photo-album3

QUITE CERTAIN THAT EELS WERE NOT THE CULPRITS. AT ABOUT 01.15 I SUGGESTED HE REPLACE HIS BIG TO HIM, MATCHBOX SIZE BIT OF MEAT. WITH A PROPER BIG BIT, HALF A TIN. AND ATTACH A LIGHT BOBBING TO THE ROD, WHICH I GAVE HIM.
AT 0130 UP WENT THE BOBBING, ABOUT 01.37 DAVE LANDS HIS PERONAL BEST!
THE ANGLING MEDIA REPORTED BUMPER CATCHES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS/NIGHTS AROUND THAT FULL MOON. BARBEL BAGS TO 160LB+, BREAM BAGS TO OVER 300LB!
SO MUCH FOR THE FULL MOON BEING BAD FOR SPORT. AS I SAY WITHOUT THE MIST/DEW THIS CAN BE ONE OF THE BEST PHASES.
IT IS STILL ONE OF MY AMBITIONS TO GET A DOUBLE IN THE H.P PERIOD AROUND FULL MOON.

WHENEVER THE FIRST FEW DAYS OF THE SEASON FALL ON PEAK MOON DAYS WE SEE THIS REFLECTED IN THE ANGLING PRESS, WITH BUMPER CATCHES. WE ALSO SEE SOME "EXPERTS" TRY TO FORECAST THIS BASED ON HOW "SOCK ON" THE RIVERS LOOK. WHEN THE START FALLS ON GRIM DAYS THEY THEN COME UNSTUCK! THEN WE SEE EXCUSES LIKE, "ITS BEEN TOO COLD THE BARBEL ARE STILL IN THIER SPAWNING GROUNDS" AND "THEY HAVE NOT GOT USED TO ANGLERS BAITS YET"!

On friday night (1st) we had a bit of a frost, saturday
Sunday the 3rd saw "IDEAL" conditions warm, nice colour in the rivers and total cloud cover.
The Hereford club match on the Wye was won with 6lb! Everyone wondering why sport was so poor . We had the added downer of mist as well as a grim moon day.
The general consensus on the internet was of bewilderment, and struggling to find an excuse for sundays poor sport!
Monday in what you could say were worse conditions, the river now clear and the day generally brighter, I bag up. The first of the good moon days! There was no mist on the drive to Hereford.
I had sussed that the set period would be late something like 10.00 to 13.00, point A (diagram lunar cycles page) at 12.55 would be the end peak, and was the main point I was concentrating on. (The rise period would be approx 22.30 to 0130. rise at 0100 on 5th).
Fishing from about 09.00 with a feeder and maggots into a hole full of barbel, the rod remained motionless untill 11.14, it then banged and lurched over, picking the rod up straight away I knew it was a good fish, it took a full 15 mins to net and went 10.2. Then followed several small chub, at 12.47 the wind really got up, and at 12.48 the rod lurched over, virtually smack on point A and a mirror of the blokes 10.12 last year from upton!
This one went 10.1 and was the first time I had taken 2 doubles in a session from the Wye.
The wind then went flat and shortly after in the dead spell a 5.3 chub obliged (pic bottom left) followed by a trout, the maggots were also being chewed up by small stuff. Going by the mirror carp I took at upton
last march around 15.50 would be the next point.
This too proved right with an 8.8 at 15.54, so just why did'nt this opportunist barbel or another pick up my hookbait during the dead spell of 3 hours, previously worked out? It was followed by another 5lb+ chub (5.1) then a chub a chuck and I soon got fed up with that so just on dark packed up (just seeing in that "lighting up point"). Another event that was poignant to this session was the arrival of a mate just after 14.00. He had just cycled down the rowing club stretch and said the anglers were catching roach until about 13.00, according to them the bleak then moved in and were beating the roach to the baits. Right on cue for the dead spell, Roach and bleak rarely within the same periods. You may take the odd bleak between a bag of roach, but if bleak are avidly feeding roach wll not be. Come 15.54 mysteriously the Roach would have switched back on, the anglers would then be saying they "had fed off the bleak" that is each angler simultaneously along the whole stretch, and feeding differently.

A VERY BIG BARBEL FLANKS IN THE RIVER LUGG, THIS FISH IS ABOUT 15 METERS AWAY AND UNDER 5FT OF WATER ENLARGE

DAVE WITH HIS P.B. THIS ONE CAME AT 01.30 ON OPENING NIGHT. UNDER A BIG BRIGHT FULL MOON. MANY DOUBLES WERE CAUGHT BETWEEN ABOUT OO15 AND 01.35. CONDITIONS WERE IDEAL, NO MIST OR DEW, RARE AROUND FM. DAVE WAS EXPERIENCING FINICKY PLUCKS AND PULLS, WHICH HE PUT DOWN TO EELS.

JUNE 16TH 2000, FM, H.P 00.20, 10LB 11OZ

FEB 13TH 2002, NM+1 SET 18.22, 12LB 6OZ

This Wye fish came at 17.02, the crunch point for the start of the set period for new moon in february. End point approx 3 hours later at 20.00. The river was bank high and this fish came from a stretch not known for barbel (above Hereford!)a friend had a 12.14 from the ouse at 17.00! On the 11th nm-1, the point was at 15.30, set at 16.02. I must invest in a dam camera to rod rest adaptor! Note the old mk1v

8.8 sept 5t 1967. Kennett at Fobney

Me aged nearly 10, this was nm+1, my second barbel. It came somewhere between 15.00 and 15.30. End of H.P period
My father then had a big chub in the dead spell

GEAR
ROD:MK1V, 11FT GLASS
REEL:GRICE/YOUNG C/P
LINE: 20LB DYNEEMA BRAID
HOOKLENGTH: 15LB CARPSILK
HOOK: SIZE 8 STRONG CARP
BAIT: 1.5 PINTS MAGGOTS
FREEBIES: NONE BAR MAGGOTS FROM FEEDER

RIVER WYE, 10.2, MARCH 4TH 2002 FISH AT 11.14

LQ-2 SET 09.15, L.O 16.55, RISE 01.00 0N 5TH

GEAR, AS FIRST FISH EXCEPT ROD WHICH WAS A 10FTS/U MK1V GLASS
II HAVE KEPT THIS IN HIGH RESOLUTION SO YOU CAN SEE HOW LOW AND CLEAR THE RIVER WAS, AND HOW BRIGHT THE DAY.

Returned to a different part of the river on thurs 7th, a bloke from essex was in the prime barbel peg and he said he had one and lost 3 in snags. There was also a bloke fishing from the other bank.
Again looking at peak activity near the now advanced point A which was at about15.20.
deciding on maggot feeder on one rod and a lump of meat on another. Starting at about 12.30 two small barbel were landed about 5lb each by the two other anglers.
About 12.45 a bloke turns up to fish the prime peg (he'd be lucky)! He informed me that on sunday he did'nt have a bite in it. Despite barbel being opportunists!
15.34 and the wind picks up the most it had all day and over goes my feeder rod, the fish put up one hell of a scrap, at first sight I thought it could go 10, it did'nt, 9.8.
The wind then went totally flat, no more bites to me in the ensuing dead spell untill dusk when I packed in. The bloke in the prime peg had two small barbel of 1-2lb in this.

This "royalty" chub of 4.2
was my first proper chub. Again in 1967.
What I recall most about this was that it was "in the dead spell". I was messing about with a

float and maggots, in the corner to my right catching bleak. There was this chub and another which looked twice this size! Scoffing the maggots I threw in, every one bar the one on the hook! Every so often a huge perch appeared and had a go at the bleak I was "SNATCHING" Then this chub slipped up.

GEAR
ROD: PETER WHEAT GLASS AVONMASTER
REEL:AVON CROWN MAJOR C/P
LINE: 20LB FIRELINE
HOOKLENGTH:15LB MICROBRAID
HOOK: SIZE 10 ANIMALSPADE
BAIT: 1 PINT MAGGOTS
FREEBIES: COUPLE DROPPERS HEMP

march 14th 2001, lq-2,set 08.50,L.O 16.30,rise 00.20 15th

This one came close to L.o at 15.50 on the last day of the season at upton on severn, you will notice that the time of capture in relation to transit time is virtually the same as the LQ Double figure barbel in photo-album2. And the ones opposite. The first thought was some monster barbel had picked up the maggots, it did not scream off like the usual river carp do but hugged the bottom and went upstream it was such a heavy weight in the strong current but managed to turn it, and after about a 6 minute battle the culprit surfaced, 16.10 of slimey lower severn carp. My first thought was why were you not a Barbel!
An angler downstream took a barbel of 10.12 at 12.45, this is actually the end of set point for lq-2 in march. The first thought was that it did not tie in to the moon idea, so made a mental note to check the point the same moon day in 2002. Point A (diagram lunar cycles page)halfway between set and l.o was at 12.40.
Checked it out and as thought it was a moon point, resulting in a wye 10.1, opposite. And a 10.2 earlier in the session!
You can also see how this carp mirrors the start of l.o point, with the 8.8, in the same write up. As stated on the home page "what goes around comes around"! If you catch or see a fish caught and it appears to be not moon triggered, because it is hours from a point, do not disregard it all fish are moon triggered.

THE DEAD SPELL 5.3 CHUB