A great evening on the Warwickshire Avon

This, my first entry, is actually a week late however you have to start somewhere. Anyway, I arrived on the banks of the Warwickshire Avon at about 4pm in buoyant mood. The river looked perfect, up a few feet, although falling, with plenty of colour. My target in these conditions was of course Barbel and I opted for a swim that had seen me snare a few fish recently. However, after 45 minutes I just didn't feel comfortable with my choice. I went for a walk and threw several pieces of luncheon meat into a likely looking spot that I had never fished before. I had taken the bare essentials with me and left the remainder of my gear in the original swim. I figured that if a fish was present then it wouldn't take long in these seemingly 'great' conditions for it to make its presence known. After about 20 minutes I was about to wind in and return to my original spot when a fish took off with the bait. A spirited battle followed and a typical Avon Barbel of about 5lb was in the net and safely returned. I decided to add a bit more bait to the swim and relocate myself to this peg for the duration of the session. By now dusk was approaching and the light was beginning to fade. This is that magical time when you feel something is going to happen. The twit twoo of a Tawny Owl and the sound of foxes nearby just added to the atmosphere and the odd twitch now started to register on the rod tip. Soon after the inevitable happened and I was in contact with what was a undoubtedly a decent fish. The fish gave a great account of itself and although it didn't quite make the sought after 'double' at 9lb 6oz it capped a really enjoyable evening and gave me a great photo with the sunset in the background.