Last Knockings

I thought I had missed my last chance of finishing the coarse season on a river today. Thursday and Friday were spent working away and consequently there was quite a list of jobs to be attended to this morning. Fortunately I escaped for the last couple of hours and as I didn't have much time plumped for the River Trent at Ingelby. The Trent is what I would call a big river and I don't have a deal of confidence on it preferring the Dove or the Derwent. As it is less than 10 minutes from home though it had to be today.
Hoping that my quest for a back end barbel would be satisfied my optimism was soon raised when on the second cast the rod nodded over nicely. Alas it was the chub below which had grabbed my meat but it was a good fish using the current to make me work it to the net and as per every chub I seem to catch it weighed 4lb dead.

Well at least that was my new rod christened what a shame it was not a barbel. Rather a fat chub I thought. That is it now for coarse fish on the rivers as I will not be on the banks again before Monday when the season finishes. So now my thoughts will turn to trout and tench until 16th June.

Searching for a back end barbel

I wonder whether I will get lucky for a back end barbel this year as this mornings session at Scropton was not very productive. In fact it was not productive at all. Suppose I should have known better really with the level reading 1.1m on the EA website at Marston. Lately though I have been reading how barbel can be caught in flood conditions but clearly not by a numpty like me. It was definitely a day for the 6oz lead boys which is not my cup of team so I will give the river a miss in the future if it is reading higher than 0.8m.
Two swims were fished for about 45 mins each before I called it a day, not a sausage to show for it. The picture is taken looking roughly south east with Tutbury Castle in the background. One of my favourite swims can be seen on the far bank just to the left of centre.
It was a shame I blanked really as this was the first outing with my new barbel rod which I had purchsed after my bad luck a fortnight ago. It came from Billy Clarke Angling at Sheffield and the guys there provided me with great service.

Smashed Up

This morning I set out for a couple of hours on the River Dove at Scropton. I was hoping for a winter barbel as the weather was quite mild and there was some fresh water in the river. I was quite surprised how high the river was though, it is currently reading 0.78m at Marston on the EA website.
There was no-one else I saw on the DRAC stretch and so I was soon in my favourite swim, the water here was about 18" than the summer level. My set up was feeder fished pellets and first cast there was a good bite but only quite a large scale on the hook to show for it.

After an hour or so I caught the chub below, it was 4lb dead which seems to be the standard size for this swim unless I keep catching the same one. Then disaster struck. A strong bite met with solid resistance and the fish made for the nearside snag that you can see just downstream in the above picture. I held on as hard as I dared and recovered some line but it all then went solid. I eased off a bit and felt the fish still on so put the pressure on and snap went my rod. Things all then got a bit messy and needless to say I lost the fish. It was either a very good chub, well known of course for their ability to get in a snag, or a barbel.

The rod was my Daiwa Specialist Avon which has left me gutted. It was a great rod to use and the first time I had ever broken a rod whilst fishing. My fault I guess I must have been too heavy on it whilst the fish was in the snag.

Anyone having a good barbel rod surplus to requirements at competitive rates then please let me know. Now, where is my Ebay link........

Lower Ellastone

Having not fished for a few weeks I was looking forward to a session on the River Dove hopefully tempting a few fish to my Czech nymphs. The water looked in great condition but I knew how cold it would be and I do well to last a couple of hours in these conditions. The river really was at a great level for this time of year and I was soon into my favourite winter run just below the fast water. Alas it was not to be yesterday and I did not trouble the scorers. A few other anglers were out and had also found conditions tough, there was a lot of talk about the fish being hammered by comorants whilst the still waters have been frozen. I got cold enough to put me off for another few weeks although Andy at work today gave me a huge batch of T&S and FF&FT magazines so it won't be long before I'm well and truly 'hooked' again.

The Burton Game Fishing Festival

This is a bit of an early notice but this looks like a worthwhile event particularly as it is aid of 'Casting for Recovery' and 'Fishing for Heroes'. I picked up this flyer at the Foremark Fly Fishers event at the John Thompson last Monday evening. Steve Parton was the guest speaker and those of you who have ever spoke to him or visited his premises will know how entertaining that could be. Steve didn't disappoint although some of his messages were not quite what the members expected I suspect. My son still considers his visit to Steve's 'shop' one of his most amusing shopping experiences (and so do I).

Good to see the FFF on the up though with a very good attendance. Those interested in their other events can find details here.

Sloe Gin

January and February are not the greatest of angling months in my opinion and are a good time to occupy one'self with such things as decorating. Far better now than when the weather picks up and you will curse even more for being stuck inside with a paint brush.

Today I took the opportunity to bottle my sloe gin. I have been meaning to do it since the Christmas holidays and finally made the move today. This is a real winter warmer comfort drink and I would recommend it if you not tried it before, it is good fun to make your own. My recipe is as follows:

2 bottles of the cheapest gin you can find (make sure it is at least 35% alcohol though)

1 and 3/4 pounds of sloes

8oz of sugar

First find your sloes which are the fruit of the blackthorn bush. Pick some after the first frosts, this is a good way to spend a late autumn afternoon. Wash them in water and then prick each to release the flavour. Put them into a liquid tight container and then add the sugar and the gin. You can vary the sugar depending how sweet you prefer the sloe gin. My wife's uncle would use 1lb of sugar to 1lb of sloes but this is too sweet for me. All you have to do now is wait but give the mixture a turn every day for the first week and then once a week. It should be ready by Christmas, I am a little late bottling this year. It is a nice tipple and makes the thought of decorating bareable.

Back to the Dove

Today was the last day of an extended Christmas break for me and I had planned on getting over the Ellastone again for a couple of hours this afternoon. The level had dropped since my last visit on New Years Eve and this morning the EA site gave a reading of 0.31m. It was perfectly fishable at this height particularly as it was fining down as you can see from the above picture.
I thought I was in for a corking session when on only my second cast the line darted forward and after a brief struggle the lady below was soon in the net. This fish took one of my hares ear shrimps with an orange hotspot. However, this turned out to be the only success of the session the angling being particularly tough. As ever it was only a brief visit as the water chilled me to the bone, I was fishing less than two hours.

Another angler soon arrived on the Norbury bank and went up to fish up above the fast section. He had some limited success and mentioned the dreaded comorant having shooed some off earlier in the day. Apparently they have been making a beeline for the rivers whilst the stillwaters are frozen over. Not good news.