October Cocktail - Ade Kiddell

This entry was posted on 17th October, 2017

So, the plan was to move to France, live by a river and go fishing whenever I wanted. Dreams are all very well, but the reality of the last few weeks has seen us working flat out both with repairs on the house and with plenty of visiting anglers keen to sample the great fishing in the area. But I’m far from complaining! How could I complain about living in the beautiful Ardennes, next to a river full of fish?

Missing my family and friends is one of the downsides, so when a group of anglers turn up from my home city of Norwich it’s a great chance to catch up on the talk of the city with a good mardle over a beer or two. I first met Jim just before I moved from Norwich to France, but after only a few minutes chatting he was looking forward to staying with us and bringing three of his mates, all keen anglers looking for some French fishing and good food in great company.



Once they’d arrived, a quick chat over a welcoming cuppa soon revealed the boys were chomping at the bit to wet a line and, although they were all experienced anglers, none of them had ever fished for barbel. Jim, along with Gary, Nigel, and Michael, soon picked up the basics and were keen to test their new-found knowledge. It didn’t take long for Gary to net the first of the many barbel they landed during their stay, alongside plenty of bream and chub. Fishing just basic rigs, beefed up for the barbel with swimfeeder tactics, the guys proved fishing doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated to be both productive and enjoyable. More importantly, the guys showed exactly what angling is all about; great sport in great company in a great location. Well done guys, you did it in style.

When I have managed to find the time to fish, I’ve been taking advantage of an interesting trend with bait that has accounted for a lot of my success this year. It started with a huge river carp back in April and only yesterday I had a decent barbel. What is this wonder bait, you might ask? Well, it’s what we called a cocktail in the old days. It’s simply two different baits used as a hook bait at the same time. Years ago, it was worm tipped with maggot or maybe some sweetcorn with worm. Lately, it’s been two different boilies for me, halved and then hair rigged. A pellet plus half a boilie works well too, or you could try either a pellet or a boilie tipped off with corn.



Why this should be so effective? I can only assume it looks more inticing if the cocktail is laid among a similar mix of free offerings that have been introduced to the swim beforehand. It may be down to simply offering something different and being different often pays off with handsome rewards. Don’t be a follower, be a leader and the rewards will come.

Someone else brave enough to lead and not follow of late was another Norwich boy I know, James, who spent over three weeks with us as part of a working holiday. James spent his days working with me around the house and garden but spent most of his nights bivvied up on the bank chasing a big river carp. His just reward came after a few nights in the shape of nice river carp which tipped the scales in the mid-twenties. It was a stunner and a real appetite-wetter for one of the biggies that inhabit the river – a forty is more than possible here, and a fifty is certainly achievable.



As the days went by, James’s confidence took a big hit after a couple of lost fish, lots of lost rigs, a broken net handle, and total exhaustion from lack of sleep while endless barbel, bream, and chub picked up the bait meant for carp. Not to be beaten, James stuck at the task. He tried some new spots, tried different baiting approaches, but all for no reward.

With only one night of his trip remaining, James was looking for some intervention and, after a drive along the river, decided to take a shot at a stretch he hadn’t fished before. It was to be his last stand. He chose an area where the river widens considerably, immediately downstream of a much narrower spot. The far bank had a couple of fallen trees to provide the necessary cover, and good old-fashioned watercraft helped him select just the right swim. James was in it to win it.



I left him just before dark with low air pressure and overcast skies and I had a hunch I might be called out of bed during the night to witness and weigh a fish. I didn’t even make it into bed when an excited James called me a little after 11pm with reports of a monster. With camera and scales in hand, I was more excited than James when he unzipped the recovery sling to reveal a true River Meuse monster of well over forty, maybe even past the magic fifty pounds.

It was an absolute brute of a fish, built like a sumo wrestler and as if a fish had been created purposely to be the perfect model of a carp. The scales settled at 46lbs 4oz! What a fish! It’s the best catch yet by any of our guests. Who Dares Wins! James stuck at it through some tough times for a great result in the end. For him, it was the fish of a lifetime but, saying that, he’s already planning a return trip to the Ardennes in the hope of tipping those scales past the fifty-pound mark…