Warwickshire Avon - Tatty Tails and Terotechnology

After the weeks holiday a proper spicy curry was required, the Chinese promised so much but delivered so little with a garlic and chilli prawn offering, so a lamb and prawn combo with a finger in the air concocted sauce really hit the spot.

Now a Sikh mate of mine Barinder who's wedding I attended in Sacramento put me on to raw red onions with overly saucy curries and I've been adding them to mine ever since. 

When we all meet up for a curry like we have done for more than 20 years or so, he also orders raw green chillies with the raw onions where he munches the finger or rocker chilli's like a breadstick. I partake from time to time especially when we finish with a pistachio kulfi.

Anyway now back in the routine after holiday I thought I'd pop down the Warwickshire Avon on one of my syndicates as it looked decent conditions for a barbel. 

Mad isn't it at the end of October at 5.00pm the temperature was 20 degrees according to the car, and to be fair it felt very mild indeed and I was probably overdressed. Anyway to the fishing, I opened the gate and made my way to the river where after a few hundred yards I noticed an angler hunkered down in one of the swims.

It was fellow syndicate member George of Artificial Flight and Float, Flight and Flannel who had the same idea. Anyway it turned out his car was out of action till the box tickers gave the ok so he had got a lift from Dave who was upstream and had already banked an 11lb 8oz barbel as pictured.

George it turned out lost a barbel at the end of the session where we all finished a couple of hours after dusk. He had managed an eel as well so the fish were certainly biting.

After a natter with Dave it turned out he had fed some pellets in a swim with some depth and near some reeds and must have literally dropped the banded pellet on its head as before he had time to position the rod on the rest the tip was pulling round. 

George and Dave have caught barbel in this area that would break my 12lb 14oz PB caught in February 2019. That came on a quarter of tin of spam which is an approach that has banked me some nice barbel in the past, so I just need to continue putting the sessions in. 

Anyway after rolling meat for 20 minute or so in the chosen swim without an interception I fished a small glugged Hot Fish boilie on the hair with a thin layer of matching paste over a bed of freebies.

Dusk came and went with on a few chub pulls but my restless legs got the better of me and I was off on the river in the dark. Two swims with a PVA bag of freebies again some chub pulls, so I decided to return to the first swim and stick it out before I'd need to get back and get the dinner on. 

A determined chub eventually hooked itself but no match for the Barbel rod where I unhooked it in the margins. A 4lb maybe, but not what I was after. Now the clocks have changed as I am typing this so many of my sessions now will need to be in the dark, and with the gear still in the car I might have another session this evening, might as well, the Wife will be watching the forgettable F1.