Autumn is on the horizon, in theory the Barbel should be getting active piling on the weight to survive the forthcoming winter; I was hopeful of getting my string yanked this month, but it has been A mixed bag of weather typical of the season; I have fished rivers on their bare bones one week, top of the banks the next, and as I write this at months end I’m watching the River Severn gauges in preparation for a few days in Bridgnorth as they creep ominously into flood territory, far from ideal if the water is in the fields and you can’t tell where the river is!
This summer has been so wet I couldn’t face yet another soaking, so when a nice spell of sun was forecast it prompted me to book a last minute trip with Yvonne and Tilly down to the Wye, a river I have heard so much about I have been desperate to try it for the last few years but never seemed to get round to it; at last a chance to put that right!
01.09.2019 River Dane, Cheshire
A few hours on the Dane, just a few inches above summer normal but with a hint of colour, and the weather was decent as well for a change. I stuck to boilie for bait as I am still hankering after a Dane Barbel, but as usual it didn’t come to pass and I had to make do with Chub.
The usual handful of hemp, micro pellet and broken boilie was deposited in 4 or 5 likely looking swims, then back to the start and get set up. By then the fish had half an hour to settle over the bait and I honestly expect some indication within the first couple of minutes of dropping my rig into position (providing I don’t make a hash of the cast!).
It worked perfectly in the first swim, just 30 seconds after my micro feeder hit the water the rod was cranked round by a fiesty Chub determined to bury itself in the nearby snags. They really go crazy and its great sport on balanced tackle. I had a second cast but nothing was interested, so a handful of freebies and I moved on. This wandering approach worked well today and I landed 5 Chub from the pre-baited swims, all of a decent size bar one smaller specimen.
I really enjoy these short sessions and always seem to catch a few…now I have probably cursed myself for next time!
16 to 18.09.2019 River Wye
As mentioned in the intro, I managed to talk Yvonne (and Tilly our border Terrier, who didn’t need much persuading!) into a few days down on the river Wye; she agreed but only after I promised to take her to the Pembrokeshire coast first, so it became a 2 centre holiday in effect.
After a lovely few days by the sea we finally arrived in Symonds Yat on Saturday lunch; unfortunately I didn’t take account of the fantastic weather, which turned a reputedly quiet beauty spot into something close to Vegas. Everywhere was rammed out and my first glimpse of the river looked like a regatta was taking place.
I have been told the growth in commercial canoe hire companies has been recent and very rapid, to the point where fishing is literally impossible at certain times of the day during summer; I foolishly thought the season might have ended…how wrong I was! It was pointless considering fishing other than late evenings or crack of dawn, so I decided to adapt to the situation and get up at 6am Sunday. Its frustrating when you think that this commercial canoeing activity can negatively affect angling to such an extent when we are the only contributors financially to the actual wellbeing of the waterway through our rod licenses; I imagine there must be some sort of council charges to run the businesses, but does any of that go back into projects to benefit the actual river? I hope so but I have my doubts!
I stuck to a club stretch upstream of Symonds Yat and found just one angler there, unfortunately located in the very swim I had been advised to try by a pal who has fished it before. He was a nice lad and suggested I get on as he was packing up after doing the night. I had my misgivings about fishing a ‘second hand’ swim but gave it a bash and found about 4ft of fairly fast water over a gravelly bed, which I thought was a good shout considering it was going to be a bright hot day. The level was about 6″ above normal and there was still a touch of colour so I thought I had a good chance of a few. I had read so much about the Wye I was expecting a bonanza that just didn’t materialise, in fact I managed one single Barbel of 6-7lb just before I packed up at 10am to coincide with the first of the days canoes! Not the best start, I vowed to explore the stretch before I fished next.
Monday I was late getting up, 6.30am and had the water to myself so in accordance with my vow I explored the upstream ¾ mile and found 2 lovely looking swims. I then walked all the way back to the car for the gear then yomped back to the furthest one (why do I put myself through it!)
It was well worth it in the end though; the swim looked a peach with a good concentrated central flow mid river, below a fast oxygenating run. I fished a feeder and pellet in the middle of the downstream run and lobbed the 2nd rod, a straight lead boilie rig, slightly upstream into the faster water. Within 5 minutes the upstream rod was away and after a brief but feisty battle a lovely Barbel of about 6lb was soon netted.
This set the pattern for the morning and I was thoroughly enjoying myself, a couple of 5’s then a nice one of 7-8lb graced the net. Then just as the sun started to burn through the morning mist an almighty wallop of a bite and I was attached to something far more powerful and slower, usually an indicator of a bigger fish. After a few hairy moments I managed to slip the net under a nicely conditioned scraper double of 10lb2oz. The swim was a bit precarious but I managed to get a quick snap and slipped her back. I landed 8 barbel in about 3 hours, this was what I was hoping for from the Wye and I was buzzing heading back to the cottage for breakfast.
Over the next few days the canoe traffic abated dramatically, which coincided with an increase in the anglers on the bank, but I always manged to find a nice spot to try, and despite the river dropping to summer level and running as clear as tap water with a blinding hot sun every day, I still caught 4 or 5 barbel each short morning and one evening session. The fish were lovely looking specimens as well, very dark and bronze in colour and fought like stink. I can’t wait to get back on the wonderful Wye for some more, pity it’s such a bloody hike from the North West!!
20/09/2019 River Ribble
A dazzling bright day and a river running very low and crystal clear, a recipe for a difficult session I thought, so I was quite surprised as I enjoyed a very decent afternoons fishing in beautiful surroundings.
Seeing the conditions on arrival I had made my mind up to try one of the shallower, faster moving swims, thinking the fish might be making the most of the higher D.O. but I was dissuaded by the clarity; I could see rocks on the bottom of the river most of the way across so decided to try just upstream where the river is a bit deeper. I soon found out it was also a snag pit and it took a few casts around to find a relatively clear spot on my downstream rod, and it won’t come as a surprise that most of the barbel action came from here, they just love a snag! The upstream rod seemed to be home to a shoal of hungry chub and I was soon catching some quite decent specimens.
I was still tempted to try the faster swim so grabbed my stuff and gave it a try; stood in the water at the limit of my wellies it was still a 30m cast to the far bank trees, and still very shallow. I put my rod on my tripod and looked up in time to see it arch over immediately… the fish must have taken the bait on the drop!
It was a frantic battle in the fast water, so clear I could see my quarry most of the way in, but eventually I managed to persuade it into the net, a decent lump I estimated to be around 8-9lb.
The fish went unweighed, my scales were still in the other swim and I wanted to return it asap in the hot conditions. There had been a lot of disturbance and the swim was shot so I went back to my deeper location and settled there for the rest of the evening.
As I had hoped, the barbel got busy as dusk approached, 3 more fish, one about 5lb, followed by a nice one around 7lb, and a grand finale of a feisty 9lb2oz fish that really gave me the run around (this one I did weigh as I thought it looked quite big in the dark!)with the disappointing (but all too common) otter tail damage. The chub also continued to oblige, 8 fish in total up to 5lb plus. I had to make tracks soon after but I left with a smile on my face… you just never know with this river!
28/09/2019 River Ribble
I fancied my chances after last week and plotted my return, but the Ribble did its usual trick, a quick kick in the nuts with a barbel blank on a rapidly rising river, so rapid in fact that my first swim transformed from a perfect crease to a washing machine in just an hour, and I ended up moving half a mile to the only other decent spot I could find. A grand total of four 6-10oz roach and a dace were the best I could muster and I packed up in a bad mood.
A couple of Ribble regulars on the stretch reported blanks as well but it was no consolation for a disappointing end to the month really. In the past I would have driven hard and fast to get to this river in flood, but I have heard people say it just doesn’t respond to high water like it used to; maybe last week’s successful session with the exact opposite conditions is a case in point!
That was it for September, the Wye ticked off and a couple of decent sessions produced some nice specimens. October promises much, and usually produces a few good Barbel as they start their Autumn feeding in preparation for winter, with the bonus of a 4 day trip to the Severn already booked…I can’t wait!
Tight lines
Dave
Barbel Crazy 
Love the blog I too have found the ribble hit and miss, I haven’t had a dane barbel myself but love the river for the grayling. The stretch on the Wye is this a PA stretch because if so try near the nursery.
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