Indecision Finally Equals A Few Points

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

That'll teach me to get up a bit late!

Planned to pay a visit to the Stour or Avon today hopefully in search of winter Barbel. Left home at 7:30am which was a little later than planned but still full of enthusiasm for the challenge of fishing a flooded river. Conditions were not ideal but of all fish Barbel are the ones to feed well in floods as long as its reasonably mild and the water temperature is up as well. Both those factors were in evidence today.

I stopped to do a bit of "bridge gazing" at Ringwood which confirmed the Avon was well up but amazingly clear! Not ideal and although the river was within its banks, getting there looked nigh on impossible as the surrounding fields were still well under water.

So the Stour was the target. Amazing difference in two rivers that flow close to each other (but obviously have different catchment areas). The Stour was just as high and racing through like an express train but an incredibly filthy brown colour. Still it looked good for my chosen target especially as the flood had obviously been on for a while and had already cleared out the usual rubbish, very little debris was evident in todays flow.

Off I marched towards my chosen area which I suppose consists of 4 or 5 swims which are fishable in such conditions. All were occupied! And what's worse, two Barbel had already been caught! It's midweek, not the weekend! If only I had got up an hour earlier as planned.

So, now confused, I was not sure what to do. I know this bit of river well and it would have probably been futile to fish elsewhere. Back to the car for a rethink.

To cut a long story short, I looked at several other areas but most looked very uninviting or inaccessible. I then decided to cut my losses and have a drive around to look at several waters on my new Club Ticket. I certainly have a few nice looking lakes to fish come Spring and Summer.

Finally, having looked at five different venues, I ended up at a 10 acre lake in the middle of farmland. I was expecting a new and barren landscape but was greeted by a very mature gravel pit in nice surroundings. By this time it was 2pm but I decided to wet a line.

First cast the float dipped and sailed away! Struck into a decent fish which I thought was a small Carp but turned out to be Chub of around 2lb. It threw the hook just as I reached for the landing net!

Must have been a fluke because after that it went very quiet. I did have some small Roach and then an even smaller Rudd. More points for the Cat & Twiddle:



Some more Roach followed and then I hooked something far bigger. I'm pretty sure it was a decent Bream as it rolled across the surface before throwing the hook!

My new found mate just laughed and asked for some more food:



So at least I'd added another tick to the list of species caught but it was now getting cold so I started to pack up. Where's the float gone?

Picked the rod up to find a bit of resistance. Turned out to be a little Bream which was worth yet another point. That's better! Stuck around a bit longer and ended up with several small skimmers:



So, not an entirely wasted day. Found some nice new venues to revisit in better weather and gained three more points for the team. Might try the rivers again this weekend.

[Portland Pirate]

What club ticket do you have? Is it Christchurch?

Sean.

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

Originally Posted by Portland Pirate

What club ticket do you have? Is it Christchurch?

Sean.

No, it's Ringwood (a Xmas pressie from the wife), although I was a member of Christchurch for about 30 years!

There's a couple of "pits" that Ringwood now own outright that are now very mature. I used to fish them on the Xchurch ticket when they were still working gravel pits!

Looking forward to some decent weather, there's a huge choice of fishing available.

[pingu]

nice one mate, and made the beat of it in the end

dave

[Norfolkboy]

Nice one, Neil

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Well done

[Vagabond]

Well done - a most productive day, and not just for the fish and species hunt points, because as the Duke of Wellington said, "Time spent in reconnaissance is not wasted"

[silverfish]

Well done mate.

[Twiddler]

Nice one Partner more points, I hope I can add a few after this weekend too.

Shame about your barbel hunt but there is lots of time yet, might have to take a day or two off during the week and join you on the hunt

[Banana Steve]

Weldone neil , Im trying the river nadder tomorrow im hoping that it has settled down. Weldone again on catching.