Beautiful weather (at last) and the best thing about this time of year is the dusk that seems to last for hours... I fished the 3 or 4 hours of half-light and I didn't care that I couldn't get a bite, it was great just to be on the water.
Last cast, last few seconds of the last cast and I had the bite I've been waiting for... For nearly four months... The three foot twitch, the rod ripper... And I missed it! Crap!
Five more minutes then, and I didn't need them, next cast and the rod barely settled, and I hit this one. It was the fight that keeps me coming back and the bar of gold I craved (I'm not going to get obsessed with them this year, but I'm glad I've finally caught a barbel). Great stuff.
And as it turns out my first barbel of this season is the same fish as my last barbel from last season. It was 6lb 6oz today, slightly less than 6lb 14oz in March - A relatively small weight fluctuation of a (fully grown?) male compared to a female...
At last....Well done Brian. Still waiting jyself but to be fair not really tried that hard for a barbel as yet.
ReplyDeleteHad another plan to hunt a specimen in another species which could be easier to target and just as interesting.
Thanks Stew, breathing a sigh of relief... Pike next!
DeleteBrian.
ReplyDeleteI'm too am fishing for barbel right now. But after two trip am fishless. Log on to my blog and see?
www.thedeepeningpool.blogpsot.com
Looks good, I'll read through when I get a sec, and add it to the related blogs.
DeleteGood luck today.
I think you mean:
http://thedeepeningpool.blogspot.co.uk/
...once you've learnt, you never forget! ... How about catching that same barbel again in a few months time... on the last day of the 2013/2014 season, to round it off?
ReplyDeleteollie
Few months? Last day? We've got eight more months yet... Hopefully that's going to be a ton of barbel and pike!
DeleteGreat start Bri I'm sure more evenings will now be spent on the water.
ReplyDeleteThanks. Yeah got to find the time from somewhere, they won't catch themselves!
Delete