It's been a slow start to the season on many rivers, but last week a string of specimen fish were banked after much-needed rainfall gave waterways a lift and added a touch of colour. As a result, anglers enjoyed superb sport.
Nigel Kennard arguably caught the pick of the bunch in the shape of a stunning 18lb 1oz barbel from the Hampshire Avon. He started his campaign a few weeks ago and had landed fish of 13lb 11oz, 13lb 7oz and 12lb 3oz before the 18-pounder graced his net.
“After a day of rain, the Avon had a little colour and extra pace, so I needed to go fishing!” Nigel told us.
“I’ve been baiting three swims on the way to work, and after finding a friend in my first-choice swim on this session, I walked to my next option.”
Fishing a PVA bag packed with crushed and whole boilies, plus small pellets, Nigel cast to a weed-free channel close to the bank.
“After 30 minutes the rod tip was pulled down and I lifted into a barbel that stripped line from a tight clutch,” he added.
“After a battle in and out of the weed, I drew the net under what looked a really big fish. It smashes my old PB and, after releasing it, I carried on fishing with a huge grin on my face.”
THE BEST BARBEL RODS ARE PERFECT FOR THESE HARD FIGHTING FISH...
Another angler to enjoy some productive running-water action was Julian Barnes, who banked barbel scaling 17lb 15oz and 16lb 7oz from the River Lea, along with a 20lb 11oz mirror carp!
“I felt the wind and rain would trigger a feeding spell on this tricky venue, although with the river being up, and with lots of weed coming down, presentation was tricky,” Julian said.
“I used one rod on a spot in the main flow, using hard hookers to deter the crayfish, and fed very little.”
DON'T GO FISHING FOR BARBEL WITHOUT TAKING A SELECTION OF THESE BAITS WITH YOU!
It wasn’t just barbel on the feed, as Chris Fogg showed with a cracking 7lb 8oz chub.
“I had a tip-off that a stretch of the Thames fairly close to my home was in form, so I thought I’d have a go” he told us.
“The chub was the only fish of the evening, the bite coming at around 1am, just before I was about to pack up. It fell to a boilie hookbait cast to an overhanging far-bank tree, fished over a scattering of matching feed.”
HEAD TO ONE OF THESE FEATURES ON THE RIVER AND YOU ARE SURE TO FIND CHUB!
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