I had been wanting to spend a few hourson the River Dane , it had been on my mind
to have a few casts and this afternoon I found
myself with a few hours .
I packed the gear up and made a quick dash
to the waters edge.
The spot I picked as always produced in winter
but today really felt like Spring .
The neck of this pool as very fast water , then
the river bends the water deepens and the pace
is taken out ,the river though small as little
swirling creases and you can fish several lines
each holds food so by feeding the fast water at
the neck you can guarantee a little feed on each
run.
The first half hour or so brought a few little Chuband even the Minnows , thankfully not too many.
The rod soon arched into a better fish a Chub
over a pound.
The next run brought a solid bang after a good
few minutes the fish found a snag ,it was a good
fish , time to step the tackle up .
I was glad I did!!
I now put a 0.14 hook length on it's the new lineI've been trying it's about 7lb which is needed
when you hit a big fish in fast snagy water .
The float made it's way downstream , every now
and again I held the line back , slowing the bait and
allowing it to raise and flutter , I almost imagine
the river bed , and what the bait is doing .
It was just as I allowed the float to carry on it's way
that it dipped , the fish came upstream , I had learned
from the last fish lifting the rod instead of side strain .
This also tested my Normark rod out and it soon
had the fish under controle several last lunges
and she was in the net .
A perfect Barbel in great condition I would say getting
towards 8lb deep bronze and very broad a cracker for
this little river .
Unfortunately I was now loosing the light on what was
a lovely evening .
6 comments:
Fantastic Barbel Tony,well done.:)
I was wondering if you would be renewing your licence.
Some stretches of the Dane seem to be available on the fly when the course season finishes.Could be worth exploring!
It was spot on, I would have given you a bell but it was a bit last minute, I lost a better fish but the water pressure means after the first couple of big runs they come in a lot easier than a Ribble fish of the same size . Not sure if the Dane is open for fly will e-mail them , spoke to a bloke who had two good trout on pellet. Yes thought I would get the card again fished that stretch for years, and even though I only fished it around a dozen times last year it still works out at less than £5 a visit,thats well worth it for the Grayling alone, it's a great river to learn how fish behave , like the shoal of Grayling we watched, you can do the same with Chub and Barbel . Maybe we could get one last visit before the season ends?
If you look at your licence there are at least a couple of stretches of the Dane you can fly fish from march 15th.Not your favourite stretch though which shuts completely for the close season.
Unfortunately I won't be able to get on soon as very busy at work and already have plans to fish a competition on the 8th March.You know where we will be on the 15th don't you!!!
The other stretches may be worth a go I have had a quick cast in both although the river was a little high they looked interesting only had Chub but Grayling are in the viaduct stretch.
Yes Mike told me about your three fly challenge,Three cats whiskers and whip the water into a froth :)
Oh yes cant wait for the 15th should be very interesting weather permitting.
That barbel looks as though it enjoys a pellet or two !!
Great fishing though.
You're going to crease up laughing when you see the flies i've tied for this 3 fly challenge - if i dont catch trout on them then i'll bag up on mackeral later in the summer :)
Sure they will be OK just strip um fast so the trout dont get a close look :)
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