Sunny, windy, overcast, rain and hailstone showers, with a chance of barbel.

You've got to love Scottish weather. I think someone once said “If you don't like Scottish weather, wait thirty minutes, and it is likely to change.”. Well that’s pretty much what happened recently when I visited Parkview Coarse Fishery for another attempt at catching my first Scottish barbel. 

The weather didn't know what it was doing. I wish I had taken a few more photos of this view to illustrate!

Fishing two rods to maximize my chances, maggot under an insert waggler on one, and a dendrobaena worm on a running ledger on the other, I soon caught a few roach, tiny perch and a single ide.

My first UK species of 2024 was a roach.

These little perch are plentiful, and a pain in the backside, truth be told.

This small ide would turn out to be the only one of the session. 

After a lull in the action, I caught a nice little tench. By that point all the fish had been caught on my float rod, but when something finally took an interest in my ledgered worm and pulled the tip of my feeder rod round, I lifted the rod quickly and set the hook. Winding the fish in, I got a very pleasant surprise when a very small barbel appeared. I quickly drew it over my net. Success!

I love tench. Such a lovely looking fish.

Can't really say the same of the barbel. It's not much of a looker really, is it? Anyway, I was happy to have added another species to my lifetime Scottish tally.

After a brief hailstone shower, things went very quiet. In amongst the occasional roach and perch, I caught a nice little golden tench. 

It's been a while since I caught one of these colourful chaps from a Scottish venue. Even nicer looking than the standard colouration if you ask me.

Well, that's another nemesis defeated. It took me long enough, and I’ve lost count how many attempts it took. I think I'll be targeting Siberian sturgeon at Drumtassie Coarse Fishery over the summer. Before that though, I’d be making a road trip down to England to target some unusual freshwater species that I haven't caught before.

Tight lines, Scott.