Another 2 blanks

Well thinking the weather and river were perfect for a chub I decided to have a go after work on Tuesday 26th February , didnt get to the river til 3.30pm though a mix of having to go home and sort the dog out and get my winter gear on . The river did look perfect and an overcast sky with a very fine misty drizzle all seemed well .

Deciding to start on my usual tactic of a drennan gripmesh feeder and a 18 inch hook link to a size 10 carbon feeder hook , feeder was loaded with mince that had predator plus added to it and a slither of steak that had been treated to the same . After an hour and no sign of any fish I decided a change was in order so off came the feeder and a 3 swan shot leger link was added , the hook bait remained the same after half an hour of casting and allowing the  bait to bounce round with the current and still no response out of nowhere a fish crashed 2 rod lengths out and 15 yards above my position rather than move a made a bold move and removed all the weight and cast a freelined piece of meat upstream and allowed it to trundle back towards me , at this point I should be saying how the line tightened and I snared a fish to save my blank alas this failed as well . Decided for the last half hour to revert back to the feeder and sit it out .

                                             willing it to go round wasnt working either

Just as the light finally went 2 barbel rolled mid river 20 yards upstream . My hand began to feel cold so put them in my pockets , what happened next was incredible , my hands suddenly felt warm , I took them out of my pocket and as I did I noticed my tip tremble slightly then 2 quick jabs on it and I struck but hit nothing , oh no or words to that effect . Another cast was in order and landed pretty much in the same spot after 15 mins it became obvious that my chance had gone and I looked behind me to see the silhouette of my van bathed in the glow of railway lights . I tried to catch it with my camera and below is the best I could do .

As I drove home I reflected on the session and came to the conclusion the missed bite may well have been an eel as I have had eels from this swim on a few occasions and the bites have been similar .

Thursday 28th February a similar session to the one above with the addition of trying maggot feeder for the first hour to no avail . I left without even sign of a fish and was very disappointed not to have had an success in 3 trips after chub . I have come to the conclusion that the high water levels we have had on numerous occasions this season has altered the river in some way and moved fish into new areas and away from old established ones . I spoke to one angler who been on the river all day and was just leaving he hadnt seen a sign of a fish and told me 4 other anglers had arrived just after midday and said that they had been on the Tidal Trent for 5 hours without a sign between them .
I'm now on holiday for the last 2 weeks of the season and am planning 2 overnight sessions among other things for barbel and will hopefully have some fish to report .