• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Flood Conditions...

If your swim allows it cast straight downstream close in and point your rod where the bait is , with only the shallowest angle possible on the rod for bite indication , this method allows you to use light leads and reduces amount of debris hanging up on your main line . Works best if you are fishing off a headland from the bank , i.e. a bit that sticks out in the river . Also remember fish will come in very close to the bank in flood conditions I have caught them less than 6ft out from the edge , good with worms as bait as I am sure fish seek them as they are washed in the river , trust me it works you just need a sticky out bit of bank to fish from . As has been said the next best flood method is cast upstream , let a load of line out to form a bow , bites are usually big drop backs as fish pick up the bait and dislodge the lead
 
Back leads can work if your fishing on the right side of the flush through and the river has had its clear out of the crap coming down. I can’t see how it’s possible to fish a tight line even if i wanted too. Water pressure alone would see to it that an arc of some radius has to be there.

Where they fail to be effective is on a rising river because it only takes 1 bit of weed to grab the line and it will move the back lead in exactly the same way as it would put load on your rod tip without it.

In these situations I’d personally fish a very steep line angle directly to my main lead and just let it build up on the line
You’ve got until the tip springs back before you need to wind in and clear it which can be a considerable amount of time fishing.

Float fishing in floods as Ian said isn’t a lot of fun but it can be really effective if you can find a way to do it safely from a bank. I’ve had some brilliant days on the float in very high water just holding it back a long a crease line bouncing a chunk of meat or paste along the bottom.
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
I have caught them less than 6ft out from the edge , good with worms as bait as I am sure fish seek them as they are washed in the river
Click to expand...
That just reminded me of a very strange occurrence I experienced ~10 days ago. I was fishing the Teme after it had dropped about 6ft/2m in a couple of days. I scrabbled down the bank onto a ledge that had a large eddy in front of it. The flow immediately in front of me was actually heading upstream, and the ledge was now dry and covered in recently deposited fine detritus of twigs and leaves. It was a comfortable perch, flat, and less than a foot above a river that had covered it a day earlier.
Using an extra large lump of meat as bait I settled in and positioned 2 bank sticks so that I could touch ledger comfortably with the rod tip only an inch or two above the river surface. As I was repositioning the backrest I was thinking about, and regretting, finding all my lobworms totally dead that morning, especially as I'd only bought them 2 days earlier......when a huge lobworm came up, onto and across the bank, next to my backrest! "Wow" I thought. "Thank you god!". Then, as I was searching my pockets for a plastic bag/something to put the lobworm in, I spotted another lob crawling across the bank, then another, then another!! Within 5-10mins I'd got 26 pristine, fit, and 'muscular' lobs in a sandwich bag!!!
Vibrations from my bank stick(s) no doubt....but a well weird experience! I mean, 26 lobs!!

BTW ................I blanked :)
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
bites are usually big drop backs as fish pick up the bait and dislodge the lead
Click to expand...
I used to do this all the time. Fish a semifixed lead and wait for the rod to spring back with a dislodged lead.

I’ve changed things up a bit now and use a very heavy running lead with big bore ring and it’s bought couple of advantages along with it.
Firstly there’s no confusion with what has dislodged your lead to create a drop back because now even fishing upstream with a bow if I get a drop back it’s weed on my line only and if a barbel picks up, it’s a forward pulling run every time.
I’ve also noticed my rig never tangles now where as before it used to occasionally with a semi fixed in heavy water upstream
 
I never used fixed leads , can't see the point . Yes you will sometimes get a pull on the upstreaming method but if you leave it they will dislodge the lead and you get the big drop back the fish hooking itself against the lead and the pressure on the line . In these conditions I don' think the Barbel are picking up baits delicately . I will add that I use the upstream drop back method in extreme floods on raging Northern spate rivers with powerful flows , you will get your rig dislodged by debris sometimes but in my opinion this is unavoidable . If you are using huge leads [ 8oz plus] to hold bottom in midstream I think fishing close in is a better option , plus you don't need great big carp rods to chuck said rigs out, you also get more and more junk on the line before the whole rig will inevitabely get washed away, only advantage of the big lead rod up in the air approach is it stays in position a little longer . Fishing methods in floods are fairly brutal , it's just about being brave and going for it
 
Terry Simner said:
That just reminded me of a very strange occurrence I experienced ~10 days ago. I was fishing the Teme after it had dropped about 6ft/2m in a couple of days. I scrabbled down the bank onto a ledge that had a large eddy in front of it. The flow immediately in front of me was actually heading upstream, and the ledge was now dry and covered in recently deposited fine detritus of twigs and leaves. It was a comfortable perch, flat, and less than a foot above a river that had covered it a day earlier.
Using an extra large lump of meat as bait I settled in and positioned 2 bank sticks so that I could touch ledger comfortably with the rod tip only an inch or two above the river surface. As I was repositioning the backrest I was thinking about, and regretting, finding all my lobworms totally dead that morning, especially as I'd only bought them 2 days earlier......when a huge lobworm came up, onto and across the bank, next to my backrest! "Wow" I thought. "Thank you god!". Then, as I was searching my pockets for a plastic bag/something to put the lobworm in, I spotted another lob crawling across the bank, then another, then another!! Within 5-10mins I'd got 26 pristine, fit, and 'muscular' lobs in a sandwich bag!!!
Vibrations from my bank stick(s) no doubt....but a well weird experience! I mean, 26 lobs!!

BTW ................I blanked :)
Click to expand...
You blanked even on a juicy lob ? Maybe the Barbel were already stuffed Terry ,like Mr Creosote !
 
I’ve done really well using lobworms in high water conditions on the Severn, but the trick I found is not having the worms static. Having a lead that only just holds bottom, a nice large bow in your line and every few minutes lifting the rod to allow the bait to move a bit….takes usually came as the worm was on the move or a few minutes after settling again….and quite often just as the bait is moving off, which suggests the movement triggered a take?
A swim with nice steady glide is favourable, and a big bunch of lobs!
 
I find my 1.5lb Avon and an ounce or so of lead more than adequate.

I cast just into the flow straight in front of me or slightly upstream, feel the lead down and then let out a few feet of extra line to form a bow. The flow pins the line down nicely, the barbel pick up my lump of meat, the rod tip initially drops back and then normally you get a bouncing as the lead starts to move downstream followed by the rod going over.

Don't overthink it, try and find a swim with flow equivalent to walking pace and don't stay more than half an hour in one place if its not producing.

I personally wouldn't get into back leads etc, just keep it simple. The more stuff you've got in the water in flood conditions the more chance you have of getting snagged up.
 
First thing I do when floodwater fishing is to put a bankstick in at the waters edge, this gives me a marker to tell if the river is rising and at what rate. Always have an escape route should a rapid rise occur. If your fishing on steep / muddy banks a luggage strap or length of climbing rope with a good anchor point could well be a life saver.
 
I really enjoy floodwater fishing,my rig is usually a running rig with lead to suit conditions but I put 2 float stops on the line to catch all the debris and it works surprisingly well,in floodwater I shorten my hooklink to 12/15 inch with 2 boilies wrapped in matching paste..
 
Ste Whybrow said:
I really enjoy floodwater fishing,my rig is usually a running rig with lead to suit conditions but I put 2 float stops on the line to catch all the debris and it works surprisingly well,in floodwater I shorten my hooklink to 12/15 inch with 2 boilies wrapped in matching paste..
Click to expand...
Ste, can I ask you what size boilies you use and what size hook?

Thanks
 
Alan Palmer said:
I’ve done really well using lobworms in high water conditions on the Severn, but the trick I found is not having the worms static. Having a lead that only just holds bottom, a nice large bow in your line and every few minutes lifting the rod to allow the bait to move a bit….takes usually came as the worm was on the move or a few minutes after settling again….and quite often just as the bait is moving off, which suggests the movement triggered a take?
A swim with nice steady glide is favourable, and a big bunch of lobs!
Click to expand...

This is arguably the best advice on this post.

Lobs are brilliant bait during flood as banks get washed away the worms go with it but what's more important is this method taught me early on that sometimes regardless of conditions, they will not leave the safety of a feature and using a smaller lead gave the best presentation available while at the same time allowing the flow to move the bait into a natural holding spot but expect to lose a lead or 2 over time lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top