Big Brace from collingham

[Paul Makings]

Just returned from colingham weir after a couple of days weds/thurs, my mate got into peg 1a but with the extra water it was carrying we was in peg 2 and 3, my mate caught consistantly with barbel upto 12lb, i had steady sport with my a barbel to 9lb 12oz my pb to date, my mate also had 3 pike to 15lb one caught accidently on a spicy chicken boilie???? which caused him to get the dead baits out with 3 take s and 2 more fish. Anyway a couple of lads come down and fished next to us one the lads had 2 runs whilst we was there the first was a 17lb plus fish and the second a sixteen plus fish, i think that brace will be hard to beat, as for the rumours of bigger fish being caught and not reported i think anything is possible on the trent over time especially now there are more anglers on it than ever before targeting the barbel population,. More to the point can anyone reccommend a spacious bivvy (money no object) that they use for 2 day sessions + as my storm brolly has one hell of a condensation/warmth issue, was thinking of getting a two man bivvy even though just for me so i have plenty of space.

 

[Steve Spiller]

Hi Paul, you are working too hard mate and have too much money! ;-)

Seriously mate, search out the harder places. Talk to Swordsy, I 'm sure he will help you, no "diss" intended at all mate. Remember that curry? ;-)

 

[paul williams 2]

17lb and 16lb brace?.....i presume pike?

Bet if someone read this post fast another rumour would be flying about!

 

[Paul Makings]

No they was barbel, and i have fished the harder places and had some success, it is no rumour you will probably see the fish in Angling times, i accept that there are plenty of fish at collingham, but when you work 24/7 and bring up 3 kids you just want some guranteed sport for the few days off a year, nobody is going to fish a place that is devoid of barbel . I am thinking of joining notts aa next year and give their waters a try. I understand what you are saying and agree, i am more satisfied with my smaller barbel from the less prolific places on the tidal trent, where i have had to bait wait and use my river knowledge.
This is no rumour just adds to the arguement that there are big or bigger barbel in the Trent and they are in numbers, a 20+ fish is surly possible with the amount of food going in the place, the size of the river etc etc.....

 

[DAN.]

paul careful you dont start that talk about folse catches from a trent water,
im not saying that you didnt catch the fish i hope you enjoyed your trip and from the sound of it you did.
its grait that you found the time to visit a renound spot like collingham but i dare to say that some people out there are cowering in thought that again collingham is in the spot light.
i for one dont care as i fish there and have only landed the weir pegs once in three years but im not bothered as there are large fish all over the stretch .
some people like to say that there catches are from the weir even though they maybe from another weir altogether people like these do it so their spots dont get over presured from anglers .it has happend alot about collingham but it has had a knock on affect due to more bait being hoyed in resulting in some big fish making the pool there home great!and the future is looking better and better by the year cant wait to see what the future seasons hold for such a renound spot as collingham.
once again im glad you made the trip and enjoyed every cast.keep plugging and you will be rewarded with big fish there is plenty to go at.

 

[Paul Makings]

Dan,
Sorry i did not catch the fish a lad who pegged up next to me did, they were from barnsley, i just caught fish upto 9lb 12oz, i know what you are saying though matey about false reports and pressure, but the angling papers have done that already, to be honest when me and my m,ate got to collingham there was nobody fishing it,. i was very surprised,, i had some good sport a few weeks ago nearer the car park with 2 good fish, you do not have to be at the weir to catch em - just that sport is slower,.

 

[paul williams 2]

So they were Barbel eh?.....17 and 16lb....whatever!

 

[Paul Makings]

Yes Paul they were Barbel, ? What point are you trying to make ? I thought people on a barbel forum would be intrested in a brace of this size and to know it is possible from the Trent,. Maybe i'm wrong???????

 

[pcpaulh]

I don't think its there not interested but by the sounds of things theres been alot of rumors of big fish from the Trent lately. I dont think any of them have come true so maybe just a bit suspicious of what they hear.
Did you see the fish yourself?

 

[paul williams 2]

Paul.......i'll be 100% blunt then.....i personally doubt the weight of the brace!

I base my doubts on about 30yrs barbel fishing and seeing the weights anglers have put on barbel, including mistakes of scale readings, guestimating and downright lies.

If i am proved wrong then i will be the first in line to humbly apologise and shake the captors hands!

With all due respect Paul you started off talking about pike who give "runs" as indication (arguably!) and then you use the same term to discribe an indication of a barbel bite.....i don't wait for a run from barbel.

 

[Paul Makings]

Yes i saw the fish myself,, the scales went around to 19.10 and 18.8 and we weighed the weigh sling after it come to exactly 2lb, with all due respect Paul, i would not put something on a public website if it was untrue, yes i can accept that scales can be out, (i work in weighing myself all over the country doing legal for trade / bulk weighers). I was being general about runs/takes from fish, what do you call it when a barbel strips line from your baitrunner??? i call it a run (or maybe a fast swim), i call a run from a pike a take in my world i was just being general???? I agree witrh you about anglers upping weights of fish you see it in angling papers etc .. but i can assure you i am not one of them and i am not a liar so lets get that clear from the off i am only reporting what i saw i am not claiming the fish are mine which if anything makes them more scrutinised. Pike can give runs, they can also just drop the dropper slightly, every fish, bait setup can give a different effect on how a fish will eat your bait, i have had barbel twitch the tip like a roach or just have the rod burst into life with no indication at all that there was anything there. I can assure you one thing the two fish were massive.

 

[captain carrott]

"I don't think its there not interested but by the sounds of things theres been alot of rumors of big fish from the Trent lately. I dont think any of them have come true so maybe just a bit suspicious of what they hear. "

christian i would refer you to our conversation about another large english river one that you fish.

 

[pcpaulh]

Jason I'm not saying I doubt it as I havent a clue about the Trent, was just trying to think of it from other peoples point of views.

 

[paul williams 2]

As i said....i will gladly eat humble pie if i'm wrong.

 

[honslow]

Paul, did you get the name of the captor or any contact details? We (Times) haven't heard from him yet. One fish equals the present Trent record, whilst the other would smash it out of sight.
We'll all wait with baited breath....

 

[Paul Makings]

Greg
No i did not take it but we did give him my mates number so that it can be confirmed, somone else did mention that it would be a river record but i thought that some bigger ones have been caught, i have seen fish of 15lb from these pegs and to 12 - 14lb from some other parts of trent in AT and other places.
He said that he was going to e-mail the pitcures accross to the AT with my mates contact number as well, I did not realise that it would possibly be a river record....i can see the sceptism now, and i suppose his scales would need checking to claim this properly. I did check them twice myself and the weigh sling, everything seemed reasonable my mate had a 12lb fish a few hours before the lad caught these two and the fish he caught really did make the 12lb fish look ordinary even though it was a special fish itself.
I will get some more details from my mate, they was two lads from Barnsley that is all i know, i was busy concentrating on my own fishing.
I am also waiting now i thought he might have made it into 2morrows AT so maybe next week???...They also had a white van if that narrows it down..lol.
He did mention that he goes on another website but i could not remeber it, i have tried finding it using google but to no avail, if you know of any to search through please post and i will look through them, i think it was a barbel dedicated one.
I wait with baited hook......

 

[paul williams 2]

What make of scales were they Paul?

 

[Bully]

Probably Grimms.....

 

[pcpaulh]

Paul only two barbel dedicated websites i know are BFW (barbel fishing world) and barbelforum.co.uk. I havent seen anything on BFW but will check the other!

 

[GrahamM]

Paul, tell the bloke that if he sends me pictures of the fish, and they look authentic, and if I publish them, I'll make it worth his while. Tell him to email me.

Maybe we can get to the bottom of this and substantiate the claim. Or not.