The Big Fish Column by Ian Welch

With time running out for fishing on the flowing waters last week was another busy one around the local rivers.

Despite, or perhaps because of, the numbers of anglers on the bank the quality of angling on offer was mediocre at best with most results hard-earned.

Although water temperatures remained on the high side - the Kennet was running at a very reasonable 48F when I fished it on Friday - the barbel were generally few and far between and captures appeared to be the exception rather than the norm on many stretches.

One local angler who managed to find a feeding barbel was Holyport’s Dave McManus, who spent an evening session on the river at Padworth with a small pellet wrapped in paste fished in conjunction with a PVA bag containing flavoured hemp and pellets.

Dave missed a good pull from a chub early on and thought the fish bolting might have spooked any barbel in the swim but he persevered and eventually a barbel moved in and took his bait an hour after dusk.

After a brief but powerful fight on 12lb line with a size 10 hook Dave got the better of the fish and weighed it in at 11lb 10oz.

Although barbel were the intended target species for Alex Childs during a session on the Loddon at Twyford he was not too disappointed as a couple of cracking chub, scaling 5lb 12oz and 5lb 6oz, picked up his legered pellet hookbait.

Alex fished a steady glide below a bend with a 14mm crab flavoured pellet and fed with 6mm marine halibut pellets to attract the fish.

Both chub were banked on size 6 hooks with 10lb main line and a braided hooklength.

The mild conditions have seen occasional bouts of pike spawning on lakes and rivers during the past fortnight but they are still feeding on the rivers and the best snapper reported this week scaled 14lb 4oz taken on a lure from the Thames near Boulters by Roy Fowler.

Roy used a large copper spoon on 20lb wire and 15lb line to tempt the specimen during a session on his boat and also netted a couple of smaller specimens on the same technique.

To report catches call 07780 755138 or email on ian@bigfishtrail.com.