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Feeding in colder water

L

Lars Snipen

Active Member
I am new to barbel this year, and have been fishing the Ribble. I haven't caught a barbel since mid-september, and I am wondering about the feeding of swims now when the water is colder (7-9 C these days).

Do you feed the swim prior to fishing? How much? Do you use feeders or plain sinker during fishing? Feeders make a lot of noise... How long do you leave the bait before you re-cast?

Anyone more experienced want to share an opinion on this?
 
give em nowt

pellet or boillie with a paste wrap to match chosen bait,and plip plop a few in! a little rise in water temp might just trigger them to feed but they need nowt compared with earlier in season,good luck!
 
Mark Gaskell said:
pellet or boillie with a paste wrap to match chosen bait,and plip plop a few in! a little rise in water temp might just trigger them to feed but they need nowt compared with earlier in season,good luck!
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Agree with mark i just fish the boilie and paste with smallest bomb possible to hold bottom .leave it in a long time over an hour if its on the spot
If all else fails ring paul hamer or steve foran that useally brings a bite.did on sunday had nothing for 5 hours steve rang said hello fish on:eek:
 
An observation from another newcomer:

I have found since the weather turned cooler that luncheon meat (Garlic Spam in my case) has been more effective and if I do introduce any feed then just a few small pieces the same as hookbait/hair rigged bait. I also keep on the move spending no more than an hour in a swim.
 
Interesting this, some of the articles I read (also on this site) state one should introduce some feed in the swim also in winter fishing (mild winter conditions, 7-9 degrees) to 'kick-start' the fish. Do you think feed will actually put them off, or just not necessary (do no harm, but has no gain either)?

Instead of some free offerings, would swimfeeder do the same job?

Moving swim often is probably a good idea, but not always possible since my fishing is limited to the zones available, with rather few swims...
 
winter barbel

it probably wont put them off lars but they dont need next to nowt,so if you put twenty bolies in the odds in winter are massively against you ,if the water temp rises considerably they will mayb wont more,its easier to put it in than take it out.
 
Mark Gaskell said:
it probably wont put them off lars but they dont need next to nowt,so if you put twenty bolies in the odds in winter are massively against you ,if the water temp rises considerably they will mayb wont more,its easier to put it in than take it out.
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i dont feed 20 boilies in summer:eek:

feeder fishing : maggot feeder works for barbel in winter as i reckon it attracts smaller fish and they're activity encourages the barbel to feed.
also i reckon the movement of the maggot eventually gets the barbel to respond without overfeeding them.

location: as been stated many times before i'd only think about fishing a maggot feeder if i was confident that the swim held resident barbel.
easier said than done:rolleyes:it boils down to experience and time spent on the bank.

give em nowt(my favourite):i personally use a boilie/paste wrap, pellet would do if thats what your confident with! fish this on a light bomb!
this way you can search the swim or swims to find where the fish are holding up without putting bait everywhere!

timing: this can differ so much early autumn 30 to 45 mins but late autumn/winter i'd be looking at 45 mins to hour an half:eek:
this is in swims where i know they live and i reckon im casting within 10yd of them possibly less!
if no bites come i'd recast 10 yd or so downstream and continue the process, this way you suss out where they lie up.
this should of come under location which is by far the most important of all the above especially this time of year.

men from the boys:
there's anglers out there who do well in summer fishing feeders pick a peg get the bait in and the fish come(not always) these are feeding fish actively hunting for food!
fish the same peg in winter and you could be 50 yd or more from where they actually live or lie up when not actively feeding(you've no chance)

i'd like to know where they came from? so i'd fish bomb and bag give it 20/30 mins then move and that way you'll find where they lie up! (summer/autumn)
if you'd actually fished the same stretch not as static you'd learn where they actually live and this information can be used for later when they're in a torpid state(not actively feeding)
 
Thanks, Mark and John, this is very helpful. I have read the book of Miles&West (Quest for barbel) about the active way of fishing strecthes, bit by bit, moving the bait around. Good to hear from local expertise this is reccomended!

Most people I see by the river are more static. I guess this is "inspired" by the carping...:eek:

...and, its certainly easier to put in bait than to take it out again...;)
 
Attracting smaller fish to feed has many times been favourable for me when fishing for other species. My experience from this autumn is that there are no small fish to attract! At least the places I have been fishing there are very few, if any, dace, gudgeon, roach, small trout etc. I have been using maggot-feeder several times, and at least after the cold last weekend of October there hasn't been any response.

In fact, the more I feed in maggots, the longer between bites, and after an hour or so it's dead still. I suppose this is due to overfeeding...?

Temperature has gone up again, but I wonder if also daylength is an issue. My experience from back home is that most fish are more active i February than in November/December, despite the colder water. But the days get longer, I bet they notice.
 
?

feeding spells may be very short,and as for the pyramid thoughts i agree with that in the summer and early autumn the bigger fish will bully there way in ,then as it gets colder they become less keen on searching for food and sit where there comfy and conserve there energy,
 
Invest in a Hi Quality, Hi Protein/Nu-Val Bait and use sparingly ! The initial outlay may be a fair bit, but a pint of Maggots these days is the best part of 3 quid !
Feed a few, small, free samples, if you can, on days when you aren't fishing and then just use a hookbait with a few small free offerings on a stringer when you fish. Re-feed when you pack up and keep them wanting more next time you fish ! BUT the emphasis here is on sparingly !
Also feed along the stretch to keep them looking for food. It's a tactic which works, but just requires a little restraint and application !
 
Paul Matthews said:
Invest in a Hi Quality, Hi Protein/Nu-Val Bait and use sparingly ! The initial outlay may be a fair bit, but a pint of Maggots these days is the best part of 3 quid !
Feed a few, small, free samples, if you can, on days when you aren't fishing and then just use a hookbait with a few small free offerings on a stringer when you fish. Re-feed when you pack up and keep them wanting more next time you fish ! BUT the emphasis here is on sparingly !
Also feed along the stretch to keep them looking for food. It's a tactic which works, but just requires a little restraint and application !
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I take it Mark's not seen this post yet! :D Shut it Gaskell . . . . :p! Oh Paul . . . if only you knew . . . . :D

Great post by mr Charlton on't previous page - explains why i can't catch em in winter! :D
 
how much?

ive seen it and have changed the pre digested and have caught on the home mades this year but at what cost!:eek:
 
Paul Hamer said:
:eek::eek::eek:Come on mate, dont be shy Andy;)
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In a nutshell it turns out north west barbel don't like expensive milk protiens, cream flavour and black pepper essential oil no matter how you apply them. They like northern, manly stuff like spam - even the big girls! ;)
 
oh yes the nu val that didnt go to plan with mr gaskell the heavy handed lump putting it in by the dustbin:eek:
i was fishing the same stretch at the time taking it easy!
 
John Charlton said:
oh yes the nu val that didnt go to plan with mr gaskell the heavy handed lump putting it in by the dustbin:eek:
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He only said that to wind you up - which was about the only bit of that particular campaign that worked. :D:D

Back on subject, like i said in an earlier post Lars - Chas knows his stuff when it comes to winter barbel - i spend my time chub fishing - much more productive. :)
 
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