An evening barbel fishing and 8 chub from the same swim

I decided that it was time for an impromptu barbel session on the H.Avon as we had had a significant amount of rain and the level was rising. I arrived at about 3pm and settled in a swim which I thought would give me the best opportunity. I could squeeze a couple of rods in the swim. I was just on the phone to Andy (you should have been here yesterday) Cowley when the rod bounced around in the rests and line peeled off the free spool. All of this was within 5 minutes of casting into the brown flooded river. I lifted the rod and found something pulling back on the end. It was huge but at least something was feeding. It turned out to be an eel of about 1.5lbs or so, and was lip hooked on pellets. The other rod was baited with Big Squid boilie. So no blanking. There were two spots I was casting to. The boilie was on the near side line of the bank where I know the barbel do visit. The pellet rod was cast towards the willow branches on the far side. I was having to use 5oz watch leads to hold bottom and that was because of the amount of debris coming down in the flood. It was a pleasant enough afternoon however rain clouds threatened. The rods tips though had to be sunken below the surface to stop debris collecting on the line.

I caught one more chub of about 8oz, not that I knew anything about it as there was no indication on the reel or rod top. I suspect it wasn’t strong or big enough to move the lead. Sure enough the rain came just as darkness arrived and I packed up.

The next day Andy was fishing what we call the best chub swim in the world. I arrived to have a chat before heading off to another stretch where I had been float fishing and catching some great chub. As we were chatting I got a phone call from Andy Little to say that he had a 17lbs 8oz barbel and could I come and photograph it for him. So Andy and I went to see the largest barbel that I had ever witnessed. It was fat and huge and in stunning condition. What a beast. So on completing the task we headed back to Andy’s swim and I headed off to mine. It was about 11.30am when I started to fish as I was talking to another friend on my way to the swim.

I was going to float fish for a while and then when I’d tired would change to the feeder rig. The colour from the previous rain was dropping out of the river. Conditions looked perfect for trotting a float through. As I tackled up I was firing maggots out via the pult. I was using a 8g loaded chubber float but just fastened at the bottom similar to a waggler float. There was little wind and great trotting conditions other than the strong sunshine. John my friend who was fishing for barbel just 100m away came up to have his lunch whilst watching me trot the float through. Well he certainly bought me some luck as reasonably quickly I had a bite and hooked a chub that fought hard. I landed it some way downstream as with a size 20 hook it’s tough to bring them up against the flow. More often than not the hook pings out.

It was only a small chub of a but 4lbs or so. But no blanking. We had a really pleasant chat as we are both in the Tench Fishers. I think I hooked another chub of similar size whilst we talked. I said to him he was bringing me some good luck. After that he was going to return to his swim for one more cast before moving on.

I continued to pult out maggots as I ate my lunch and sure enough the next trot down I hooked another chub. This though was at the end of the swim and field and I had to scarper 30 yds down the bank quickly and stop it going into the willow branches. I applied as much pressure as I could and then ping the hook popped out. John watched this action from downstream.

I then caught another chub of about 4lbs. John bought me more luck as he arrived to say he was moving. A nice dace of about 6oz decided it liked maggots. So we said our goodbyes and he moved swims.

I had 3 chub and still 3 hrs of fishing remaining. I phone Andy to say come and have a go in this swim as he was blanking or getting obliterated by minnows. So after 30 minutes he turned up and I’d had another chub so that made 4. I was by now on the feeder rod and whilst he was tackling up my feeder rod banged a few times as the chub picked at the feeder and the maggots. Then it really banged over and I had hooked a lively chub that bore away under the river surface trying for the willow branches. Pulling hard I soon had it in mid-river and the fight was over. It was just a case of leading it downstream to the waiting net. We both looked at it and Andy thought it was 5.1lbs and I thought 5.5lbs. On the scales it eventually settled on 5.6lbs.

Not the prettiest of fish but a nice one and number 5 for me. For me the rest of the afternoon I was to be maggot pult man. Andy demonstrated his skills in float fishing and landed perch 3 chub to 5lbs 13oz and some dace and a roach.

So that was a great afternoon fishing 8 chub in total with a few lost through hook pulls and the very last one was on feeder. It was a disaster really. I had landed the 5.6lb chub on the feeder rod and it had been put aside for Andy to use his float rod. Andy had a tangle on his float rig so I cast out the feeder rod whilst he retied another rig. The feeder rod top kept bouncing around where the chub were moving the feeder and taking the maggots. I kept casting out every 5 minutes or so. Often the hook would come back bare where the chub were just pulling at the maggots. It was getting towards last knockings and I was packing up and asked Andy to look after the rod. Quickly it nodded a few times and Andy was like a coiled spring and picked the rod up and piled on the pressure as the fish made for the willow branches. Then it all went slack the hook had come off. Was it my fault in poor knotting or did it touch a branch or was it weakened from landing the 5lbs 6oz chub?

We will never know but it’s unusual to lose a chub like that. So perhaps it’s school boy error.

So a wonderful day seeing the 17lbs 8oz barbel. Bumping into John and spending time chatting. And of course spending time with Andy and it was such a privilege being his maggot pult man for 2 hrs.