Section of Fishery or river stretch:...Above Ribchester Date:...05/01/08 Time fished:...18-30hrs to 00-30hrs Weather conditions:...Overcast, the odd shower and breezy. Water conditions:...Rivercall @ 15-14hrs 0.73M ANSL and falling. Air temperature:...7.3C dropping to 6.5C. Water Temperature:...5.9C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & paste. Method:...2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets & garlic in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:...19-05hrs 6lb-7oz Barbel Pellet/curry paste. 23-05hrs 3lb-12oz Chub Pellet/curry paste. 23-35hrs 3lb-06oz Chub Pellet/curry paste Brief description of the session & remarks:.. After waiting what seem like ages for a gap in the flood pulse, I managed another weekend night session on the Ribble. Only had four bites and converted three of the four into fish on the bank. Not that I had to try very hard, the rod just bent round and that was that. The one I lost came while I was in one of those long isotope trances, I'd forget that I had set my bait-runner and when the rod wrapped round the first I know I was flying over the back of my chair. Felt like a good chub before the hook pull, but at least I didn't end up with a birds nest on my reel which is what usually happens when striking fast with the bait-runner on.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:...Above Preston Date:...12/01/08 Time fished:...14-30hrs to 20-30hrs Weather conditions:...Overcast, the odd shower clearing for a while then at 20-30hrs the rain really started. Water conditions:...Rivercall @ 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.53M ANSL and falling. Air temperature:...7.2C dropping to 5.5C. Water Temperature:...5.3C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & cheese paste. Method:...2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets & garlic in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:...18-25hrs 3lb-9oz Chub Pellet/cheese paste. Brief description of the session & remarks:.. Another dash down to the Ribble between flood pulses. Disappointed with my efforts I thought I could have done better. When I did pulled the chub into my swim I didn't do much to capitalise on it. It clouded over about 8-o-clock and by 8-30 it began to rain in earnest so I called it a day and went home to watch Match of the Day. The drive back was terrible with heavy rain and loads of standing water on the roads. Quite a few other anglers out who did better re the Chub and one or two who blanked, but that’s the Ribble for you in the winter, didn't hear of any Barbel being caught but the river temp did drop 1C from mid day.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:...Above Preston Date:...20/01/08 Time fished:...15-00hrs to 21-00hrs Weather conditions:...Rain and wind all through the session. Water conditions:...Rivercall @ 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.9M ANSL and rising. Air temperature:...10.6C dropping to 7.7C. Water Temperature:...8.5C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & paste. Method:...2 rods, downstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets & garlic in the feeder, upstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:...18-30hrs 5lb-8oz Barbel Pellet/curry paste. 19-25hrs 3lb-12oz Barbel Bread. Brief description of the session & remarks:.. .As the Ribble seems to be running very high more or less permanently these last few days I thought I'd try a flood swim for the Barbel especially as the river temp was likely to be up. The river rose about half a metre during session but in the last half hour, it started to drop again. Had one or two knocks that may have been Chub but for the conditions I was please with the session.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:... Above Ribchester Date:...25/01/08 Time fished:...18-30hrs to 24-00hrs Weather conditions:... Overcast and extremely windy, fullish moon just making an appearance by mid-night, the wind made what was a warm evening very cold. Water conditions:... Rivercall @ 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.56M ANSL and falling. Air temperature:... 10.4C dropping to 9C. Water Temperature:... 7.3C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & curry paste. Method:... 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets & garlic in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:... 18-45hrs 5lb-2oz Chub Pellet/curry paste, (21.5 x 13.75) 20-50hrs 3lb-12oz Chub Pellet/curry paste, 21-00hrs 3lb-8oz Chub Pellet/curry paste, 23-10hrs 4lb-1oz Chub Pellet/curry paste (20.5 x 12.25) Brief description of the session & remarks:.. It seemed like I'd been waiting ages for the river to drop to good Chubbing levels so I was quite excited at the prospect of a good Chubbing session especially when after only 15mins I'd a 5lb Chub in my net. However, I'd to wait another 2 hours before any more bites. By then the wind was really beginning to bug me, it was relentless and the crashing and banging of falling branches was making me a bit jittery. Still it was a good session and at least it was DRY. The other thing I notice was all the Chub had really empty bellies especially the five pounder.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:...Above Ribchester Date:...27/01/08 Time fished:...17-00hrs to 22-00hrs Weather conditions:...Overcast, light breeze dropping away at dusk, sky clearing about 20-00hrs, no moon. Water conditions:...Rivercall @ 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.31M ANSL and falling. Air temperature:...9.2C dropping to 2.9C. Water Temperature:...7.9C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & paste. Method:...2 rods, downstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets & garlic in the feeder, upstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:...Blank. Brief description of the session & remarks:.. I thought this was going to be a good evening for the chub. The river was busy and the lads were catching. I fished a swim I'd not fished for about four years and I found the snag in the first two cast. Getting the direction was Ok but in the dark I was having trouble with the distance. I found some chub in the last hour but I was casting 70 yards and had two hook pulls after a brief fight, probably at that distance with a through action rod I didn't set the hook. Anyhow, it must have been my turn to be Billy No Fish Grrrrrrrr.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:... Above Preston Date:...02/02/08 Time fished:...15-30hrs to 21-00hrs Weather conditions:... Overcast, light breeze with the odd wee wintry shower. Water conditions:... Rivercall @ 03-15hrs @ NJR 0.39M ANSL and falling. Air temperature:... 6.2C dropping to 5.3C. Water Temperature:... 4.2C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & curry paste. Method:... 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets & garlic in the feeder, downstream rod pellet & paste with loose feed pellets.
Results... 18-35hrs 3lb-15oz pellet & paste Brief description of the session & remarks:.. Quick trip to try and beat the snow melt, however, it started to come through after about an hour of fishing and I suppose I was lucky to pick up the chub before the river went completely dead, hence the relatively early finish.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:above preston Date:3/2/08 Time fished:1pm to 7pm Weather conditions, overcast and a cold strong wind Water conditions:nwl Air temperature:6 acording to the car Water Temperature:41 Bait, spam and crust Method:upstream rod on spam downstream on crust Results, one chub 4 lb 2 oz Brief description of the session & remarks:it was quite hard as the wind was blowing the rod tips most of the day still was quite happy with the one i got and lets be honest its just nice to be on the bank
Section of Fishery or river stretch:...above Preston Date:...08-02-08 Time fished:...16-00hrs to 24-00hrs Weather conditions:...Cloudy with the odd patch of watery sun breaking through at times, by 21-00hrs clear sky, no moon, light breeze. Water conditions:...Estimated about 0.2M ANSL and steady. Air temperature:...10.4C falling to 7.9C Water Temperature:...7.9C Bait:...Bread flake, pellet & curry paste. Method:...2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread, micro pellets in the feeder, downstream rod pellet & paste with scalded ewe nuts & micro pellets in feeder, started with about 25 balls of ground bait and some loose fed pellets. Results:...
16:40hrs 3lb-15oz Chub - Bread
17:00hrs 2lb-06oz Chub - Bread
17:10hrs 4lb-15oz Chub - Bread (21" x 13.75")
17:50hrs 4lb-03oz Chub – Bread (20" x 12.75")
18:25hrs 3lb-06oz Chub – Bread
19:00hrs 2lb-08oz Chub – Bread
19:15hrs 8lb-12oz Barbel – Pellet
20:10hrs 4lb Chub – Pellet (20" x 12.5")
20:20hrs 5lb-14oz Chub – Crust/Cheese paste (22.5" x 14.5")
20:50hrs 4lb Chub – Crust/Cheese paste (20.5" x 12.25")
22:05hrs 4lb-01oz Chub Pellet & bought Hal paste (20.5" x 12.25")
22:15hrs 11lb-08oz Barbel – Pellet & bought Hal Paste
23:15hrs 3lb-15oz Chub - Bread
Brief description of the session & remarks:...With the exception of a 12lb plus Barbel and a 6-1/2blb plus Chub (my PB's as they stand at the moment), last night was one of my best sessions on the Ribble for years. Plus it was warm for this time of the year and dry, comfortable fishing. With all the floods and cold water temps the Chub and Barbel will be looking to hit the feed big time if the water stays at this temp or slowly rises.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:… Above Ribchester Date:… 15/02/08 Time fished:…18-30hrs to 24-30hrs Weather conditions:… Clear sky, big bright half moon and no wind. Water conditions:… Rivercall at 03-15hrs @ NJR 0.04M ANSL & falling Air temperature:… 0.7C dropping to -1.7C Water Temperature:…5.5C Bait:… Bread flake, pellet & curry paste. Method:… 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread & micro pellets in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:…
Brief description of the session & remarks:… I was out last night, because I thought that the cloud cover we had in the afternoon would last for a few hours into early evening, but it didn't and by the time I'd driven down from work the skies had cleared and we had a big bright half moon all thought the session. However, I was on the riverbank and you never know, maybe the cloud cover would return. After about an hour, the temperature went sub zero but I was getting very little sharp knocks about every 20 to 30 mins on my pellet rod so something was there. I tried touch ledgering but it was too cold and the knocks were too far apart so I decided change my pellet size. I dropped down from 14mm to 8m, dropped my hook length down from 8lb to 6lb and increased its length from 9" to 24" and at 21-25hrs landed a 5lb-8oz chub in what must have been one of the brightest nights I've ever fished. The BP was extremely high at 1046 and still rising when I left.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:… Above Ribchester Date:… 20/02/08 Time fished:…19-30hrs to 24-00hrs Weather conditions:… Overcast with the odd shower, misty full moon at times, no wind. Water conditions:… Rivercall at 15-15hrs @ NJR 0.07M ANSL & steady Air temperature:… 3.3C rising to 5.4C Water Temperature:…2.2C Bait:… Bread flake, pellet & curry paste. Method:… 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread & micro pellets in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:…
19:10hrs 3lb-12oz Chub - Bread
Brief description of the session & remarks:…Thought I’d have a go before the bad weather kicked in, but apart form a chub within the first 10 minutes it was basically dead for the rest of the session, not counting a wrap round on my pellet rod, which resulted in striking into absolutely nothing. Very cold water temp, I’ll wait now until the river fines down after the next flood before I pop down again.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:… Above Ribchester Date:… 07/03/08 Time fished:…18-30hrs to 24-00hrs Weather conditions:… Overcast and wind, new moon. Water conditions:… Rivercall at 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.22M ANSL & falling Air temperature:… 7.4C Water Temperature:…7.7C Bait:… Bread flake, cheese paste, pellet & curry paste. Method:… 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:…
20:20hrs 2lb-12oz Chub - Crust/cheese paste
20:20hrs 4lb-6oz Chub – Hal Pellet/curry paste (21" x 12.5")
21:20hrs 4lb-10oz Chub – Bread Flake (21.5" x 13.5")
22:40hrs 4lb-1oz Chub – Hal Pellet/curry paste (20" x 12.75")
Brief description of the session & remarks:… This was a slow start didn't get a bite until 22:00hrs, then two chub at the same time, landed both in the same net, not done that before! Just before mid-night, a big Barbel snapped my 8lb hook length, no fight just one big pull when I set the hook. Very windy and it felt much colder than it was, I can't make up my mind whether to go this Sunday or not? Very busy at work I'm not sure if Friday night was my last session? However, it goes without saying, I will be looking to get in another session if I can.
Section of Fishery or river stretch: above ribchester Date: 9/3/08 Time fished: 13:45 till 17:00 Weather conditions: bright, odd showers Water conditions: up about 2 foot, coloured, some debris coming through Air temperature: N/T Water Temperature: 4.2c Bait: Pellet Method: single feeder rod Results: blank Brief description of the session & remarks:
Quick few hours to have a break from DIY. I had never seen the stretch before and was on a guest ticket with a member, who also hadn't fished it, so with the river up it was fishing a bit blind. As we walked up the length into the woods, we disturbed no fewer that 35 to 40 Cormorants that were in the trees. I have never seen that volume of birds before. There does seem to be far more of them around this year though.
Over the next few hours the black fellas made countless attempts to return to the trees but were spooked by our presence and kept going off up of down river. It was simply unbelievable how many birds we saw and how they persistently tried to return to the trees. Not a good sign for the river in general.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:… Above Ribchester Date:… 09/03/08 Time fished:…15-00hrs to 21-00hrs Weather conditions:… Overcast with the odd bright spell, squally showers at times, new moon. Water conditions:… Rivercall at 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.77M ANSL & falling Air temperature:… 7.4C dropping to 3C Water Temperature:…6.8C Bait:… Bread flake, cheese paste, pellet & curry paste. Method:… 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, PVA bag with micro pellets. Results:…Blank
Brief description of the session & remarks:…I thought I'd squeeze a trip in before the bad weather that’s been promised. Didn't have a bite all through the session, my turn to be Billy no fish again! One lad further up the river had two double fig Barbel but the rest of the lads only managed a chub each, but that’s the way it goes on the Ribble. Somehow I managed to get very cold in one of the wintry showers and even the trudge back to my van didn't warm me up.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:… Above Ribchester Date:… 14/03/08 Time fished:…16-30hrs to 24-00hrs Weather conditions:… Overcast no wind. Water conditions:… Rivercall at 03-14hrs @ NJR 0.48M ANSL & rising, river dropped about 0.1M during session. Air temperature:… 9.4C dropping to 7.9C Water Temperature:…7.1C Bait:… Bread flake, cheese paste, pellet & curry paste. Method:… 2 rods, upstream rod bread flake with liquidised bread in the feeder, downstream rod halibut pellet and paste, scalded ewe nuts and micro pellets in feeder. Results:…
17:00hrs 2lb-13oz Chub - Bread Flake
17:10hrs 2lb-4oz Chub - Bread Flake
18:15hrs 3lb-10oz Chub - Bread Flake
Brief description of the session & remarks:…Last session of the season and the river was busy. Bit of a disappointment, the river was pushing though and I lost a whole boatload of feeders. Roll on 16th June.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:near ribchester Date:16/06/08 Time fished:00.01 to 1600 Weather conditions:very cold in the mourning and sunny later on Water conditions:very low full of weed Air temperature:nt Water Temperature:nt Bait:bread crust & SAUSAGE MEAT Method:2 rods upstream rod crust feeding hand fulls off mashed bread as and when Results:lost one fish had another 3 chub 2 x3 lb 1 @ 4lb 2 oz Brief description of the session & remarks:never fished this part of the ribble before very happy as the conditions where not that good all the chub got caught on crust
Section of Fishery or river stretch: Ribble Date: 17/6/08 Time fished: 16:30 - 21:40 Weather conditions: Mixed, breezy and sunny and one big shower Water conditions: low, weedy Air temperature: N/T Water Temperature: N/T Bait: Caster / hemp / corn Method: Waggler Results: slow start and not many smaller chub showing. 8 barbel from 1lb to 4lb, most between 1 and 2lb, 3 x 4lb chub, 4 chub about a pound and odd chublets Brief description of the session & remarks: Not many smaller fish showing. No dace or roach at all. Lost 3 barbel of a better standard, 2 hook pulls and one that went straight for a snag and did the hook length.
The weed was thick in the margins, but I was able to wade out past it. There's little chance of fishing from any bank with shallow margins at the minute and waders are a must.
One sad thing was 2 barbel floated past me, upside down! I managed to scoop out the second one, but whilst it was still just about alive, 15 minutes attempting to recover it were in vain. Someone upstream was clearly dragging an odd one through the weed and unable to safely recover and return them.
Section of Fishery or river stretch: Ribble Date: 18/6/08 Time fished: 11:30 till 16:30 Weather conditions: Showers, wind and generally quite grotty. Water conditions: Still low, but lots of weed on the move, started to colour late afternoon and came up a couple of inches. Air temperature: N/T Water Temperature: N/T Bait: Caster & Hemp Method: Stickfloat Results: Reasonable numbers of small chub and dace that came and went in short spells. Brief description of the session & remarks: Much tougher to fish with lots of weed on the move and the river just starting to nudge up. I had some spells of catching quite well, but slow spells too. Nothing of any size and as the afternoon wore on the weed became more problematic. Packed up just as the rain set in good and proper. The river should rise over night and hopefully flush out all the marginal weed. Lots of rain required.....
Section of Fishery or river stretch: Above Preston Date: 21-6-08 Time fished: 17:00 - 23:00 Weather conditions: Wind and showers some heavy Water conditions: Low and clear Air temperature: Water Temperature: Bait: Pellet Method: ledger. Pva bags and paste wrap Results: 1 Barbel 7. 4 Brief description of the session & remarks: Not a nudge on the rods all through session untill i had the fish at 9.50pm. Looked like it had just come from a audition for the humpback of notre dame. One guy been on for 4 days for one chub. Some people should really get a life.
Section of Fishery or river stretch: Ribble Date: 23/6/08 Time fished: 16:00 - 21:30 Weather conditions: Dry, sunny, breezy Water conditions: up about 18 to 24 inch approx, coloured but cold. Air temperature: N/K Water Temperature: N/K Bait: Caster / hemp / corn Method: Waggler Results: Low numbers of chub to 2lb and 2 nice roach Brief description of the session & remarks: Very slow going. The water conditions looked good, but felt unseasonably cold to stand in, which may have knocked it abit flat. Had a few small chub and a nice brown trout from a shallow run. Moved to deeper water and only really caught with any consistency in the last 40 mins, with about 6 or 7 chub from 1lb to 2lb and two decent roach. Rather odd, but I faired much better on corn than caster, which is a little unusual. Several others fishing the feeder found the going tough too with everyone I spoke to blanking. Still, most of the weed has been washed out.
Section of Fishery or river stretch:...Above Preston Date:...23/06/08 Time fished:...18-00hrs to 01-00hrs Weather conditions:...Hot and sunny with a light breeze, late moon rise Water conditions:...Rivercall @ 03-15hrs @ NJR 0.35M ANSL and rising. River was falling when I arrived and carrying some colour and weed. Air temperature:...20.6C dropping to 6.9C by the end of the session. Water Temperature:...14.8C Bait:...Maggot, Bread, Pellet & Paste Method:...Couple of hours on the waggler then leger @ dusk through to end of session Results:... 1 chublet on the waggler and 1 chublet on leger. Brief description of the session & remarks:... First session on the Ribble and the river at first looked OK but weed was a problem. Couldn't understand why is got worst when the river had dropped quite a bit. I had to pack in at 01-00hrs because of the weed; I was going to fish through into the dawn. It also got very cold at dusk, I could have done with an extra jumper. Lost one big fish about mid-night snap off at the hook, no mad rush just a steady pull then bang!! I was using a 10lb hook length. Great to be back on the Ribble for another new season, beautiful long walk back to my van across moonlit fields with about 1M of mist hanging over the river.
