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1.3.23 - River Kennet - Hambridge

Bayleaf the Gardener

Entry posted by Bayleaf the Gardener in Hambridge

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So, life continues to get in the way of my fishing, It's been over a week now and cold turkey is not pleasant.

Managed to squeeze in a couple of hours legering cheese paste on the Kennet for chub. No bites, except from one decent branch that I trawled from the depths in the first three swims. No cheese paste made it back on the hook from any cast making me suspect it wasn't sticking, or else the dreaded crays had woken up.

On the fourth swim, on the edge of the mid-channel current, there was a slight tremble on the rod tip just before dark. I pulled at the rod with the fervour that only a biteless hour can give you and struck the bottom. Only after a few seconds the bottom started to move, and in the opposite direction that the earlier branch had gone.  The reel screeched a few times as I did my best to contain it to open water. Finally the fish came nearer to me and a large dorsal fin broke the surface. It was no chub. 

This was the second barbel of my angling career and my first since circa 1981. To say I was excited was a huge understatement. I had no more bites in the remaining hour, but did I care?

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Edited by Bayleaf the Gardener

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newbury imp

What a fish well done ,venue has barbel history but so reassuring to hear of a fish of that quality. Be hard to go back to willows fishpond and catch a mutant goldfish for the ninth time after that !

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Bayleaf the Gardener

Ha, there's some truth in that, Imp. You must know the carp with the orange spot in it's side?  It's come out to see me so many times. I know it's him as soon as be bites as he only puts up a token fight and has an 'OK, lets get this over again, shall we?' attitude. Oh, and the there's Blinky the one-eyed Common who is exactly that: I've caught him at least 5 times. We'd happily catch barbel from the Kennet every trip I'm sure, but wouldn't the carp miss us too much if we didn't fish Willows?

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newbury imp

Downstream from where you caught your barbel is :civil service water ,then Thatcham ,then NAA bulls lock section. All have huge quantities of minnows ,so much so that the NAA matches were cancelled there as they became ""minnow matches".

These minnows mean there are some very large fish there ,pike/perch/chub/barbel/grayling/bream ,etc.................plus very scenic and some wonderful swims.

With a NAA permit you could exchange in Tonys and fish the civil service stretch ,warning it is hard................good luck wherever you choose to fish

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