Big Barbel Practice (River Dane)

The baby has arrived and she's a real cutie.

I've snuck out for a few hours though and thought I'd have a look at the Dane on the Lymm Card, where I did quite well on the chub at the back end of last season. It's not really an attempt at anything because I know the river is going to be lower than a snake's belly and as clear as a clear thing. However, I've been wanting to have a crack at fishing with hair rigged casters over hemp in clear water to see if it gets the barbel going like Jordan on an Ibiza trip.

The river is lower than I thought, so results aren't going to do any method justice. I tried a new deeper swim opposite a tree on a right angle bend, which was probably a mistake, as it was at the back end of a large pool with limited water to draw from - school boy error really. Anyhow, I gave it a good go for a couple of hours, with superglued casters on the hair.

A nice surprise Grayling of about a pound and a small chub were the only fish landed. Plenty of shelled casters suggested that the fish were perfectly happy to pick up four glued together, but the old barbel rod let me down a bit on nailing the bites. I'll be giving it another go though. Now, back to feed the midget hungry hippo at home and plot my next trip...

Mr Fish