» May Update! - Steve Pope Barbel Fishing -

May Update!

Been busy on the Barbel Society front, the annual show is imminent along with the AGM as well.

As I’m giving a presentation at this years show I’ve been trawling through loads of photos, all the old magazines and newsletters plus all the letters and paperwork I have stored away.

I’m there now, just need to get the photos on to Powerpoint and we should be good to go.

It’s the twentieth anniversary show and we are hoping for a really good turn out, there are a variety of excellent speakers, there will be plenty of trade stands and time wise it’s perfect as the new season will be on every one’s mind.

One change from the details shown, John Llewellyn is not speaking.

Details from the Barbel Society website HERE.

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Looking further ahead the Barbel Society have arranged a superb event in September, the Midland Fundraiser. Basically we are using the same format that worked so well on the Hampshire Avon and we are bringing it to the Severn to raise funds to help support conservation initiatives in the Severn Region.

Details from the Barbel Society website HERE.

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Staying with Barbel Society business we are pleased to announce that the research into the Teme and its barbel populations is now under way. If you would like to participate and we really need as many anglers as possible to help out with this, you can find details on the Barbel Society website HERE.

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I have recently had the pleasure of attending a couple of BS regional meetings. It is very convenient that Bobby Baker who is the BS Regional Co- ordinator lives very close by so the trips to Lancashire and Berkshire were no hardship at all as Booby drove and I kept him amused!

These meetings are still very popular and I get the distinct feeling that they will be even more so in the future as a generation brought up on virtual communication realise that face to face is so much better.

Having worked on my talk for the main show, I will be adding another forty minute section purely about barbel fishing and that might produce an interesting two part presentation that I’m prepared to take around the regions.

It had been my belief that I wouldn’t want to do it anymore, I enjoyed so many great times sharing the ‘stage’ with Fred Crouch and my heart had gone out of it.

But the looking back, rekindling of old memories plus the fact that I’ve spent so many hours on the river these past five years I have had a change of mind.

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I’ve put together a long piece for the next Barbel Fisher magazine and with some slight amendment also sent it to Ian at Fishing Magic and the first instalment is produced HERE.

Hope you enjoy it, its been quite a journey these past twenty years!

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It’s around this time when anglers thoughts turn to the new season that the guiding enquiries start coming in, the second phase!

The good news is that there are still a few dates available for one to one guiding on the Wye, Kennet, Severn and Teme and there are still some spots avaailable for the Wye Experience holiday breaks at the Caer Beris Hotel.

Details for the holidays are HERE, and just drop me an email at stevepope@btinternet.com for guiding enquiries.

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Must mention the weather. We are supposed to get lots of rain here on the Welsh border, well since the start of April I have seen very little and its been almost non stop blue skies and sunshine. Incredible really, apart from the two weeks I spent fighting the annual flu bug I’ve spent many hours in the garden endeavouring to get it back to how it was before the cows invaded! I’m almost there.

Been backwards and forwards to see my youngest daughter, her husband and my grandaughter and also to see my middle daughter who has now flown away to a new life in Dubai.

Thats two out of three who have decided that life is better in another country – I’m beginning to wonder if its something I may have said when they were growing up!

My love affair with Australia is over and I’m focusing attention on all the good things that are closer to home, that said I will look forward to a visit to Dubai in the near future.

We take for granted so much that is good about the UK, the general election showed how this country operates – quietly, methodically, not too much trouble, we get on with business. Can’t say that about too many places in the world in this day and age.

I correctly predicted the outcome, just common sense as far as I was concerned. I’m not a hard line tory but have always supported the conservative ideal and there was just no logical reason to throw it away by changing tack before the job is done. Coupled to the fact that in Miliband the opposition had the worst leader possible.

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Next time I’ll give you the lowdown on the Barbel Show weekend and what will be coming up on the fishing front for the new season.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with a couple of shots of me enjoying quality time with Eva.