Big Fish: Sweeney's best catch

Yet again it is another very mixed bag of results from around the local venues with the weather yet again the major influence on sport on both the rivers and stillwaters.

We may not have experienced the flooding we saw last summer but the past week has brought more than a few soakings and the continued inconsistency in conditions has done little to help consistency of catches.

We always seem to moan about the weather in the UK but it is indeed hard to believe it is the middle of August.

On the rivers the rainfall has kept water high and the regular influxes of cold water have kept temperatures relatively low, which is good; but they have been rising and falling markedly on an almost daily basis, which is not so good!

Unsurprisingly catches have been patchy at best. On the barbel front the best fish of the week to a local angler fell to Colin Sweeney who fished the day ticket section of the River Kennet at Aldermaston Mill.

Colin, who made the Big Fish Column with a personal best 11lb barbel from the Mill last summer, went a little higher this time around and beat his best yet again with a fine fish of 11lb 14oz.

Colin started off in the noted lawns area at the downstream end of the fishery but after a biteless morning he upped tackle and relocated to the bottom weirpool where he hair rigged a 14mm halibut pellet on a size 8 hook to 12lb braid and 10lb main line with a free running bomb.

Colin fed a mix of six and eight millimetre pellets as groundbait and allowed his hookbait to bounce through the current, feeling his line for bites as it bumped downstream across the gravel.

Having searched most of the water in front of him with his mobile tactics Colin left his rod on the deck while he had a drink and some lunch, only for the rod to be wrenched over in typical barbel fashion as the big fish picked up the bait and surged off downstream.

Despite a sizeable fish and a good push of water constant pressure from Colin finally paid off and he was able to net his prize at the first attempt.

Colin usually fishes the Thames close to his Marlow home and only visits the Kennet for a couple of days each summer; with his record to date perhaps it is time he fished there more often!

On the gravel pits, as opposed to the commercials, there has been a major shift in emphasis during the past couple of weeks with tench almost entirely disappearing off the radar.

Vanishing tench are not uncommon in the post-spawning period but this year seems more marked than ever with few anglers getting among them.

The species does tend to switch on again for a brief feeding spree in September but for now if you are intent on some gravel pit fishing carp or bream will be the most likely quarry.

Commercial sport remains buoyant with decent results from most local venues including a nice 12lb 4oz and 15lb brace of carp to Taplow schoolboy Joss Daniels who fished Lake 1 on Royal Berkshire on his first outing of the holidays.

Joss legered meat over pellets in the margin to take the fish which he beat with a size 8 hook to 8lb line and running lead.

Any anglers wishing to report catches may contact me on 07780 755138 or ian@bigfishtrail.com