The Sessions - Jan 2025
Monster Barbel
Christmas and New Year has come and gone and we’re into another new fishing year with much to look forward too, but it seems as I get older the years slip by very quickly and I can’t believe as I sit writing this piece, we are into February already…crazy!!
December was a lean month with a good fish early on and then not much else to report due to cold weather and not getting out as much as I’d have liked. Christmas week was a lot warmer and with a cold snap due I knew I had to get out on New Years Day.
1 January 2025 – River Lea, Kings Weir
It had been very warm over Christmas and bad weather was forecast for New Years day with a cold snap with freezing temps and snow due on the 2nd so I knew I had to go, I’m convinced fish know when the weather is going to change and feed accordingly, over the years I’ve had good fish on these changes to many times for it to be coincidence.
The forecast for New Years day was 50 mph winds and heavy rain from the south west but crucially the temp was still very mild at 9-10 degrees. I’d been told by my pal Sam the section was going to be busy with possibly seven people coming on, so I planned to get there early to secure the swim I wanted. December had been very kind to some with seven different fish being caught and all from an area covering approx. 50m, I wanted to avoid that area and fish upstream in slightly deeper water so left home in the rain and arrived at 11:00 to find only two cars in the car park, perfect!
I quickly got the waterproofs and wellies on and walked down the section with a shelter and my chair, to my delight the section was empty, and the two cars belonged to anglers fishing in the weir swims. The wind was already building up and the rain hammering down as I walked to my chosen swim, set up the day shelter and got my chair underneath, I then walked back to the van for the tackle.
By the time I got back to the swim the wind was wild and strong and had turned the shelter inside out, luckily it was fixable, so I sorted it out, double pegged some of the peg loops and got the rod sorted.
I planned to fish with casters and hemp and started leading the swim for the right spot and found a slightly deeper spot at 6 feet with lovely clean gravel, once I was happy, I bait dropped two pints of each onto the spot in the pouring rain. The rod was ready and set up with my usual fluorocarbon boom and braid rig, set at 12” long with three fake casters on the hair.
With the swim set up and the swim primmed I sat back under the shelter and realised my waterproofs had let me down and I was soaked through, and it was still pouring down, fortunately I had got a change of clothes and a warmer coat so I made a brew and waited for the rain to ease a little before rushing back to the car to change. I got back to the swim without getting too wet and lowered the rig into place at approx. 13:00 and then sat there holding onto the shelter for dear life but feeling very confident.
The wind was hammering the shelter and the rain coming down side ways and blowing inside the shelter as the wind was so strong, it wasn’t comfortable but great conditions to out fishing, it was warm and I had plenty of food and hot drinks to keep me going.
I checked the rig at 16:00, there was no visible Crayfish actively and the hook was clear of any debris, so I lowered it back on the spot and dropped another pint of each caster / hemp through the swim, this time by hand to create a trail of bait and scent.
By 18:00 the rain had stopped, and the wind had eased enough for me to be able to sit comfortably and unsurprisingly in the conditions no one else had turned up so I had the whole section to myself and my confidence continued to grow.
At approx. 19:00 the level started to come up and rose by 6” quite quickly and the air temp felt warmer possibly due to the wind dropping, and this is where I had one of my instinctive feelings, I’ve written many times about this and always stress you should trust them and go with it, so I did.
I felt I should change my rig to meat, even after the swim prep I felt it was the right thing to do so set up a rig with 12” of 16lb Mirage fluorocarbon to a size 8 Talon Tip hook. I threaded a kicker onto the hair and pulled it into the meat, this stops the line cutting through the meat and will keep it on for multiple casts. I swapped the rigs on the rod and lowered it onto the spot and then put a pint of casters through the swim by hand.
There was debris coming down as the water was rising and I had to reset the rod once due to a big load of dead weed on the line but I was holding on the spot with a 3oz lead.
I had the delkim turned right down just relying on the light and the clutch and sat watching the isotope when at 21:25 all of a sudden it shot round and the tight clutch started peeling of line, I was sat right by the rod and quickly picked up and leant into a dead weight. For a second or so I though “oh no it could be a big branch” and then I felt a lunge as the fish tried to move downstream. With over hanging trees both sides of the river I had to apply pressure to turn the fish my way and it tested the Hi S 2lb test curve to the limit but with balanced tackle I was very confident the fight would go my way and very slowly I moved the fish back upstream and in front of me. I don’t mind admitting I was nervous though, with shakey legs, there are some huge fish in Kings Weir and I was sure I had one on, in these moments you have to tell yourself to keep calm and play the fish in your usual manner. I got the fish in front of me and it made one final lunge to the far back over hanging trees so again I applied enough pressure to turn her and she was beaten and on the surface and looked huge! You know they are big when you struggle to get them in a 30” pan net, and that’s when I knew, without lifting her out I’d got one of the big girls.
I secured the net so the fish was comfortable and resting while I sorted the weighing and photography equipment and then did what I always do with a special fish, I rang Julie to share the moment and there is no better person that the women you love. We had a facetime celebration and even though it was dark, she got to see how big the fish was, and she knows how much I wanted that fish so a very special moment shared together.
I then got the fish out and into the sling and the scales settled at 19-14, unbelievable and a massive monster Barbel, I was stunned. I did a minute of video footage and four photos and then thought Andrew, the fishery owner, would want to see her as he keeps records of all the fish captures, so I put her into a retention sling and back into the water and rang Andrew. He came down 15 minutes later and recognised her, a fish that had not been seen for a year and the fourth over 19 pound in the last few weeks, what an incredible fishery! I slipped her back and we watched her melt back into the darkness to carry on growing and I’m sure this will be another that will go over the magical 20 pound at some point soon.
Wow…..19-14 😃
I carried on until midnight more in celebration than hope, one bite in a session is brilliant on KW, two is a lottery winning session😊
The cold snap arrived with very cold weather, frost and snow, the rivers all came up making most unfishable and it was a good time to be on my ten day stretch at work.
I did get back on KW for two more day / evening sessions towards the end of the month and tried different areas without success.
The stunning KW
I did one overnight trip on the Trent for Zander and missed a classic Zed take early in the evening and then nothing more before packing up mid-morning.
Tidal Trent
That brought an end to my January fishing, a one fish month but what a fish and one I’ll remember for many years to come 😊, until next month, tight lines and be lucky 😊
Monster Barbel!!
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