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Barbel and winter water feeding tempratures

N

Nick Stansfield

Member
Hi, after advice on barbel and their feeding tempratures . When to and not to bother basically . Iv always stuck with 6° anything below just not to bother basically . Just wondering what others veiws are . The rivers i fish are very low stock wise fish are quite hard come bye if atall at the best of times . Thanks nick
 
I'd agree with the 6'c figure, and even then I'd want it to be rising. But I know there's anglers will say that they caught when WT is below 4'c. Yeah, if you present a bait well, in front of a hungry barbel, then you might catch. But it really it depends on whether or not you mind blanking in cold weather.
 
I’ve caught them in colder water temperatures than that. The only reason I’d give it a miss is if you get a sudden decrease in temperature. So if it drops from 6-5 over night then the fish will likely not feed but if it holds at 5°c over a few days they will happily get used to this and start feeding again. If you then get a slight increase say from 5-6°c, then that’s definitely worth a chuck.
In winter a good down pour on a warmer day is the perfect condition as the rain water going in is warmer than the river itself and that really switches them on. This happened to me last week and I banked a 13lb fish in a low stock river while it was very quickly rising.
Colour and a stable temp or rising temp is best but what that temp is doesn’t matter too much imo.
 
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Can't catch at home and that's about all I can say of it. Start of this year I had a small barbel in January having not caught one since mid October the year before. Had a few more blanks before a visit in early February when out of the blue I had 4 full on barbel takes and landed 3 of them. Conditions were favorable to be fair but I was so used to blanking it was a massive surprise.

If you go expecting nothing, and you're happy to go home with nothing, then it's always worth the effort in my opinion, as if you do get lucky the sense of achievement is very satisfying 😊
 
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Yes, though it still holds that in some conditions there's very little chance of catching. You could argue that it's worth going even if a blank is almost a certainty - as you might learn something from a new stretch, etc, etc. If you can pick and choose, however, and want a decent chance, you'll pick more favourable conditions - as outlined in earlier posts.

Having said all that; if I was single, jobless and with no dependents, I'd damn well go every day! :)
 
I'm sure fish will feed down to 2 or 3'c, but only for very short periods, and even then by expending the least energy possible. It'll be a simple calories in/calories out decision for the fish. If they're hungry and a bait is put 'on their nose', then I'm sure they'll take it.
 
I think if I had to choose a number it would be 6c (and rising). However, I think it's also worth noting that the scale probably isn't linear, as such. A rise from 4.5.c to 5.c is arguably more significant than 5.8c-6.3c.

I've had an okay late Autumn/early Winter by my standards, the few fish I did have were in spells of consistent 7c-9c temp ranges, whereas I've consistently blanked on the sharp temp rises that have occurred, contradicting the above, but just not in the right place at the right time, maybe... It's only got properly cold over the last few days though, so fingers crossed for mild spell or two before March.
 
At this time of year despite what the water temperature is doing it’s always going to be harder in some respects but it can be very rewarding too and punch out a red letter day.

The number of barbel in the river doesn’t change but position they chose to hold up in does. You can’t approach them with a summer head on your shoulders and changing the bait isn’t going to make enough of a difference in most cases.

They’ll be holding up in slower, deeper and smoother water and they’ll likely be doing this in numbers. Position the bait right and you could very well land on a multiple catch day even in freezing conditions.
You’ve got to take on and adapt to the obvious advantages that winter brings over summer.
So at the moment with most rivers carrying extra water we’ve got endless supplies of colour and really definitive slack water features. The lack of plant life makes good swim access and clear river beds.
Having confidence to make a cast in an area you would completely avoid in the other 3 seasons is absolutely essential.
The advantage of summer fishing as we know is they are more spread out and as night falls they like to get about.
In winter you can probably forget about 75% of the river as a process of elimination of not fishing the main flow line or turbulent water. Also an angler that likes to perch themselves in one spot and chuck out 2 baits for a whole day isn’t going to do too well unless he’s perched in the right spot first time. You need to move to find these holding points. There won’t be that many of them so you’ll need to get off your arse and go and find them. One rod is far better than 2.
No need to lose feed your fishing for the first mistake she makes.
If you catch one..., stay for another cast as there’s a huge chance she’s not alone.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
At this time of year despite what the water temperature is doing it’s always going to be harder in some respects but it can be very rewarding too and punch out a red letter day...........
Click to expand...

This is really great advice and gives me the confidence to give winter barbelling a go, something I've not done before. I wondered, on a small river, if the chub and barbel would hold up in the same places? I went out trotting maggots for a few hours the other day and found a few pockets of really good chub and my hope is that would be where the barbel are too..........or is that not the case usually?
 
Stephen Stukins said:
This is really great advice and gives me the confidence to give winter barbelling a go, something I've not done before. I wondered, on a small river, if the chub and barbel would hold up in the same places? I went out trotting maggots for a few hours the other day and found a few pockets of really good chub and my hope is that would be where the barbel are too..........or is that not the case usually?
Click to expand...
I think they often hold up in the same (sometimes very small) place, but when water temps are low the chub will be feeding more avidly.
 
Around dusk still offers the best chances in winter if you can get a mild spell without too much cold /snow melt water dumped in the the small river , but make sure you know the banks well , a little bit of loose feed , ie . a few smaller pieces of meat to what you are fishing can pay dividends , or what ever is your chosen poison as bait , every river is different, its the working things out that is the challenge.
 
An article from Richard Easom. I know he has his own Bait company and some of you may have already seen it, but I thought it was worth posting.



Richard Easom
3 Foot Twitch Specialist Baits

6ttce NoSvtpemehaonbelsmooecra nlt2re020ld ·
💥
💥
A TRICK THAT YOU'RE MISSING - POSSIBLY?
💥
💥

Did you know that there's two very important elements to feeding barbel?
One is feed inducement feeding - this is when barbel are feeding on free offerings designed to induce a take. This can be done in a variety of different ways but usually with pellets, groundbaits and boilies.
The idea is that you build a swim with a feeder, catapulting loose offerings or throw it in.
The tactic is most suited throughout the summer and early autumn months and again back end of winter (March).
The tactic is usually employed by anglers regardless (Plan A, B and C) throughout the season.
Liquid/powder Inducement Feeding - very rarely thought of and even more seldom used.
The idea here is simple when fishes metabolisms begin to slow in winter feed inducement is rarely best. Mainly because you're relying heavily upon fish feeding to get a bite, regardless of whether the signals are there.
The chemical aspect of enticing a fish to feed is based upon your bait offering the correct signals and fishing willing to eat.
The fact is, most barbel are unwilling to eat lots of loose fed pellets or boilies, preferring instead to eat naturals or smaller free offerings.
Chemical inducement feeding becomes thee most important part in catching consistently in winter and this is done by only using liquids.
You can do this by incorporating a bit of sponge around the lead, held by elastic band which is dipped in liquids, baitdropper or by a spopper using silver aquarium sand.
Liquid and chemical stimulus is the biggest chemoreceptor (trigger zone) within a fishes senses.
Not many people understand this and maybe people just aren't bothered, they just go fishing, but for those that are, understand that fish are acutely aware of what enters their environment.
The liquid acts in a 100% solubility solution when in water and will leak which triggers a feeding response. This is not about adding a bit of liquid to your loose feed that as little to no effect in winter it's about overloading pure soluble trigger attraction.
The silver sand is used a carrier to get the liquid on the deck, not used to attract fish or for any other means. By utilizing liquids which are in fact the most attractive source of feeding you'll catch far more in winter!
This isn't to promote our liquids but to show you there's a very good reason they're used for more than one used in glugging baits
😉
 
Simon Archer said:
An article from Richard Easom. I know he has his own Bait company and some of you may have already seen it, but I thought it was worth posting.



Richard Easom
3 Foot Twitch Specialist Baits

6ttce NoSvtpemehaonbelsmooecra nlt2re020ld ·
💥
💥
A TRICK THAT YOU'RE MISSING - POSSIBLY?
💥
💥

Did you know that there's two very important elements to feeding barbel?
One is feed inducement feeding - this is when barbel are feeding on free offerings designed to induce a take. This can be done in a variety of different ways but usually with pellets, groundbaits and boilies.
The idea is that you build a swim with a feeder, catapulting loose offerings or throw it in.
The tactic is most suited throughout the summer and early autumn months and again back end of winter (March).
The tactic is usually employed by anglers regardless (Plan A, B and C) throughout the season.
Liquid/powder Inducement Feeding - very rarely thought of and even more seldom used.
The idea here is simple when fishes metabolisms begin to slow in winter feed inducement is rarely best. Mainly because you're relying heavily upon fish feeding to get a bite, regardless of whether the signals are there.
The chemical aspect of enticing a fish to feed is based upon your bait offering the correct signals and fishing willing to eat.
The fact is, most barbel are unwilling to eat lots of loose fed pellets or boilies, preferring instead to eat naturals or smaller free offerings.
Chemical inducement feeding becomes thee most important part in catching consistently in winter and this is done by only using liquids.
You can do this by incorporating a bit of sponge around the lead, held by elastic band which is dipped in liquids, baitdropper or by a spopper using silver aquarium sand.
Liquid and chemical stimulus is the biggest chemoreceptor (trigger zone) within a fishes senses.
Not many people understand this and maybe people just aren't bothered, they just go fishing, but for those that are, understand that fish are acutely aware of what enters their environment.
The liquid acts in a 100% solubility solution when in water and will leak which triggers a feeding response. This is not about adding a bit of liquid to your loose feed that as little to no effect in winter it's about overloading pure soluble trigger attraction.
The silver sand is used a carrier to get the liquid on the deck, not used to attract fish or for any other means. By utilizing liquids which are in fact the most attractive source of feeding you'll catch far more in winter!
This isn't to promote our liquids but to show you there's a very good reason they're used for more than one used in glugging baits
😉
Click to expand...
Something like that can only be written by a bait buff
I agree with what is written above but the same message could be understood perfectly from 2 sentences.
there are other factors that imo prioritize over bait when it comes to catching
 
They seem to occupy the same breeding sites at different times, well washed shallow gravel. Recall a site on the Kennet where both spawned in the close season on the same shallows and then dropped down a couple of swims to a deeper swim after.
June 16th a friend had 19 Chub and 9 Barbel IIRC from that swim.
 
I didn't know that silver sand was absorbent? Surely any liquid flavours or scents would be washed off it by the time it had got to the bottom so dispersing the scent trail well below the intended quarry. And, as Terry has already said; why not put the sponge inside the feeder, especially as the author is arguing against the benefits of loose feed?

For me, at this time of year it is all about the Kirsty & Phil approach; 'Location, Location, Location' :)
 
I do add some MC liquid to coat bait in cold water. And it helps.

Slightly differing from whats been said earlier, middle of the day can produce a bite as much as any other time.

As can stamping on the ground.
 
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