BlueMoonRisin’
Well-Known Member
An update on how I'm doing.
I managed to get my brakes done and then I had to put my tackle in the car, not been for a month so i had gear all over the place, time was pressing on. I got a call from the hospital my mum is in as she had a fall last week.
Doctor says she has developed a chest infection and asked if he could ask me questions seeing as I'm her carer and eldest son. He said she has an irregular heartbeat and if she were to get worse should the do CPR on her. Her being 88 and frail i said no because it could cave her ribs in and i don't want her to endure any excess pain and suffering. I asked him if she was deteriorating and he said no but he needed to ask. This left me feeling anxious and worried, especially not being able to visit her on that ward.
I got on the road 2 and I knew I'd be arriving in darkness as I had a detour to a Butchers in Barnsley for the best pork pies in the country. Percy Turner In Jump(Google it) do hot meaty pork pies in peppery jelly, pastry is delicious. I arrived there and bought a family pork pie some sausage and (bacon and half a dozen eggs see what i did there; ) and set off for the last 50 miles.
Got to Dunham bridge about 5pm and rang my mate Lee who was already fishing. We joined the club together and he's as mad as i am to go fishing in any weather. He talked me through finding our club stretch as it's well off the beaten track.
He'd been fishing two rods for a few hours and he said he lost an absolute beast in the afternoon which was encouraging, he said it just steamed off downstream and chafed his line over a hidden boulder. Unlucky mate.
As DD is fully aware, the tidal Trent is is often unforgiving with steep flood banks and slippery access to the waters edge. Todays tide is only a couple of foot extra water at high tide but it can be as high as 2M I'm told.
Had a chat with Lee about our chances of catching and he said the atmospheric pressure is really high so that is not a good sign. The weather forecast said it would drop to 5 degrees early hours which is getting near to no barbel biting temperature. Not good.
But he like me are here for 2 nights whatever the weather and it's just above freezing right now in a pea soup fog! He said the weather forecast was overcast which Is ideal as it keeps the dreaded frost at bay. It was about 6pm when the sky cleared but shortly after seeing the moon and bright stars thick fog descended like something out of a horror film, really spooky. But I'd have to be confronted by someone as ugly as snorky before i get a panic on; )
Setting up camp In front of my car headlights isn't easy so it took me quite a while longer than usual to get settled. I forgot my buzz bars for my tripod so I've had to put both rods on separate bank sticks which I'm not happy about. Barbel bites are most often savage takes so if your rods set up right or if the bait-runner isn't set then it's often goodbye to the rod and reel when they get dragged in on a take. I am fussy on how i set my river tripod up and it's a solid bit of kit when the 3 leg spikes are pushed into the ground. I have heavy-duty bank sticks but because I set the rods at about a 30° angle on extended poles the rods can flex under a savage take and last thing i want is my rods being dragged in.
Because i arrived late i didn't cast out till about 10pm so i haven't done any prebaiting. Just fishing a simple running rig to PVA bags loaded with 4mm halibut pellets with broken and crushed boilies with an 18mm monster crab boilie on.
I cast my top rod in no problem to around 25M just shy of the main flow. 4oz leads on. When I have a heavy lead or feeders on I always grab the line just before the butt ring and pull it a foot or so to make sure that it's free of a potential tip wrap round. It felt free so i aimed for the silhouette of a big tree downstream and "crack", my fuckin' rig plopped in the water. Couldn't be arsed tying another rig on so i got in my bivvy and turned stove on for some heat and a much needed brew. I settled down and did a little reading before falling asleep. Woke up early hours for a pee and another brew and heard Lee's alarm bleeping. I walked over to him about 50m away asking if he had a fish on but it was weed jamming on the line.
7:20am and it's still pitch black and freezing fog. I think i must be mad, did i say mad: / Lol.
I managed to get my brakes done and then I had to put my tackle in the car, not been for a month so i had gear all over the place, time was pressing on. I got a call from the hospital my mum is in as she had a fall last week.
Doctor says she has developed a chest infection and asked if he could ask me questions seeing as I'm her carer and eldest son. He said she has an irregular heartbeat and if she were to get worse should the do CPR on her. Her being 88 and frail i said no because it could cave her ribs in and i don't want her to endure any excess pain and suffering. I asked him if she was deteriorating and he said no but he needed to ask. This left me feeling anxious and worried, especially not being able to visit her on that ward.
I got on the road 2 and I knew I'd be arriving in darkness as I had a detour to a Butchers in Barnsley for the best pork pies in the country. Percy Turner In Jump(Google it) do hot meaty pork pies in peppery jelly, pastry is delicious. I arrived there and bought a family pork pie some sausage and (bacon and half a dozen eggs see what i did there; ) and set off for the last 50 miles.
Got to Dunham bridge about 5pm and rang my mate Lee who was already fishing. We joined the club together and he's as mad as i am to go fishing in any weather. He talked me through finding our club stretch as it's well off the beaten track.
He'd been fishing two rods for a few hours and he said he lost an absolute beast in the afternoon which was encouraging, he said it just steamed off downstream and chafed his line over a hidden boulder. Unlucky mate.
As DD is fully aware, the tidal Trent is is often unforgiving with steep flood banks and slippery access to the waters edge. Todays tide is only a couple of foot extra water at high tide but it can be as high as 2M I'm told.
Had a chat with Lee about our chances of catching and he said the atmospheric pressure is really high so that is not a good sign. The weather forecast said it would drop to 5 degrees early hours which is getting near to no barbel biting temperature. Not good.
But he like me are here for 2 nights whatever the weather and it's just above freezing right now in a pea soup fog! He said the weather forecast was overcast which Is ideal as it keeps the dreaded frost at bay. It was about 6pm when the sky cleared but shortly after seeing the moon and bright stars thick fog descended like something out of a horror film, really spooky. But I'd have to be confronted by someone as ugly as snorky before i get a panic on; )
Setting up camp In front of my car headlights isn't easy so it took me quite a while longer than usual to get settled. I forgot my buzz bars for my tripod so I've had to put both rods on separate bank sticks which I'm not happy about. Barbel bites are most often savage takes so if your rods set up right or if the bait-runner isn't set then it's often goodbye to the rod and reel when they get dragged in on a take. I am fussy on how i set my river tripod up and it's a solid bit of kit when the 3 leg spikes are pushed into the ground. I have heavy-duty bank sticks but because I set the rods at about a 30° angle on extended poles the rods can flex under a savage take and last thing i want is my rods being dragged in.
Because i arrived late i didn't cast out till about 10pm so i haven't done any prebaiting. Just fishing a simple running rig to PVA bags loaded with 4mm halibut pellets with broken and crushed boilies with an 18mm monster crab boilie on.
I cast my top rod in no problem to around 25M just shy of the main flow. 4oz leads on. When I have a heavy lead or feeders on I always grab the line just before the butt ring and pull it a foot or so to make sure that it's free of a potential tip wrap round. It felt free so i aimed for the silhouette of a big tree downstream and "crack", my fuckin' rig plopped in the water. Couldn't be arsed tying another rig on so i got in my bivvy and turned stove on for some heat and a much needed brew. I settled down and did a little reading before falling asleep. Woke up early hours for a pee and another brew and heard Lee's alarm bleeping. I walked over to him about 50m away asking if he had a fish on but it was weed jamming on the line.
7:20am and it's still pitch black and freezing fog. I think i must be mad, did i say mad: / Lol.
Last edited:
