November and December are always notoriously difficult months in the river angler’s calendar even in normal years, but 2020 has been unique, and one of the oddest of fishing seasons. Rather predictably the months threw up some challenges, and with less to report they fit nicely into one post.
Yes, this is a fishing blog (allegedly), but I cannot ignore the Covid Elephant in the room, especially when that Elephant is crapping all over us. As a proud son of the Northwest I am unlucky/ lucky depending on your perception to live a mile or so the wrong side of the Cheshire border, so as far as Boris and Co are concerned I am classed as a Manc (despite my Cheshire postal address). Greater Manchester is vast, with a huge variance in Covid numbers in different boroughs, yet we are treated as one metropolis, with the worst area being used to tar-brush the whole; consequently we have been under severe restrictions for months, and while all our pubs are boarded up other parts of the country with considerably worse figures have been free to go out and have a Scotch egg and 15 pints of Stella! Yet even in tier 3 we were still allowed to fish, and why not, as it is a solitary sport and the definition of social distancing.
Then, just before Christmas, London became the ‘New variant’ hotbed and they are put into tier 4, but with just enough prior warning to allow a mass exodus of the population to festively share the virus around. From that moment it was inevitable that we would be in full lockdown and that has just come to pass as I write this in the first week of the New Year, and guess what….THEY BANNED FISHING!!
My piss was boiled….but I’m a law abiding citizen so I was about to console myself with a legal trip to Tesco to rub against a million sweaty shoppers in a panic buying frenzy, rather than illegally sit by a river ¼ mile away from the nearest human!!…..but wait, whats that? FISHING IS UN-BANNED!!! Finally a U turn I approve of, even though we have to stay local its better than nowt, though with Boris at the helm it could easily be a double U turn and be re-banned again by tomorrow! Confusing? Not arf!!
Phew, glad to get that of my chest, now back to the slightly less horrible days of November; the point of all this ranting is that all aspects of life were being affected by the restrictions, including my fishing, so I was obliged to stay local to get my fishy fix. I concentrated on the Ribble, which despite being a personal favorite can be as pig headedly obstinate as any river I know when the conditions aren’t right.
The month started out quite fair, but inevitably as we rolled into December along came prolonged icy conditions and snow, and consequently the Barbel fishing went from ‘hit and miss’ to ‘most unlikely’! Despite this I kept up my weekly sessions, with the thermals, brolly and flask becoming essential items; a cold, miserable angler is less likely to catch, but with good gear I managed to enjoy the wintery fishing. Comfort has become paramount as I get older, I find myself less willing to move swims and get soaked and frozen, but I know there are times it pays to look for the fish so I try to strike a balance between staying warm and dry and the desperation to catch something!
06/11/20 River Ribble
A sunny, dry day with a unseasonably warm SW breeze; I enjoyed the long walk along the lovely banks of the Mid-Ribble with a Kingfisher and an Egret for company, so much so I trekked all the way to the upper limit of the stretch, an old favourite swim with a far bank run of 2.5m depth, over a mainly gravel/stone bed (with a few of the obligatory Ribble snags of course!). With half a meter of water running off, it needed a 4oz lead/feeder to hold bottom, but on the plus side there was still a dash of colour and the water temp was an encouraging 9.25C.
I had high hopes of a November Barbel; I still like to try to catch one each month of the season, and so far so good, even with all the lockdowns and problems the rivers have faced, but I knew the feeding window would be small and my best chance was dusk.
In the meantime the Chub were very active, and I started getting a few in the afternoon, mostly to the downstream rod, straight lead, boilie on the hair and a small pva bag of broken boilie, pellet and salty hemp (to stop the pva bag melting to quickly). They were decent size and kept me on my toes until around tea time when I rang the changes and tried a lump of garlic spam, which was almost immediately wolfed down by a barbel of about 6lb that gave a very good account of itself. It occurred to me as I rested it that it was my November fish in the bag!
Soon after, another change of bait to lobworm tempted a smaller barb of 4lb, before a bit of a Chub feeding frenzy at dusk where they got over the upstream feed deposited by the day’s hard work with the swimfeeder. It was fish a cast for an hour into dark, until they melted away as quickly as they had arrived, so I had time to sit back and enjoy the calling of the owls for the last hour without disturbance. A total haul of 8 chub to 4lb8oz and 2 barbel was better than I could have wished for at this time of year.
13/11/20 River Ribble
After last weeks decent result, chaos returned with a vengeance! My Ribble mate warned me he’d had an awful session a couple of days earlier because of the leaves in the river, but being ever the optimist, I hoped because the level was falling, that the leaves wouldn’t be so bad. Well, that might have been the case if the unpredictable river hadn’t decided to turn and rise steadily all afternoon!
My initial choice was not the best venue for a rising river, and the leaves compounded the issue. Soon I was unable to hold bottom in any of the swims I tried and I had a decision to make….stay and soldier on, or bolt for a more suitable venue with swims that would be better in the conditions. The days are very short so I had no time to waste, and I was packed and yomping back the kilometre to the car around 14:00, then a 6 mile drive to my back-up venue and hope there would be a swim free. Fortunately there was, and I quickly lugged my gear to my chosen spot, which I must admit looked much better than the previous ones. I was cast in and fishing within 15mins of arrival, and was able to sit down and catch breath after the mad dash. I sometimes wonder why I put myself through it, but I was happier there and began to fancy my chances of catching.
The level was up, but not high by Ribble standards, and I was casting 2/3 of the width of the river to reach the main flow with 3oz leads, and holding bottom perfectly well; this would have been inconceivable on the previous swims. There was some colour, and a water temp of 9C, similar to last week so I was hopeful of a fish at dusk. Bang on cue the tip arced round and a powerful force was attached, but it was deceiving and not a huge fish, just a nice 7-8lb’er using the flow as only Barbel can, and 5 minutes later she was in the net…result!
Just into dark a smaller barbel obliged and I fancied there might be a couple more to come, but it was not to be. A similar Barbel catch to last week, except the chub were nowhere to be found, but I had made the right decision to move. The larger fish fell to a chunk of garlic spam, the splasher to a boilie, and I was quite happy with my lot!
20/11/20 River Ribble
It had been very cold for the preceding 2 nights and my Ribble informant warned me the Barbel just weren’t responding for him or his mates who’d fished during the week, so I headed for a known chub swim that might just provide a bite or two. Thankfully the leaves from the previous sessions had diminished and I was able to fish a location that required a decent cast to get to the main flowline.
Unfortunately the water temp had taken a sharp tumble from last week’s balmy 9C, down to 7C, and the water was crystal clear, so I knew it was chub or bust…and an hour later I was beginning to fear it would be ‘bust’, but out of the blue the tip rattled and I was in business; a lovely specimen was soon in the net. It went 4lb8oz and gave a good account of itself and I was quite relieved to have snagged one. After a further hour it became clear it was going to be a very difficult day, so I moved downstream half a mile to similar swim with a bit of flow, where I managed 2 other good chub, and that I am afraid, was my lot.
I put the blame firmly on the temperature drop from the bitter nights, but I have done a lot better on previous occasions on the Ribble in vastly inferior conditions. Hopefully it’s just a case of the fish acclimatizing to the new lower water temperatures….we will see next week!
27/11/20 River Ribble
A different length this week where I knew there were some good swims that could only be fished without flood water and leaves, and with the river just a few inches above normal level I was in with a shout.
It was the usual long walk but the one I fancied was free, and it has the promise of a few chub should the Barbel not be interested. I took a temp of 6.25C and the water was crystal clear again; with the day being bright it was going to be a tough session. It was a 40m cast toward the far bank, under some big overhanging willows and a tricky swim to fish in the dark as I like to get right across under the canopy, so it was a case of getting the distance sorted in the daylight, marker elastic, clipping up, and casting blind once the sun sank. I didn’t want to overfeed so I just fished straight leads with little PVA bags. It all worked like clockwork except the fish were not particularly hungry, however after a few casts I managed to snag a couple of nice chub around 4lb.
Just before dust a chap arrived and went 100m downstream, we had a good chat before he started and wished each other luck. The day was so short it felt like I had barely got into a rhythm before the light began to fade, and by 16:00 it was practically dark, however that was when I felt I had my best chance of a barbel. In fact it was the chub that went on the munch and I finished with 6, a couple being nice specimens of 4lb plus, one might have scraped 5lb had I bothered weighing it. All came on the boilie; pellets generally haven’t been as effective for me this season on the Ribble.
The air temperature dropped from 8c to 1c as soon as the sun sank, but it was dry and still; I quite liked sitting in the dark listening to the night creatures. It was a half-moon but when the clouds shifted it was as bright as a spotlight, and I could really feel the cold then. I decided I’d had enough and packed up, and went for a chat with my new acquaintance before I headed off. He let me know the next day he had blanked, which put my 6 chub haul in a respectable light.
So that was November completed, a few barbel and a lot more chub hit the net, but while there is something to pull my string I will still be found on the bank doing what I love best. Now on to December, usually the toughest to catch a barbel, but I had holidays booked off work and would certainly be giving it my best!
December 2020
04.12.20 River Dane
Just a short session on the Dane due to time constraints. The temperatures had taken a dive as the month changed and with a strong wind and showers I could really feel it in my fingers as I tried to touch ledger. The venue I had chosen hasn’t fished well for me recently, and today was no exception. The river was on the rise and carrying 12″ of cold mucky water, which put paid to my plans to fish breadflake, so I switched to lobworm and looked for slacks. Fortunately a solitary chub around 4lb took a fancy to the bait and livened the afternoon with an explosive take. It was my target species so I had to be satisfied, but I soon realised I wasn’t going to be adding any more as the conditioned worsened; I wimped out and headed home for a hot brew.
12.12.20 River Ribble
I knew the river would be on the rise, but the gauge report comes at 4am and a lot can happen in Ribble world in the interim. I had to guess what I would be facing; I decided to play the percentages and headed for a flood swim. Unfortunately it wasn’t as high as I expected but the swim looked ok and I decided to give it a go in case the rise materialised…. it did, but not as much as I would have liked. The swim is at its best with 2m of water on, today it rose from 0.75m to 0.9m, nicely coloured up with a temp of 6.75C so it was a little bit too cold to be ideal, but I was able to fish both rods in the main flow with 3oz leads and no significant leaf build up on the lines. Upstream was a feeder and pellet or boilie, downstream either lobworm or garlic meat fished on the hair on a straight lead rig. Happily the downstream worm proved irresistible to a barbel of about 4lb, which typically came at dusk, the most likely time of a bite in winter. It was an average fish for the Ribble, but it was significant in that it was my December Barbel in the bag, so I was quite chuffed. No further action occurred, but at this time of the year I am just fishing for a bite, and to put a barbel on the bank is a result.
18.12.20 River Ribble
Conditions just fell into place for once, a relatively mild couple of days with some heavy rain meant there was warm, coloured water getting into the river and I caught it on the drop, text book perfect.
There was still over a metre of flood to contend with but the swim was fine to fish at that level. I went for paste wrapped boilie with pva bags of crushed boilie on the upstream rod, and rotated between lobworm and Garlic meat on the downstream, both straight lead rigs. Both were fished into the full flow of the river, something I have been trying more this season, and I have been amazed that the fish obviously aren’t deterred by even the most forceful flows, they really are incredible powerhouses!
I didnt have too long to wait before the lobworm rod gave a couple of knocks then steadily pulled over and the baitrunner went into overdrive. After a fierce battle a nice 8lb fish was banked.
A couple of smaller fish arrived next, both around 5-6lb, this was turning into a very nice session, both came on the downstream rod on meat.
Finally a fish took a liking to the upstream boilie, first a chub then later another 5lb Barbel. It was coming toward dusk now, usually the prime time for a better fish and today was no exeption as the meat rod absolutely tore off and I had a real touch and go battle with the best fish of the day. Fortunately the tackle held together and I slipped the net under a lovely Ribble double, happy days!
The final tally of 7 Barbel and a solitary chub was a real winter treat and showed that it pays to be there when the conditions are favourable! I went home with a smile on my face!
26.12.2020 River Dane
A lovely crisp winters day, perfect for a few hours chub fishing on my local river Dane! A half hour drive and I was strolling across the frosty fields pre-baiting a few likely swims with a ball of liquidised bread and a couple of pea size balls of cheesepaste. It was a few inches up and a lovely brown colour and it looked quite promising.
I don’t bother taking water temps when I am chub fishing because they aren’t as affected by the cold as barbel, so I hope to get a bite in even the most frigid conditions, but today was pretty nippy so my theory would be put to the test! I fished breadflake smeared with cheesepaste on my usual micro-feeder rig straight through on 5lb Maxima. I kept it as simple as possible and used a size 6’s B983 with the barb squashed for easy unhooking, just in case I encountered a grayling! A BB on the line 6″ from the breadflake kept the bait near the bottom where it belongs, but allowed it to flutter enticingly (I hoped!)
First swim didn’t produce a knock which was slightly surprising as it looked perfect. Second swim a knock but no hook-up. The third swim looked the part, deep in a willow copse, it was a tricky under-arm cast to drop the rig just on the edge of the flow amongst the low slung branches, and it had to be right first time or any chub would be gone in a flash if disturbed. The cast landed perfectly and I watched the bait disappear quickly into the murky depths, sat back on my unhooking mat and looped the line over my first 2 fingers of my right hand that held the rod. I could feel the line almost vibrate with the flow, then…. like an electric shock the pluck of the fish as it slurped up the bread. Instinctively the strike was made and I was attached to a very angry chub in the middle of a web of twigs. Full side strain as I staggered to my feet kept the fish in the centre of the clear area, followed by more the other way as it dove for the upstream snags. Soon the fight was done, the fish exploded indignantly on the surface, and I kept the pressure on to lift it up, where a quick dunk of the landing net finished the tussle. I let the fish rest in the net while I recovered and then took a quick snap for the blog, and thought to myself, that’s what winter chubbing is all about….the quiet tense anticipation followed by pure exhilaration of a frantic tussle on the limits of the tackle. I didn’t weigh the fish but it was 4lb plus, not earth shattering even for this river, but what an absolute treat on a freezing cold day!
I moved onto the next swim and repeated the process with another decent chub just slightly smaller than the first, again on the breadflake/cheesepaste combo, then finally another similar fish from a far bank glide. Three good chub in a couple of hours, fresh air and loads of wildlife to see, all for the price of a loaf!
28/12/2020 River Ribble
I somehow managed to persuade myself it would be a good idea to go fishing in the middle of a storm. I even managed to talk the wife into letting me go! I was convinced the crazy amount of water that came into the Ribble system was going to be as warm as bath water…how wrong I was, I took a water temp of 5C and i knew the writing was on the wall. However, I was there so might as well give it my best shot. I got a decent flood swim and had a go.
It started raining, then howling gales, followed by snow and hailstones…and that was just the first hour! After 5 hours I was frozen and miserable. Even a knock on the rod top didn’t cheer me up when it turned out to be an eel!
By dark I had enough and went home with my tail between my legs, but not before writing ‘COLD’ on the snow on my brolly…as you do!!!
That finished the month for me and I have to say I enjoyed most of my trips despite suffering some horrible weather. It’s never easy in November and December, so for a few Barbel to hit the net, and considering the travel restrictions, I was happy.
The Christmas holiday passed in a flash with more time spent in the kitchen than on the bank, despite my protestations….how I regret not being more insistent now the opportunity to wet a line has been compromised by the lock-down, staying local will prevent me fishing my beloved Ribble.
It puts my last trip into real perspective, a couple of hours New year chubbing on the Dane in blizzard conditions, with fingers like raw frozen sausages and a sore back from sitting on my wet unhooking mat, for just one chub and a trout….it was absolute bliss!
As for the future, being a ‘glass half empty’ kind of chap I could easily see this river season just drifting away under lockdown…it’s all very depressing. Hopefully the vaccine will get rolled out sooner or later and we can get back to some sort of normality, and on that optimistic note I wish you all the best for 2021.
Stay well and tight lines
Dave
Barbel Crazy 