Bluemoon Angling Thread

[Newman Noggs]

I'll ask my mate and get back to you. He was up there for a week just recently.

 

[snorky]

No mate. I have done the Till, Teviot and Tweed. Lovely area.

 

[Newman Noggs]

Anyone had experience of fishing the Coquet in Northumberland?

No, my mate hasn't fished it.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Myself and a couple of mates have just joined Birmingham. We're staying at The Ship Inn, Highly next Tues, Wed and Thursday We are not regular visitors to the Severn, going down with commercial carp gear. Were going with no idea what the fishing is like down there apart from the Sec says Eardington Brook, Apley, Quatford or the Danery lenghts. We are taking plenty of caster, hemp meat and pellets. Anyone been, or can offer any advice.Thanks

Yes. I went there the last weekend of last fishing season, in March. You’re sitting right on a day ticket stretch and don’t need to travel. I only caught two chub but it was very cold. If you walk downstream of the pub there’s an adjacent day ticket stretch called “Burts” which in think is a bit more reliable than the bit in front of the pub which is deeper.

Not much advice to give (as I didn’t catch much) but it’s classic barbel fishing. I don’t know if your commercial gear would be up to it but if the river is low you should be ok. Find the deepest water in front of you, use a big heavy feeder. Your little Stillwater ones will just be swept away. Get lots of pellets and hemp down with the feeder by recasting all the time. Hook bait could be anything really. Pellet, boilie, meat, even casters.

The pub does excellent good too. It’s a cracking pub. We’ve booked one of the cottages right next to it for a week at the end of august.

Edit. Sorry, just read you’ve joined BAA. Good decision. I’m doing the same. The day ticket stretch mentioned above is busy and was a bit messy to be honest. Upstream of the pub, walking distance is BAA. It’s supposed to be decent. Look for deep, fast flowing water for barbel.

 

[its grim up north]

Thanks for the advice. Got the big block end (2oz is the biggest my feeder rod will manage) feeders which we've been advised to either open up the holes or cut the end off fill with bait then plug with groundbait. Is the length of tail important, cant see the chub and barbel being shy of the feeder.

 

[Scouse Blue]

Bobbins is the word! Fishing 04.15-09.30. One decent skimmer towards 3lb and a micro perch. My mate had 3 small skimmers and a decent bream. They just weren't there. Here's to next time, albeit may give 5 nights prebaiting a miss!

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Thanks for the advice. Got the big block end (2oz is the biggest my feeder rod will manage) feeders which we've been advised to either open up the holes or cut the end off fill with bait then plug with groundbait. Is the length of tail important, cant see the chub and barbel being shy of the feeder.

If your planning on using a standard feeder rod you might be in trouble here to be honest. This is a powerful river. That rod and 2oz feeders might just about be ok if it’s in the middle of a dry spell but you are pushing it and could end up way undergunned. In march I was using 4oz but there had been rain. I’d certainly buy some heavier feeders just in case. I’d always choose open ended too and plugging with a heavy, pellet/fish meal based groundbait. The length of tail does matter particularly in very clear water. I tend to used between 3-5 feet.

Have you got any rods with a bit of power? What line are you planning on using?

 

[its grim up north]

Here's hoping then the river stays low. It's low at the moment and rain not expected. I have 2 Drennan combo medium feeders, 11ft 6 / 13ft. The 13ft is quite strong and I rarely use it on commercials. The 11ft 6 suffices I'll use the 13ft with the 3 oz tip. The last time I went "big" river fishing was pre lockdown on the Warrington length of the Wye at Hay. The river was low then. I caught a few Chub and a couple of Barbel but about 5 pound was the biggest and it coped well. Have my reels, Shimano 2500's,loaded with 8lb mono.

 

[Didsbury Dave]

Here's hoping then the river stays low. It's low at the moment and rain not expected. I have 2 Drennan combo medium feeders, 11ft 6 / 13ft. The 13ft is quite strong and I rarely use it on commercials. The 11ft 6 suffices I'll use the 13ft with the 3 oz tip. The last time I went "big" river fishing was pre lockdown on the Warrington length of the Wye at Hay. The river was low then. I caught a few Chub and a couple of Barbel but about 5 pound was the biggest and it coped well. Have my reels, Shimano 2500's,loaded with 8lb mono.

You should just be ok with the current conditions.let us know how you get on. I’ll be very interested in how you get on with a a view to stealing your tips/swims in august! Good luck mate.

 

[BlueMoonRisin’]

Here's hoping then the river stays low. It's low at the moment and rain not expected. I have 2 Drennan combo medium feeders, 11ft 6 / 13ft. The 13ft is quite strong and I rarely use it on commercials. The 11ft 6 suffices I'll use the 13ft with the 3 oz tip. The last time I went "big" river fishing was pre lockdown on the Warrington length of the Wye at Hay. The river was low then. I caught a few Chub and a couple of Barbel but about 5 pound was the biggest and it coped well. Have my reels, Shimano 2500's,loaded with 8lb mono.

8lb line on the Severn will be fine as most barbel are between 4-7lb. Fish a simple running rig with a hook length between 18" to 3 foot. As DD said longer hook lengths are better in clearer water, i recommend a flouro carbon hook length around 7lb to a 8lb main line. Keep your rod tip high to minimise line drag and a 2oz feeder may just hold. Buy a few 3-4oz feeders just incase. Sometimes the fish will take a bait on a feeder on the light side that is slowly pulling through the current. Don't use a feeder that's too heavy unless you want to use a semi bolt rig.

By semi i mean i use a line stop about 4-6" above the feeder so the fish hook themselves, but many barbel will freak out when they pull the feeder and go on a storming first run, and they certainly test your gear better than a carp of the same weight.

I'd start off tot a 3oz open end feeder with fishmeal groundbait hemp and pellets, possibly crushed seafood based boilies. 12s hook to a 14mm pellet or boilie to an 18" tail. Keep your casting accurate and the fish will hopefully get on your feed.

Good luck : )