Warwickshire Avon - Breast Fleets and Brisket Beaters

Many moons ago when I lived in Birmingham I could consume a ridiculous amount of food, a visit to the all you can eat chinese buffet that was an artificial crabs clam throw away from Solihull ice rink, was often a weekends pursuit and was a scene of utter greed. Countless plates of food I didn't really want to eat was consumed just to get one's money's worth and and the end of every visit I was questioning just what rubbish I'm putting in my mouth.

Having visited China a few times now the food served up even the Chinese would be asking, what is this you are putting in-front of me ?

It was basically cheap junk to appease the gluttonous partakers and bill payers who like me at the time, were after a belly fix and a MSG induced facial flush, fried seaweed flatulence and a red meat overloading acid trip.

No ducks tongues, Shanghai hairy crabs and spicy szechuan hotpots to be seen here.

Luckily 15 years ago or something like that, I escaped from a place I felt I didn't belong and I've never looked back and the knock-on effect is that my waistline is now kept in check.

Now gluttony is fine as it can trigger those feel-good hormones such as serotonin all like tweaking once in a while but the feeding cannot continue on that rate otherwise, roving a river will be out and my mobility reduced and that really would unsettle ones system.

These Barbel I'd be targeting seemingly when up for a feed really do get their head down and after finishing the first place are ready to load up the next. My single large bait ignored which did so well in the past not doing the business, these fish wouldn't settle for anything but a Smörgåsbord.

A big feeder full of pellets and groundbait cast in the same place every 10 or fifteen minutes to get a bed of bait down and then for the last hour, if a fish wasn't forthcoming the last hour would be to sit on ones hands an wait.

A single rod only, so the hair rigged bait was always in and amongst the tablecloth that was covered in niceties and plenty of food still to go at. A 15mm fishmeal based spicy boilie was the bait of choice the last two barbel sessions where I'd banked a double figure fish the first session and a 6 or 7 lber the second.

Now Hinders were kind enough to send me some bait to try after they stumbled upon my blog where I'd used some of their ramiz paste to good effect.

Now the ramiz range I likened to the sausage sizzle baits now kaput Lone Angler used to supply, you just knew it would attract fish at the first open of the tub. A spicy meaty pungency with garlic being a notable addition. Now a 3rd of a tin of garlic spam was the bait that was hovered up by my PB Barbel of 12lb and 14oz's . Garlic certainly is an attraction so this was a welcome addition. The paste ideal for plugging a lead or wrapping over a pellet or boilie to add extra attraction in to the swim.

You cannot catch fish that are not in-front of you but if you've confidence in a bait that can work, it often wonders for your mindfulness and sessions can often be made on just staying in that swim 10 minutes longer 'just in-case' a fish comes along, often it usually does you see. make or break. Now I'm sure the long list of blanks I had recently before Barbel were caught were because the fish were just not there despite it being a productive area in the past. 

This new short section a hop, skip and a jump away, and two short sessions, two fish and the method was the same both times, there are Barbel here still after all. 

Phew !!!!

So this short afterwork session in to dusk would be to employ similar tactics with a slight addition. 

You see for even more added attraction I'd glug the 15mm contraband boilies that did the business last time and also add some liquid to the dark groundbait mix that also has some small pellets added that keep the fish grubbing around. 

Now the river was on the drop after being up for a while even over its banks in places but I'm sure a Barbel would now be up for feed after trying to avoid the debris from clouting their noggins. A large feeder to carry the bait down to the bed, the flow distributing its contents, the hookbait hopefully to be picked up by a hard fighting thing with whiskers.

So anyway, enough of the preamble better get fishing....

Despite a friend Dave Roberts battling with the Eels and Barbel on luncheon meat not far away I wanted to go to an area where Barbel are not in numbers but hook one it could be a PB beater. The problem is there could be session after session without much success and then BANG, a proper rod bender. The river had been over the banks and much of it was still sitting on the adjacent field. I found a fishable swim though and not far away from a swim that had produced two doubles in the past.

With two hours to go before dusk I cast out and unusual for me, I had a chair with me. After casting the feeder a few times without a touch I received my first positive bite, it never materialised into anything Barbel like though so I assume it might be small chublets taking an interest in the bait. Every so often I had recast because of the debris coming down and I started to question my location decision.

Ok Barbel can be very much cast out and hope for the best but as dusk was approaching I just didn't get that feeling like I have had of late, that feeling where I knew I'd get a bite. So with the light now gone I headed back to the car with ones tail between ones legs, luckily the tackle will remain in the car as I've another after work session tomorrow, this time as the swim justifies it, it's out with the Spam, and what swimming thing would refuse that.

So a blank, oh well, sometimes fishing is secondary to the sights, sounds and scenery.