Chub 4lb 4oz
It's been a very chilly night and morning hence I'm still snug under the quilt drinking my morning cuppa as the sun rises brightly through my heavily dewed caravan windows. I doubt the Barbel will feed much today so I Will bring a pint of maggots out of their suspended animation and trot for Grayling. River very low and clear it's remarkable how much it's changed since June particularly below the bottom of the beach. I started off wading at the upstream end of the fishery hooking 2 tiny Grayling in 2 casts on a bare hook as I was checking the float was shotted correctly but the wind made trotting (and wading) very difficult in this exposed area of the fishery So moved down to the beach lower down the fishery as it was too windy at the island. Dave (Smith) arrived and I stopped for lunch after a couple of modest Trout and an enormous Salmon Parr Another half a dozen Trout and a solitary Grayling followed but the further I moved downstream the more Salmon Parr I got. Meanwhile Dave reported a chub of around four pounds from hut swim 2
A blustery start to the day, so blustery I had concerns for the caravan awning which was at the top of a hill and not sheltered from a Southerly wind. This is the site I prefer to use when fishing at Llanthomas Tirmynach Farm but there are others in the area. I set up in hut swim 1 a little upstream of Dave in hut swim 2 and soon after he reported his first barbel of the weekend. After discarding the barbel rods, he'd caught one of around six pounds on the quivertip rod with two maggots on a 14! Maggots are the way forward in these low conditions I thought so I too was on maggot feeder but more interested in Grayling Then the forecast rain arrived and right on cue to get me out in it a 3lb'ish Chub As evening turned into night strange sounds were in the air "Is that you singing, Brian ?" enquired Dave. Not what you expect at Llanthomas live County & Western wafting from somewhere not too far upstream ! I packed up just after 9pm during a lull in the rain, Dave kindly donated his surplus maggots and ground bait as he was returning to Northampton the following day.
All set up before the showers arrived river up over 1ft, coloured and rising. Dave had just left and I was hoping for a Barbel or two. The river was rising steadily but no interest as yet however on the upside no canoes either which can sometimes be a nuisance especially during the summer A couple of 3lb plus Chub on the downstream rod were immediately followed on the other rod by a 1lb 4oz Trout which took 3x10mm source boilies and had been feasting on pellets. As the river level started slowly dropping a similar sized Chub on the other rod then later 3lb+ Chub which grabbed the bait on the upstream rod as I started to retrieve it After a quiet period as the river continued to drop 2 Chub in quick succession on the downstream rod then another quiet period interupted by a 4lb 7oz Barbel to the downstream rod and yet another 3lb'ish Chub on the other rod. A quick trip back to the car for more bait and a slightly bigger Chub which I weighed for a change and it went 4lb something (I can't remember now but I recorded the weight on my camera) I packed up a little after 8pm having lost count of the Chub but must have been into double figures.
Monday I had a day off to help out Geoff (fishery owner) moving house and to recharge my batteries ready for the remainder of the week. I find on these extended trips it pays to take it easy and maintain my enthusiasm, I rarely get fishing before midday (and often later) and like to get back to the caravan for beer and dinner followed by the 10pm news
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I finally cast out in hut swim 2 around 12:30 and 1st Chuck a 3lb plus Chub on the downstream rod, the river being up around 2ft and nicely coloured but dropping. Soon a very similar Chub on the same rod followed by another on the upstream rod which fell off in the edge as I struggled to put the other rod back in its rest having knocked it out whilst manoeuvering the landing net Things then went quiet for an hour or so, hence back to the car for more feeder ingredients and to experiment with a change of hook baits. The change of bait worked a Chub on the downstream rod which I weighed just to keep my eye in it went 3lb 10oz. Later a Chub of 4lb 4oz on the downstream rod and immediately after recasting a slightly smaller sample. I changed the upstream rod over to the same bait as downstream (10mm Source Boilies) and was soon rewarded with another Chub. Then another Chub on the downstream rod, but where were all the Barbel? Then I lost what felt like a heavy fish when the braid mainline snapped like cotton well above the feeder and had to go back to the car for more 3oz feeders After this a bite off on the downstream rod and I was starting to wonder what was going on !! As night drew in more Chub then after losing a hook length on a snag and realising what the problem had been with the lost biggy I packed up as my slow cooked lamb shank back at the caravan was calling. The lost fish was due to the massive and turbulent back eddy near my bank pushing the braid down to the bottom and into a snag which damaged the line. I lost everything when retrieving my last cast when I got caught up in it and had pinged out of it before the lost fish.
Good weather was forecast today quite warm and with the river still up but dropping perfect for Barbel. I set up in hut swim 3 and just put 1 rod out on a straight lead with a Spicy Krill boily while I sorted out the ravages of yesterday's session and made up some feeder ingredients. 2 mins later a 3lb'ish Chub followed by a much fatter specimen that I thought might go 5. Unfortunately it jumped out of the net and back into the water before I could weigh it. Then as I continued sorting out the other rod a 6lb 15oz Barbel. I finally got both rods out but still with just a straight lead on the downstream one. Then another Chub followed by a 7lb 1oz Barbel both on the upstream rod followed by yet another Chub on the downstream rod I needed a late lunch break I was having great sport till Geoff sat down with me, then nothing. Geoff reckoned it's because the flow has dropped, I reckoned he's a Jonah. So we put the world to rights and I inhaled the second hand smoke from his roll ups then Geoff suggested I cast a little further upstream and I decided maybe he's not a Jonah after all as I had a 5lb 3oz Barbel and he had one a little bigger and left with a smile on his face. We were both surprised by the abscence of the bigger Barbel as more often than not every few fish a double comes along, meanwhile I had another at 6lb 8oz followed by a couple of decent Chub
It had been a wild night, wind followed by rain and a late start for me as I needed a shower followed by more supplies from the Hay-on-Wye Co-op. By mid afternoon I was back in hut swim 3 having been determined to go trotting today but the river had come up and colored up again so it looked like Barbelling (or should I say Chubbing) was my best option. 1st cast the 3oz feeders weren't holding so I upped them to 4oz then 5oz which worked as I soon had a feisty 5lb Barbel on the upstream. Leaves on the line were becoming a problem (where have I heard that before?). This was followed by a 4lb Barbel to the same rod then a 6lb 12oz Barbel on the downstream rod. Then followed a period of stolen boilies, 4 in a row now so I changed the upstream rod over to 2 x 10mm Source Boilies to see how whatever was thieving them coped with a fuller hair. After a quiet spell a 4-2 Chub on the downstream rod and just as I returned that a 7-4 Barbel on the other rod. Another stolen boily on the downstream so I changed that rod over to 2x10mm as well, I reckon the Chub were nipping them off. That worked immediately in the shape of a 5-10 Barbel and on the upstream rod a 4-12 Chub. I packed up as night drew in, a little earlier than usual, as I'd had a decent day it had been quiet the last couple of hours and was getting quite chilly plus the constant build up of salad on the line was a pain.
I set up in a different area today, hoping to locate the bigger Barbel that inhabit the fishery, downstream of the pulpit where I had the option to trot the float whilst the Barbel rods were out. 4 stolen boilies and a Chub was the initial pattern and judging by how far down the hook was in the Chub I believed they were the culprits. I was soon up to 5 Chub but twice as many missed bites and half a dozen stolen boilies so I dropped the feeders to 3oz as 4oz was holding easily, hoping to hook a higher percentage. After getting up to 6 Chub I set up the trotting rod, desperate to use up some of the 4 pints of maggots I'd brought with me (primarily for the Grayling) and was soon catching minnow after minnow. I baited heavily, went back to the car for more maggots then had a 1lb 9oz Trout on the float and a 4-9 Chub on the feeder, followed by another 4+ Chub immediately after recasting. Later another good Trout on the float of 1lb 8oz and an early finish as I had a lot of packing up and a long drive back home to Leeds the following day
All in all I enjoyed the week immensely, loads of quality Chub between 3 and 4-12 (and one that might have made 5 if it hadn't avoided the scales) plus a good few Barbel (unfortunately non of the bigger ones) and some nice Trout to 1lb 9oz. Unfortunately the conditions weren't right for Grayling that I've had to just under 2lbs here (they do go bigger) so the maggots went to waste. Still you have to make the best of the conditions you're presented with, see you again next June Geoff (probably).