An angler's journal

An angler's journal

Friday 21 September 2018

August Catch Up - Wye and Warks Avon

August finally saw the heatwave leave our shores and with that the rivers were once again fair game. I love this time of year. You can sense autumn is on it's way. The nights begin to draw in and dusk sees the geese travelling to roost in their v-formations. It is also a great time to be on the banks fishing.

A failed barbel trip on an Avon weir pool did see me unlock some decent predator potential so I
A weir pool pike
returned a few days later armed with just a lure rod. It didn't take long to connect with a fish but whilst I was expecting perch and pike to be the likely targets it was indeed a chub that put in the first appearance. A small perch followed then a couple of fish were lost. Unfortunately, the weir pool has a large bed of underwater cabbages on the near bank and to land fish successfully I had to manoeuvre them over this obstacle. That was fine for the smaller fish but anything that could stay low used them to escape and there was little I could do. A decent pike that was certainly a double beat me this way as did a nice perch or two. I did manage a pike a few swims further down before the perch became active at dusk. Another decent perch was hooked but as before the near bank plant growth got the better of me. Maybe it's a chapter to return to when the weed dies back a little.

A Wye fish going 9lb 11oz
I don't fish the Wye too often, indeed it's been a year so as August came to its conclusion I once again found myself in wonderful and beautiful county of Herefordshire. Much has been said about the beauty of the Wye Valley so I won't attempt to convince you here. My swim was relatively shallow and laced with streamer weed. I had to do a fair bit of bank clearing to find enough space to be comfortable for the day. In swims like this I always fish upstream. That way you are not pulling your rig or fish back up against the weed which often results in inevitable breakages and lost fish. The bites will be drop backs and the fish will drop with the flow allowing you to bring them across the river without too much trouble. A couple of barbel showed up in the first hour before the daytime drought set in. I did attempt some trotting, wading mid-river but the slightly increased level meant there was a huge amount of weed coming down the river that hindered presentation meaning a biteless one hour. A bit of roving after lunch rewarded me with a third barbel before I settled in my original spot late afternoon. The bites started again and I finished the session with 9 barbel including a 9lb 11oz, 9lb 9oz and an 8lb 13oz plus a chub of about 4lb. By 8pm the level had rose by about a foot and the already problematic weed became impossible to fish on in. A good session was ended slightly earlier than intended but it was a super session in what became pretty testing conditions.

A few days later I was on the Avon, keen to try a new area in search of some larger fish. I didn't arrive until about half past 7 and immediately baited three swims. A 3lb chub showed up quite quickly in the first of them before I moved to the area I had not fished much before. I am convinced there's fish to be had there but as yet they were not playing ball. By 10pm I'd barely a tap. Time was fast running out so I moved slightly upstream to probably the shallowest part of the stretch at about 5ft deep. I cast a chunk of meat mid-
Another 9lb 11oz barbel, this time from the Avon
river. About 15 mins later the rod arched round and I commenced what turned out to be an epic battle. The fish took me way downstream in an instant. I heard a splash as it broke the surface. I then teased it back upstream. There was a lot of reed growth between me and the river. I then saw the fish for the first time and realised I'd have a game getting it out. A few more powerful runs and she was beaten. I tried to net the fish with difficulty. My right leg went in upto my knee but I eventually netted my prize. I was convinced an Avon double lay before me. However, it wasn't to be as the scales settled at 9lb 11oz. Not to be grumbled at as it was a fine fish that won't be easily forgotten.

5 comments:

  1. Fantastic news on the Avon barbel
    I am Hoping to fish it next week for a few days

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantastic fishing
    I'm hoping to fish the Avon for several days next week.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fantastic fishing
    I'm hoping to fish the Avon for several days next week.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hope it goes well. This time of year is one of the best.

    ReplyDelete