Specimen Catch Reports
I was really looking forward to getting back on some of my favourite waters, chasing Tench on big pits or mega hard pits. There were three main waters I had in mind, the largest one going up to 120 acres. All three of them have their own problems, i.e restricted areas, restricted fishing times...
The Hampshire Avon has always been a magical river and I think it’s fair to say, that when it comes to barbel fishing, this river is commonly thought of as one of the most iconic waterways in the country.
Since targeting big fish became a large part of my life in the early 1980s, I have been on one long journey and have been fortunate to have landed plenty of personal bests and each one has been special.
I had landed ten of the fourteen caught between us, with Adrian catching the largest at 7lb 9oz. Only one other tench was caught between about 20 other anglers on the lake. It wasn’t a bad way to kick off a fishing diary that I keep to this day!
During the last 7-8 seasons I’ve fell in love with a brilliant method, trotting for chub. Each winter my dad and I head down to the banks of the Dorset stour in search of its specimen chub. This river is by far my favourite for the species and I really couldn’t think of a better place to target a huge chub.
To be successful when fishing in the middle of winter it is essential to keep a close eye on the weather and make your plans accordingly. Dai Gribble gives us 10 top tips for catching on waters during the colder months, either on rivers or on stillwaters.
The backend of the season was a bit of a disaster on my local rivers as they were in flood like most other river’s around the country. I did fish a bit on the rivers, but it was no fun, and it was extremely dangerous walking the flooded riverbanks after dark in chest waders. I ended up spending the majority of my time Pike fishing the local gravel pits...
I had been trying to catch a 6lb+ chub, coming close on so many occasions. I think I have now had over 10 chub between 5lb 14oz and 5lb 15oz, but I could never get one with that extra magic ounce I needed. On this particular evening though, I finally cracked it, not once, but twice! Firstly, with an absolutely pristine chub of 6lb 4oz...
At just after midnight the alarm sounded and I saw the bobbin rise slightly before dropping to the end of the chain – a good reason to use long chains when targeting bream as the vast majority of bites are drop backs...
Summertime is the best time for fish spotting, as the river will be running clear most the time. Big chub often giving themselves away, so it is not usually too hard to find them. Early in the morning, during the evening or in the afternoon sun are all great times for fish spotting...
When I first started using this method my catch rate went through the roof as this also allows me to drop into a swim in the dark and with one cast land directly on the hot spot with very little disturbance. Twice now, I have dropped into a swim, and within 20 minutes I have hooked into 15lb+ Barbel...
At first, I thought it was indeed a barbel, but after a heavy thumping battle in the flow, I saw the brassy flanks of a big chub surface. A couple more nervous minutes followed, before I managed to slide it over the drawstring into the net. Straight away I could see it was probably a '6'; a target I had been chasing for years.
The next morning came and went, and nothing happened. The whole lake looked dead, as an easterly wind had picked up. I decided to sit it out in my current swim and was rewarded on the third morning of my session with an 8lb 14oz female. Then on the last morning, I managed a 6lb 6oz female tough going was the word, but I went home happy.
I had also started pike fishing in the November, and this started off with a bang, with the capture of a scraper 20 already and then only a couple of weeks later a dream fish came into my net. At 47” long and so close to my target weight she weighed in at 29lb 3oz!
By the age of 5, I was bugging my dad every weekend to go fishing. Rain or shine, snow or hail, it didn’t matter to me I just wanted to be outside next to the water. I still remember what he used to say to me “when you can swim, then I’ll take you” so I learnt to swim pretty sharpish...
I’ve recently been fishing on a lovely venue and have been enjoying some amazing sport. It’s a Fenland still water with no prior recent history of big Rudd; just stories from the early 90's of large shoals and huge Rudd being seen but never captured...
I knew it was a double straight away, but it was only once I lifted it out that I saw just how wide and deep it was. It was easily the widest Tench I had ever seen. I couldn't believe it when the scales bounced round to 12lb 4oz. Only 3 weeks previously I’d had a fish of a lifetime with a 12lb 2oz tench, and amazingly I had broken that PB already, and from another completely different venue as well.
Lengthening and increasingly warm day and night time temperatures and the dawn chorus getting earlier each day can only mean one thing if you’re a specimen angler, it’s time for a spot of tench fishing!
2017 was the year that never got off the ground, well at least where my fishing was concerned anyway! Don’t get me wrong, I still managed a few sessions throughout the course of the year however they would have collectively totalled my usual monthly average time on the bank [...]
Fishing can be a funny old sport. As a multi species angler, it can be more on the side of ‘peculiar’ funny, rather than ‘ha-ha’ funny, as you find yourself flitting between venues and types of fishing. For example, all spring and summer I have been fixated on the [...]
