With Barbel from 6 different rivers already this season I was enjoying a great start to the campaign, I decided my own local River Wensum would be my next challenge.

Arriving at the river just after lunch I soon had some Barbel feeding in a couple of pegs and around 30 Chub in another. I was loose feeding a mixture of Hemp and dampened pellet and the Barbel and chub were lapping it up. Had my target have been chub I could have had a shed full, the Barbel however were going to be a tougher challenge, with so many chub feeding they really weren’t getting a look in.

The two pegs the Barbel were feeding in both produced a chub first cast and that sent the Barbel back into the safety of the cover I had managed to feed them out off over the 2 previous hours. Plan B came into force, only there wasn’t a plan B so it was back to slowly building up the swims and observing the Barbel.  They were absent now thou in 2 of the 3 swims and very nervous in the third, but were every now and then having a feed and dropping back into the cover.

 Any chance of a Barbel from the third peg ended when 3 very noisy and inconsiderate anglers appeared on the opposite bank and decided to discuss my chances amongst them selves and in full view of the Barbel, which hastily disappeared tight under the cover.

I  now had to quickly think of a plan B, and mixed up some Hemp and Hali crush to which I added some hemp and a couple of handfuls of Halibut pellets. I made 5 orange size balls of the mix, flattened them to stop them rolling and dropped them into the other peg I had seen Barbel in earlier in the day.  I retired to the chippie and managed a large piece of cod and mountain of chips washed down with a can of Vimto, before I returned to the river just on darkness.

I have never tried the “ball it in” method on the Wensum before but it has worked well on the Teme and Warks Avon Before so why not here in my own back Yard. Had I not have made a lunge for the rod I may well have lost it as it was dragged across my leg and out of the rod rest at lightning speed. What ever I was attached to couldn’t resist the 12mm “O” pellet, it soon became obvious this was no chub but a scrappy dogged fight had me suspecting a decent Barbel. At just over 9lb a most welcome Barbel from river number 6. I fished for a couple more hours and managed another chub before tiredness over took and I called it a night.

I was on holiday the week following my Wensum Barbel and spent a couple of afternoons fishing the Severn with my good Mate Chas Kellet, in conversation Chas mentioned he would like to fish the Warks Avon, my thoughts quickly went to river number 7, and a trip for the following day was arranged. We pulled a master stroke between us and suggested to our wives they also got together the next day and had a girl’s day out, leaving us with much less pressure to be home early.

I was very surprised when we arrived at the river to find it up 18inchs or so and with plenty of colour, a young lad fishing the first swim had managed a double the previous evening and informed us the river was actually dropping and had been a few inches higher the day before. 

With the conditions almost perfect I decided it would be a groundbait feeder and pellet approach, Hemp and Hali in the feeder with a good mix of Pellets, softened with some Sonu liquid monster crab flavour, this gives the pellets a strong fish smell and a subtle red colour. To fill the feeder I first fill the middle third with the pellet mix, and then plug the ends with the groundbait.

Another couple of anglers on the stretch had managed a Barbel each during the afternoon but by late afternoon I was still blanking but Chas had managed a skimmer bream. My confidence in the method and the “O” hookbait was such that I wasn’t unduly worried and was still confident of a Barbel or 2 before dark. Since I had introduced Chas to the Hemp and Hali and “O” pellet hookbait he has had lots of fish from both his local River Kennet and the Severn so he too had plenty of confidence.

 The Warks Avon can be a tough river at the best of times, and I have often sat like many for hours without signs of a fish, only for the river to come alive as light values fall.  A few rattles and plucks on the rod top got my attention, suspecting Barbel might well have switched onto the feed I was ready for action. The tentative twitches and plucks didn’t develop over the next 2 casts, so I fitted a small backload about 30 inches above the feeder. On the very next cast the plucks turned into a full scale grab the rod lunge, and I was soon landing Barbel number one at 7lb 7oz.

As I returned my fish my mobile rang and it was Chas, with no chance to chat all I got was a hurried “big fish on” and the purr of a cancelled call. I grabbed my Net and made my way down to Chas over 100 yards downstream.  By the time I got there I half suspected he may well have landed his fish, I was wrong, he was still well into a fight with what was obviously a good size Barbel. The fish was using all its strength and power and supported by the extra flow of the flooded river it was putting up a good account of its self.

When the fish finally slid over the rim of the net it was clearly a double and I don’t know who was more pleased Chas or myself, after resting the fish and taking a couple of trophy shots she was returned to fight another day. Myself and Chas enjoyed a mug of tea and a Mars bar each he had kept secret as a celebration treat in case either of us had managed a good fish.

We fished on until dark and managed one more Barbel each before the no night fishing rule forced us off the bank. The journey home was a good one with Chas over the moon with a new river and a double under his belt in the same day, whilst I was happy with a Barbel from river number 7 for the season, and to put the icing on the cake my second Barbel of the day was also my 200^th of the season.