With the river season now in full flow Bankside are receiving an ever increasing number of catch reports from Barbel anglers putting their faith in the Grubber Pellets. It's not just local anglers who are getting in on the act either as this recent report sent in by Lincolnshire specialist Danny Roberts shows.
I live in Boston, Lincolnshire and decided at short notice to have an afternoon/evening session on our nearest barbel water - the River Trent. The Collingham stretch was decided upon so left work early and set on my way.
The previous day there had been heavy rain virtually country wide so expected the river to be well up and murky but although up a bit nothing too bad, and the colour looked ok too. The only fly in the ointment was that it was very windy. When I got there the tide was at its highest and was dropping all the time I was there.The spot I had planned on fishing was busy when I arrived so looked for a different one and eventually decided on one I have fished before.
After lugging my gear along the bank and setting up I finally wet a line at about 3-30. I usually fish two rods that are set up pretty much the same apart from bait that is. On one rod I fished maggot with feeder fed hemp and on the other I fished a 12mm hair rigged Grubber pellet alternating between one and two pellets on the hair and feeding Mini Grubbers. At the business end both rods are set up with running 5oz feeders with 12lb main line, an 8lb fluorocarbon hook link and size 10 Kamasan Animal hook.
After about an hour my pellet line gave the usual tell tale heavy nod and a pristine 3lb-ish barbel was the result. It's always pleasing to get the first one as it means you're not going home waterlicked! Very shortly afterwards the pellet rod lurched over heavily and I came in to contact with what I thought must be a good fish as it felt so heavy compared to the last one. During the next 15 minutes a struggle ensued with me gaining line only for the fish to take it back again. I didn't see the fish until it rolled not far in front of me and then realised it was something special - special to me any way. You never want to lose a barbel once hooked but after seeing it roll I definitely did not want to lose this one.
It eventually gave up its fight and in the net it went. I couldn't believe how big it was and couldn't wait to weigh it. When I did it went 15lb 12oz - fantastic and I was really chuffed! I photographed it and slipped it back in the water.
I carried on fishing until 8.30 and had four more barbel of around the 7 - 8lb mark as well as a bream and two clonking eels - all taken on the pellet line despite trying different baits on the maggot rod. A real good session!
My fishing mate and I really rate these Grubbers. They seem to out fish "normal" pellets every time we fish.
I will let you know of future catches with your baits.
On The Move
Written by jon
For those who use the shop on a regular basis u will all be fully aware that we will be moving to a bigger premises in the next couple of weeks. After a successful five years of trading we are taking Bankside to a bigger unit where will be able to display larger items of tackle and enable customers to view and touch new and exciting products. The 1500 sq foot plus unit will have segmented manufacturer sections enabling the customer to shop by their favourite brands with ease. Featured products will be the full Korda, Nash and ESP terminal tackle range, with a selection of luggage from the new Trakker NXG range, Wchywood Solace and Nash Barrow Logic. As always our popular Bankside Bait will be on full show, with new packaging and extended products in the D-Liver and Team Barbel Range.
A new section of the shop will be a better and bigger display of predator gear, with a decent variety of hard and soft lures from the Rapala and Storm stable. Judging by the amount of interest we have had from our small range of Predator gear, we hope our larger display area will cater for our customers and without doubt bring in enthusiastic interest of this specialist area. We are also always interested in your ideas of lures and tackle and will have no problem in ordering any specification or colour. As I'm sure you are aware there is a massive choice with lures, so we have picked the best selection from our knowledge. As we are staying on the same site we hope to make this move as quickly as possible to ensure our customers can visit the new shop within a couple of days of moving. As always we have ample and easy parking outside the unit and are 5 minutes from junction 9 on the M5. It's exciting times for us at Bankside and we hope that you enjoy the new shop. Once we are settled in we will be having an open day with some of the stars from the angling trade paying us a visit. For further information, keep an eye on the website over the next couple of weeks.
Wye Result
Written by Ian Poole
Since June 16th Team Bankside member Andy howes has been targeting the Wye barbel with some success. In his own words this is how he's been getting on so far.
June the 16th gave us a misty, murky morning with a heavy dew on the ground. A mile or so walk and plenty of nettle bashing later we were soaked but happy, and soon we'd created a couple of swims and were fishing. It didn't take long for the rod tip to start flying round, and the sight of a River Wye barbel in the net was a very welcome one after three months off! The only slight blot on the day for me was the loss of what felt like a very good fish to a hookpull in the streamer weed, but then they always feel big when you lose 'em.......!
A couple of days later I took a friend on his first trip to the Wye. Usually a pike and sea angler, he'd never caught a barbel, but that was about to change. We settled on a shallow swim first thing in one of the prettiest swims you could ever want to fish, and on his second cast he caught his first barbel, a 6lb scrapper. I don't know who was happier, me or him, as I was praying we wouldn't blank. Another splasher was in the net shortly afterwards but for the next hour or so the tips remained motionless, and i decided a change of swim was in order.
We battled our way through the undergrowth into a spot with some deeper water, and soon we were picking up fish again. The next few hours brought us no less than 19 more barbel as well as some good chub. It was frantic fishing and total chaos at times on one of the most enjoyable days fishing i can remember. Not huge barbel by any means but loads of fun. For the record, Nick beat me 11 barbel to 10 and managed the biggest of the day at 8lb 4oz, and he had the upstream rod too. I'm not taking him again.
Just so often products creep up in the angling world that are simply awesome and you have to have. Most anglers are obessed with their set ups, making them look flash and pleasing to the eye. Century Neville products are simply the must have if you want a set up that looks awesome but is also lightweight and durable. Both Steve Neville and Century are renowned for quality, so if you don't mind paying that little extra, then Century Neville will be for you. There are many items in the range that are available through the shop, but we thought we would cherry pick our favourites for you to feast your eyes on.
First up are the two rod fixed carbon buzz bars. Supplied as a pair these measure 7" wide and 6" wide, weighing in at 250g per pair allowing for a neat and tidy set up. The 3K-3K Carbon fibres used are specially selected and precision cut to give a light and robust feel whilst the stainless supports sit nicely against Century's "low scratch" matt finish. Also available are a three rod fixed version that measure 12" wide and 11" wide, again supplied as a pair, weight per pair 280g.
If you're a fan of Steve Neville Buzzers then you will certainly be a fan of the snag ears, perfect for snag fishing and lateral runs. Steve Neville designed the Snag Ears to fit most alarms with 3/8" thread whilst the uprights measure 5" tall and 5/8" between centres. Not only do they serve a purpose but they also look great too.
New to the range are three rod adjustable buzz bars. Supplied per pair these weigh in at 625g. The front bar measures 10.25" between centres and 18.25" when fully extended, whilst the back bar is 9.50" between centres and 16.25" when fully extended. Buzz bars lock via Steve Neville screw arm that allows the insert to be fully tightened and released with ease via the small arm on thumbscrew. Once again Century's carbon matt finish and Steve Neville stainless sit perfectly against each other in both looks and strength.
Regular Linear angler Angie Lawley has once again been showing her better half how it’s done with this recent capture of a 25lb 8oz mirror from the Guys Syndicate. The fishing has been pretty tough the last couple of weeks with high day temperatures and the fish spawning, so any capture is a result.
Angie tricked the carp using SBS Corn Poppers with a cobweb bag of Bankside 3mm Sucka Pellets. Angie commented 'I really like these new Bankside Sucka Pellets. They have a powerful aroma and are really black in colour, ideal when I’m fishing with SBS Corn Poppers as the yellow hookbait really stands out over the pellets'.
REEL BARGAIN
The classic Shimano Baitrunner Aero 5000re limited edition is finally back in stock. Ideal for all carp and specialist work, the 5000re is supplied with a spare spool for just £54.99. We only have a very limited supply available at this price and once they are gone, that's it. Click here to purchase online or call the shop for more details.
Welcome to Banksidetackle
Written by Jon Finch
Download our new D-Scent video for syncing with your iPhone/iPod or play the video if you're using your iPhone/iPod now.
If you know anything at all about Bankside Tackle or visited the shop you will realize it is an expanding carp angling business that caters for the modern day Carp, Barbel and Predator angler, with a wealth of knowledge and experience always available.
The online shop has been specifically designed to create a simple user friendly style allowing anyone to access the latest specialist fishing equipment, up to date News and Articles, Product Reviews/Polls and DVD and Video Releases.
If you wish to purchase any equipment then it is neccessary to open your own personal account, by clicking the 'create an account' link. This helps us to keep in touch with you and also gives you your own personal account which can be constantly accessed via your own password. Almost every day new products are added and prices reviewed. At present there are hundreds of products available from the site with multiple options giving you a wide selection of choice. If you are looking for something in particular that is not on this site, please drop us an e-mail, using the contact us link. Alternatively if you have a technical question please do not hesitate to e-mail our expert Team Bankside members via the Forum, as the are always on hand to help.
