Fishing over big stones, gravel and god knows what!

[Steve Quinn]

Hello Barbel Experts

I did something today that I've been promising myself I would do for the last couple of seasons and that's walk a stretch of my local Thames with a heavy, knobbly lead and braid and go looking for gravel spots. it was the usual situation in every swim. Patches of gravel from the middle to my bank in some places, sometimes not much at all. About 100 metres upstream of a lock, in a fairly boring swim I lobbed out my lead halfway and found a huge area, of rocks, big stones and what felt like running a lead over bricks. On most casts after a few pulls of the rod my lead would get snagged in this debris, but after pulling hard from a few different directions would eventually come free, and continue going over pretty lumpy hard stuff. The next swim up there was none of this, the lead would just come back to me with no interference at all. I guess this would be an interesting place to fish? But I'm not sure exactly how to go about it.

I have to say, if I sound like a bit of a plum, I recently got back into my fishing after 12 years away and spent the first couple of years doing the basics of coarse fishing to get my mojo back. It's only last year and this year I've gained confidence in trying to catch Thames barbel. But had many from the Colne and Kennet in years past. So I appreciate your help.

 

[Steve Jeffery]

Sounds like pretty much every swim on the River Ribble!

 

[Richard Bruton]

Sounds like an area to avoid to me

 

[Kevin Earley]

Parts of the River Trent can be like that. Take a look at Trilobe lift leads that lift the hooklink up away from the river bed quicker. If I am fishing a known snagpit I lift my rod as high as possible and carry out a fast wind. Abrasion could be an issue, worth looking at a combi-rig Braid / Fluro
hooklength.

 

[Gary Wagstaff]

Sounds like pretty much every swim on the

Parts of the River Trent can be like that. Take a look at Trilobe lift leads that lift the hooklink up away from the river bed quicker. If I am fishing a known snagpit I lift my rod as high as possible and carry out a fast wind. Abrasion could be an issue, worth looking at a combi-rig Braid / Fluro
hooklength.

Have some trilobes for snag pit sections of the ribble.great for getting close to far bank trees

 

[Gary Wagstaff]

Ribble is like this lots of boulders and rocky bottom. I try to find a clear spot just upstream and place my bait there.
One little spot which produces decent fish you can catch them close in when i goes dark. i use 6lb power gum as a rotten bottom if I get snagged up
One lad i fish with coats his leads in plasticine seen him get them back when snagged up as plasticine comes off and he gets lead back not all of the time