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Feeding on a flooded/rising river.

W

William Taylor

Senior Member
Hello,

I was having a walk around Bridgnorth today and the Severn really has come up over the last few hours.

Got me thinking how others approach a flooded or rising river, regarding loose feed. I have always opted to use large hook baits, flavoured meat, lob worm, paste wrapped boiles etc on a straight led, no other feed. I have always moved from peg to peg to find the fish, rather then trying to draw them into my swim.

My thinking behind this has been that with such a powerful flow, using a feeder or throwing in loose feed would be pointless as it would just get carried away.

Am I wrong? Or do most of you opt for single hook baits? Or can introducing feed be beneficial?

Thanks
 
I can't see a lot wrong with your thinking, I often rove when there's a metre or three on ... looking for flat water. Re. feed : to continue with your 'flavour over particle number' thinking : you could try a sponge feeder/lead i.e. a heavy feeder with sponge inside, or a lead with sponge wrapped around it. The sponge should be soaked in the river, squeeze out, then dunked in a glug each cast. Overall I believe 99% of particles would often be wasted, unless you're fishing in very slow, flat water (and even then there may be a stronger flow below the surface layer).
 
Terry Simner said:
I can't see a lot wrong with your thinking, I often rove when there's a metre or three on ... looking for flat water. Re. feed : to continue with your 'flavour over particle number' thinking : you could try a sponge feeder/lead i.e. a heavy feeder with sponge inside, or a lead with sponge wrapped around it. The sponge should be soaked in the river, squeeze out, then dunked in a glug each cast. Overall I believe 99% of particles would often be wasted, unless you're fishing in very slow, flat water (and even then there may be a stronger flow below the surface layer).
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Thanks for the reply,

Thats a great tip, I had never considered using a feeder like that. I will give it a try.
 
Roving or static depends how well you know the stretch. Rising rivers, IMO, are superior to the classic "fining down after a flood" rivers, at least for barbel. I use a largish cage feeder with stodgy groundbait mixed with pellets, broken boilies etc and a fairly short hook link, 12 inches or less. Static fishing in a medium sized river, e.g. Warks Avon, will bring plenty of action to this method and I have had catches of 7 or 8 fish a session in these conditions and know of anglers who have had over double that on a rising river. Hook bait can be any of the usual suspects but meat is probably first choice in these conditions.
 
When the Kennet had a healthy Barbel population I'd head down there on a rising river using rolling meat tactics and fish the slacks using huge lumps of meat and leave them there for a while, 5 mins max.
Very successful.
 
I opt mainly for large stinky baits but have in the past used a feeder that's packed really tightly so the feed comes out gradually. You obviously don't put a lot of feed in this way but enough to send a few particles down stream.
 
I really have no experience of fishing a flooded river so not overly qualified to comment! However as mentioned by clive above i recently fished scalded pellets that were glugged heavily and they stayed in the feeder for ages eventually going but clearly giving a lot of scent in to the water for some time.
 
Jon the idea originally came from Graham Elliott when I fished the Kennet with him. A packed feeder giving a scent trail but not over feeding the fish.
 
I could see the idea and benefits fishing it a few weeks ago. I guess for me it was winter and despite being that crazy warm weekend i didn't want to over feed the fish.
 
Clive Shipman said:
Jon the idea originally came from Graham Elliott when I fished the Kennet with him. A packed feeder giving a scent trail but not over feeding the fish.
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Well yes I suppose so if you have only one fish in the stretch, other than that I have found they just rattle the feeder. If you dropper hemp or small pellet in slacks it can be very effective, perhaps even the best conditions to do so.
 
To be honest I never throw any free bait in. Normally just do short evening sessions on the middle Severn so ever since I sacked the pellets off and switched to meat I just use a big chunk on the hook with no free baits at all. In a summer river carrying extra water I’d use an even bigger bit of meat but as for the river at the min I’m the wrong person to ask as iv blanked every session so far this year.
If I was using pellet though I’d use pva mesh to get any free bait down. With the water this cold the mesh has no chance of melting before it’s hit bottom
 
Jon the main problem I am sure with the Severn at the moment it is just a bit too cold.
How many times have I 'sacked' pellets only to turn to them and hey presto!!
A very successful lower Severn angler only fishes with pellet, summer and winter, I subscribed to the reasoning that the oils in the pellet will not disperse in the Winter, but he just keeps on catching.
Of course meat is better in the Winter because the Eels are less active, and combined with droppered hemp can be very effective.
Heads up for the Hinders raw hemp, it is simply the best I have used, not cheap though.
 
Fished yesterday evening in the wind and rain for four lovely big snotties. The two other anglers just upstream of me both had a 9lb+ barbel each on huge pieces of meat.....I went home with my tail between my legs.
 
Jon Young said:
To be honest I never throw any free bait in. Normally just do short evening sessions on the middle Severn so ever since I sacked the pellets off and switched to meat I just use a big chunk on the hook with no free baits at all. In a summer river carrying extra water I’d use an even bigger bit of meat but as for the river at the min I’m the wrong person to ask as iv blanked every session so far this year.
If I was using pellet though I’d use pva mesh to get any free bait down. With the water this cold the mesh has no chance of melting before it’s hit bottom
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Try using smaller chunks of meat when in colder conditions bud big meat is fine when water is 10 oc and above. When below I use much smaller but I over flavour my meat.
 
I use a boilie wrapped in paste about the size of a conker. No freebies. I try and work out where the fish are and make sure if they open their gobs the bait on the hair goes in not free offerings
 
Well it's obviously dependent on the river and water temperature in a flood.

As Clive mentioned re tactics.
I once took a group of 5 first time barbel anglers on the lower Severn when the river was really top of the bank and pushing hard.

We simply used an open end feeder of 3oz but jammed solid with hemp and hali ground bait and half a dozen elips. Probably weight was nearer 6oz.

One benefit being a hooked fish usually drops the bait out when playing, although a number were caught with feeder still full.

Casting two rod lengths out and upstream and allowing about 6 rod lengths of line out after hitting bottom, over the two days we caught a total of....

28 doubles. Most 8-9lb fish stuffed full. A few 11's a couple of 12's and a best 13.2.

I only fish this way in big flooded rivers nowdays prefering a drennan oval blockend maggot feeder with cut out according to flow and with mixed pellets as attractant.
 
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