25th July Bristol Avon a mixed bag of fish

It promised to be a blistering hot day and as I walked across the fields from the car park I concluded it might just be that. I decided to try the hemp and caster approach and I baited a swim every hour for three hours. A big fat zero turned up. It was bloody hot I even had the brolly up to protect me from the sun.

Every swim that I though should hold barbel did and I could get them feeding no problem with pellets. Mean while the baited swim didn’t show a single fish.

So reluctantly I moved to another swim further down the river and got the barbel feeding. There was one fish that would have gone a double and 4 others slightly smaller. There were also a few bream and some good sized roach. The bream I thought would go 4-5lbs and they have been in the pool since the start of the season.

I baited with a few pellets and the barbel started to wave their tails at me as they fed.

I waited for the barbel to move out before casting in. Soon the barbel were back together with the biggest chub I have seen on the Bristol Avon, it must have been 7lbs plus. At first I thought it was a barbel but once it got it’s head down there was no doubt.

A mate of mine Andy Cowley recently caught a good chub of 5lbs 14oz from the area.

Andy Cowley and his 5lbs 14oz chub

Things became interesting as the line pulled tight, and I lifted into one of the bream. I would like to say it was a good fight, but not!

Out of interest I thought I would weigh the fish to prove my estimation.  5lbs 4oz which was about the upper end of the size I thought.

The barbel didn’t want to play after this so I headed for another swim close by and caught a small chub just under 4lbs, which was chased by a pike of the same size. I almost had both in the net at once.

By now the cloud had come over and it was slightly cooler.

Next fish came from the same swim and turned out to be a chub of just over 4lbs. I had watched the chub pick up the bait and drop on several occasions. Next time I saw a fish take the bait I struck and hey ho that was it.

Chub of 4lbs 4oz from a tight little swim

So that was 2 fish from a little swim it was time to give it a rest.

Soon in another swim I had the barbel feeding, however they were not big fish. It was a case of getting a barbel any barbel. I could of fished some of the other swims where there were loads, but I’m fishing with a friend Richard later in the week so I left these for then.

I had only cast in for 15 minutes when the rod gave that 3ft twitch and I didn’t give an inch in the very tight swim, cabbages were cut silt was churned but soon I had a torpedo fish laid in the bottom of the net.

That was it for the day, I’m sure I could have caught more!