The longest of winters

One of the few recent captures

Another river season has come and gone and the lack of activity on these pages tell its own story. Since Christmas there have been few opportunities to capture some large winter fish. Since my previous post where I enjoyed some nice chub fishing in January, it has been a tale of woe. The changeable weather conditions have been most unhelpful. We have had to endure long periods of freezing weather which saw the Warks Avon dip to below 2°C at one point then we've had to contend with the inevitable snow melts that saw the river rage and spill its banks. A couple of small pike managed to put a bend in the rod but a string of blanks appeared to be the norm for me.

Mother nature flexes her muscles

Despite the lack of fish, the countryside can be at its most striking at this time of year. From the beautiful snow covered landscape to witnessing the power of mother nature when a river is in full flood. I had the pleasure of witnessing a starling murmuration for several weeks through the colder months. Quite why starlings do this prior to roosting is a mystery but it certainly makes for an interesting spectacle on a cold, winter's afternoon.

The final weekend saw the river rise dramatically. Had it not been the last chance to fish the river then I'd have probably given it a miss since I have found the Avon rarely produces when on a rapid rise. Despite reasonable water temperatures, a winter barbel could not be tempted. I even gave the river a final chance on the 12th but again she was on another quick rise following a day of heavy rain. I struggled to place a bait even in the slacker swims and was forced to retire early.

There are few better sights than the countryside shrouded in a blanket of snow

The PB chub

As I write this, I have awoken to find we are once again greeted by snow. It's certainly been an interesting start to what is supposed to be spring. Looking back, it's been a reasonable season full of highs and lows. The barbel fishing through the summer and autumn was some of the best I've enjoyed on the Avon in recent years and my first Wye double was a stand out memory. A personal best chub brightened up my winter before the weather took its grip. With March upon us it affords time to regroup and explore new challenges and I for one hope that the close season remains although that's a debate for another day. The next few weeks will see me switch to big perch and hopefully some better times to come.

Back for Perch

I can't deny it's been a tough few weeks. A couple of river blanks and some failed perch expeditions meant it had been a lean month or so. I was still looking to up my Perch PB so I was back on a small stillwater that holds some fish to over 3lb. .

A nice looking mirror

The weather had become mild after a cold week so I hoped the fish would be obliging mood. First task was to catch some live baits so a few sections of the pole and maggots were employed. The float soon shot under but instead of a small roach the elastic told me that I had connected with a carp. On relatively light gear I had no option but to take my time to eventually net a chunky mirror of around 7lb. The next hour was a little frustrating in so much that all the roach were too big for perch. One roach went 1lb 2oz which was a most welcome capture. Roach always look resplendent in the cold months when they take on their winter colours. Their flanks glistened blue in the low watery sunshine. After an hour or more I finally landed a roach of the intended size. This was

This roach went over a pound

attached to a paternosted float set up and cast not far from the feeding zone. The afternoon followed a similar pattern. The roach kept coming but the perch tackle remained unmolested. By now I had also set up a ledgered live bait which I had cast a little further out towards the middle of the pool. There was a tentative run that failed to materialise so I plugged away waiting for a feeding spell. Perch tend to feed in short spells but it's possible to catch several in a short space of time if they are really feeding positively. Another angler managed a nice perch of just under 3lb to keep me feeling optimistic. As late afternoon approach a peg was vacated by a carp angler and this gave me the opportunity to put a bait near some overhanging willow branches. I would have happily chosen this area on arrival had it been available. The cast was spot on as the ledgered roach landed just shy of the overhanging cover. Five minutes later and the alarm started to bleep as line was being taken in earnest. I felt the line to check the run was still positive and my strike was met with solid resistance as a perch was hooked. I could tell it was a low 2 pounder as it lay in the net and the scales confirmed 2lb 2oz meaning my modest PB had crept up by an ounce. It's been my first winter focussing on perch so to have managed several two pounders in the half dozen or so visits is a pretty satisfying outcome. I might manage one more visit for the magical three pounder before my attentions turn to spring and different species.

Target achieved

Barbel: Great start to 2016

December was a great month for barbel. The mild conditions and extra water meant there was great sport for those on the bank. Unfortunately for me, various commitments meant that I missed out on the barbel bonanza. I did manage to visit the Warks Avon a couple of days after Christmas to find the river about 5-6ft on and a temperature of 9.5°C. It seemed perfect but I didn't get a knock. Neither did the other angler on the stretch or the two people I knew were fishing a stretch upstream. I often find the Avon rarely delivers in so called perfect conditions so I vowed to return 48 hours later. However, the day before New Years Eve saw torrential rain all day so I bottled it and stayed in a warm house. By NYE, the river was again at the top of its banks and I was certain the new water had caused a temperature drop. This didn't bode well.

With the river fluctuating for days, today finally saw it around 3ft up on normal level and pretty steady. The morning had seen more heavy rain but by lunch time it had started to wane and by 2pm I was making my first cast. The weather meant I had the stretch to myself, which is just the way I like

A great way to start

it. I was travelling light with just the one rod tackled up with a small cage feeder. Inside this went some scaled pellet that had also been flavoured. Bait was a chunk of flavoured meat mounted on a size 2 hook. After 40 minutes I decided to move on and by the time I had set up in my new swim, the heavens had opened again and I was hunched underneath an umbrella. This swim did however produce the first fish of the day; a barbel of around 6lb that was in fine condition.

With a blank avoided, I recast for a further half hour but as no more sport was found I moved further downstream. Again I cast just shy of the main flow into a swim that provided smooth water. About 25 minutes had elapsed when another, albeit tentative, bite arrived and I was into a better fish.

This 8 pounder was the largest of the session

It made some great runs but was finally tamed and a chunky 8 pounder graced the bank. The session was nearing its conclusion as the light began to fade. The wind had picked up and was quite chilly and I could see another weather front moving in. I started to gather my kit together when another fish took a liking to my bait. Another good fish was hooked but it found some debris. It wasn't stuck solid and I could feel the fish kick but disaster in the shape of a hook pull meant it was lost. The rain had started and I had a dilemma: go home whilst I could escape relatively dry or have one more cast. The latter won the day and I sat under the umbrella as daylight turned to dark with the wind howling and driving rain finding its way to soak me in determined fashion. To be honest the rain lasted longer than I thought it would and I found myself ensconced for almost an hour, not daring to brave the elements and dash to the car. The hour was not without event though. By now I was feeling for bites in the darkness. I felt the presence of a fish and moments later the line tightened. I was into

Not the best looking barbel

the fish before the rod tip even had chance to flex. A lively fish came to the net. It was a scabby looking specimen of around 3-4lb. I had another cast and felt that had I stayed on the fish were in such obliging mood that I would have undoubtedly added more. But as I trudged through the mud to my car I could not help but feel pleased with my efforts. Three barbel on my first outing of 2016 is a great way to start the year. Once home, I discovered that the river had started to rise ever so slightly during my session. Only a few inches but I do wonder whether the start of a rise was the reason for the fishes' indulgent feeding spell. Thank you for reading. As always, your comments are most welcome.

Enjoyment personified

If you read my last blog entry, you will be aware that I was unfortunate to lose what felt like a sizeable Pike. Although it put a tinge of disappointment on my trip, my thoughts have been firmly on a return. So when I awoke this morning, I was full if anticipation.

Waiting for the float to go

There was light rain falling as I walked along the banks of the Warwickshire Avon in the direction of the neglected, mysterious near bank eddy. My imagination was getting the better of me; perhaps the elusive Avon twenty pounder I have craved was in residence .The deadbait was carefully positioned in about 8ft of water. I watched the float, occasionally bobbing, as the river's current took it under its wing. However my enthusiasm was not matched by that of the resident Pike and I had to admit defeat. Had the Pike moved on or was simply the wrong time to be putting a bait in its lair?

Pike: Two in the net and the one that got away

A chunky looking 7 pounder

I just had to get back on the bank. It had been two weeks since my last outing and following a work dominated 10 days Sunday morning was my chance to kick back. A week of frosts meant a cold and clear Warks Avon awaited but this morning was slightly warmer meaning I awoke to a frost free morning. That said, it was only just above freezing and a thin mist hung, suspended in the murky grey, morning light.

Back for Pike

After much deliberation, I returned to the canal in the hope of catching more of its population of Pike. Tactics were a simple float fished deadbait that would be complimented with a lure rod to keep me busy. This week's conditions were a huge contrast from the previous. The conditions were overcast and with air temperatures the positive side of zero there was no sign of ice this week.

Finally! (Pike and Perch)

With a run of 5 blanks during my last 6 sessions, my record was rivaling that of my football team, Aston Villa. Four of those blanks had come on a very unsettled Warks Avon attempting to catch Pike and Chub with the other on a lake famed for Pike. That day saw my companions and I fishing 10 baits between us for one solitary run. So I am sure I could be forgiven for being less than enthusiastic as the river once again topped the banks earlier this week coupled with some arctic conditions to boot. Therefore, as the weekend approached I my options were limited to stillwaters or canals.

A tough day

It ended up being a tough, daytime assignment on the Warks Avon today. In all honesty, I knew I was a day or so too late as a cooler night together with a misty start were bound to send the temperatures dipping slightly. But having a family means that you take your chances when they are presented and the sunshine that appeared mid-morning certainly made for a pleasant stay on the riverbank.

One for the Christmas card

The river itself was dropping and had that milky colour to it but with a temperature reading of 8.5°C, I was still mildly optimistic. A meat rod was cast downstream with the upstream rod baited with boilie. It wasn't long before the latter showed signs of fishy activity. The culprits were almost certainly Chub and none of them would commit themselves enough to make a mistake. I tried another spot, slightly downstream, but this also proved fruitless so I settled back in to the original swim and decided to sit it out. My boredom was relieved when a robin decided to pay me a visit. It's always fascinating how tame they can be in return for a bit of food. At one stage it sat on my wellington boot as we shared lunch. I had also been tidying my rig wallet and and the robin was almost fooled by the hooklink carrying fake maggots. After 3 hours of inactivity, something had to change. I decided that f the robin could be fooled then perhaps a fish would follow suit. So on went a 6" length of flouro complete with three hair rigged fake maggots. I wasn't fishing maggots but anything was worth a try.

A Lesson Learned

With a few hours spare on Sunday morning I decided to spend them on the banks of the Warwickshire Avon. I had seen a weather forecast predicting a cloudy, mild day but reality brought a bright and clear day with a stiff breeze gathering pace by late morning. With no significant rain for a few weeks and some cold nights, the river had cleared meaning I could see the bottom in 3-4ft of water. With this in mind I had decided to take a quivertip rod for chub and my deadbait rod for pike, I also packed in my lure rod at the last minute.

My chub setup was 6lb line straight through to a size 6 hook baited with cheese paste whilst I used a ledgered paternoster rig to present a half mackerel for the pike. The first swim was given about 40 minutes before I upped sticks and moved downstream. My target was a good chub peg that has produced in the past. My rationale was that if I couldn't snare a chub there then it would probably mean they weren't in the mood. I passed a few anglers float fishing maggots with little to shout about and then met another pike angler who had managed a fish earlier that morning.

A short chat later and I arrived in my spot and cast the cheese paste under the overhanging tree protruding from the near bank. I decided to leave the pike set up at the top of the bank, as for the time being it was do or die as far as the chub were concerned. Twenty minutes later and with not so much as a twitch I reeled in and packed the chub rod away. As far as I was concerned I was flogging as dead horse and it would be pike that would get my full attention for the next 90 minutes or so that I had remaining. I moved a peg or two upstream. I decided to remove the trebles and replace it with a trace sporting a single hook baited with a smelt. This was cast into the river ready to intercept any pike in the vicinity. The pike angler I had passed earlier came walking by for another chat and reported he'd had no further interest since his fish at first light.

By now it had past 11am and my bait was also lying undisturbed. It was obvious deadbaits weren't interesting the pike so out came the lure rod that I almost didn't pack. I connected the spinner that had been successful on my previous session and had attracted lots of perch interest. Fifteen minutes later and it was time for another change and out came one of my new spinnerbaits. I opted for

Spinnerbaits did the trick

a white and silver pattern using the old mantra that natural colours work best in clear water. Within five minutes or so the rod hooped over and I was into a pike. The 7ft, light actioned lure rod I was using meant that the pike, although not huge, gave a good account of itself. It was a plump looking fish that had obviously been feeding well for the impending winter. I estimated the weight at about 5lb, took a quick snap whilst it lay on the unhooking mat before watching it slope in the margins before it disappeared from view.

A chunky looking 'Jack' pike

With confidence renewed, I soon moved into a new spot a little upstream. This almost resulted in pike number two. As the lure made its way back to the bank a pike appeared from nowhere and grabbed the lure. I could feel the pike pulling aggressively as it thought it had found any easy meal. I struck! Unbelievably, it resulted in thin air and I watched the pike vanish almost as quickly as it appeared. I couldn't comprehend how I missed that one and despite persevering for another ten minutes or so hoping it would return, I saw time run out and my session ended.

Although it would have been nice to have caught the second pike it did remind me of some valuable lessons. The first was not to discount lures whatever the month and secondly, if one method isn't working then do something proactive. It would have been easy to sit behind a deadbait for the the session but I am pretty sure it would have resulted in a blank. On another day it might be the best method but on this day the pike seemed more inclined to chase a moving bait. To finish, I must say I've got a bit of the pike bug at the moment. After concentrating on barbel for several years it has been quite refreshing to catch a few different species this season, especially since the barbel fishing has been so indifferent. That means I am already plotting my next predator session.

Out with a bang...well, not quite

Here it is, it may not be big at about 12oz but it’s been long overdue. This perfectly formed chub, caught today on the final day of the river season from the Warks Avon is my first fish since 6^th January. Apart from a flurry of Barbel in the New Year, it’s been a miserable winter due to the inconsistent conditions. Of course, I've not been alone in finding this winter a struggle with cold spells and flooding providing unsettled conditions, which are never conducive to good fishing. Before Christmas I treated myself to two new pike rods, both have yet to be christened. Perhaps I’m just bad at pike fishing?

As for today’s session, well I was keen to put an end to the barren run. I didn't want the river season to end negatively so I pulled out the stops to get on the river one last time. I knew it would be a difficult and blanking again would be a real possibility. I took the temperature on arrival to find the river hovering around 3.5°C, this of course didn't fill me with optimism but was hardly surprising given the two previous frosty nights. I decided to place a float fished deadbait in the slack water in front of me while I also fished a quivertip and maggot feeder on a small size 18 hook. Soon after I had a few encouraging taps, which resulted in crushed bait and filled me with hope. I tried striking at a few of these enquiries but they were far too quick and tentative to connect. Therefore, I decided to wait for a more positive indication and finally it arrived. How nice to see a bend in the rod, albeit a small one. I had hoped another Chub would follow but despite me returning the fish upstream the bites dried up. By 6pm the temperature had plummeted sharply. It had been quite pleasant on arrival after a bright and sunny day but now it was freezing to the point where my fingers were close to giving up the ghost. A warm shower beckoned and proved to be more tempting than another cast.

You'll have to look closely due to the distance
but there's a mink swimming across river

Although I've had better winters, the great thing about fishing and the closure of the river season is that an angler’s mind starts to wonder and create new challenges. I can now look forward to three months of variety where I would like to pursue canal carp and find some tench. It would be good to hear how you have fared this winter and what the traditional close season holds in store. Thanks for reading.

The end is nigh: a week to stop the rot!

It’s been a beautiful day today in Worcestershire and it really felt like spring was on its way, however it does look like a flash in the pan since we have rain forecast over the next day or so. The positive side to this is that temperatures seem to be rising and that of course will hopefully making fishing a little easier. What a frustrating a few weeks we’ve had. On a personal note, I’ve had a string of blanks fishing a river that’s been cold (about 3°C) and having the misfortune of timing my sessions to coincide with the worst of conditions. This is my first fishing season as a father and work seems to be manic at the moment meaning every planned session seems to get cancelled leaving me scratting around for opportunities at the wrong time.

I have realised it’s been a while since I last blogged and that’s simply because there has been so little to write about. I’m sure no one would find it exciting for me to detail my horrendous fishless run? However, I don’t think I’ve been alone in struggling this winter. It’s been pretty quiet chatting to fellow anglers that I’ve met and also on all the internet forums I frequent. People have simply stayed away or found it tough.

With just over a week left of the fishing season I do hope to be able to get out a few times before the window slams shut and my attentions turn elsewhere. With a bit of luck I will be able to make a trip to the Warwickshire Avon tomorrow evening and then I’m on the lower Severn on Saturday before another evening trip on the Avon during the final few days. I took the temperature of the Warwickshire Avon after work today to find it in the region of 5.5°C, which is an increase on last week’s 4°C, so the signs are encouraging. Fingers crossed I can finish the river season smiling.   

A blank and another winter Barbel

Since my last post I’ve had two trips: a Piking session on the Gloucester Canal and an afternoon on the Warks Avon hoping for Barbel.

If you read my previous post you will know that my wife’s brother-in-law was visiting and I promised him a fishing trip. Since he’d never caught a Pike before the aim was to put that right. With the rivers high and coloured I was forced to look for an alternative venue to snare a predator. With a lack of stillwaters containing Pike in the immediate area a bit of spade work identified the Gloucester Canal as a viable venue. Investigations showed that if you could find the prey fish then the Pike and Zander would not be far away so off we went with high hopes, especially given the mild conditions. We arrived late morning, and having not fished the venue before walked the towpath looking for signs or fishy spots. Within 50 yards we came across a dead arm that had dozens of small fish dimpling the surface. Bingo, surely a good spot for a predator? Well, despite fishing ledgered and float fished deadbaits and lure fishing we didn’t get a sniff, neither did the local who was fishing three rods 30 yards away. With five baits in the water between us I’d like to say the fish weren’t there or simply not interested rather than us fishing like plonkers. Even a move resulted in nothing and I must admit it was rather disappointing.

A nice winter Warks Avon Barbel

Looking to put things right, today saw me back on the Warks Avon. With me back at work tomorrow I was determined to get one last trip in and with the Barbel conditions seemingly perfect surely a fish would grace the net? With my homemade paste doing the business on the last few trips it made sense to start with that as bait. The river had dropped considerably although it had that ‘milky’ colour to it. It had also risen by 1°C so was around 7°C; perfect! However, sport was slow despite half an hour in another swim where I was too hasty with a Chub bite and missed out. I returned to my main swim but after about 10 minutes I just had a nagging feeling that I should change to meat. I did, and within 5 minutes I was playing a Barbel, which gave a ponderous fight preferring to stay deep and rarely taking line until the net. I didn’t weigh it accurately preferring to just hook the scales on to the landing net for a rough check. After a few calculations to deduct the net, it meant  7 ½lb. Although an average fish, it was in pristine winter condition as have all the Barbel I have caught recently.

As I said earlier, work beckons tomorrow which will no doubt curtail my angling activities. It’s a shame since the Avon is well worth a Barbel or two in its current state. However, with no rain the river will continue to drop and clear so things may get tougher on the Barbel front. That said, Chub and Pike prospects should improve. Happy angling!