3rd time lucky!

The brumder with his new PB of 10lb 10oz! cracking!

Evening everyone! I write this now with a coffee in hand and very heavy eyes! It's been an incredible week or so with more amazing captures and great friendships formed! I start off with a quick evening session that Mathew and I had on the Wye last Saturday evening. We were a little bit late setting off but managed to get into the swim we wanted. Things were rather quiet on the canoe and rowing club side and it looked bang on for a fish or two....

Mat went below me in his favourite spot and I decided to prime my usual area with the ever faithful River Monster Boilies! It took a while before things started to kick off and Mathew was first to get into a nice fish. The bank side being quite high up and with the water levels really down, meant that one of us was going down the slippery, wet bank side to net the incoming beast! Roll the dice and guess who?

10lb 2oz and double no 9 for 2015!

Yeah, bloody muggins here had to go down first! I managed to get down without too much grief but Mathew was another matter. I think he managed to end up in every position known to man and mud. He was up to his knees in silt. Much to my continual heckling and amusement.

A pair of ripped waders and a very muddy Mathew later saw him land 5 fish for the evening including a new PB of 10lb 10oz. Very pleased for the guy to be honest as he's worked dam hard recently and had very little time or money to get out and fish. Nice one pal!

My side of the fence produced 6 Barbel including my 9th double of the season at 10lb 2oz. Couldn't be happier with my results this season and facing down the barrel of my hundredth barbel of the season was a sight I was looking forward to. I left that evening on 98 and with the prospect of 2 nights on the Severn at Pixham to follow on Monday, all looked good for me to break to ton up.

10lb 11oz..my first Double from the River Severn!  10th double of the season and took me to 99!

Monday arrived and so did the weather! What a pile of crap....The wind was gale force, the rain torrential and my will to live had gone. I had to really motivate myself to pack the car and leave in such horrific weather conditions. Needless to say the 100 mile journey up to Kempsey was a slag and the roads were terrible. Visibility down to nothing in places and of course just about everyone and his dog were kicking out of work and driving like knobs to get home.

My 100th barbel of 2015! What a season!

I arrived eventually around 6pm to be greeted with an empty car park and just one single guy fishing the day in peg 3. Incidentally the peg I wanted to fish....No problem though as after a nice chin wag with the bloke, a super young fella called Ben, he told me he was leaving shortly and I could drop in and get set up. Top fella! We had a really nice chat whilst I got my bivvy up and rods ready for the night and another of my good friends turned up to pick up his bait order. Jo stopped until nearly 10pm chatting and after Ben had left we enjoyed much coffee and banter.

My first bit of action came just after 2 am and I failed to land the fish through a hook straightening out???? Not a thing I have suffered from in a very long time? With the unknown reason for the hooks disability I re-set up and made a cast back into the inky darkness. Minutes later I was yet again into a very powerful fish.

A beautiful evening on the Severn at Pixham.

The fight was nothing short of nuclear sub like! She pulled the line to an extent I'd not seen from a barbel before! After a torrid battle I eventually landed a stunning barbel that tipped the scales to 10lb 11oz....at last after 2 trips of getting so close to the double, I had finally done it. My first double from the River Severn....Well pleased with my new found glory I tried to get some rest. That wasn't likely to happen though as the bream and barbel had other ideas....

I managed to land 5 bream to 7lbs, 5 chub to 4lb 9oz and another 4 barbel to 9lbs as well. The second night was relatively quiet in comparison and with just a bream and a chub making an appearance, i managed to finally get a bit of shut eye before heading home on the Wednesday morning.

Things started well for Andrew

Wednesday afternoon was a mere blur in the week as I had to clean up all the wet and muddy gear from the 48 hr session, roll bait for clients and prepare food, bait and tackle for the guided day I had booked for the Thursday with Andrew. Needless to say that the car also needed a bloody good clean inside and out as it smelt like a whores boudoir! Will everything finally achieved by 10pm, I settled down for some dinner and checked the conditions for the day to follow....all looked pretty good.

I met up with Andy Pilcher at his house in Cardiff around 9am. It was a bit of a late start due to him having to do school runs etc but we grabbed all that was needed for the day and headed out up the M4 for the 70 mile trip up to Hereford and our chosen venue for the morning. On arrival around 11am, it became clear that the river was stupidly busy and everyone and his mutt were fishing at our chosen beat. Never mind, we ventured the 3/4 mile across the fields to the spot I wanted to place him, only to find it was taken. Thankfully the swim just below was free though and despite it being a little tight, I knew it held a good stock of fish.

Top man! A cracking Herefordshire gold bar!

We sat and talked rig and tackle, bait placement, casting and of course the all important fish location etc. Anrew made his first cast into the swim and after 10 minutes made a second chuck which resulted in a nice chub of around 3lb 8oz. The barbel were a little shy to start with due to bright sunshine but we need not worry as they obliged within the hour and Andy was into his first of the day at around 4lbs. The feeder techniques started to work well and after 2 hours of fishing Andy had landed 4 cracking shoal sized barbel to around 6lbs....all on the feeder.

We decided to make a change of venue as the day wore on and headed down stream an hour to our other chosen venue which contains much bigger fish but less quantities. Things started well with the going swim being free of anglers. The boat traffic was heavy but time was on our side as it was still very light. The weed was a bit of a nuisance as it had been in previous sessions but we persevered with it and just as the light failed Andrew got his first hit. It wasn't the most spectacular of takes but It was clear from the moment it was hooked that it was a chunky fish.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke! 10lb 8oz for Andrew Pilcher. Well done my friend and I hope there's plenty more to come.

The fight lasted a few minutes and despite a few very powerful runs, Andy had her under control quite quickly. I knew the moment i netted it for him that it was a good fish but until it went on the scales I kept quiet. At 10lb 8oz it was his second ever double and having only ever caught a maximum of 2 barbel in a day, we'd managed a decent quantity of fish too!

More gold bullion for Mr P!

We were both ecstatic with the fish and Andrew spent some time lovingly returning his prize. The evening proceeded to produce another 2 fine specimens of over 7 and 8lbs. A great day that I'm sure neither of us will forget in a hurry. Well done pal x

Right that's it for me for this week, I have a fair bit of bait to roll in the coming few days and some rest and recuperation required too. I may be out for an evening next week but nothing is as such penned in yet. Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Luv ya
K x

Virgins and Koi Carp???

Boom...first cast success for Dave 10lb 7oz!

Yep more virginity's taken this week...Client and good friend Dave Brooks had never seen a barbel on the bank let alone caught one! Well, that is from a river anyway!

This week had been a long time coming for Dave as we'd planned to do something a long time back but never got around to it.

I picked Dave up around 5pm and we headed up to Ross and a regular stretch that I inhabit...I got the rods ready for him and pointed him in the right direction with regards to where to fish and we got started.

The water was well down on the previous week, where flow and weed debris had really hindered the fishing. Boat traffic was at a low and with a little colour still added to it, the river looked spot on for a bite or two! I commented on it's good looks on arrival and I wasn't proven wrong either! Dave's first cast landed spot on the money. It was only a few minutes before the left hand rod hooped over into action. Dave was a little taken aback by the initial first run and unfortunately the hook pulled.

Another 10 pounder! What a result!

Feeling a little disappointed Dave recast and sat back to await a possible second chance....He didn't have to wait long at all. In fact less than a few minutes passed by. The same rod flew into action and Dave jumped on it...The fish went ballistic down the middle of the river. A good few minutes of fight ensued and Dave just couldn't believe the power of the fish.

I sunk the net under it for him and it was very obvious it was a decent fish. On the scales it went 10lb 7oz! What a great start to his barbel fishing career! First one out and it's a double! Result! The next fish came just minutes later and at 7lb 3oz it was a little bit smaller than he'd become suddenly accustomed to! This was eagerly followed up by a much better fish of 9lb 10oz and another of just over 7lbs.

They just kept coming for Dave

A small chub seemed to signal the end of all the action and we decided to think about calling it a night....I started to pack away the majority of the kit. I'd just folded the chairs up when the left rod hooped over. Dave sprung into action again and another chunk fought it's head off! Despite making its way into a large snag on our left, Dave played the fish out really well and we prodded around with the net handle to free the fish up. It was worth the effort as it was another 10 pounder! Not just his first ever Barbel but 5 of them in one evening including 2 doubles! Fantastic result and an evening that neither of us will forget in a hurry!

I have had little time to fish myself this last fortnight but I did manage 3 brief morning sessions on a 2 separate club lakes. The first being a very nice weedy pool which gets almost no angling pressure at all. On arrival it became apparent that there were a few nice commons in there. I spent a good four hours walking around and around. I eventually found 2 fish to cast at and managed to get both to take the bait. The first being a stunning wild common of just over 14lbs and the second going about 8lbs.

Beautiful and wild as ever!

The next morning I went over to one of the clubs more commercialized pools. I've had it in my mind that I wanted to finish my time on there with 3 particular fish that I wanted to catch. 2 Ghosties and a chubby, scaley mirror.

I saw all 3 on the first mornings stalking but I just couldn't get them properly feeding in amongst the other smaller commons that were smashing their way through the mixers on the surface. I took 5 small fish to low double figures but none of my A-list fish.

The following morning was a little warmer and a trip back over the lake saw the fish ravaging the feed yet again. I spotted one of my target ghosties on my right. She wasn't really feeding heavily and looked  rather nervous. I waited about 15 minutes and kept the feed going in. The fish built up more confidence in that time and I watched as the ghosty came cautiously in to the feed zone. I resisted the chance to cast at her and let her keep feeding a bit longer. The guy opposite was getting interested in why I was leaving it so long to cast as he'd taken 3 or 4 already from off the island.

Job done....Koi from heaven!

I finally felt it was time to have a go at her and made a cast about 10 feet to her left and slightly behind her eye line. To my amazement she turned and went straight for the bait...Before I knew it she was on! What a scrap I had, for a low double she fought so hard!

Finally after 10 minutes she was in the net and mine..Result! I had a bash at the other 2 fish I wanted but neither was having an ounce of my bait! Hoping to have a 48 hour session back up at the River Severn on Monday as long as the weather holds for long enough!

Tight lines all
K x

Lots on!

Lewis in action

Hi everyone...It's been a few weeks since my last blog entry, mainly due to a very busy diary. Full thankfully of bait rolling and lots of fishing! Can't ever complain about either of those! Well, where to start?

My first entry must be to tell you all about a days guiding with a lovely chap called Lewis Seaborne. Lewis has become a good mate over the last few weeks and after finally getting it booked up, we hit the river for his guided day out on the Wye. Lewis had never fished a river before let alone hooked a barbel! This was going to be an interesting day to say the least, made only more interesting by the fact that the river was on arrival, up by almost a meter and a half!

8lb 3oz for Lewis

The section I took him too is already a fast, shallow beat and the added water made things just a bit more difficult when teaching a total river novice. The water was carrying a lot of weed and debris and the flow was almost unfishable. We managed to hold the bottom of sorts in the nearside crease and 6oz of weight on the feeder kept it still enough for enough opportunity for a bite or two.

Things started very slowly and despite trying our hardest the bites just didn't develop....We spent the morning discussing a plethora of techniques from feeder and float tactics to marker work and feature finding. Finally around 12.30pm, the river had dropped a little and Lewis got his first chance of a fish. Unfortunately it was short lived and we had to pull for a break as the line got totally snagged on an underwater feature that was immovable...A few minutes after re-rigging and he was into another chance. This time it didn't go begging and his first ever barbel found the net! At 3lbs it was never going to set the world on fire but it did however get things moving and release some of the pressure for us both!

Lewis with his first ever double figure barbel from the Wye at 10lb 4oz! Well done buddy!

Things started to become a little more fluent and another good handful of fish started to find the net before we called it a day at the venue around 6pm. Lewis had managed 6 from the day and to be honest, with the conditions that the river was in....that was a fine result! We then upped and moved to another section of river for the evening and I promised Lewis that there was a much better chance of getting in amongst a few slightly bigger fish. Well, I wasn't proven wrong and after just quarter of an hour in the new swim, Lewis had his biggest of the day at a tadd over 8lbs! The guys was over the moon and it showed.

Things went a little quiet for an hour and around 8'ish as the sun was dropping behind the trees, he got another chance of a fish. This one a smidge over 6lbs. Feeling a little let down after loosing a much bigger fish, some twenty minutes later....we were thinking of calling it a night. I'd already started to pack away the majority of the kit, when all of a sudden the right hand rod flew into life and I watched on as Lewis bent into a very powerful barbel.

The line flew from the reel and the rod whistled under the strain. It took a good few minutes to subdue the fish and finally a quick glance in the net told me all I needed to know....On the scales I gave him the news....'Do you want the good or bad news first Lewis?' I said....'Well, the bad news is it ain't 11lbs! But it is 10lb 4oz!' I watched on as his jaw dropped....We both laughed and the pleasure on his face told the whole story. What a result. 9 for the day, his first of the species and a double as well! Well done Lewis!

Nice one Bob x

The past weekend has been a bit of a blur for me and a drive down to Berkshire saw me meet up with a load of old mates from my days spent on the Theale complex some 8 to 10 years ago. Some of them i'd not really seen since that time! We fished a private venue for 48hrs and despite having a wonderful time on a cracking water, I drew a massive blank.

The fish just didn't want to feed for the best part. Only Jess, Jon and Dean managed a couple between 8 of us. Jesse's fish both going over twenty pounds. I lost a fish to a cut off about 3 hours before packing up on the Sunday....I was gutted! I also had a lost chance on a zig rig about an hour later.

At least I caught a couple of small ones!

Things had to improve on the fish catching front and a quick 24 hour session with Bob on a Newbury Club water sorted the problem. We fished a venue that I had unfinished business with and by the end of a very nice night I had bagged 3 low doubles to save the blank! Bob managed 3 as well, which included the biggest at 17lbs and the smallest at 5lbs!

After such a hectic few days, I really have to confess to being all but fished out! Despite this Natasha had been asking over and over for me to take her out for an evening on the Wye to see if she could better her 10lb 4oz fish of last season. Marianne and I loaded the car and we took her up for a quick 2 hour evening session. The river was really up again and the weed that was coming down made things almost impossible to fish. We set up in one swim and had to move after just a cast on each rod. The flow was too strong for even 6ozs of lead and the weed debris coming down just made it neigh on impossible to fish.

Mariannes first Barbel at 8lb 3oz! Well done hun x

I was feeling deflated and upset that the only remaining chance to bring her out before the school holidays finished was looking as if it was going to be washed out and a total waist of time! A quick move to another likely spot with slightly less current saw things right though....and within a few minutes both the girls were into fish! Tash landed a nice one of just over 6lbs and Marianne took her first of the species at 8lb 3oz! What a result, a blank saved!

Unstoppable fish catching machine! Natasha with her second double figure barbel from the Wye. A new PB of 10lb 12oz!

We got the fish back after a few lovely pics and got the rods back out. Not a lot else happened and as we were thinking of calling it a day, the left rod flew into a life with a real belting take! Natasha took hold of things and finally subdued her second ever double....a wonderful beauty of 10lb 12oz! What a cracking result!