Warwickshire Avon – Behemoths and Bathukolpians

The Wife on a recent holiday to sunnier climes bowed down to the pressure of the thumbscrews and eventually I manage to persuade her that she needed some overly large sunglasses, which seem to be the fashion this days.

To be honest it was more the fact that she looks good in them and I like the trend, but also it would stop her squinting like she’d been affected by strabismus or looked like she was constipated and needed to ‘drop the kids off at the pool’ so to speak.

Her other sunglasses didn’t cut it you see, to be fair it was a pair she found on another holiday and she couldn’t reunite them with the rightful owner. So an unintentional acquisition I suppose but she’d never got on with them.

To be fair as she is rather well blessed in the bosom department, so any matching of proportions, oversize was the only way to go.

Luckily she has better things to do than read this blog of mine. So big glasses donned, she was happy, my wallet wasn’t….

Barbel and big ones at that seem to be the trend these days and I can certainly see the appeal, the more and more Barbel I catch I appreciate them as a species, the McVitie’s Rich Tea of the biscuit dunking world, they give so much more to the net than their oreo compadres and their rod bending and arm aching ability is certainly to be appreciated as an angler.

Properly rested once netted for a safe return is a necessity.

I’m a little stuck in a rut with my 11lb 11oz PB, as it was set some time ago now and it’s one of those PB’s I cannot wait to beat. The problem is, if I actually fished for Barbel all year round, well apart from the closed season obviously, I’m sure I’d manage it, but I probably do a handful of proper sessions throughout the year. They are not hard to catch for starters, well as a species that is and especially with the rivers up and coloured with a smelly boilie or big chunk of spam or a on a hook they cannot wait to clamber up the line.

But among the Big Barbel of the Warwickshire Avon, there are also plenty of smaller fish, and that’s all I seem to be catching the last couple of seasons. There are bigger fish being caught in the areas I fish I know that for a fact but still not in the bracket I’d like.

So this first up till dusk session was away from the masses to see if I’m missing a trick by maybe fishing areas with banks a little less trodden.

As I’m a sticker for the rules If those next few Barbel sessions don’t muster up anything special I want to try and completely new stretch for me for this season which will give me the opportunity to fish past dusk which is when nearly all the double figure fish have turned up for me.

My mediocre long standing PB of 11lb 11oz

Plans in action the night before, tackle sorted the night before, travel light, one rod, rest, small bag, big spicy crab wafter on the hair to avoid the potential Chub swim wreckers pre-made PVA bags, rock up a couple of hours before dusk, jobs a good 'un.

Also part of the session was a little pre-baiting buffet, in a particular swim a stones throw away which I discovered whilst using the deeper. It looked like Carp would like, so it was ear marked for a future session.

So back to the session in hand tip watched....

The problem was I got there late, so I only really had an hour with the bait in the water, and yeap as expected biteless. Well apart from the odd Chub pull.

At least the sunset was a cracker....

I'd caught a Barbel in this swim before, a proper rod wrenching bite which resulted in a 7lber, but I'm sure there are much bigger fish to be had.

The nights are drawing in now, so it's decision time, either fishing in to dark on a new stretch or maybe leave the Barbel to the winter when I prefer fishing for them.

I might be able to squeeze a couple or three more sessions in though, we'll see.