Warwickshire Avon - Kettles and Kephalonomancy

Now ones Webber Kettle has been a trusty servant over the 12 years we have had it, from slow cooked briskets and pork shoulder to the usual burger and sausage affair it's been well worth the initial monetary outlay. 

Despite everything else in the garden of similar age showing signs of wear and tear to be honest a squint and a look, you'd think it was straight out of the box. That is not the case of cause, as the grills have seen better days and the moving vent underneath had rusted till it snapped off, oh and that handle, that handle. Luckily the main kettle is still good for another 12 years I'd imagine.

Certainly not Triggers Broom lets put it that way !!!! it has stood the test of time. 

Now the main 57cm grille though, needed to be replaced after the first BBQ of the year resulted in the marinated chicken thighs sticking like baby poo to a blanket. Ok a sharp shove up the jacksie got them shifted but it left behind chicken I'd rather have stuck in my mouth not on the grille. It had basically come to the end of its life like we all do eventually I suppose. 

So a replacement sourced, an official Webber one too , at £34.91 including P&P which to be honest I thought was a bargain especially when unofficial most likely inferior offerings weren't much cheaper.  

Now bread, yeap it seems you get what you pay for it you want to fish for chub off the top. You see I've been through all manner of budget breads and I always return back to the tried and trusted. 

The more expensive breads just seem to be that little bit stodgier, the crusts more robust so even after freezing and freezing once more they are still good to go. The budget brands just seem to crumble which leads to wastage and also frustration.

The Nash silicon bread bomb can often be a solution to the problem but like me when you prefer to use bread straight on the hook, those hard earned pennies sadly must come to the rescue.

For this session I'd fish for chub off the top initially with bread and from time to time a surface lure and after bait dropping in some pellets and hemp I'd fish over the buffet table headed in to dusk to try and tempt a barbel.

I have caught barbel in this area, the syndicate stretch not a million mile away and I'd also lost one when fishing for bream for in one of the Blogger Fishing Challenge years. Streamer weed, gravel and also some deeper areas it looks the ideal environment for a barbus to live its life quietly with all the habitat niceties' it needs without having to slum it.

Nic was also with me for this session as we both had this venue in mind for a dangle and both being members and local, these handy venues can offer short and frequent sessions without all the planning that is needed on stretches of river further afield. 

Nic despite happy to sit behind motionless Tench rods for 24 hours on Linear Fisheries would be trotting meat and the like and not sitting behind soul-destroying motionless barbel rods !! (His words not mine 😀)

But he has a point, as this section of the river the barbel numbers are few and far between like much of the Warwickshire Avon. 

They are there to be caught though you just need to be in the right time and the right place and be prepared for more blanks than the River Wye and the River Severn for example where populations are healthy(ish). There is always a chance of a lump on the Warks Avon though, as track one down, it can often be a double.

There were a few likeminded anglers already bankside when we got there but plenty of swims to go at, in-fact I didn't realise I could fish the next field too, happy days.

Now after going on the rove to try and find some chub it didn't take long to find some, the problem was it was a bit of a suicidal swim and after missing 4 takes on the bread eventually I managed to hook one. The problem was it carted off right in to some reeds and the hook pulled within seconds of being hooked.

To cut a long story short the Warwickshire Avon was back to its moody best as apart from Nic catching a few bits on his float set-up I and the others anglers blanked. Where were the fish ? they were just not interested. 

Even at dusk where usually the chub turn up and at least give the tip a good going over, nope they didn't appear let alone the barbel which were as elusive as ever.  A nice evening in good company though, so not all lost, especially when there are patrolling owls to watch in the adjacent field. 

So on to the next one !!!