Hampton Loade

I have been fishing for nearly 50 years mostly with Warrington Anglers.Durring the middle 70s I was introduced to fishing at hampton loade-(the barbel where a lot smaller then)of late I have returned to the river loving the good sport.I am also a member of the Grayling soceity fishhhing for tem in the frozen months. My PB barbel wassome years ago at 11 lb 2 .This year I have had several 9s never breaking the 10 lb barrier

Poted by John Heesom

Just been fishing at Hampton Loade on the much noted 'barbel alley' water just above the Unicorn pub but on the BAA water on the opposite bank.Although the river looked in good trim with just a tinge of colour in it, the hot sunny conditions did nothing for the fishing and as a result, I blanked, although I was talking to a chap who had caught 4 Barbel just up from the ferry. They had all been caught during an early morning session. I feel the river needs a good flush of water to get the barbel into Autumn feeding mode. Hmmmm, food for thought.

Andy
[Last]

Hi mate, I fished 3 days last week and Monday this week with no luck. I was fishing the kinver freeliners section down river from the ferry. Needs some heavy duty rain I think! Did see 1 guy doing well on a trotted double maggot though.

Posted by Geoff Simpson

Hiya Geoff, I was thinking much the same myself as I sat there today, ie, a stick float would have been good! It seems that there are a few fish to be had in the slightly deeper water around the ferry or in the faster, aerated water down on the BAA 'B' section, downstream of the Unicorn! I haven't been taking maggots with me as of late, but now I am thinking maybe a pint or two might not be such a bad idea. Heavy duty rain is DEFINATELY the order of the day. Can't see sport improving much without it!

Posted by Andy

if the pellets aren't working you should always take a special reserve bait. When the water is running clear and low always take maggots and castors and somne super glue. You never know when they will be what the barbel want!

Im on my way up to the severn next saturday and now we have had some of the wet stuff im hoping the barbel will be up for a bit of a feed. Is there any baits they seem to prefer after a flush of rain ie pellet or meat, im hoping to try and travel light so i can cover more ground so dont want to weigh myself down with to many diffrent baits and tackle.

Thanks for any info guys.
Mark Tearney

Thanks Tim looks like im loading some heavy weight feeders into the car then(hope 3 to 5oz is plenty) and giving my new rod its first proper outing. Are there any areas that are producing better than others at the moment? And any advice as to were to park would be great iv`e been looking on google earth at the area around were the ferry is opposite the unicorn pub, can i get my day tickets on the bank? sorry dont want much do i...oh and could you bait my hair rigs for me and cast???
Many thanks
Mark Tearney

And on the subject of baits has anyone tried meat balls as my local co`op do 6 for less than £2 and they look just the right size for a hungy barbel. Its not something i have used before so think i may pick some up and give them a try. Going to try frying some of them a bit first to try to keep them on the hair or maybe putting one in a fox arma mesh bag uncooked.

Mark Tearney

I used sainsburys basic ones last week. I fried them lightly in oil and tons of garlic. They stayed on the hair for over an hour in a fast/strong flow. I didn't catch but it was hard fishing. I bought another few tins as you get 15 odd balls for 37p. Bargain!!!!!!!!!!!

You should be ok with 5oz, but I think at this time of year its worth ordering a few monster feeders off Andy Witham (see links page).

This was a duplicate of a topic I had started so I have copied everything over to the original (which takes ages) so you can now click on Hampton Loade at the top of the section and it'll show you a map mate. Clever hey??!! You can do this for all venues posted by myself.

Cheers

Well my 1st trip to Hampton Loade didnt go to plan!!! fished the Left Bank and blanked but then so did my mate and didnt see anyone else around us have a barbel so maybe its not just me.

I know the feeling Mark. Karl and I just spent 5 hours down there and caught jack shit!! We fished near Coomed Farm.

Fished Hampton Loade today with 3 chaps off the site. Lovely day, great weather, river looked perfect. It was just getting back to normal after the flood earlier in the week. We had 2 barbel both on pellet. Still, nice all the same!

Fished Stanley water just down from Hampton Loade. Had one barbel of nearly 9lb on my own homemade paste. Very happy with that!!

Fished Stanley again and beat my PB with a stunning 13lber. What a way to finish the season!! Caught her on my usual 2x8mm pellets. It was nice and warm and the pressure was low, so knew it could be good.

Hi Tim, I'm looking at coming up in a few weeks, how is Hampton Loade fishing? I'm from near Milton Keynes so fished the Gt Ouse this season with not a Barbel spotted in the 5 sessions I managed, but I did have a 6lb4 chub. Would you suggest Hampton Loade or elsewhere on the BAA ticket? I have no knowledge of the waters up there and would love to even just see one, let alone hold it!

Thanks, Dan

p.s I added you on Facebook