I decided on the convenience of the syndicate stretch for this morning session, because with my proper wet weather gear currently drying out after being washed, and the rain was meant to last the whole duration I was bankside.
But as we know as anglers the meteorologists and weather predictors are wrong much of the time because it rained for literally 5 minutes and that was my lot. Not a problem because there are some good fish to be had here but it would be nice to be able to plan things better wouldn't it, if only !!!
Anyway very handy this stretch as I can drive the whole stretch which consists of 1.4 miles of typical Warwickshire Avon river. Shallow areas, reed lines trot'able runs, deep slacks and swims with plenty of character and cover that hold all the main coarse species.
Now George was bankside again because he wanted to be in on the Barbel that gave him the middle figure the other day. He tried again recently in the evening in to dark where he caught a chub and it was Dave's turn to lose a barbel.
After some pleasantries I went on the rove and fished 6 swims altogether giving it 20 minutes to half an hour in each swim. I had naff sleep for some reason possibly coming down with a cold so it was nice to be out in the fresh air to try and clear my head.
In half of those I had a pike rod out in the slacks because the river was nicely up with a tinge of colour. A few swims down though I was biteless so after putting in some nuggets of my manky and pungent cheesepaste in a couple of swims I went up to my chub banker swim.
Anyway to cut a long story short the only bite I managed was from the banker swim where after a couple of minutes of getting the cheesepaste out, a nice chub of 4lb and 6 ounces decided that it wanted in on it. Even the prebaited swims didn't produced sadly. A lovely fish however and still plenty of filling out to do some come March time it would go over 5lb I'd imagine.
The fish were suspicious in their absence today, but the river is still pretty clear, so I'm tempted to rig up one of my presents and give trotting a go instead as there is a peg I've earmarked for it. I've fished static there before but it really does look perfect to put a float down.
It certainly doesn't feel like 12 months to the day when good mate Nic from Avon Angling UK and I fished How Caple Court 😮. It was proper cold that time where the barbel were certainly off feeding and we ended up scratching around for bites.
We both caught Chub and I managed a pike in the end, but with conditions a little more favourable for the barbel this time, I hoped to bank a Wye barbel having not caught one before.
Nic's YouTube video of that session 12 mths ago can be seen here
Anyway a bit of a milestone birthday this as I am 50 years old apparently, how did that happen. So how does an old git celebrate his birthday ? well a 3 day dance weekender with DJ's galore and Fat Boy Slim at the helm of course.
That's not for a couple of weeks, but boy I cannot wait as I need a bit of a blow out, prior to that a tab behind the adopted local pub for ones circle of friends where the bonfire and fireworks would make a fitting finale. (I think 🤔)
Now unlike Nic who has fished the Wye more times than I have had hot dinners (well it seems that way !!), for me not being used to this kind of river it can be very overwhelming at first. I've only fished 3 times on the Wye and to be honest I've found it hard going every time I've gone, but with Nic at the helm so to speak, at least he offers an experienced hand where I'd be largely fishing blind.
How Caple Court offers 2/3 mile of left bank fishing a few miles upstream of Ross on Wye. This is a particularly beautiful part of the Herefordshire Wye Valley when the rivers are at summer levels can be shallow and weedy in places, however there are deeper holes in between these sections that hold the fish.
At the upper limit of the beat where I had a nose last time the river is usually shallow with gravel at the bank allowing easy wading however not possible with the river having some recent rain as I'd be up to my armpits.
There is a near bank gully immediately downstream of this which Nic pointed out to me last time and another approximately half way along the stretch providing the perfect opportunity for trotting off the rod tip if the conditions allowed.
Towards the lower limit of the beat the current slows to a near standstill into Rock Pool where even when the river is in flood it is perfectly fishable, where pike, perch and chub in the winter months will often be found.
I could have fished another stretch I suppose but it really is a stunning part of the world like the land the time forgot where you are within your own world without the influence of others and in the current climate, anything to put the daily stresses behind for a while is most welcome.
There is also a chance here of one of the Wye doubles which is another reason why I fancied getting back to the familiar.
So with trotting out I decided to do more fishing this time rather than the usual Quagswagging approach. So the boot was filled with tackle rather than gas stoves and various food items and a flask of tea and a pepped up Stagg Dynamite Chilli enhanced army ration provided the belly warmer. (Not bad these thermos food flasks are they)
Now I did think about a flask of port and brandy, but probably not a good idea as the mandatory two days in the office started this week, oh the joys of the A5 in sunny Nunny and the unbelievable road works that are happening in Coventry at the minute.
Anyway so a pungent groundbait and pellet mix would be stuffed in to the feeder and a Dynamite Hot Fish & GLM Boilie with matching paste wrap would be mounted to the hair.
I had meat for back-up and also a Pike set-up to mix it up a bit if need be. Barbel and Chub would be the mainstay but as much I plan sessions mine of late, well errrrrrrrrr haven't gone too well let's put it that way.
Anyway with an early start the 60 mile hour and 12 minute journey went like a breeze despite the rain which seemed to have been falling for over 24 hours, and during the session it alternated between showers and some of the clearest skies and brightest and cockle warming sun I've seen in November.
In-fact during one of the various quiet spells at one point when I was sat in my t-shirt and nearly nodded off, but then there was probably a good reason for that, then again it was my birthday after all. I've tried various Brewdog beers and this about the only one I'd spend my hard eared money on. Not cheap, but not a bad drop.
Anyway after getting off the mark with a small chub at the starter pegs Nic had rang me and said he had his first Barbel and it was a good'un too. Nic like me is a roving angler at heart which considering the gear he lugs about is not taken lightly. But he is an experienced hand on the Wye and dropping on to the fish was key.
Unless you fish this river in low summer condition you wouldn't know the gully existed unless you leaded about the whole river which is no mean feat considering the scale of it. But to those in the know this popular peg often is a holding spot for this fish and it only took a couple of minutes before a battle ensued in the flow when a barbel snaffled up Nic's paste wrapped hot fish boilie.
Tough gear is required in these sort of conditions and after a serious workout Nic safely landed the barbel and I went over for a gander.
It certainly was a stocky fish around 8lb or so. Rested and returned Nic kindly gave up the swim as he wanted me to try and catch a Wye barbel of my own. In-fact he told me to finish off in this swim as it often can produce at dusk when the conditions are challenging like they were for this session.
That swim didn't produce for me during the morning but I would return to it later on before curfew time. After the 'rope' swim didn't produce either I decided to head back to the car have my lunch and take stock and have a pike rod out in the huge slack that exists at the start of the stretch.
I soon got bored of watching that so it was time to get on the rove again to try and drop on some barbel. Nic by this time had managed another one so his meticulous approach was working. Despite using the same method I was only picking up the chub though where I managed 6 or 7 in the end whereas Nic ended up on 4 barbel and no chub. To be honest I had the boilie tighter to the hook than I usually do so maybe that was the difference.
None of the chub were that big either with the biggest maybe a 3.5lber. Nic was on to the barbel again where this time he managed one at the top of stretch so we both headed up and settled in to some boiling swims where the high levels of the river were undeniable.
Nic's fish came from these swims though where usually I'd be looking for more slacker water but it just goes to show doesn't it. Those swims and two more were biteless so Nic and I decided to settle in to our final swims. Me in the gully swim with Nic just down from me in the 'rope' swim. After a chub within a few minutes I got the bait out again and 10 minutes later a decent bite and a fish was on.
It didn't feel big but it wasn't fighting like a chub so I was pleasantly surprised when a small splasher barbel surfaced and at least ticked off my first Wye barbel. Nic managed one of similar size in his swim but I wanted a bigger fish and I didn't have long left. It's nice to see fish off that stamp though as we hardly see those on the Warwickshire Avon.
Anyway after having a chub pulled the boilie off the hair soon after I decided I couldn't be bothered to faff around re-baiting again with the light levels so low, so I cut a chunk of luncheon meat off and put it straight on the hook and got it out for a last gasp attempt for a barbel.
And the fishing Gods must have been looking down on me because within seconds an unmistakable barbel bite and a hard fighting barbel was on the end. A great fight in the flow but eventually in net. I rested it in the margins packed my gear up and Nic came over as we were leaving to highlight the 6 or 7lber with the light on his camera set-up.
A very enjoyable day in great company and thanks for the present Nic, will add it to my growing reel collection. A tough one, but even in on a rising river where literally whole trees were floating down the river bites can still be had.
I've been watching quite a few UK Tuna fishing YouTube videos of late and fancy a dabble myself given the chance. Stunning looking fish they are indeed. Now I caught a species of Tuna many moons ago when I was lucky enough to sail around the British Virgin Islands in a Catamaran.
It took a good old while to catch one mind you when out of the blue with a mate Steveo at the wheel I saw bait fish jumping out of the water all over the gaff. And sure enough as soon as the lure went through the middle it got hit like a steam train and a fish was on.
Only a nipper though but what a fight on light gear and what a stunning looking fish. If it wasn't for my mates girlfriends " Ewwww it's bleeding a bit, put it back !!!" it would have been on the BBQ with a nice glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. In-fact still to this day I wondered why the heck I didn't show it the priest.
Now in the first half of the twentieth-century bluefin tuna were relatively common in the North Sea, attracted by the huge shoals of herring which were present there. This led to a big game fishery for tuna being established in the area and North Sea tuna fishing became a fashionable pursuit.
Rich and famous people of the time came to the area on specially arranged trains from London, while others sailed directly to Scarborough and Whitby in yachts, turning the area into something resembling modern-day Monaco in the summer and early autumn.
The peak years of Scarborough and Whitby North Sea tuna fishing were from the late 1920s until the early 1950s, although this was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War. Anglers would use wooden greenheart rods, large multiplier reels and thick twine line to target the tuna, fishing from small boats which had been towed out to sea by larger yachts.
When a tuna was hooked it would be allowed to make runs to tire itself out, and on many occasions the tuna would drag the small boat around for a period of time before the angler on board attempted to reel it in.
The size of tuna caught from Scarborough and Whitby was remarkably consistent, with tuna of at least 700lb caught every single summer from the emergence of the big game fishery in the late 1920s until 1939 when the Second World War began and put a halt to the tuna fishing.
In the post-war years, tuna fishing returned to the region, with notable tuna being caught from Whitby and Scarborough until well into the 1950s.
Apparently well dressed Lorenzo Cecil Vaughan Mitchell-Henry (Great Name) caught a 851lb bluefin tuna when fishing from Whitby in 1933, setting a record which still stands as the biggest-ever fish caught on rod and line in UK waters which is recognised by the The British Record (Rod Caught) Fish Committee, although larger tuna have ben caught and released in more recent times, what an incredible fish that is.
Now technological advances in electronics spawned by the war made fishing vessels far more effective. Quickly, both the once abundant mackerel and herring stocks of the North Sea were depleted to such a degree that the food supply was much reduced. This lack of food was blamed for the disappearance of the tuna.
The commercial exploitation certainly had its part to play, but weather cycles were also inconsistent at this time and many boats changed fishing techniques away from herring to target cod, hake and haddock and may have missed the tuna altogether. Certainly, the tuna did go AWOL for a while, but I don’t think totally so.
They were still seen off Ireland and the Orkneys, but the anglers weren’t there to catch them and the industry died in the false belief that the tuna were elsewhere.
Thankfully in these sustainable times catch and release of tuna, catching bluefins is outlawed in British waters, although sport fisheries have obtained licences to tag and release them as part of a study and hopefully this will continue.
As in the sushi trade, bluefins are famous for their meaty sashimi. At ceremonial new-year fish auctions in Tokyo, they sell for extortionate prices albeit mainly as a marketing stunt. In 2019, a restaurateur paid over 300 million yen (close to £2 million) for a single bluefin. Prices aren’t so sky-high during the rest of the year, but demand has been high enough to drive intensive fishing.
Mick, Jesus get to the fishing !!!
No probs blog readers for this session I headed to a convenient area that has been good to me in the past to try and winkle out a Chevin on my favourited chub bait bread.
A proper autumnal day this with rain on and off with gusty wind to trouble the English channel RIB frequenters and the Directors and Clearsprings Ready Homes from holding off paying themselves another huge dividend courtesy of the tax payer. I needed a short fishing fix though and chub are probably my favourite species.
The river was on the rise when I was there so much so the way it is headed I fully imagine it could well be in the fields at the end of the week. Here especially shows the higher levels than any other stretch I fish where its containment amplifies the extra water on.
Anyway with the rain bucketing it down most of the session I managed to winkle out a few small greedy bread snafflers from one swim with a large slack and that was my lot. The water is still very clear indeed and the larger chub here I've found only really show themselves when the light goes.
I like always have to try and fit in sessions in, and around the ever increasing diary makers. Not to worry though I've a day off Thursday and are heading to a river outside of my comfort zone.
Well I say that, lets just say it's not in Warwickshire !!!
