I know for me I was hooked on barbel straight away, when as a 'barbel novice' I was taken by my 'barbel mentor' to a secluded weirpool in
Wiltshire.
We fished from about 5pm to 9pm.. Both of us had blanked until about 8.50pm when as the light was fading, I had removed my bank stick and rod rest from
it's position in a show of the old 'progressive pack-up' routine.. I had been sat all evening literally within the frothing white crests of the
weirpool, amongst rocks, reeds, and rats. Precariously perched upon an old orange aluminuium style deck chair. I had my rod resting across my lap and upper
knee.
After a quick check of the time, that incorperated a big 'Ok that's it!' style stretch, large yawn, brief scratch behind the right ear,
and mini 'eagles breakfast'... I reached down for the reel and rod handle to call it a day. It was right then that several things happened... I
suddenly felt direct, and completely unexpected pressure on my right knee where the rod had been resting idly. Bemused, I quickly glanced upward at the rod tip
and could see that the sleek, unmoving sentinal, that had been watching out over the babbling wier pool for the last two hours or so, was now arced over with
extreme prejudice towards the surface of the water. This was immeadiately followed by at least 3 violent, snapping downward 'jaggs' of the rod tip
towards the raging surface..
Lunging forward, more in reflex action for the preservation of all concerned equipment, than in anything that could be construed as knowing what I was doing, I
grasped for, and then fumbled the rod...... *CLANG!, WOBBLE!, BOUNCE!, DISSAPEAR!*
Bugger!....The rod, after very clumsily falling into the highly oxegenated, watery fury that was at my feet, (and had been for the last 3 hours) was now
sopping wet. With the same inept, though now wet, fingers I grasped around for the reel handle, whilst trying not to hyper ventilate, and fall in the water
myself.. After regaining composure, I locked the rod under my right elbow, and cranked the tip upwards......BOOM! The road bent over like a vertical rainbow
and then............. nothing.
A few seconds later I was still frozen in the same bewildered pose. Again there was no movement, I felt nothing other than resistance. I get it I thought, this
old weir here has quite 'obviously' bumped and bashed my rig off an unseen ledge and had now trapped it under a crag/crevise in the depths of
the deep pool....Double bugger!
The adrenaline, through lack of expected imminent fish action, began to drain away, and my heart rate began to subside. Through my easing tunnel vision, and
just visible in the dusky gloom, I could see my 'mentor' stood up out of his seat across the other bankside of the weir. I noticed that he had both of
his hands cupped around his mouth, and was apparently screaming something at me. "...Eah? What?" I said. The water that was smashing about my person
was drowning him out (no pun intended)..
And then it happened. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The so called 'bottom' that I had snagged, suddenly, and very unexpectedly yanked back.....Hard. First once......then twice.....and then all hell broke
loose. Looking back across at my mentor with a 'bloody hell!' look on my stupid face, I could see that he was now himself very animated. In an attempt
to desperately inform me of my impending folly. His lungs were bursting with an obvious effort to warn me of something....
" (inaudiable)!!....."
What??!....
(inaudiable)!!!....
Eah?!?......
"BA(inaudiable)!!!.....
Uhh wot you say??!...
"BACKW(inaudiable)!!!....
Oh for f'sake, what?!?...
"B-A-C-K W-I-N-D ! ! ! !"........
Backwind??!......
"F'KING BACKWIND YOU BELL END!!!".........
Ohhhhh! Backwind! why didn't you say so....
Ok, I'll just get a better grip of the reel and then I'll........hang on a minute.....Bell-end??......err, anyway. The rod was now screaming, and I
could see the line where it met the surface of the pool, charging off towards the back end of the weir in an unpresidented vulgar display of power and speed
that I have NEVER experienced from any H20 based adversary. With my mentors advice finally filtering through to my already sensory overloaded
brain..........it all arrived a bit too late. As I tried to fight against the hideous invisible strength that was now doing it's best to pull me, the rod,
and my chair into the murky abyss.....I heard, and then felt it...................C R A C K !!!! The rod went limp, I went limp, and I could just barely make
out in the gloom, the main line, devoid of any substance 'fluttering' back towards it's keeper at the river bank....
Tripple Bugger....
Daring to look across at my mentor from the corner of my eye, I could see him slumped on the ground thus completing the 'hat-trick' of limps. His
anguished head, was in both palms of his anguished hands. I didn't move... 5 long minutes later, I still hadn't. I was stood there like a complete
numpty, rod hanging uselessly in my dripping hands. I looked like some tired old garden gnome stood by a pond.... The only thing that was missing, was the big
stupid blue hat, and bright red nose. (Which at that moment in time I felt I thoroughly deserved)
After what seemed like an age I shouted......."What the f*** was ......that!!!" My shocked tones seemed to carry enough towards my mentor, who duly
looked at me like a dissapointed father who's come home to find that his son has broken a window in the green house. "A bloody great
barbel".....He said solomely. He then said something else, but I didn't quite make it out, though it looked suspiciously like 'bell-end'
again.
After packing away, 'even slower than usual' I was debriefed by my now fully recovered mentor, and we made our way home. On the way we laughed hard at
the hapless, and still very much virginial novice barbel angler's futile attempts to acclimatise quick enough to his chosen quarry's lifestyle. The
discussion in the car ranged from all about what could have been, and what should have been.. After relfecting I was more gutted that 'whatever' it was
in the pool, was now swimming around with about 10ft of nylon trailing behind it...
I also realised that whatever it was in there was probably big. VERY big. And whilst it now wasn't hooked...I was.
So I changed the rod and the Mitchell 300 reel, to an11ft Daiwa 'barbel rod' and aquired a baitrunner reel. I also learned how to use the ratchet/spool
properly. And as a result, I have never made the same mistakes again...
Your first Barbel encounter....
| Author | Comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 Truncheon meat |
Your first Barbel encounter.... |
Lead | |
|
Posts: 10 (30/09/07 14:12) |
'..Early morning/late evening, One man....his rod....his anticipation, and the river'
Last Edited By: Truncheon meat 01/10/07 21:26.
Edited 9 times.
|
||
|
avonman |
|||
|
Posts: 42 (30/09/07 16:33) |
Enjoyed that Truncheon,
My first was out of the Kennett back in the mid eighties, I joined Thatcham and when me and a mate first looked at the river we wondered how the hell you were supposed to fish in all that weed.(brought up on Thames). We watched a guy trotting and another ledgering and opted for the later, hooked up a bit of luncheon meat tossed in chuck and hope style and within no time my rod was being ripped out of the rest. Thought I hooked a passing motorbike... about 6lbs ah happy days. Ross "To be convincing first convince yourself" |
||
|
Barbeldoctor |
|||
|
Posts: 361 (30/09/07 18:11) |
I didn't get my first barbel until I'd been fishing about 15 years or so. I was in my mid twenties, and it was 1995.
I had been reading The Deepening Pool by Chris Yates, and it so fired my enthusiasm I sent off what I suppose was nothing more or less than a fan letter. I loved the book and just had to let the author know he'd got me firmly focused on Barbel - before I had even seen one on the bank! All this I explained, probably in overly effusive, gushing tones in my scrawled note, and popped it in the post with the sketchiest of addresses on the envelope. I didn't even think it would reach its destination to be honest. Weeks later I got a reply. It was one of the most generous-spirited letters I have ever received. In it Chris Yates gave me paragraph after paragraph of fantastic advice, things to watch out for, baits to try and the best conditions to try them in. Best of all he suggested a fishery I might care to try on the Hampshire Avon and drew a wonderfully eccentric map labelling worthwhile spots, further illuminated by marginal jottings of trips past and fish caught. He left me his number, too, and went on to invite me to call him if I went down;he would join me if he was free. Suitably encouraged, I loaded the car with gear, blew dust off the mapbook and set off from London to Hampshire. The fishery was just as he had described and quite unlike anywhere I had ever fished before - huge weedbeds, sparkling gravel runs, deep, seemingly bottomless pools. It was mind-boggling. I had my treasure map folded in my pocket and referred to it throughout the day as I walked through water meadows and around copses. Eventually I came to the boundary of the fishery and tackled up my John Wilson Avon, pairing it with an old mitchell 300. 6lb maxima carried my sweetcorn out into the flow, and a couple of swan shot pinched on the line had the bait bouncing round to settle on the nearside line. After ten minutes the rod sprang into life in a way I had never experienced before. No float to act as mediator, no bite alarm's shrill tone, no quivertip a-tremble. No, the rod, the whole rod, simply bucked into life as if charged with many thousands of volts of electricity. I leaped to grab it and then began to struggle with my first barbel; I backwound furiously as the fish charged from weedbed to weedbed, tearing downstream in a way that was heartstopping. But, inch by inch I gained line and brought it back towards the waiting net. 6lb, it weighed, but that really was immaterial. It rested in me something that had gnawed away since I read and then re-read Chris Yates's book, and simultaneously gave rise to an ongoing addiction that I haven't shaken yet. Nor do I intend to. I never plucked up courage enough to call Chris to invite him to join me, as he'd suggested. But I did send him a thank you letter, and a photo of my first barbel - in football parlance, it was a Yates assist. |
||
|
Pete Sharpe |
|||
|
Posts: 421 (30/09/07 18:14) |
My first was from a tiny pool on the Welland at West Deeping. My dad had dropped me and a mate off there for the day, but the river was in full flood and
almost impossible to fish. I dropped down from the weirpool to settle on top of a high bank above what we used to call "The Suicide Pool". It was a
four foot deep pool with shallows above and below it, which we got tired of fishing, because the chub would queue up to get hooked on a piece of freelined
cheddar. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was destined to sit there all day, bored out of my skull, so I stuck two lobworms on, lobbed out on size 6
with a 1oz lead (considered ridiculously heavy at the time) and sat down to eat my sandwiches.
I saw my rod tip start to bounce and assumed I had hooked yet another raft of floating weed, but I struck anyway and was amazed to find there was something on the end that was moving. It felt pretty big so I assumed it was a pike, but I was absolutely gob-smacked to see a barbel come up. I knew there were barbel in the small weirpool, but I didn't think they ever left it. I shouted to my mate and told him that I had just broken the gudgeon record  It turned out to be about 4 pounds, when weighed on some of those old Little Samson scales,
but that seemed about right.
Sadly, the weirpool is now stagnant and it the four foot deep pool is now nearer to four inches. When I went back recently I had one hell of a job to work out where it had been.
English as tuppence, changeless as canal water, nestling in green nowhere, armoured and effete, bold flag-bearer, lotus-fed Miss
Havishambling, hermit-crab, tight-fist, eremite, feudal still, reactionary Rawlinson End.
Last Edited By: Pete Sharpe
01/10/07 20:46.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
Graham Elliott |
|||
|
Posts: 4044 (30/09/07 18:33) |
What a great thread and typical of the experiences of many of our first barbel.
Loved the passion in these stories. Lets have more. Graham
Graham Elliott
|
||
|
Graham Elliott |
|||
|
Posts: 4045 (30/09/07 18:36) |
Great posts of fishers first barbel stories.
Lets have more of the passion of capturing of that first barbel, Graham
Graham Elliott
|
||
|
Fred Bonney |
|||
|
Posts: 186 (30/09/07 18:39) |
After you!
|
||
|
Fred Bonney |
|||
|
Posts: 187 (30/09/07 19:07) |
Oh alright, 23rd November 1972.
Location,Throop. I stayed in a mature ladies,bed and breakfast bungalow in Holdenhurst, for 3 day's, with my mate, and driver. Fishing for the first time, the Avon and the Stour. Long read about ,and often wondered about rivers Anyway, the last day, after a fairly productive fishing break,well it was for us pair of 23 year old, Essex gravel pit boys. Good size chub, dace and roach.No knowledge of barbel, and no intention of fishing for them. We fished, almost non productively, save for a chub of 3:14 and loads of bootlace eels. So,it was getting @$@%, and we'd decided, well the blanking driver had, time to pack up. I tossed the remaining maggots in, and loaded a size 6, with as many maggots as the hook could take,cast into the middle of the streamer weed run ,and wandered off a short distance, for my last pee of the day. Looking around aimlessly,as you do,I suddenly spotted , my Edgar Sealey, Black Arrow, doing a jig in the rod rests.Quickly tucking myself in, I lept the few paces to my rod,struck and knew immediately, I was into something bigger than I usually caught. I'd like to say, the fish took me up and down the river,snagged me up a few times, and took 20 minutes to land. But,it didn't. Still, it was a great fish at 8:9. It remained my pb, mainly because I never fished for barbel again until 2001, until the Trent in 2004. I'll be visiting again, next week! |
||
|
Fred Bonney |
|||
|
Posts: 188 (30/09/07 19:12) |
?
Last Edited By: Fred Bonney
01/10/07 19:05.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
Fred Bonney |
|||
|
Posts: 189 (30/09/07 19:15) |
Last Edited By: Fred Bonney
01/10/07 19:06.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
chavender |
|||
|
Posts: 356 (30/09/07 21:32) |
my first encounter with barbel was as a lad fishing the trent (late 70's) , I was there with a mate in a wide swim ,just down from a old bloke (must of
been in his 30's or 40's ,well he was old to us kids) who was very kind ,he'd already lent us some hooks & weights when we cadged some maggots
off him.we'd only caught a few small fish (silvers) when the guy called to us "oi you'uths get your sends here,you'll never see the likes of
this " we ran up to where he was fishing and there he was just lifting a huge monster of a fish (about 5lb) looking like a mythical creature.He asked if
we knew what it was ? .we shook our heads and he said "its a barbel " ,"and they're very hard to catch you know!" then he slipped it
back into the water.
steve
I try to be funny... but sometimes I merely look it 
|
||
|
Stuart59 |
|||
|
Posts: 12 (01/10/07 18:31) |
Ahh..we all know the feeling so well...mine went some thing like this - I had recently come back to fishing about 7 - 8 years ago with a little help from a
good mate, Big Nick. Nick persuaded me to join a local club with some nice stretches of the Colne on its books. Off we went armed with trotting gear, center
pins and waders and Nick gave me choice of swim and got me standing mid river up to my knees in gin clear Colne with a nice flow and far bank bend to trot
through. Keep feeding with hemp and caster for half an hour or so, started picking up bits and pieces, gudgeon, roach and stuff then the reel went completely
bloody mad and line tore off down stream then back towards and behind me...couple of minutes later, my first Barbel of about 1.5 lbs in the net!!..And that as
they say was that, I have caught a few fish in my time but nothing that went as completely ballistic as that first Barbel and I thought, if the tiddlers can do
that, what do the big 'uns go like? Hence forth, I still fish for anything but just love to catch Barbel, pb still only 9.00 and would dearly love a
double, but I just love catching them no matter what size...such a buzz!!
 
|
||
|
jeeves33 |
|||
|
Posts: 200 (01/10/07 19:27) |
I had never even seen a barbel before when a friend invited me to fish the Kennet at Aldermaston in 1979. We arrived at first light only to find a que of
anglers waiting for Robin to open up .We started chatting to some of the other anglers while we were waiting, trying to give the impression we were not
complete novices on rivers, but it soon became apparant that the best swims would all be taken .Not put off we found a nice backwater, if memory serves there
was a cottgage on our bank just downstream. For no particular reason we both stopped and decided to fish where the bank had been reinforced with corrugated
iron. I used the only rod that i had at the time my prized Hardy matchmaker,bait was meat with 2 swan shot on a link, i watched the rod intently for about an
hour until i decided to recast only to find the meat had come off.A passing angler overheard my cussing and kindly showed us both how to put meat on,and
suggested fishing the far bank under a willow................plop the lucky cast was perfect, and i commented to my friend what a great cast i had made, the
rod was placed on the rest.........my bum had hardly touched the chair before the rod took on an alarming curve and then went slack ,"did you see
that" i said to my mate, "YOUR ROD " he screamed !!
On picking up the rod it was almost ripped from my grasp, i had never felt anything like this and was yelling to my friend to hurry up with the net after several botched attempts ,the fish was landed. The first barbel we had ever seen ,and i had caught it,it weighed 6.8 lbs a good fish in them days.That should have kick started an obsession with barbel ,but no it would be 24 years before i caught my next one, as i decided on a different path with carp. |
||
|
mikehodgkiss |
|||
|
Posts: 332 (01/10/07 21:57) |
This one got me thinking . The first Barbel I ever saw close up was one of two that I landed for my old fishing pal Phil Duston . Phil and I used to travel
hundreds of miles on our push bikes fishing ,cycling far and wide ,no journey phased us . We would think nothing of getting home from school , have our teas
then cycle the 6 or7 miles to the Yorkshire Ouse at Beninbrough , fish for an hour or two and then cycle back . I used to love freewheeling down the hill as
you came in to the village .. anyway back to the Barbel . Phil and I had been targetting the Ouse at Church farm Overton, fishing in the ++$@ using swingtips
illuminated by our cycle lamps . I well remember the night in question [ Aug 25th/6th 1973 looking in the diary] . We had taken a bumper haul of bream some
40-50lb between us up to 5lb 10oz [ the little samsons never lied ] . Then phil hooked in to the barbel ,neither of us had ever experienced anything like it,
what a fight it really tested the 12 foot glass rod phil was using , I seem to recall my rod was split cane!! I remember both of us looking breathless in to
the net at this magnificent fish in the glow of our torch lights 4lb of something we had only ever seen pictures of in our fishing books . My first barbel came
a year later further upstream from on the Cherryfields stretch caught whist floatfishing for perch in amongst the wooden piles that are still there today .
Happy days
Last Edited By: mikehodgkiss
01/10/07 22:00.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
|
Paul Boote |
|||
|
Posts: 1755 (01/10/07 22:34) |
Nice, Mike.
Mine? Think I have been here before about it, but... Summer 1963. I was ten. Fanatical fisher of six years, driving my parents crazy. Already done a 1-02 roach from the Colne (Kingfisher Guild badge for the fish, still have it). Then my Dad took on Jack Travers of Maidenhead as a client. Jack was an angler. "Barbel, Arthur." (me present as the two of them and my Ma had a pre-breathtest drink or five at a Thames-++#$ hotel) "You should take him to the River Kennet (Dad scribbled the name in his notebook) at...." The Old Mill Hotel, Aldermaston. Summer 1963, as the Profumo Scandal "broke", and a few short months before the Kennedy White House Camelot ended on Nov. 22nd (I was in the bath when the news broke, listening to Mum's Dansette transitor radio). I got my first: 1.25lbs, from the main weir, on a piece of boiled chipolata. Ancient history. I sat upon the shore
|
||
|
mikehodgkiss |
|||
|
Posts: 334 (02/10/07 10:25) |
Halcyon days Paul , such a long time a go your memorys must be in black and white ,or even sepia tone !
|
||
|
M0u5e |
|||
|
Posts: 7 (16/03/08 03:55) |
My first Barbel came from the Severn in about 86. Aged 13, I had agreed to go with my parents and their friends on an afternoon out / picnic to the Severn
Valley near Bewdley, mainly because I thought there was a chance of doing some fishing on a "proper" river.
So, while they went on a walk for the afternoon I settled into some fishing. It being probably my first or second time on the Severn ever. I had no real clue about how to tackle it, so I proceeded with the usual novice tactic of float fishing straight in front of me with no particular logic to the depth fished. After a prosession of minnows and gudgeon I became a little bored. I reeled in and went for a wonder to the next peg down where there were two matchmen, who were fishing on after their match had finished. I chatted to them for a while, until they said they were packing up. They brought in their keep nets full of silver fish, but I noticed one of them had a strange looking larger golden brown fish in his net. "Is that a barbel I asked" ? "Yes son " came the reply. I asked if they would give it to me so I could keep it in my keep net to show my Dad (a none angler) so that he would be able to see his first one too. I explained I didn't think I had a hope of catching one myself, but that I didn't think my dad realised fish like this existed in our rivers! They agreed and I quickly raced back to my peg for my landing net to transport the 2lb fish back to my peg. ("Remember don't keep fish in keep nets unnecessarily kids"!!) Once I had the fish in situ I eagerly waited for my families return. The matchmen had told me they had caught the barbel on the feeder using worm on the hook, so I frantically dug in the bank with my penknife to find a nice juicy worm, luckily enough I managed just the one and put it in my bait tub with the maggots. Soon after my parents and their friends returned, I could hardly contain myself, the matchmen now gone, I quickly hauled the net out of the water to show them the goliath, of course the truth was slightly twisted in that I had now caught it myself. The praise they gave me was received with a hint of guilt on my part, but I couldn't back track now ! I had already set up my new Shakespear 2 piece quiver rod, and loaded it with probably 4 - 5lb line straight through. I filled the 1.5 oz feeder with maggots and hooked the worm on a size 14 hook( the largest I had with me). I cast it as far as I could across the river, the theory being that must surely be the best place. It landed probably 6 - 8 ft from the far bank ( a good cast on the Severn for a young lad) and I sat back, rod pointed up high on the rest. I waited for a while not even considering I would catch anything other than a gudgeon or greedy perch, when the rod whacked over ! I jumped out of my seat picked up the rod, which now bucked forward violently in my hand as the fish tore off. I could not begin to comprehend the power of the thing that was attached way over on the other side of the river, nor how the hell I would get it in ? Slowly but surely I was able to inch it across the river towards me, backwinding carefully when the fish pulled too hard for my liking. My Dad was standing next to me by now, ready with the net, a look of excited pride spread over his face and sheer fear and anxiety over mine. My heart was pounding and my arms ached the whole time until finally I got the fish in close. Still unseen, it remained down deep a few feet in front of me. After a few crude and fumbling lunges by my Dad with the net at the point where the line entered the water, I risked a line break and managed to haul it up to the surface and over the nets rim and she was mine ! Weighing in at between 3 and 4lb on my cheap spring balace scales, I was ecstatic as were my family. The guilt of lying about catching the other fish now gone, it was the highlight of the day. That was almost 22 years ago now, and I can still picture that fish going into the net as if it was last week, amazing !! I dont think I ever did admit to my Dad about the "borrowed fish" - I might send him a link to this post, I'm sure he'll forgive me now.
True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to That I'll always run to Won't you join me by the riverbank (Paul Weller) |
||
|
river rob1 |
|||
|
Posts: 49 (16/03/08 09:18) |
I was fishing a beautiful stretch of river and had been biteless all day no noe else on the stretch had had a bite. Then all of a suddne while turning arround
and talking to a mate something made me turn back arround a tiny bit of line had been pullen off the reel so i fort to hell with i and struck it. UP until this
point i had asumed that it was a small chub at this pint the rod violentlylunged over and took a few yard of line before going solid. At this point i fort S**T
ive only gone and lost it so i decided to give it some teady just to see if i had and then something large was dislodged and a began cranking in the enormas
weight that was on the end of my line, but something felt different this time as though the huge weight was between me and the thumps of the fish. After a few
minutes of pumping the fish to th bank i realised what had happened. The fish had charged off into a weed bed and by pulling i had dislodged a large ammount of
the weed. I called for my friends assiatance as the lump of weed was larger than my 32inch landing net. i could now see the fish after myfriend had franticly
helped me tare away the weed that was about 7 foot up my line. Then we went for it we decided it was now or never and went to land the fish we got its head
just over the edge of the net but the lump of weed was still to big and dragged the fishout again the fish was about 2 feet from me in crystal clear waters,
and then a felt a grating sensation followedby the twist of the barbels head and then i knew she was gone and the line slackened up. I sat on the bank and then
my friend told me to get up and land the fish properley he then realised what had happened and that it was the weed still attached to my line not the barbelhe
said on how sorry he was that i lost the fish and then a few witnesses told me that it was a good eleven pounder. I ended the day with an eel, a small chub
andabout 35lb of weed.
However this then made me more determined than ever to out wit a babrel and i returned to try a weir pool swim that i like the look of thenext weekend. I was rewarded with my first barbelfor my efforts all 11lb 3oz of her. I was over the moon and talked about it to all my mates that entire week rob |
||
|
derek2fisherman |
|||
|
Posts: 493 (16/03/08 11:26) |
hi all,in the late sixties was when i caught my first barbel,on the river kennet at theale[day ticket water then]i had read many books on barbel,and how
hard they fight so a change from my usuall carp fishing.i picked a swim where it had a nice gravel bottom and plenty of weed.now what bait wa i going to use[no
pelletts or maggots here] the only baits i had with me was bread and luncheon meat,so a lump of spam was my choice,so a nearbank cast was made so the bait was
under the strands of weed,and on the gravel bottom.it wasnt long before the rod took off and i just managed to grab it,
on my local river the h.a you are not allowed to be on the bank in the close season,which is what i would be doing,the only way is to buy a salmon licence then you can,but thats to expensive.derek. |
||
|
bazza |
|||
|
Posts: 80 (16/03/08 12:21) |
My first barbel came from the aldermaston stretch of the kennet, a mate had taken me to this mythical place and told me "if you catch one you will be
hooked for life" well he jumped on the point swim and i settled in a swim above him, i fished for about five hours for not a lot so i decided to have a
wander about, i came to the bridge and decided to have a go underneath it, i swung my luncheon meat out, it hit the bottom and BANG the rod was wrenched over
it was then that i realised that i couldnt stand up fully with my rod under there! crouching low i battled the unseen fish shouting for my friend, he couldnt
hear me! finally i got it into the net all 3lb 9oz of it! what a beautiful fish i was instantly hooked and instead of running to my friend to tell him i had
another cast, BANG another of similair size! four casts and four barbel later i was ecstatic! after a fishless cast i figured i had emptied the swim so i
trundled off to tell my mate, he was well pleased and as a reward i was allowed to buy the beers on the way home even though i was only fourteen and had to
drink coke! oh happy days!
|
||
|
gtousefisher |
first barbel | ||
|
Posts: 11 (17/03/08 18:07) |
my first barbel was from the great ouse in newport pagnell. me and my mate mike had set of for our first season barbel fishing. we arrived on the 2nd or 3rd
day of the season to find a murky torrent ripping through at a stupid speed. however with our determination and excitment for our first barbel we picked a
slightly steadier swim on a high bank. we set up jst as it was getting dark ready to fish the night. as we were setting up a thunder storm blew across and
brought the river up another foot or so while deafening and blinding us with its shear power of cracks and flashes of lightning. we sat it out under our
umbrellas and when finally the storm blew over we cast in and sat and waited. by this time it was about 10.30pm and i was sat listening to my mp3 player when
my rod pulled over with imense power and speed, while the baitrunner was screaming at me. i picked up the rod and struck into something which decided it was
boss and ran about 40 yards downstream before i managed to stop it. i shouted mike over to help me and he grabbed the net and climbed down the bank ready for
the fish when i got it to the bank. the battle carried on as the fierce mystery fish was doing its best to find any snag or rock in the swim and using the
current to its full advantage. as the fish came closer and closer to the surface my heart rate increased and the adrenaline was buzzing at the thought of
seeing the head of a barbel appear!. after what seemed like forever but was more like 15 minutes my hopes came true as the 4 whiskers appeared on the surface
as the fish rolled upside down ready to be netted. i shouted YES ITS A BARBEL. as it approached the net i was near a heart attack and finally mike lifted the
net and my first barbel was on the bank. we took it up onto the grass and unhooked it. amazed at the size and beauty of it i sat there silent and motionless
for about 5 minutes while mike got the sling and scales ready. a few f 'me's thats huge and other phrases where used at this time as we lifted the fish
into the sling and hooked on the scales. i was shaking with exictment to have caught my first barbel but then to add to the moment mike called out the weight
and i was shocked!! not only had i caught my first barbel it was a double of 10lb 12oz!!! a little dance was done and then it was picture time. after a few
snaps i cradeled the beast in the margins until she kicked out of my hand and gracefully back down into the murky water. and there i was standing with an ear
to ear grin and my first barbel under my belt. a night i will never forget :D ... incredibly, i moved up stream in the morning and within 5 minutes of fishing
i had another, this time at 11lb 7oz!! i was shocked that i had caught 2 barbel on my first session both being doubles and the second beating my pb straight
away. those 2 barbel i will never forget. suprisingly thats the barbel in my avatar :D
Last Edited By: gtousefisher
30/03/08 23:40.
Edited 1 times.
|
||
.Before i caught one for my self .
- BFW Barbel Talk
- BFW River Reports
- BFW Other Species Fishing board
- BFW Social board
- BFW Barbel basics
- BFW Members
- BFW Swim Analysis
- Technical help
- Barbel and Fishing Classified
- Miscellaneous Classified
- Archive 1
- Archive 2
- Archive 3
- Archive 4
- Archive 5
- Archive 6
- Archive 7
- Archive 8
- Archive 9
- Archive 10
- Archive 11
- Archive 12
- Archive 13
- Archive 14
- Archive 15
- Archive 16
- Archive 17
- Archive 28
- Archive 29
- Archive 30
- Archive 31
- Archive 32
- Archive 33
- Archive 34
- Archive 35
- Archive 36
- Archive 37
- Archive 38
- Archive 39
- Archive 40
- Archive 41
- Archive 42
- Archive 43
- Archive 44
- Archive 45
- Archive 46
- FAQ topics
- 2001 to 2002 Season River Reports
- 2002 to 2003 Season River Reports
- 2003 to 2004 Season River Reports
- 2004 to 2005 Season River Reports
- 2005 to 2006 Season River Reports
- 2006 to 2007 Season River Reports
- 2007 to 2008 Season River Reports
- Moderators area
- Admin
Quick Reply
