Wye not?

Well, I couldn't think of a better way to finish off the summer season than to go and catch yet more of those awesome Wye Chub & Barbel! I set about another trip up with my good friend Colin 'Taffy' Farnham. Colin's a general coarse fisherman and bailiff for the club and I thought it was about time he felt the pleasures of that barbel pull! We ventured down the river late afternoon and settled in a swim i'd fished a few times now....

Colin's first Barbel of 8lbs

I set Colin up with a basic running 2oz lead rig, 2 foot hooklength and a CBS gravel Leader and CBS Trident size 10 hook with hair rig and one of our 14mm dumbell River Monster Boilies for bait. Colin sat back to await the feeding activity and within 5 minutes of casting in, he was into his first barbel and at 8lbs a reasonable fish to boot!

Not happy with just bagging the one, Colin went on to grab another fine specimen and a cracking fish of 10lb 7oz as well! To top the evening off I even caught a couple and topped it off with a new PB of 11lb 4oz!

Colin and his new pb of 10lb 7oz!

My next session out with Gary proved fruitless and we didn't get so much as a bite! The water was still very low and clear and a good bit of rain was needed to improve matters we felt! I ventured up again with Colin and managed a small chub of around 4lb 15oz and again another blank a few days later....It seemed that things had got a lot tougher in the course of just a few days!

I decided late on the next Monday afternoon to head up and give it a bash as we'd had a little of the wet stuff for 2 days....The river was about 2-3 inches up and carrying a very slight tinge of colour. I set up on a beautiful wooden pontoon with great river access.

9lb 9oz and 10lb 1oz! Get in!

The boat traffic was particularly hard core this evening and i couldn't effectively fish it like i wanted too..... I had to place my rods on the floor and use back leads to keep the whole lot clear of the ever increasingly close rowers who seemed hell bent on pulling my kit in! Anyhow, the traffic slowed up around 7.30pm and just as the first bit of light was failing, my right hand rod sprung into action and proceeded to deliver a nice 8lb 15oz barbel to the net!

Well chuffed, I set the rods up on their rests and within seconds I was into another of just over 9lbs! This looked like it could well be a good night for it! It was! I managed 7 barbel in total and even managed a 9lb 9oz fish and a 10lb 1oz barbel at the same time! Epic fishing!

Joel with his first barbel of 7lb 4oz! 

Gary and I ventured up a few days later to fish the same swim and couldn't buy a bite! Very strange set of circumstances! What was even stranger was what happened behind us in the fields! The electricity mains box attached to a post on the main carriageway down to Monmouth decided to explode around 10pm and huge flashes and explosions filled the air around us! It was incredible to say the least! The bangs were intense and you could feel the pressure in the air from the blasts!

My next trip was with another newbie to Barbel.....Joel Biddle, a good pal and regular carper had shown an interest in wanting to have a go at some barbel too. I took him down mid week for an evening session and he was first up to bag a fish with a lovely 7lb 4oz barbel and then a stunning 9lb 9oz....I had another nice double and a few other fish too!

Well done Joel!!! No2 @ 9lb 9oz!

I followed up the great sessions with even more and by the end of my 12th trip up to the Wye I was sat on 37 barbel and 8 over the magic 10lb barrier! Topped off by a new PB of 11lb 4oz! A great two and a half months fishing  by anyone's standard.

Joel and I decided we'd try a new venue one Sunday and booked in with The Wye and Usk foundation for a day on Sugwas Court near Hereford. The river was up up very slightly and after the long drive up, we walked through the fields to find a lovely swim surrounded by overhanging trees.

New PB of 11lb 4oz!

With it being a one rod each water we decided to fish together for a bit. I went upstream and Joel dropped in at the tail end. He was first to get some action but unfortunately lost his first one to a hook link snapping on a powerful fish.....I was next and bagged a wonderful 7lb 5oz barbel on the center pin, which was a real delight! The fishing was a little slow and despite numerous moves I was the only one to catch with a small 4lb 15oz barbel and a little 2 pounder!

As the light was failing I suggested we tried one last spot by the car, which we had baited earlier that day....Joel made a cast out upstream and mine went under arm just in front on the crease line. In seconds of casting I was into a good Barbel and as I was playing it Joel had a bite as well! Both of us were playing fish at the same time! Hilarity followed for a few minutes but eventually we had a pair of beautiful fish on the bank and some great photos to show for our efforts! Mine went 7lb 4oz and Joel's just under 7lb! A great result.

So much fun!!!

My most recent trip up was a little more intense and I really struggled to be honest! I set up just after first light on a river in full on rage mode! At 14 feet above the norm, it was racing through and pretty much unfishable. I tried a couple of swims on the Monmouth side only to be washed off after a few casts due to debris and inability to hold bottom....

I tried a few hours on the little River Trothy, a tributary of the Wye....No bites whatsoever so I opted to try just the last hour over the far side bank of the Wye. I found a slight slack about mid way along the section and dropped a lead in to see if I could still get myself a fish. I had to use 2 leads on the line, totaling 10oz just to grip the deck less than a rod length or so out!

Time for some water??? you bet!!!

I sat through, trees coming down, weed, dead sheep, a badger, more weed and yet more trees! Unbelievable the stuff that comes down that river when its up a bit! Well, the best part of nearly 3 hours passed and I had pretty much come to grips with the fact I was more than likely going home empty handed when all of a sudden I saw a slight deviation in my left hand rod....when I say deviation i mean something a little different in the rod movement.

Absolute magic! 8lb 15oz of flood water gold!

It was a tough call as the tips were bent double from the flow, but there was just something slightly different about the movement??? I decided to strike...what did i have to loose?

Glad I did though as hanging on the end was an awesome barbel of 8lb 15oz! What a surprise and what a scrap in the amazing flow! Just goes to show that if you stick it out, it can still happen even in the worst conditions!