mm boilie. Things were very quiet for about an hour. I was just contemplating a recast when off zipped the right hand rod. Now, the weed that had been coming down the river was almost intolerable and I had to fish the tips almost under the water to avoid getting into contact with ever loose piece of debris floating down stream. This fish kited hard up and across the rivers flow and I knew straight away it was a good fish.

Playing the fish gently was not an option but I had to be a little on the easy side as the hook and line were a little on the weak side! This worked well and about 5 minutes later I saw my first glimpse of what looked like a truly big fish! In the low light and very orangey coloured water it looked incredible! I gasped when I saw its length and girth and I thought I may well be looking at a new personal best fish! Well, I got her in the net and she looked much bigger than the majority of fish I had seen through out the summer season. On the scales she went 11lb 12oz! My second biggest of the year and second ever biggest barbel! I was ecstatic!

Another stunner of 9lb 10oz!

After returning the stunning fish, I felt the chance of another couple of fish may well be on the cards....nothing could have prepared me for what was to come though! My next fish came just as the light was failing and a small barbel of 7lb 1oz found the net. I put her back and got straight back out onto the fish. It didn't take long and after 2 nice 4lb chub in succession, I finally hooked another big barbel....This one was hell bent on tearing all the line from my reel! Thankfully when the light started to fail I had upped my line and hook size! Bloody good job I had as this mother was giving it bloody everything in its tactical bag! Nose dives, drilling, twisting etc....about the only thing it didn't do was tail walk! Eventually I had her beat and in the net she went....I shone the light down on the fish and gasped at its size! Yet again another big fish lay there looking back at my ugly face!

Moon rising on the possibly the best session i've had on a river to date!

The scales were zeroed and sling and mat readied for the incoming monster! I couldn't believe I was looking at another double for the evening! Well, it was a double and even more unbelievably another over the magical 11 pound barrier! This one slightly bigger than the first at 11lb 14oz! I was nearly fell over with excitement and the next fish of 9lb 10oz that followed was just a blur! What an evening I had had after such a slow 48 hours spent on the Lower River Severn. Just goes to show that despite being linked by the Bristol Channel, neither river has a darn thing in common!

Right that's my excitement done for this week! I'm guiding a mate again this weekend then I'm having a quick session with Bob and Dougie down on the Kennet as it's Bobs birthday this weekend and I promised to go see the old git. He's 50 this year I think???? lol

See you all very soon.
K
x