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How did you get on last night trypwriter? I was on the road stretch at radwell last night.Amazed how few were out as the river was perfect.It had dropped a good few feet since sunday and starting to get that greeny tinge back(perfect).The horrible platforms were on show.I wanted to fish the same swim as sunday and the only other angler on the other bank was fishing about 20yds upstream.I gestered to him where i,d like to fish +he was fine about it as we wer,nt competing for the same swim(its, still near bank stuff with flow at moment).I put 2 rods out in same position as sunday +sat back.Matey on the other bank hooked first caught a nice one.Watching him photograph and weigh it I asked him how big it went.10lb 7oz he said and he.d had a similar one earlier.Then it was my turn.My left hand rod went and the clutch screamed. I tightened into it and tried to yank my other rod out but it stuck,so I had to leave it and hope,(bad practice).Anyhow after a really spirited scrap(made 3or4 really good runs)I landed a chunky fit double about the same size as matey,s opposite.Before returning it i yanked the other rod in and the terminal end looked a mess.Took the barbel to a a safe spot and after about 5 mins it,s tail kicked me goodbye(lovely).Got back to my swim and my other rod needed redoing, tangled badly at hook end and one of those unfathomable tangles round the beta-lite.Took me approx.25 mins to sort and get my bait,s back in river.How i wish i still had perfect vision. Matey on other bank left about eleven and i sat back with high expectations and waited and waited.One o clock decide to call it a night.While sitting there waiting I thought about the logistics of catching barbel of those platforms.It.s fine at the moment with river running high.Matey just played the fish back to end of platform.What are they gonna do when the river,s back to normal summer level and the barbel get there heads in the thick streamer.On the Vauxhall bank, like any other, you go up and down the bank playing it through the streamer and landing it wherever you can.On those platforms they are gonna be stuffed.If they try and walk off platforms with barbel attached the line will probably get caught in the reeds.Even if they manage to keep line out of reeds(unlikely) is the bloke on the next platform gonna oblige while they try and land it?I tell you what mate, whoever thought these platforms up I,d say face to face to him,you ain,t no barbel angler.Anyhow,enough ranting-hope you caught.All the best Harry.

Hi trypewriter i cant get a message to you from my inbox so i, ll put it on here. So it was you i was chatting to the other night. You were in the right place. Where i was fishing ,all that bank is productive as is the first meadow on the other side of the road. If you want a bit more solitude just fish away from the car parking. You could go 3 miles either way of where we chatted and its all vauxhall and prime barbel water. Earlier you asked me as a newcommer to the river for any tips.I,d say pretty much fish it as you would any other river for barbel. Timing is very important, you wont catch any barbel in the boozer (lol) so get a starlight on the end of your rod. An hour before dark to 12.30 is prime time right now and well worth giving it that bit extra for. Another thing i do, despite not being fashionable nowadays is when the rivers in flood or high try some flavoured luncheon meat. It works for me. I,m off to jersey for the summer holiday sunday for a week so when i get back if you,v had a bend in your rod let us know.If you want maybe when i get back i,ll show you some swims off the beaten track. All the best HARRY.