Extracts from the experiences of a river angler, mostly barbel, but with comment and musings about other species, river wildlife and associated topics. All pictures will enlarge if you click on them.

Instead of spotting fish and feeding them up with pellet or boilie bits, the murky waters of the Kennet respond to the baiting up and waiting game, where reliable swims are primed with twenty or more droppers of caster/hemp mix, and left to mature for an hour or more before casting in. Barbel cannot be seen, and knowledge of their regular haunts is vital. They will move fair distances to a bed of bait, and it is important to leave the baited area alone for at least an hour. The barbel gain confidence over this period, and imprint themselves on the feed, and a fish first cast is the sign that they have moved in. The Kennet barbel are just as unsettled as any others at this time of year, and may not have regrouped after spawning yet. So it proved, because after a fish within half an hour of casting in, the more important second fish soon after failed to show, which was a bad sign. Another hour and a half and a move was called for, and a second banker swim also failed to show any return after three more hours of baiting and fishing.

Third time lucky, and three fish to 11.15 saved the day in the last chance swim that is pretty reliable, but not my first choice on this stretch because it gets a lot of attention, and it is always more satisfying to fish some new or less pressured spots. The Kennet barbel were all fat and fit, and ranged from four pounds upwards. It seems that a good population range is still there, and although the big one was an obvious old soldier, it fought like crazy and was a chunky, healthy looking fish, that would have gone twelve in a strong wind!

I came across one of the older generation in the form of lovely thirteen and a half pounder that took a liking to some pellet and paste that I was flicking into likely looking spots on my travels. It emerged from under the weed, a great broad backed beast of a barbel that made me catch my breath as it cruised nonchalantly into the swim and munched casually on the loosefeed for a minute or two, before drifting off sedately, turning in the current to show off a deep flank and enormous tail. Fish of that size are not often spotted, and I took my chance and fed it well for a good while before casting in. It returned to the swim regularly, perhaps once an hour, but never really got its head down on the feed. Catching a couple of chub put it off, but I was back next day, and eventually the big barbel returned and dragged the rod over decisively out of the blue, whilst I was dreaming half asleep in the sunshine. The fight was not impressive, very slow and dogged and no long powerful runs, but the fish was a beauty, fin perfect and quite young-looking. It will put on a couple of pounds at least, and could touch sixteen pounds in the peak of condition later in the season. Big enough for me now, though, and a very heavy fish for the river at this time of year.

I am always walking the river in search of fish or likely spots, and find it hard to get near the river in places where cattle are treading the bank down in order to reach tasty rushes, or to have a drink. This process of poaching, as it is called, can have a serious effect on smaller streams, but there is an argument for fencing on bits of the Avon, where banks are collapsing or mud baths are being produced that will wash out in high water and release unwanted solids to produce silt and sediment on gravels. Natural England will be unimpressed by my problems with barbel spotting, or even access for fishing, but unnecessary bank erosion, that widens the channel and reduces flow, and extra sediments that could affect gravel spawners, are a valid concern.

Barbel need extra care too, and recovery in the net when landed and a lengthy recovery before release are essential at the moment. My barbel eventually came back as the sun paled and went red, and shot off strongly downstream for a good ten yards before I could stop him. He had looked bigger in the water perhaps eight or nine, but he was long and lean and went a bit over seven and a half. A very prettily coloured fish, and a typical golden Avon barbel, with a nice set of exceptionally long barbels; a nice specimen to start the season.

I wandered to a handy and previously reliable swim just on the inside of a bend, parted the rushes, peered expectantly in, and trickled in some bits of crumbled boilie and paste in a clear run in the streamer weed under the bank to see what happened. The sun was getting hotter on my back, but helpful in the process of spotting fish. The river is unusually low and clear for the time of year, and it looked as if seeing a barbel before July was on the cards. Some dark inquisitive shapes soon appeared, clearly mopping up the bait, but they were all chub. Then, a leaner, faster and apparently greedier fish nosed in. A barbel, maybe five pounds, but a barbel sighted on the first day was a real result. It is not uncommon to fail to catch a barbel on the Avon until July; they are hard to find until the water clears, and are usually scattered and unsettled so soon after spawning. I fed in some more bait, arranged a comfortable seating arrangement, sorted out the tackle, and went for a walk. No rush; let them have a feed and be content with a few bites and maybe even an opening day barbel.

The chub got there first, and after a few hours it was apparent that the barbel had been a loner, and catching chub after chub had put him off. He never came back as far as I could tell, but the chub kept coming. They are pretty greedy at this time of year, and seemed to be well recovered from spawning. After six chub, with four over five pounds, up to an honest 5.15, I had done enough and left well before dusk but with a plan to come back and see if the barbel would do the same, and perhaps bring some of his pals.

The river is a pacey, rocky bottomed affair, with plenty of rapids and smooth glides, and almost unfished. Even the stretches in the town parks at Confolens and St Junienne are mostly free of other fishermen. The barbel are not big, with a five pounder a notable fish, but the average three pounder tears off across the river like a carp, and most have not been caught before. The carp, on the other hand, will scream across to the other bank in seconds, and take some getting in on our light barbel gear. The barbel are breeding very well on the Vienne, with several year classes represented it seems. The little ones are good fun too, giving a fierce bite that belies their small size. There are silure, Wels catfish, as well, but fortunately we did not come across any. They are highly prized by the locals, and are apparently delicious.

It may be that the barbel are bigger in the lower reaches of the river, but they are certainly thriving and growing in the area we fished, and in a few years could reach the five kilo mark. They certainly like the pellet and feeder approach, and there is a world of exploring to do on the river.

The carp are viewed as a food source or as crude trophies by some, who kill and eat them, or take their heads as evidence of their prowess, leaving the carcasses on the bank to rot. The spawning carp in the margins were an easy target for a well aimed rock, and leapt upon and carried off to be gutted and presumably boiled or barbecued as a fishy treat. I heard tales of large catfish, well over a hundred pounds, filleted and loaded into vans by the river bank, and all quite legal in certain areas. There is no close season, and there are removal limits of six carp per day, and no limit on catfish in certain regions. Where we fished, the catfish removal limit is two per day, but carp are quaintly described as being "capture and loose", which I think means catch and release. Conservation will have to come to these fisheries as people increase in number and fish populations decline accordingly.

Our day ticket was a lovely example of the sort of poor translation text that we used to expect with electrical goods from the Far East. Carp; " Fishing in the modality of capture and loose the whole year, with the exception of allowing to maintain in the fish ponds the specimens fished in the contests during the duration of the proof. Prohibited the filleted of the fish captured in all of the enclosure area." Catfish; " 2 for fisherman/ day, minimal height 100 cms" We think minimal height means minimum length.

For two days we fished for roach, and had good bags of fish that were a bit lean and rangy after spawning, up to low twos, but nice fish that would be better targeted later in the year. There are lots of roach, and they go to over three pounds quite regularly, we are told. My first bite on the roach gear was a twenty five pound common, but I had enough line on the spool to tire him in the end. I also accidentally caught my first catfish, a most unwelcome creature, and it did not endear me to the species in any way.