James joined me on the Small River for an end of season fish-off. Most barbel wins a pint. And there were no extra points for breaking into the others swim and poaching out a fish - but we did it anyway!
To be honest there was quite a bit of faffing about, clearing swims and a bit of litter picking but when we got going I took an early lead - the first three barbel were mine - including a 6lb 9oz & 7lb 0oz barbel.
But James wasn't going to be beaten on his home-river, especially by someone new who had only been fishing the river for fifteen years! And soon started bagging - including a 7lb 2oz barbel.
Action was hectic - and included four double hook-ups - we were going to get a photo of us both with a barbel, so I left one in the net - James took too long to land his, so I had another while waiting!
And then we forgot to take the photo - but does explain the top photo - none of those fish were kept in the net for more than a couple of minutes. First time either of us has had a three barbel photo.
A cracking afternoon and the final scores on the doors: James: 10x barbel to 7lb 2oz, Brian: 10x barbel to 7lb 0oz. Ten each - which was the perfect way to end up. Can't beat a twenty barbel afternoon!
And as a bonus we found a couple of stag beetle grubs where someone had broken a fence post. We put them out of the way and built them a little log pile - hopefully see them again buzzing along the riverbank.
Friday 14 March (6 hours)
Barbel: 6lb 7oz, 3lb, 7lb 0oz, 5lb, 5½lb, 5lb, 5lb, 6½lb, 3½lb, 6lb (10)
So just 9 short missions on the Small River this season, with 57 barbel added, taking my total up to a nice round 1,700. Need another 7+ though - I'll be back next season...
| Season | No | 5+ | 7+ | 10+ | Best |
| 2010/11 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6lb 6oz |
| 2011/12 | 44 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 9lb 12oz |
| 2012/13 | 56 | 34 | 20 | 6 | 12lb 4oz |
| 2013/14 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 7lb 13oz |
| 2014/15 | 71 | 33 | 16 | 1 | 10lb 1oz |
| 2015/16 | 127 | 45 | 15 | 0 | 9lb 4oz |
| 2016/17 | 70 | 31 | 15 | 2 | 11lb 15oz |
| 2017/18 | 132 | 56 | 23 | 2 | 10lb 9oz |
| 2018/19 | 101 | 36 | 13 | 1 | 10lb 3oz |
| 2019/20 | 164 | 69 | 28 | 5 | 12lb 1oz |
| 2020/21 | 250 | 77 | 20 | 6 | 14lb 2oz |
| 2021/22 | 180 | 34 | 8 | 2 | 11lb 1oz |
| 2022/23 | 228 | 47 | 8 | 1 | 10lb 9oz |
| 2023/24 | 185 | 59 | 16 | 4 | 10lb 14oz |
| 2024/25 | 57 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 7lb 6oz |
| Total: | 1,700 | 563 | 199 | 30 |
For a minute there, I thought you were using stag beetle larvae for bait :o(
ReplyDeleteA mad session to end the season, you deserve a rest but I have no doubt you have plenty planned for the next three months.
We did joke about using them - bet they’d tempt those shy Small River chub.
DeleteGreat session to end on - and now I’m a man without a plan..!
Great session on the little river. 1700 looks great, 200 7+ would of been 1701 which looks odd! Catch some more please Brian! I might venture down post June 16th.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the number after the slash on the year??
Cheers. One of the sixes could have been a bit bigger for 1,700 / 200 but it’ll keep me coming back. Might see you there next season.
Delete2024/25 is the season that starts in 2024 and ends in 2025 - made sense in my head but obviously not very clear.
Ah. I was reading it as 2024/2557. There is no space on my screen. I see now, it's 2024/25 57 caught then then weights. I was not reading it right! Sorry
DeleteWhat a way to end the season nice one Brian and James. Barbel soup nice to see 😎
ReplyDeleteCheers, cracking last trip. Sometimes it’s barbel soup, sometimes it seems to be devoid of life!
DeleteThat was me btw !!
ReplyDeleteI can only login on Chrome now - think Blogger needs some updates…
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