Post by rushy on Aug 3, 2015 8:35:39 GMT
During the great Saturday morning clearing the pegs at Hammerton, we had unearthed some fantastic pegs and in particular two hit and hold ones. One especially reminded me of another Nidd peg I used to fish but hadn't done so for a few years.
Sunday morning hangover and chores out of the way , a few well orchestrated sighs and it worked
..................... "Go fishing for an hour if you want " said the wife
The rod , rod rest and landing net were in the back of the car and vest on before you could say "Wheres mi boilies " and I was off Nidd bound.
Arrived at the peg and there was evidence it had been fished a little bit but not too much. The willows had grown and were now almost touching each other across the river. I plonked my gear down , took out seven (lucky number that ) freebies and chucked 'em one at a time next to the willow. Had a walk upstream to find another peg and finally came across an accessible one. Dropped some freebies in that one , had a little walk and returned to the first peg half an hour later.
Put the lead on and executed the Nidd Flick to perfection , inches from the willow with the hook bait behind the lead. Struck the pose on the old folding seat , rod on lap (not falling for that one again
) and sat in anticipation with the heart beat slowly rising.
After 17 minutes (I've got an obsession with times when I'm Barbel fishing ) I got my first pluck .......... Mmmm looked a bit Chubby 
a minute later it twanged , then it twanged again and then it started twanging like there was a pit bull ragging a doll round on the other end 
So , I struck ............... and to my surprise I got the Barbel scream and off it went. Fortunately it wasn't much test for my 15lb line and hook length and a little 4 pounder was soon on the bank.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel like they've "Had a fix " when you get a Barbel on the bank , no matter what size .......... its called addiction I think
With a satisfied smile on my face I collected my gear together , threw another 7 freebies in and set off to peg number two. Forty five biteless minutes later I was on my way back to peg number one
Got set up again , flicked the lead out and watched in slow motion horror as the hook bait looped upwards and landed straight in the willow
"Well that's jolly unfortunate you plonker " I muttered to myself .......... (That's the censored version
)
After much pulling and tugging I nearly got knocked unconscious from a 500 mile per hour flying lead , but I got it back and hoped I hadn't wrecked the swim too much
Sat on my seat, gave myself a severe reprimand, looked at my watch ......... mmm got to be in Leeds in 45 minutes to make Mams tea ....... decisions decisions
Bugga it , I'll tell her I got stuck in traffic .............. one last cast The lead hit the water and the hook bait followed phew !!
5 minutes later the tip started to bend very slowly ( has a piece of drift wood got my line
) and it bent and it bent and then in bent in anger . I lifted into it and all hell let loose . The rod was bent double , the clutch was letting line out even though I'd locked it up as much as I dare. The willow was now moving and the water swirling. It had to be done .... left hand on spool , don't give it an inch and hang on for dear life. (I really don't enjoy this sort of Barbel fishing , its just not good for your heart ) The 1.75tc rod arched over to the max and the water around the willow erupted as the tug of war began , neither of us wanting to give ground. Thankfully she gave a few inches and I eased her out from the willows into the relative safety (if there is such a place on the Nidd ) of the "open " water. A few more heart stopping lunges and failed tenacious attempts to get back under the willows and she was mine 
8lb 15 oz of solid Nidd Barbel ........................ boy was I chuffed
Drove to Mams a very happy bunny indeed . Strange , she didn't seem half as excited and happy for me as I thought she would be , maybe because her tea was 20 minutes late due to the traffic
Next stop Hammerton Mill
Sunday morning hangover and chores out of the way , a few well orchestrated sighs and it worked
..................... "Go fishing for an hour if you want " said the wife The rod , rod rest and landing net were in the back of the car and vest on before you could say "Wheres mi boilies " and I was off Nidd bound.
Arrived at the peg and there was evidence it had been fished a little bit but not too much. The willows had grown and were now almost touching each other across the river. I plonked my gear down , took out seven (lucky number that ) freebies and chucked 'em one at a time next to the willow. Had a walk upstream to find another peg and finally came across an accessible one. Dropped some freebies in that one , had a little walk and returned to the first peg half an hour later.
Put the lead on and executed the Nidd Flick to perfection , inches from the willow with the hook bait behind the lead. Struck the pose on the old folding seat , rod on lap (not falling for that one again
) and sat in anticipation with the heart beat slowly rising.After 17 minutes (I've got an obsession with times when I'm Barbel fishing
) I got my first pluck .......... Mmmm looked a bit Chubby 
a minute later it twanged , then it twanged again and then it started twanging like there was a pit bull ragging a doll round on the other end 
So , I struck ............... and to my surprise I got the Barbel scream and off it went. Fortunately it wasn't much test for my 15lb line and hook length and a little 4 pounder was soon on the bank. Is it just me or does anyone else feel like they've "Had a fix " when you get a Barbel on the bank , no matter what size .......... its called addiction I think
With a satisfied smile on my face I collected my gear together , threw another 7 freebies in and set off to peg number two. Forty five biteless minutes later I was on my way back to peg number one
Got set up again , flicked the lead out and watched in slow motion horror as the hook bait looped upwards and landed straight in the willow
"Well that's jolly unfortunate you plonker " I muttered to myself .......... (That's the censored version
) After much pulling and tugging I nearly got knocked unconscious from a 500 mile per hour flying lead , but I got it back and hoped I hadn't wrecked the swim too much
Sat on my seat, gave myself a severe reprimand, looked at my watch ......... mmm got to be in Leeds in 45 minutes to make Mams tea ....... decisions decisions
Bugga it , I'll tell her I got stuck in traffic .............. one last cast
The lead hit the water and the hook bait followed phew !!5 minutes later the tip started to bend very slowly ( has a piece of drift wood got my line
) and it bent and it bent and then in bent in anger . I lifted into it and all hell let loose . The rod was bent double , the clutch was letting line out even though I'd locked it up as much as I dare. The willow was now moving and the water swirling. It had to be done .... left hand on spool , don't give it an inch and hang on for dear life. (I really don't enjoy this sort of Barbel fishing , its just not good for your heart ) The 1.75tc rod arched over to the max and the water around the willow erupted as the tug of war began , neither of us wanting to give ground. Thankfully she gave a few inches and I eased her out from the willows into the relative safety (if there is such a place on the Nidd ) of the "open " water. A few more heart stopping lunges and failed tenacious attempts to get back under the willows and she was mine 
8lb 15 oz of solid Nidd Barbel ........................ boy was I chuffed
Drove to Mams a very happy bunny indeed . Strange , she didn't seem half as excited and happy for me as I thought she would be , maybe because her tea was 20 minutes late due to the traffic
Next stop Hammerton Mill
