The conditions on the river had been superb for catching Barbel on the Trent right from last week-end yet alas things conspired to keep me away. How I wanted to get out last Sunday and Monday in particular but other things had to be done. I was desperate for a picture of a carp laying at the side of a bag of bait for something I was working upon so Sunday saw me getting a bit of carp gear together and venturing over to a water I had not cast into for 10 years or so. It can be a tricky place but time wasn't allowing me to travel far so I took a gamble.
I was lucky, my 3 hour session rewarded me with what I wanted and it was lovely to re-acquaint myself with one of the Rosehip Pool fish. It had fallen to a bait right on dark on the Sunday evening so a pleasant end to my week-end away from the office.
Monday evening after I had locked the office up I looked at the weather and it was similar to the previous evening and I wondered if it would be too greedy of my to pop back over to Rosehip for a another go? I had intended on spending a couple of hours after the barbel with not getting out the previous day but the carp were the easy option. The carp gear was still in the Land Rover and with also needing to do my weekly shop I decided carp were by far the most sensible route. The rules state I had to be off 'Rosehip' by 8.30pm, if I barbel fished I would be there much later thus making it a late one by the time I had done my shopping as well.
I arrived at 7pm, introduced a bit of bait and cast back to the productive area of the previous evening. 7.20pm I had another Rosehip carp in the net! I decided my angling urges had been satisfied so packed after that, went and did the shopping and found myself sat in front of the idiot box watching a angling programme by 9pm.
Tuesday and the barbel were really starting to call, but a late evening in the office wiped out any thoughts of angling as did Wednesday and Thursday and by Friday I was gagging to get out for my usual 2 1/2 to 3 hours evening session. I decided to try a swim I had often looked at but had never cast into for barbel. Conditions looked fine for action and a couple of test casts and a bit of a drag around with a lead to get an idea of depths and what was on the bottom of the swim I felt happy that there could be barbel visiting the area.
The sun was setting as I made the first cast and half an hour into dark a large barbel slapped the surface with its tail just upstream from me but in an area I couldn't safely cover from where I sat. I needn't have worried though as shortly after a bait just a few feet out was found by old whiskers and quite an epic battle ensued. I knew from the moment I had hooked it that this was a little bit special. I have been totally spoilt this season with a lot of double figure barbel but this one felt in a different league and held its own just cruising in the current making me pull harder a couple of times to make sure it wasn't snagged.
Eventually the fish was in front of me as I started to ease it up off of the bottom. I saw the dorsal break surface then an almighty explosion of water as it powered off on a totally unstoppable run. This was repeated several times before I was eventually able to draw the fish over the net. I went to lift and had to perform that rather satisfying last second flick of the net as its tail wasn't completely in. I looked to the sky with a huge contented grin and once again the natural world had been kind to me.
The scales said 13 lb although what did that matter?
As is usually the case with me and barbel, after I have landed a good fish I tend to pack away being quite content with the lovely inner feeling of capturing a good fish and leaving my mind open to take it all in properly rather than confusing it with trying to trick another.
The following day I broke my own rule and went back to the same swim as I had caught the 13 lb fish from. I had only fished it the once and was keen to have another go despite me not usually fishing the same swim two evenings on the trot. I arrived again as the light was falling and soon a bait was back in position where the fish of the previous evening had decided to have one snack too many. I had only been cast out 10 minutes when the rod top gave the typical 6ft twitch of a barbel bite!
It fought well but not in the same league as the fish of the previous evening. The torch light said it was another double but the scales disagreed refusing to go those couple of extra notches. I returned it and thanked it for the encounter.
The time moved on and I poured my final cup of Nescafe Black Gold from the flask and topped it with milk from a separate bottle. I do dislike stewed flask coffee when the milk has been added at the production stage but can stomach it with the milk added separate. I was getting towards the bottom of the cup when suddenly my rod butt levitated and hovered in the air whilst the spool of the reel screamed for mercy. I threw coffee over myself as you do and momentarily thought it was nice of the rod to offer its butt at a more comfortable grabbing height.
Now the fish the previous night had fought hard but this one was mental, absolutely furious at being hooked. I hung on listening to the reel shrieking whilst trying to judge exactly where the fish was going. The first time it hit the surface the water really did explode and the noise woke lots of wildlife down the Trent Valley as the silent night suddenly came alive with the vocal sounds of various creatures. On the surface a second time and another huge explosion and shower of spray, this barbel really did have the hump with me.
My luck held out and with a bit of a tremble through my body I eased this latest beast those agonising last few inches towards the waiting net and suddenly it was mine! Two big fish in two evenings I was one hell of a lucky angler.
I sit her tapping these words out wondering how long I can leave this new swim alone? I mustn’t go back just yet, I have been finding swims that haven’t been fished and to sit in them too much will reveal them to others as the grass starts to become worn and muddied. I may be a little selfish but I have worked hard to find my tiny pieces of paradise in just the same way as others could. All of my angling this year has been on open ticket club waters and from my observations just the same 3 or 4 swims get fished when there are in fact miles of river to go at. Long may it continue and give me quiet and grassy swims out of the way of the crowds.