Trampled Vegetation
Arrived at the Camping and Caravan Club site at Moorhampton around 1pm after a 5 hour drive from Leeds including a breakfast stop. Got everything set up, my cheapo freeview box from Asda is working great (can't get freeview at home my local transmitter doesn't carry it). I'd topped up with diesel at Morrison's in Leominster just in case the Shell strike wasn't settled when I needed to return home. Went for a look at the river (15 minutes drive from Moorhampton) but couldn't drive down to beat 3 as a large concrete block was blocking access. I rang Brian (who runs the fishery) but he couldn't get the block moved till after 9am Monday as that was when the Letton Court Estate office opened, so I agreed to fish up on beat 1 Monday. Looked round beat 1, it would seem others have been recceing, judging by the trampled vegetation.
An early start for me, I arrived on beat 1 at 6-15am but was beaten by a few others including Mick who has fished this stretch for 20 years and holds the largest Barbel catch record. He was fishing the fast water at the very top of the beat and had managed to winkle out a couple of smallish (6-7lb) Barbel earlier on. I fished till 6pm but only caught a few Chublets and Dace on the float and nothing on the feeder. I could see plenty of Barbel just below me over the 'wall' (a mound of stones in the middle of the river) including a really good one but couldn't tempt them upstream to my swim.
Finally got down to my favourite swim on beat 3 and fished 8-30am till 7pm. Had a few Chub 3lb 4oz, 3lb 12oz, and 5lb 4oz and a new personal best Carp of 14lb 5oz. Unusually all on the downstream rod (usually the upstream rod closest to the snags catches 80% of the fish). The swim has changed quite a bit since last year, I lost 4 feeders till I relocated the clear spot between the snags and the gravel bank I fish from is covered with 6-7 inches of silt (reputed by the locals to be spoil from the pipeline works upstream in Wales). A few showers today but sunny in between.
A real struggle today, wet and windy, just 2 Chub 4lb 4oz and 3lb 13oz to show for my trouble. I managed to lose a few more feeders and had to make some more on the river bank (good job I took the garden mesh and bits of old lead flashing with me !)
Down to beat 3 by 10am (gets later every day :-)) and the river was up an inch or so from yesterday and continued to rise slowly throughout the day following yesterdays rain in Wales. I made some paste on the bank as I was getting desperate for a Barbel and was determined to ring the changes today. At 1pm I landed a 6lb 8oz Barbel using sweetcorn as bait, again on the downstream rod (up to this point I hadn't had a fish on the 'snag' rod despite losing loads of tackle). A long wait followed with the river rising at just under 1 inch per hour until 4pm when a 5lb 3oz Chub succumbed to a paste wrapped pellet on the upstream 'snag' rod. At 6-30pm with the river level rise now accelerating I caught an 8lb 7oz Barbel and finished off with a 3lb 9oz Chub at 8-15pm. I fished through till just after 9pm without any more success (despite loads of 'Chub knocks') the river having risen by 2 feet or so by the time I left.
Last day. I took time out for a shower and shave first thing then back down to beat three and got fishing just before 11 am. The river had dropped back a foot from last nights marker and continued to drop slowly throughout the day. At 11-25 am my first fish of the day a magnificent Barbel of 10lb 8oz to the downstream rod (again) and an hour later a Barbel of 9lb 6oz to the upstream rod both on pellet. At 2 pm a Chub of 4lb which was followed at 3 pm by a mental sub 3lb Chub which pulled the downstream rod out of the rest and then charged all over the river. A few more Chub followed between 1lb and 3lb then just as I was thinking of packing up at 7 pm a Barbel of 7lb 12oz. So I stayed on a bit longer (like you do !) and landed a 7lb 8oz Barbel at 7-20 pm. I finally packed up at 8 pm, the river within a couple of inches of normal level by now.
Bit of a struggle this week, everything seems to be behind schedule, not much fry in the margins, very few ducks and swans on the river and the silt ! It will be interesting to see what September brings when my next Wye outing is planned.