I’ve recently been on the Hampshire Avon and enjoyed its delights, but I’ve just returned from the river Trent, which I have to say, has thrilled me more.
Like the Avon, it seemed bursting with fish, and high quality ones at that.
The first day, fish came from three different swims and day two, both swims I tried produced bites most casts. Day three was the epic... four casts, one missed bite, one big chub, and two barbel (one a 'double') and then it was home time for a very satisfied angler. But, once again, I have to ask why there is such a super-abundance of fish here on the Trent, as there was on the Avon, whilst on most upper Norfolk rivers any single fish is gold.
Whilst the history of the Trent has not been pollution-free, I guess there is far less insidious agricultural run-off, far less abstraction and very probably less predation impact in a bigger, deeper river than, say, the Wensum.
It’s a vicious circle. Because the Trent has lots of fish, then there are lots of anglers and cormorants have no peace. Because the Norfolk rivers have few fish, there are few, if any, anglers and the cormorants have free rein to hoover what fish remain and are coming through. That last thought is important. For 30 years, we have seen scattered shoals of Wensum roach in the 4-10oz class but, come the end of the winter period, they are completely gone.
There’s no doubt that my fine time was made possible by all the local knowledge and help I received (thank you, Mark). I found myself mentored by some of the top matchmen on the river and learned how to put a 6ml pellet on a band (!) amongst other things equally delicate and fiddly. All fascinating and the odd barbel served to save my blushes and preserve my fragile reputation. I’m quite sure a lot of the instruction I received will serve me well in the future and I’m immensely grateful.
However, that third day I was on my own, on a different stretch and found myself at liberty to pursue my own style of approach. Off went the small hooks and on went a size 2. Off went the casters, maggots and tiny pellets and on went fist-sized slabs of Spam!
The bites all but wrenched the rod out of my trembling hands and never once did I have to wait more than four minutes for a take to erupt! I believe the lesson is always to take local advice and to learn from generous hosts, BUT don’t always jettison methods that have served you in the past and in which you have confidence. As in life, as in angling: a harmonious balance generally sees you through.
Now an ode to barbel. What a species! These Trent fish sported the usual vividly coloured fins, pectorals especially, but they were more silver-bodied than any barbel I had seen in the net before. The glorious bronze, gold and flaming red combination is scintillating on Wye, Avon and one-time Wensum fish, but these bullets of silver barbel I have to admit are equally gobsmacking. And when it comes to the battle, then all barbel give every last shred of themselves in their refusal to surrender, ever! In the 80s, I was salmon-obsessed, but in my honest opinion, the barbel is the king of fish’s equal.
In short, it’s woeful that Norfolk anglers pretty much are forced to travel if barbel are their target. Any one of these Trent shoals must have contained 10 times the number of barbel that live in the entire county and that’s a devastating comment on our rivers and their so-called management.
Ten years ago, the Environment Agency stocked the Wensum with barbel of a few ounces and hardly any grew to adulthood, because of predation. One or two great anglers, like Graham Gamble, postulated the idea of bringing baby barbel along in captivity until they reached three pounds or so and could be relatively safely released into the wild. Personally, I thought this was a great idea then and nothing has changed my mind since.
It’s a thrilling thought that if we could have Norfolk barbel numbers back again, perhaps even on a par with those on the Trent, then we’d have anglers back river fishing in force and the true glories of our sport could be enjoyed by all. If the EA want to invest our money in a sound, popular project at long last, perhaps they could resurrect Graham’s idea and give it proper consideration?
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