Hampton Lucy Brook - 25.06.12

I had plan to fish Luddington last night but I’m taking the Wife and kids to Stratford-Upon-Avon Sunday to visit the river festival and also to watch the Olympic torch relay, so I’ve conjured up a plan to visit Luddington too and to have a nosey at some of the swims before trying it next week.

Again I decided to fish Hampton Lucy Brook and this time not another angler in sight so I settled into a swim I caught the recent Barbel from, not a good start to the evening session as I left my rod rest at home but I quickly fashioned up a couple from some branches lying about, worked better than I thought. Anyway I alternated between lobworm and pellets on both rods and had some small chublets and some Perch, the biggest Perch was over a pound and came when a smaller Perch grabbed a worm on my other rod. I had a 2lb Chub before baiting both rods with lobworm and settling down for the last half hour on the 2.5 hour session. Lots of indications before the rod top rattled big time and it was a nice 3lb 9oz
Chub, with the swim disturbed I left pretty satisfied, next time I visit, I might roll some meat down one of the longer and slower stretches, it just looks right for a Barbel.

Hampton Lucy Brook - 20.06.12

With the peg occupied that I caught the Barbel from a few days earlier I walked up to the weir and after 45 minutes without a bite I settled into a swim just downstream.
The river levels had dropped significantly from the previous session and there wasn’t as much flow to the river.

One rod with Lobworm and the other with a halibut pellet, as before the lobworm rod was getting some attention and the rod top was rattling right from the off. I only intend to fish 2.5 hours and was targeting the Barbel. The first fish that took a liking to the lobworm was a tiny Perch, he managed to swallow the huge lobworm and the size 8 hook without any problem at all. Another Lobworm produced a nice Roach of 1lb and then another 10 or so soon after of similar size. With a small hook and maggot for bait it would be bagging up time, certainly lots of fish in the swim. A nice change to see the Avon with lots of small fish, I thought their numbers were dwindling.

If I ever was asked to choose one bait to fish with the rest of my days, it would be the humble lobworm, never fails to produce fish even though lots of the time, not the intended species. The last hour into dusk to try and avoid the smaller fish I changed the worm over for a huge 30mm pellet. Apart from some sharp chub knocks no 4 foot twitches, great little place this stretch but I’ll probably try and explore some of the Luddington swims next week, I’ll be back soon though.

Hampton Lucy Brook - 17.06.12

I’ve bought a Stratford-Upon-Avon book this year, apart from a lovely looking stretch of the Stour between Preston On Stour and Wimpstone that looks good for winter Chubbing they also have some nice and quiet Avon stretches that I fancied giving a go. Vary it up a bit, so to speak.

So the first new stretch I decided to try was Hampton Lucy Brook, after enjoying a hog roast and a beer at Snitterfields village fete for Father’s day I had a bit of a reccy with the Wife and kids afterwards, the official car park you cannot access from what I can see, there are two locks on the gate, a normal key padlock and a combination lock, the combination lock didn’t even work with the code stated in the book. Not a major problem as there is sufficient parking outside the gate but the Wife had baby Sam strapped to her back and the last thing she wanted was to clamber over a wet gate :)

I doubt it gets fished much, there is a bit of a trek to the pegs and so many anglers these days like convenience. Lots of feature though, a weir pool, some long slower and deeper stretches and also some face paced narrow sections with lots of overhanging trees. I got there at 7.45pm and first fished the base of the weir, 1 rod with lobworm the other with a huge pellet, not a knock for an hour so I moved downstream to one of the narrower swims.

I was getting indications on the lobworm rod right from the off and missed a couple of bites which were violent hit and run Chub bites. The pellet rod was also receiving some attention albeit probably small fish.

The heavens opened around 9.30pm and I was considering packing up when I got a proper 4ft twitch, one of those unmissable bites that I knew was a Barbel. It felt a bit chubbish when playing it though, trying to get into every snag possible. A bit of bullying and it was in the net, a lovely small Barbel in mint condition, it was hammering it down with rain at this point so I didn’t bother to weigh it, was probably a tad over 5lb I’d say. After taking one of the worst photos I’ve ever taken I allowed it to recover and returned it to the water. The Wife thinks I’m mad, but I’m no fair-weather fisherman and today it paid off, an enjoyable Fathers day.