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P a g e | 4 About eight years ago, I decided to go back to a Due to the snaggy nature of the river Trent, I stretch of the river Trent that I had fished in the fished with 12lb sensor straight through to a size early 1970’s. The fish along that particular 8 hook, with a big Drennan feeder attached to a stretch during the 1970’s were not big, but there small link swivel running on the line and stopped were plenty of them and I was happy just by a couple of beads above the hook length catching whatever size came along (as I am swivel. It was nothing special at all and the bait now); although bigger fish are always very was to be two 12mm pellets on a hair, with welcome. 10mm pellets in the feeder, which had the holes opened out to allow the pellets to escape. I decided to wait until the season had started before visiting the stretch and, as I later found First cast found me snagged up but, after hand out, visits to the river outside of the season lining, it came free. The link had opened up were not allowed anyway. On my first visit, allowing the feeder to come off the line (I use there were around six anglers fishing with small link swivels as a sort of weak link to the around half of them catching, one of them being feeder). With a new link swivel and feeder on, I an angler that I had not seen since I had last cast to a smoother piece of water and let the fished the stretch. He carried on fishing while we feeder find its own settling place. Although I talked about how things had changed since we fished all day, losing more feeders, the only fish I had last met, both with methods and with the caught were chub with no sign of a barbel. This size of the fish that now inhabited the stretch. was to be the pattern on my next four visits, The size of the fish had certainly changed as he fishing different swims each time. Only chub had a fish of around 9lb’s while we were talking graced my net, which are welcome when I am and he told me that there were much bigger fish fishing for them but not when I am after barbel! in that piece of river now, although not as many On my sixth visit, I decided to fish further individual fish as before. My appetite was well downstream than I ever had before. A change of and truly wetted and I decided to fish as soon as bait was also called for, so I decided to fish the I could. This turned out to be two days later. method that I had tried before (without success) I arrived at the river early on the day of the first on one rod, but now with 6mm pellets in the trip, in fact it was still dark, but then I have feeder; while continuing with meatballs on the always been a bit over eager. Still, it gave me a other with just a running lead on the line. Both chance to settle into a swim that I had fished rods were in position by first light; the meatball previously and I soon found out that the swim rod was fished down the nearside, about five had changed a lot since I had last been there. feet from the bank whilst the other was cast towards some very obvious (judging by the boils) snags. I suppose that the pellet and feeder rod had only been in the water for five minutes when I had what was obviously not a chub bite! The fish made for the snags, but I managed to turn it using a lot of pressure and eventually netted it went 10lb’s 9oz. What a start, my first barbel from a new swim on the stretch and it was a double figure fish! At last, I had found some fish - or so I thought.