Wye PB!

A great start to the short session! 9lb 7oz

Good day my friends!

This last week has been uber hectic in the office, so to speak! The bait rolling gear has been doing over time and orders flying out left, right and center! Finding a spare five minutes to wet a line has been tough to come by and had I not really pushed myself i'd have nothing new to tell you about this week.....But I did and I have!

Wednesday afternoon came around and despite the heavy work load and many other commitments I had lined up, the wife insisted I grab a few hours on the river bank. I wasn't really feeling it to be honest but I knew that once I was there i'd enjoy it as I always do.

It's funny how sometimes you can crave to be out there fishing and other times you could just take it or leave it. This was one of those evenings where I could have just left it and had an early night. I'm glad to say I didn't though and I think you'll agree by the end of my story, that it was a bloody good job I didn't leave it!

8lb 12oz and things were hotting up!

I grabbed a Macdonalds coffee and a cheap burger from the M4 services on route as it was just before tea time and headed off up towards Monmouth in the rush hour traffic. Not my greatest decision to date.....The traffic was okay until I reached the turn off for Usk at which it ground to a miraculous hault. 60MPH to nothing in a matter of yards. Oh deepest joy....I sat there for about half an hour before things started to move a little and I was starting to think I'd made a piss poor decision going out at that time of the day.

Eventually things started to move along slowly and finally I reached my destination about an hour later than it should have been. My first choice swim was taken and so was my second as well....I couldn't believe it. The river was literally on it's bare bones and running clear and very weedy in places too. I really didn't have many other options but to try a spot i'd only pike fished during the colder months.

Another nice 8lber!

This particular swim has a deeper hole present at 2 rod lengths out extending to around 4 lengths into the river. This then shallows up from around 10 feet to 5 feet in the middle area of the river bed. I decided I'd target the close in area to start with and work my way further out should bites not be forth coming. The sun beamed down and the canoeists for a change were reasonably bearable. The idiots in speed boats still acted like fools racing around but the canoes themselves were ok.

I made my first casts into the close in areas, covering the deeper spot out in front and down stream slightly to my left. I put on the usual River Monster boilie and just a very small PVA bag of spicy sausage pellets, about the size of a 50 pence piece. I had a few odd trembles on both rods but nothing that got me too excited. It was just after 8pm that the boats finally stopped for the night and I was then able to explore the swim slightly further out into the flow of the river.

The smallest of the evening at 7lb 6oz

This was met with an almost instant result and the right hand rod buckled down in to an alarming curve as a very angry Wye Barbel took the hook bait.I wasn't really ready for the take as I was sending a text message at the time....I nearly dropped my phone in the river as I jumped up to grab the butt of the rod which was flying up towards the sky! A great scrap ensued and a few minutes later after struggling to pull her back through the thick weeds, I had a stunning 9lb 7oz specimen laying in my net! Biggest of the year so far. The fish was in fine condition and despite the lack of flow and oxygen, she went off like a record after having her pictures taken.

It took about half an hour before my next chance and the left hand rod was next to leave the butt rests! Another stunner of 8lb 12oz which was shortly followed up by yet another 2 fish of 8lb 4oz and 7lb 6oz. Things then went decidedly quiet around 10pm and a bite was much harder to come by. I wasn't complaining though as i'd had a new season best and 4 lovely fish all over 7lbs in just 3 hours fishing!

I decided to give it another half hour but to no avail. I sat watching dormant rod tips before making the decision to call it a night at 10.20pm. I started to pack away all the non essential items and finally the last bits of gear before reeling in. I was just about to lift the rods off the rests to reel in for the night when the left hand rod flew into action! Flew was a bit of an understatement though to be honest as the butt made its way out of the rod cup holder and the reel hit the top front rest on its way skyward towards the river!

Finally something to really talk about! 12lb 7oz Wye PB! Bloody awesome!

I managed to just about grab the rod by the last 6 inches of cork handle and set the hook in. The fish then went on a heck of a run down stream before turning and doing the same thing back up river! Up and down it went about 5 or 6 times....Finally I started to gain a bit of line and then as the light from my head torch caught a glimpse of the fish as it broke the surface about 20 yards out....I realized i had something a little bit more exciting on the end of my line!

One fat girl!

She rolled into the net and I looked down at my prize, jesus it was chunky! The width alone was bigger than any barbel i'd caught in my angling career! It just had to be a double and I suspected it may well be close to a personal best fish, which currently stood at 11lb 4oz from the swim opposite where I was fishing that night!

I readied the scales, mate, sling and camera and lifted her clear of the river in the net! Jeez, it was chunky! I took a couple of photos and got so carried away looking at her that I neigh on nearly forgot to weigh her! I quickly slipped her into the weigh sling and had to rub my eyes as the needle flew around to just shy of thirteen pounds! 12lb 7oz to be precise! A new PB by a small mile! What a fish!

I knew there were a few slightly bigger ones in my club stretch but that fish is going to take some serious beating!

Tight lines all
Keith!

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