This week my Angling Adventures continued. I had already decided last week to concentrate on my local River and thus had a number of trips to both Pastures Old and New. One thing was for sure, the level would continue to be painfully low. I could only ever remember the River Severn being up and coloured three times since early May. The Fishing would continue to be incredibly tough , and only some much needed prolonged rain , could ever inject a new surge of life into the system. Anglers much further downstream were already struggling. The fish on the upper the stretches were holed up in the faster water , reaping the oxygen rich rewards for survival. Feeding at present , was second priority. The fishing was quite predictable as I knew my two chosen spots intimately , almost like the back of my hand.
Only a major flood could ever change them , and there was more chance of me flying to the moon than of us receiving a decent quantity of the wet stuff. Knowing any stretch of river really well normally works in your favour. Confidence is sky high , as you have a fairly good idea of where the fish will be. The normal hot spots tend to guarantee you the odd fish , but a fish from a new swim was always a possible and of course very rewarding. With the level being low at present , even fish from well known haunts could never be guaranteed.
Old Stretches of river are good for a bend in the rod , but New Stretches add a bit of spice to the equation. The thrill and challenge of any New piece of water , Always gets me excited and normally I am like a kid in a sweet shop as I walk any new length for the first time , my inner watercraft running wild and in Overdrive as I search out the likely haunts. Barbel , Chub and Pike are always upper most in my mind. Find the slacks and eddies and Chub and Pike should dwell , find long walking pace glides and Barbel and Dace should loom. Somewhere in between will come Roach and Bream. Initially , it is all a game of cat and mouse , as you seek and search trying to piece the jigsaw together. Only invested time would paint the larger picture , but one thing was for sure , it would be challenge , but fun trying.
On my initial trip , I asked my Mum if She fancied keeping me company. Since My Father and Best Mate past away in 2003 , Mum , or Grandma as I affectionately call her , often accompanies me on My Fishing Adventures. At a Sprightly 73 , Mum puts most teenagers to shame , creeping around the banks of the River Severn during the hours of darkness. Mum is Real Trooper , and is no stranger to catching a few fish herself with Barbel Chub and Pike her Top Species. We set out as normal at 8pm , just to arrive at the water for dusk. We had picked an old favourite stretch and spent the first half hour baiting two known spots. Once again the River Level was painfully low , but I knew a few fish would be holed up in the two faster glides. Initially we tried swim One , but soon moved after an hour and a half without any action . Swim Two however , proved much more successful , and I started to receive Chub taps almost immediately. I placed my downstream rod to my left whilst I held the other feeling for the slight pulls and tugs on the mainline. Sure enough the taps continued and soon I had made contact with a fish just after 11 pm. At 5lbs 2 ozs I was most pleased , She was a cracking looking Chub.
Grandma and I were thrilled to bits. I never tire of looking at Big Chub , and this fish was in fine condition. Her stomach was totally empty and She would be a much heavier fish come the winter. After a few shots , She was returned but well upstream of our intended spot. Unfortunately , and even after taking this preventative action , the swim soon died and Mum and I called it a day just after 2 am.
Trip Two saw me accompany The Welsh Wizard " Lucky Bruce " , and once more we travelled to known swims on the Upper River,. This would be a chance trip after a conversation on Facebook , and it would be good to see the young rascal again. Bruce always makes me laugh , it is like looking back in time. Instead of dedicating his time to the banks and fish this young pup spends most of his time with the girls and the pubs. At his age his has it right I guess , good look to him I say ;)) . Once more we arrived just before dark and I put Gwyndaf in a known he Hot Spot as I made my way downstream to another fast Glide that I fancied.
The evening once more was all a bit slow , but I did manage a Chub of 4lbs + . Bruce went onto land a Barbel of 7 lbs 15 ozs plus a Snake, well , an Eel actually , of just over 1 lb. We both laughed as Bruce attempted to wrestle the python. It had been lip hooked which for an eel is quite an achievement. They normally have a nasty habit of swallowing the hook right down. Eventually , and after a bit of mud wrestling , Bruce managed to get the beast in a half nelson enabling him to remove the hook. Sid , was duly returned to the river none the worse for his capture.It is nice to see an Eel, they have been somewhat illusive for the last ten years or so. Bruce and I both had work the next day so not long after we called it a day. Gwyndaf did his usual Colin Mcrae impression disappearing off in a dust cloud and a wall of metal mayhem as he left. I laughed and shut off my ventilation system so as not to choke to death. lol.
Trip Three saw me travel with my old mate Gou way upstream to an old hunting ground from many years gone by. Alan and His Grandfather Cliff had fished this upper stretch many times in Alan's Youth spending a week on holiday together. I had visited the place a few times and I new that this stretch of river was hard going but it did hold some very Big Chub , having seen them a few times from the high river bank. It had also produced some large Grayling as it was more of a game venue than coarse. We arrived and set about walking the shallow stretch of river reminiscing as we went.
I could see the memories all flooding back in Alan's mind as he remembered the lodge and numerous swims on both the river and canal that both he and his Grandad had fished in the past. Initially we made the decision to search out the deeper swims that could conceal a real Monster Chub and favoured a bait up and wait process. Unfortunately nothing was forthcoming , and so , after three hours we were forced to change tactics and went Roaming in the shallower water Instead. It wasn't Long before Alan came up trumps landing a nice Out Of Season Brown Trout on a float fished worm. It was a stunning fish and we were keen to ensure that it went straight back to the river immediately. As far as fishing action went , that was unfortunately it , but it had always been a hard stretch of river to fish and quite inaccessible. Saying that we had enjoyed our little trip down memory lane and even had a pint at a local pub on the strength of it all.
We had already decided on a trip back down stream to another known venue that hopefully would give Alan his first ever Barbel. And so , after a Fish and Chip Tea we set off in hope of a Monster. It didn't quite go to plan and for three hours we sat in a confident swim without so much of a tap. And then , just on the strike of 11 pm , one of Alan's rod sprang into life and I watched as one of the Isotopes started to pull round. I must admit , this was not your normal three twitch , it was just a slow steady pull that just kept going. Alan grabbed the rod and for a moment he was attached to a very good fish before all of a sudden the line went slack. " It's Off " he said in a disappointed voice. I was baffled , I had already taken steps to up my main line to 17 lbs as I knew there were a few snags in the vicinity, but this line was more that capable of dealing with even the largest Barbel. When I finally inspected the parted line , it became apparent that the culprit must have been a large Pike. The line had been chauffeured by some large teeth. I have had them take baits of the bottom before. I guess it just wasn't meant to be and with us both having work the next day we decided to call it a day. Despite the loss we had both enjoyed our trip down memory lane. Cliff , would have been proud of Alan's Spotty capture , and with this in mind , we were both satisfied. The Monster Barbel would just have to wait another day. 
Two days went by and I was ready for my next trip. This time I was ready for Pastures New. I had done my homework on Google Earth on a new stretch of river in the same area. Alan and I had visited the stretch briefly as we had waited waited for the sun to set two evenings prior. I had always fancied this stretch , and was just itching to give it ago. After our initial walk , I had set my heart on two likely looking swims , both , I was sure , would hold Chub and Barbel. I arrived late that evening and set about pre-baiting both spots with hemp the main ingredient. I set up in swim one initially but was soon on my way to swim Two after an hour without a sniff. The Moon was almost full and it dominated the sky with its bright rays. It was just like daylight and the glare really was incredibly bright. Fortunately a band of cloud moved in just after 10 pm and just after I received my first wrap around of the night. It resulted in a hard fighting Barbel just shy of 8 lbs. I was just relieved to get in after a hard and torrid tussle. The fish was warm to the touch and was absolutely Mint. She certainly hadn't seen a hook in a very long time , if at all. I allowed her to recuperate fully in the fast flowing water and then took some shots for the blog before she went back strongly. I gave the spot another hour , but with no further action I went Wandering back to swim One in the now Bright Moonlight. I laughed and joked with myself , and sent a a message on Face book about me having to tell the Werewolves off , for howling to loud , and thus Spooking the fish. Nothing came form swim One , not even a chub tap , but I put some more bait in just for good measure.
On returning to swim Two , the cloud cover had returned once more , and after two more initial casts my rod hooped over and I was in again. The culprit was another hard fighting fish just shy of 8 1/2 lbs. Once again the fish was in Mint Condition , I was a Happy Angler. Sometimes they don't have to be massive for them to be enjoyable. These were true wild fish and were a sight for sore Moonstruck Eyes. Fish Two went back Strong and I recast , as the moon reappeared. No more bites followed. It didn't really matter , I had succeeded and was quite content. I only ever set my heart on catching one fish that far upstream , two fish was good going and a bonus, three would have been greedy and a little over ambitious. I would have been easy to have travelled the extra 20 miles or so to the middle Severn and just pulled out ten fish on the same evening , but somehow , it wouldn't quite have been quite the same. I do enjoy this kind of approach and the empty banks really are everything. 
Fishing an unknown stretch for the first time is always rewarding especially if you are successful. I really had enjoyed it all very much , so much so I had gone back the following evening but was soon brought back down to earth as I blanked Big Time. Once more the Big Bad Moon did it's worst. Even the bats were wary of the bright light. I hadn't caught but it been a Great Adventure and Fun and I had enjoyed it all , even with the failure. There is always something you can take from any session , and I had sussed a few Pike swims out for the onset of Autumn.
I intend on battering the Overtime next week but have a trip with Bruce lined up already so let's see what it all brings. I cannot wait ! until next time.
Tight Lines Roamers !!!
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