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Time On The Trent - Darryn Stolworthy
Justin picked me up around 4pm, loaded the van and set off on the boring 2 1/2 hr A47/A17 trip; we stopped halfway to grab a coffee from McDonald’s, and by about 6.30pm we were making our way down the bumpy track running parallel to the river.
There were only two other anglers on our side, and no one on the other, so we were spoilt for choice as to where to go, but we decided on a bit where it narrowed slightly below a large sweeping bend!
I decided not to put too much bait out and fish one rod with a bag of chopped and whole bookies and a boilie as hookbait on one rod; the other, I fished with a maggot feeder. It was bite and chuck on the maggot rod until it got dark, mostly dace to about 8oz. Once it was dark I changed that rod over to much the same as the first rod but with smaller baits.
Not a touch during the night. Justin had a barbel of about 9lb a couple of hours after daylight, but we’d moved across the other side by then, as the swim look easier to fish from there.
About an hour later I was set up in the front of the bend and both rods were out on bigger baits. Just after lunchtime my upstream rod slammed over and I was into my first fish - gave me a right run around, but after 5 or 6 minutes I got it in the net: 9lb11oz. I took a couple of pictures, and slipped it back.
Nothing much happened for the rest of the day, I changed one of the rods back to maggot feeder for an hour or so and caught a number of dace and a roach, nothing big but lovely looking fish. Justin picked up another barbel mid afternoon after losing a much better fish an hour earlier. As it got dark I started getting bream, but these soon stopped: then about 1am I’d just shut my eyes and the upstream rod slammed over again; they don’t half pull back up here. It felt a better fish than the one I’d had earlier and it was – 11lb 2oz, well pleased with a double. I didn’t bother Justin for a picture, he was sound asleep! l did a couple of self takes and put it back.
No more fish came my way that night or the next morning and by 11am we were on our way back home.
A couple of weeks later I went back to the Trent, fished a different area than the last couple of trips, I was only there for the night and morning. I fished both rods on boilies from the off, fishing one upstream and the other downstream. Just on dark the bream started on the downstream rod, and for an hour, as soon as I’d cast out a bream would hang itself. No bites after that initial hour until 8am when the upstream rod slammed over. At first I thought it’d got caught on the boat that’d just motored through my swim but it was a fish and it felt a good one too, it was a good scrap but it didn’t feel like a barbel, and after a few minutes I had a nice mid double mirror carp in the net. That was all the action I had, and I was on my way back home by 11am.
A week later Justin and myself had a day on Grafham booked. Justin had some nice perch to about 2lb and I managed just small pike. Good fun, despite getting beaten up by the wind and having to take cover from thunderstorms throughout the day.
The following week we went back up to the Trent; we fished the same area where we went a few weeks before, so I was confident of a fish or two. OMG! My swim must have been paved with bream, every cast I made resulted in a bream! Both rods, all night! Justin managed a river best barbel for himself and amazingly no bream! We packed up by late morning and made our way back to Norwich very exhausted.
The following week I didn’t get out fishing but had an evening in the garage getting the pike rods ready. making traces. The boat was taxed and insured and ready to go, just needed pike! Easy! I’ll let you know what happened next time.
