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Rising river

Paul Hamer

Paul Hamer

Senior Member
Hi all,
Just interested in other peoples experiences in a rising river, catch wise;) I always seem to struggle, is this the norm:confused:
 
I went to the Severn (Hampton load) today an done **** I haven't been after barbel that long but like to think it's the river an not me lol. It's almost impossible to read!
 
I seem to do ok once the river has peaked paul had most of my doubles wen the ribble is in flood but some time i struggle its strange.
 
Lee Iley said:
I seem to do ok once the river has peaked paul had most of my doubles wen the ribble is in flood but some time i struggle its strange.
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Yeh Lee, I've always done well when its peaked and starting to drop;) especially a big flood:D Did'nt know that Craig about rising river with warmer water;) will watch out for that;)
 
Hi Paul
Agree with Craig warm water is the key.
I have found that when the river is rising the barbel move closer in to the bank, obviously due the increased flow in mid to two thirds of the river where i normally catch barbel on the Wye. I have caught barbel literally 10-12 feet from the bank in a rapid rising river.
On the other hand I also agree with you Paul, I have had good results when the river hits its peak and starts falling, less debris coming down the river makes it easier to fish which must make the barbel more comfortable. Also the chub feed better when the rivers starts to fall, never caught chub on a rising river.
 
Trentbarbeler wrote a great piece some years ago now on the old BFW about the the different stages of floods and when the optimum times were. I've had a search but haven't found it yet. I did find this post from him though which covers some of it. (2nd post down)

link
 
Much depends on circumstances. As Craig said, warm water is the key at this time of year. A river rising due to warm rain after a cold dry spell is optimum coditions for barbel to feed; if you wait for it to peak they may well have eaten their fill and it becomes a bit pot luck. Where rising rivers are less predictable is during periods of sustained rainfall when they are constantly up and down and presenting excellent feeding conditions on a regular basis. The barbel won't feed incessantly and being faced with constant good feeding conditions can make it a lottery.
Also, it is very difficult to beat large lumps of meat in these conditions
 
Hi All,
Think the article from Trentbarbeller is excellent. I have always found that a rising river can be outstanding, but then the rivers I fished most were the Severn, Teme, and to a lesser extent the W Avon, two of these rivers get a flush of warmish water from the West the majority of time. The W Avon, will get less water from the West (if that makes sense!)-the point being the cathment area of the river you are fishing will have a lot to do with this. The biggest difference I found was confidence, after I started catching a few fish, and understanding the importance of location, whilst rising river would be my optimum time to fish, I would be confident of catching on a rising/falling river.
However, after moving Southwards, I am still getting my head around the Loddon, and seem to be able to blank even when the river is rising! My first Loddon Barbel came on the first flood this year (Sept timish?) with the river rising. Missed the last significant rise, and now waiting for the next flood to learn some more. Having caught more fish from the river, I will fish around those areas looking for the slack areas close to where I know fish habit.
Baitwise-luncheon meat only-not sure anything else is needed-for me its location and confidence.

Cheers DT
 
Alex Gowney said:
Much depends on circumstances. As Craig said, warm water is the key at this time of year. A river rising due to warm rain after a cold dry spell is optimum coditions for barbel to feed; if you wait for it to peak they may well have eaten their fill and it becomes a bit pot luck. Where rising rivers are less predictable is during periods of sustained rainfall when they are constantly up and down and presenting excellent feeding conditions on a regular basis. The barbel won't feed incessantly and being faced with constant good feeding conditions can make it a lottery.
Also, it is very difficult to beat large lumps of meat in these conditions
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Spot on ;)
 
I know many swear by a rising river but I've rarely done any good in such circumstances. I suspect that's because I'm fishing spate rivers that usually rise damned fast and any influx of water is usually cold. I'd rather fish at the peak of a flood and into the run off.
 
In the Northern spate rivers that I fish , a rising river can be OK it's what is coming down in the rising river that is the key factor , more often than not it's tons of leaves , branches , weed , dead sheep , cows etc , this does tend to spoil things .... As the winter wears on the leaves become less of a problem as most of them have been washed in , then it's the freezing water that tends to be the limiting factor . All this said a rising spate river in warm conditions in late summer / early autumn before the leaves are dropping can be very productive
 
2 of us fished the Wye yesterday it rose 2ft in the time we were there and we caught 7 chub from .5lb to 4.14lb,2 on maggot 5 on cheese paste.:D
 
Different rivers present different results. The Dorset Stour Rarely fishes well on a rising river but the Hants Avon can fish well!! I agree that temperatures are critical in such conditions.
 
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