31/12 Derwent

River was a bit higher than expected but water temp was a possitive 8 degrees...only downer was realising I'd left my headtorch at home. One barbel about 7lb at 5:15 but hard work unhooking/ rebaiting in the dark and called it a day at 6. Would have been worth staying a bit later but happy to have caught.

28/12 Trent

Met up with Mick for an overdue session we had planned for a while. Our first choice venue was still underwater but there was a couple of fishable pegs nearby. This stetch wasnt kind to me last season so hadnt fished it at all this time round. It proved to be tough going, with one fish caught between 3 of us in the end. Fortunately it was me that caught it, a zander of about 7lb. Not a bad evening to be out though, quite mild just wish a few more fish had shown.

26/12 Trent & Mersey Canal

Couldnt get to the Trent due to the flooding, so settled for the canal close to the river. Thought there might be a few fish sheltering from the high water, but not a bite. Theres usually a bit of a drop to the water level...

25/11 Trent

Not many places left fishable due to the high river levels. I found one swim just OK. Fishable but no fish. In that respect, no different to how its been almost every other time Ive been here...A dog walker did warn me that I should move due to the rising river level. I had plenty of space though.

20/11 Trent

1st choice of swim not practical due to wind and rain direction, ended up in an old favourite round the corner. A good afternoon perching, 5 over 2lb - I weighed the biggest 2 at 2lb 14 and 3lb 1oz. Only managed to photo the 1st one before the camera packed up though...

I had 2 zander, 9lb 2oz and a small one. Missed a few runs as well including 2 due to striking with the baitrunner on. Once would be bad enough but to do it twice is a bit retarded.

It got a bit quiter later on so I cast one rod a bit further out where I missed one take (one of the baitrunner errors). Recast and not long later had a fish on again. Expecting a small zander I was surprised to see it was a perch, 2lb 13oz. It had been properly dark for about 3 hours - 7.45pm. Ive had a couple of perch before on deadbaits but never at that time of night...

13/11 Trent

Quiet and bored at work so took the afternoon off and headed to the river armed with 5 rods, maggots, worms and deadbaits. Floatfishing awkward due to the flow and gave up after an hour or so to concentrate on 2 quiver tips. Lost a fish and caught a perch about 2lb and a bream.

The perch was followed in by a pike, I waited a while but as my right hand quiver hadnt seen a bite I swapped this for a deadbait. 1 bite, felt a fish then a snag. Retrieved all tackle. Cast to the same spot and the same thing happened. Cast to slightly different area and 3rd time lucky, landed this 15lb 7oz pike.

Moved swims at dusk and put 2 deadbaits out. 2 zander, not particularly big at about 4 or 5lbs. Hook up ratio not bad - 2 out of 3. All 5 rods used...

10/11 Trent

2 of us fishing 2 rods, various baits failed to register a bite...a familiar tale on this stretch, think Ive fished it 6 times now for a 9lb barbel and a small carp. Sure theres some big fish here so cant give up just yet...

07/11 Trent

A pleasant afternoon/ evenings fishing on the Trent...glad I waited the extra day for the weather to get a bit milder.
Started with a small perch on 1/2 a roach deadbait. the other half was took by something a bit bigger in the shape of a 19lb pike

I managed a decent perch on a more conventional bait of lobworm a bit later 2lb 10oz, before my predator hat-trick was completed with a 8lb 10oz zander

Didnt catch anything more, tried moving swims but quite content with my evenings fishing...

01/11 Trent

We had quite a bit of rain here in Derby Wednesday night, I hoped this had reached the Trent by Thursady evening so I raced down after work...but it was still at a normal level. I did get a small carp, a long skinny one, saved a blank at least (only about 5lb!). The river did rise later on in the evening looking at the environment agency website, I think I was just a bit too early.

30/10 Trent

Too much flow/ isotopes not bright enough to float fish. 2 legered deadbaits out, 1 quick bite and one proper one resulting in this zander of 8lb 9oz. Got cold and left earlier than planned...

25/10 Trent

Barbel fishing again, quiet as it always seems to be on this stretch. One fish of about 9lb. Im sure theres some very big ones here, might take a while to get one though...

23/10 Trent

New tactic to reduce missed runs...worked straight away with this pike of 15lb 1oz

The real reson for the new tactic (floatfishing with isotope float) was zander, the other rod had my old rig on and landed the only other take of the evening...not quite back to the drawing board but maybe my old tactics werent that bad after all

20/10 River Severn

10 of us met up for the annual Barbel Adventures forum 'Barbel Cup', semi competitive social/ barbel fishing match. These events have never been prolific, due in part to usually being in the middle of winter. This year on the Severn in October we thought there might be a better chance of a few fish. We did get a couple but that was all, both coming very early on. Was still a good day out, heres Leyton with the winning fish

09/10 Trent

Fished for barbel on one and deadbait on the other. Frustrating on the deadbait rod with missed runs, fish lost due to user error - striking with baitrunner on - and lost hooked fish that came off. One barbel, just after 9pm if I remember correctly and just under 12lb...11lb 15oz I think

01/10 Derwent

Late update of blog...cant remember too much about this eveing other than the fact I caught 1 barbel. Weighed either 10lb 0 or 10lb 1oz. Must get back into the habit of posting quicker...

02/09 Trent

First time on a new ticket. Everything looked spot on, nice colour to the river but failed to register a barbel (a few small fish on maggot before it got dark). Karma caught up with Jay who hit a bump on the track on the way out and ended up with a flat and a damaged wheel...

26/08 Derwent

Took a mate fishing on the river for the 1st time and the inevitable happened - he caught more and bigger fish than me.
I had the first barbel, estimated at 8lb but wished I'd weighed it now as it looks a bit bigger

Jay then took over, his first ever barbel weighing 12lb 9oz, he also had 2 more about 6lbs each...

14/08 Derwent

Fished one of the more popular pegs on the stretch but struggled a bit...2 fish in short succession, both chub about the 4lb mark. Not sure why its so popular here...

07/08 Derwent

Ended up fishing the swim where I caught my PB last year...and will probably fish it a few more times between now and the end of the season.
Went out with the intention of catching perch. Took a while to get a livebait, quite a slow start on the maggot feeder. Put a small chub out on the paternoster and sat back just fishing the one rod. Something had a go at it but it never hooked up, changed it for a dace which didnt get any attention at all. Surprised to not even get a visit from a pike. Crossed off the list of perch swims...
Put a barbel rod out later (well 2 eventually) and did get my 1st of the season, a good scrapper of 7lb 14oz (21:10).

25/07 Trent

The Trent had returned to near normal levels and fortunately only a couple of other people fishing a bit further upstream. And it wasnt raining for a change. Missed a fish early on suspect it was a bream. Then did catch a small bream, my first fish of the river season

Was getting the odd indication fish were about and just as it was getting towards dusk hooked into what I thought was my first barbel of the season. Turns out it wasnt a barbel but a carp of about 10-12lbs.

16/06 Derwent

16th June, 1st day of the season, conditions looked ideal for barbel fishing with the river up and coloured. Unfortunately it turned it out to be a big dissapointment, despite fishing a swim thats usually very good in those conditions failed to even register a bite.

14/03 Derwent

Another season ends, not been a bad one either. Had a few lean spells but not bad for barbel probably at the expense of all other species. One last try today saw 3 perch, the biggest 2lb 9oz. Did try for barbel as well at the end but nothing happening and it dropped pretty cold so decided to call it a day (season).

13/03 Derwent

First time out for a while and not much time left...

First swim very quiet apart from minnows but did notice a pike hanging about when I left so that may explain that. Second swim lost What looked to be a good perch before catching one of 2lb 8oz.

Quiet again before a pike took my minnow livebait, must have fancied a light snack.

Hopefully time for one last try...

23/02 Derwent

Worth waiting all week for the mild weather. Same swim again, going to leave it alone for while after tonight though. Forgot to note the time but 15lb 1oz barbel at about 6ish, the fish which holds the current Derwent record from earlier this year. Caught a smaller barbel of about 5lb and a chub at packing up time. To be honest, should have packed up after the 1st barbel...

16/02 Derwent

Same swim I fished I fished last time out, which was a while ago to be fair. Steady start with 2 chub and a small barbel (17:55) in the first hour. Slower end to the evening with no further fish caught.

25/01 Derwent

Success on the barbel front at last - it had to happen sooner or later. In my second swim of the evening, I noticed the tip of my right hand rod bent over. The alarm hadnt made a noise, I picked the rod up and felt the resistance of a fish on the end. Obviously not very big but on a barbel drought so made sure and played it carefully into the net...all 3lb of it.


Having returned one fish and sorting my rig out to re-cast, my other rod sprung to life and I was into a much more solid fish. Safely netted and weighing 13lb 0oz it was worth the wait. The fish came at 19:00 and 19:05.

23/01 Trent

Another quick one after work, somewhere I've not fished for a few years but a friend reported losing a couple of decent fish here recently so worth a try. Tried in 3 swims for the familiar resulting blank.

19/01 Derwent

Snatched an unproductive couple of hours after work on the (tough) local stretch. No fish, biteless again. Was able to hold out for 40 mins and an hour or so with my first couple of casts then a heavy squally shower/ micro storm passed over and changed things almost instantly. The swim became almost unfishable with debris attaching itself to the line moments after casting in. One possitive from the evening, noticed a new fishable swim for future blanking.

12/01 Derwent Trent

Sneaked the afternoon off work and back out to try and catch a fish. 1st stop off perch fishing on the Derwent. Constant bites from the off, only small fish though and the only proper one on the worm turned out to be a small jack. No takes on a small roach livebait.

Moved to the Trent later on and fished a deadbait and boilie (on separate rods obviously) and caught a chub. Not the prettiest I've ever seen - looks like its swam into a brick wall, but after my run of blanks it was more than welcome.

11/01 Derwent

Tried again on a stretch thats usually a bit easier just to try and catch something...

Arrived at 5.30 then at 6 something happened that I've not experienced for a while - fish on! Obviously a barbel, and the way it was fighting felt like a good fish. Plodding around, I was making slow but steady progress, although the fish was still taking line off a fairly tight clutch when it wanted. I had probably got it 2/3rds of the way in and I felt it turn and...that horrible feeling of realisation that it had come off.

Sat down gutted that I had lost my first fish for ages and it felt like a really good one, but then the ones that come off usually do.

10/01 Derwent

A change of river for the same result - another biteless blank. Time to fish some easier stretches...try somethng different at least.

01/01 Trent

Not been out fishing lately despite having a bit of time off work - Christmas and playing a lot of golf has been getting in the way. Same result as last time out, blank. No bites. Thought this area might be a good winter one, obviously not.