Paulg

The swim looks lovely, and what a splendid little barbel !! Well done !!

Thanks for helping to carry my stuff, and also the loan of the hat Chris, think without the latter I would have passed out on the walk back!! This bloddy cancer is slowly eating me up, just hope all the drugs keep me going for at least one more winter of fishing with you on the Kennet, Itchen and Frome!!

At least one fin, and it looks to be a very pale fish compared to others, but I guess that might just be lighting conditions when you took the photograph?

Yes, now that I am on the treatment, it will continue as long as the 3-monthly scans show it is working. At this current time there are no suitable drug trials that I could join if a scan showed negative results, so no plan C....yet.

In the last few days I have started taking a different chemo drug, Everolimus, which hopefully is going to slow or stop the growth of the cancer that has appeared where my right kidney used to be. For those that haven't read my blogs, I had this kidney removed in March last year as it was found to have a 10cm cancerous tumour in it. If my consultant had waited just another 8 weeks before making the decision to switch me from my previous treatment, I would not have been able to have this different drug. From 4th November it is being removed for the UK Cancer Drugs Fund list and will no longer be offered to kidney cancer patients as a 2nd line treatment option. At this current time, there are no other options available, so I would have been stuffed, probably literally! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-34153136

I bet he was very pleased to see you catching though

Cracking grayling from a lower section of the Kennet - well done!

Where are the pics of the other perch? Top angling you two!!

That's two huge fish - well done indeed!!

Otters have decimated the Kennet barbel IMHO. The only possible positive on all this is any new barbel stock are going to grow up (hopefully!) with otters present from the off, so they may not be as easy to be a food item. I was thinking about this a while ago along the lines of existing barbel maybe didn't know what an otter actually was, as it was however many years ago that they were present in the Kennet. This might make them less suspicious...until it was too late....I dunno, maybe just me trying to keep my hopes up that the Kennet hasn't been totally screwed over! Back on Tiggers fish....more wonderful specimens....do you see any signs of repeat captures in your outings at all?

It's all a big media ploy to stop everyone talking about their cricket team

I reckon it is down to having the confidence in your gear, and the knowledge of how to deal with a powerful fish in the swims you are fishing. It does help that a hook hold in the lips of a barbel are usually pretty secure Out of interest though, and sorry if you've been asked this before, what model hooks do you use? I've just bought some Drennan Super Specialist Barbel in size 14 as I've been using the size 8's for legering for a few seasons and have been impressed at the length of time they stay sharp despite a battering on the river bed!

More beautiful fish Tigger.....so envious, as I suspect most are that read your session posts! The fish are in wonderful condition, fin and scale perfect, I think the last one of this catch is the first one I've seen with any sign of damage of some kind. Great fishing again!

New one on me......how do you do this then

Gorgeous fish as usual Tigger - well done!!

Agreed, unfortunately As Newt says, this kind of forum is very nearly past its heyday, not all to do with FB though. I think it is good that commercial fisheries, and angling clubs have their own sites these days but on the negative it takes away from a site like this one. There has been a huge increase in fishing related web writers over the last couple of years, with some very, very good blogs to be found. So where as maybe two years ago someone might come on here to ask about a specific method for a species, or info about a venue they are going to fish, all can now be found elsewhere. The number of active blogs on here is very low, mine included, but then have a look around at the number of independent "proper" blogs, there's loads, and you can see the amount of effort that goes into them. No discredit to any current AN blog peeps, but I am one of those who likes to see pictures along with words, and there are some very talented photographers who also fish out there!! I guess the stats are available somewhere, but how many really regular posters are there on here compared to the number of regular view-only visitors? It won't happen for a while, but like others have inferred, I do believe this format will eventually become very much a minority, which will be a shame....maybe there needs to be a site that just organises fish-ins

Waymasters - 40lb x 1oz, or 12lb x 1/2 oz dependant on how big the fish you catch are

Thanks Rusty, comments always much appreciated, and they help with the frame of mind! Don't forget the backstream on the Whitehouse stretch, although I think that may be more of a winter venue, certainly might be tricky at the moment with all the undergrowth, and low water levels!

The original plan was to go and spend the whole day at a new venue, after the large bream that inhabit the lake. However, as happens quite a lot in our family life at the moment, cunning plans sometimes fall at the first hurdle! So, plan A fails when the hospital ring to say they have a slot for me to come in and be measured up for a dose of radio-therapy. This is because my cancer has decided to start invading me a bit further, my bones this time. The thought of what Kim might do if I turned this down by saying that I was going fishing did not paint a pretty picture, so booking accepted, plan B was decided upon. I settled on a morning visit to a couple of sections of the Kennet, first the river at Rainsford Farm, to be followed by a couple of hours on the canalised section at Thatcham and then off to hospital. Arriving at the river I was greeted by the sight of a very low water level and a kingfisher darting off downstream in its characteristic flash of blue, far too fast for me to get a picture, but the view in itself was worth a snap. Reports from fellow Kennet anglers had not filled me with a massive amount of confidence, but if you don’t try, you don’t find out for yourself, so armed with a bait-smock full of maggot and hemp I went off in search of a fish or two. Wandering upstream from the car, I was shocked to see how much things had changed since my last visit, but, checking my diary later that evening I found it had been three years previously, so maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised! I believe the significant changes had been down to the floods of a couple of winters ago, it was almost like fishing a new venue!! One example was what had previously been a nice steady deep run down to some trees was now a gravel bar!! I quickly established that cancer is having a significant impact on my ability to spend hours wandering river banks armed with rod, bait, net and a handful of tackle. It is all turning into a bit of a vicious circle, the cancer saps the energy, and the associated pain makes you less likely to try to undertake anything energetic to build up the stamina, but the body needs to be in the best possible state to combat the disease. So, after just 20 minutes fishing which involves being stood up, knee deep in fast flowing water, constantly trotting a float, and feeding bait, I’m knackered!! One thing I had forgotten was how active minnows are in the summer! Apart from the minnows I found the only other species that was eager to feed was trout, and after catching this one for the second time I decided a change of venue was called for. A two minute drive followed by a five minute walk along the canal path found me with an hour to spare before pack up time so a few maggots were thrown in every 30 seconds or so whilst I had a drink and forced a bar of chocolate down before the trotting gear was again in use. A significant side effect of several of my medications is the change in behaviour of the taste buds. This one has hit me really hard, being a lover of all things edible, and drinkable! As a result, gone is the appetite, which has led to further weight loss, and rapidly disappearing is the liking for many old favourites, such as beer!! Most foodstuffs, and drinks, at times, taste either metallic, or too strong, or too salty, or all of those at the same time. My all time best beers, Fullers ESB and Theakstons Old Peculiar, I’d currently struggle to drink an egg cup full let alone a pint! I suppose looking on the bright side, at least the weekly shopping bill has gone down at bit! Anyway, back to fishing, the canal proved to be a tad more productive before the arrival of three barges in quick succession put the fish off the feed. Prior to their appearance I was able to catch several very nice roach, and dace, with the best of the session being a very chunky 9 ounces! I’d like to catch this one again in the winter when it has put on a bit of weight in the lead up to spawning time….mind you, I’d also like to be still fishing this coming winter!! Whilst my cancer currently seems fairly determined to prevent this, I am just as determined to try and make sure I get to write at least a few winter fishing blog entries! Postscript – I get home from fishing, to find a message on the answerphone, from the hospital, postponing todays appointment, ho hum….the bream will have to wait for another day.

My eldest daughter has just bought one, well, she's had it about a month....and it's currently back with the garage for the computers to be re-programmed !! As you say they are huge compared to the originals, my mum had one back in the late late 60's, great car, and one of these was the first car I ever drove, age 12 or 13, one of my friends lived on a farm and we used to drive his over the fields!

The one and only time I took something to the police station that might have been nicked there was no chance that I was going to get to keep it if not reclaimed, it was a 100 round belt of live .5 calibre ammunition Found it in some woods near where I lived, this was back in the early 70's. I've looked at the bumblebee site before, and like you say, sometimes cheaper than ebay, the only drawback I found was you have to collect....and I've never seen anything I want at a station closer than about 100 miles away!

A country that is feeling guilty about the debt owed to Greece at the end of WW2?

I'd agree, being outside in a natural environment can be very therapeutic, at times it is certainly a help to me in my current state! I do however think you have to temper it slightly as the possible scenario of being alone, outside, whether beside a lake or not, on a really bad day, could potentially lead to a dangerous situation.....I know this from experience. Sometimes I go fishing on my own, or out walking, and whilst I'm still sensible (some of my friends would dispute this!), there are others who may not be of the same level of thinking. So, if you are going to do the outdoors therapy, on your own, at least make sure someone knows where you are going to be and for how long!

Might be worth asking on here, https://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1202514 Looks like it is easy to get Aston Springs and Aston Park mixed up as well. I'll be interested to know how you get on, my brother-in-law lives just a couple of miles from there and I'm determined to get him fishing again...he hasn't been for several years!

Excellent writeup Rusty ! One major error in your opening day setup.....you have an open bottle of beer.....in direct sunlight !! Can't make out the label, but whatever it was, it should have been in a cooler location