In a previous post I spoke about the Barbel situation in the Plzeň rivers and my plans to target, or at least, find them.
To date I have not done so but a number of developments have encouraged me to change my approach and to revisit previous plans.
Summer Water Levels & New Tackle
In 2024 the water levels in summer were much lower than 2023, making fishing “my” swim more difficult and less rewarding. I struggled through but it was not as much fun as the previous year – don’t get me wrong, I landed some lovely fish but fished much less often.
This year the situation was worse with the swim being so shallow that I hardly saw a decent fish during the summer. Normally at 60 cm to a meter deep, it was now at just 20 to 30 cm.
Combine this with the up-and-down weather conditions and the few times I was both able and motivated to spend a few hours on the bank being reduced considerably, it became a very worrying situation indeed.
Something needed to change, and it wasn’t going to be the weather or the condition of my stretch of the Radbuza. I would need to find a new spot with deeper water.
Friends to the Rescue
I’m lucky enough to have a couple of angling friends along this stretch and, as they each have more than 50 years of experience fishing here, they know the area well.
Their regular stretch is just a five minute walk downstream and, despite their previous invitations to fish it, I had been to interested in “my” swim. Or, more likely, too stubborn.
In early September, being quite down hearted, I took them up on their offer and gave their stretch a try.
I had just four days left before we would close the cabin and return to the city for the Autumn and Winter.
At around the same time, I’d bought a new rod: since returning to fishing, I have been trying to find a rod that would match the one I’d had built for me in the late 1970s by Hounslow Angling Centre in West London. It was built on a Normark, carbon 1.25lb test curve blank of 11 feet long. I called it my chub rod but used it for absolutely everything in all waters.
I could find rods with similar specs at 11 or 12 feet, but my new environment calls for a shorter rod.
I had found a rod that seemed to be perfect: made by Sonik, it is designed in the UK and distributed in the Czech Republic – it’s a 10 foot carbon rod with a test curve of 1.25 lb. The Sonik Extractor+ Specialist Float. A wonderful rod.
Over the next four days, using my new rod I was lucky enough to land 11 carp to 52 cm, several chub to 46 cm, two lovely roach at 29 and 30 cm and various other species.
I also lost 10 fish – two carp which threw the hook in tree roots and 8 unspecified fish – more powerful than the carp and only hooked when using a feeder. I think they were probably pike or catfish taking the feeder – they all broke the line and were unstoppable on this new rod.
With this in mind, I ordered the Specialist Avon 1.75 lb TC version of the Extractor+ to use in similar situations.
I also ordered the Sonik Extractor 3000 size bait-runner reel to pair it with and loaded this with 18 lb bs Shimano line.
My Barbel Setup
Looking at my new tackle and thinking about the Autumn and Winter seasons, I realised that I now had a perfect setup for those Plzeň Barbel.
So, next week, when the rain is reported to stop, I will be taking my Barbel gear to the Úslava river to start my Barbel campaign.
Wish me luck.