Andreas Opitz
Senior Member
After a few visits to Grayling and Trout rivers at the tail end of last year I became totally addicted to float fishing rivers and the art of it. I was fortunate enough to make these visits with someone who solely float fishes who taught me how to target differing rivers and most importantly how to prepare/feed your swim.
So during my anticipation of the new season kicking off this year I made it my target to catch a Barbel by float and for that said Barbel to weigh over 5lb. I figured anything over 5lb on 4lb mainline and 3lb hooklength would at least require a small amount of skill and even more so in fast water with a feisty Barbel on the end.
So yesterday when the conditions were perfect I left work early got a mate to grab me some maggots and lend me a healthy amount of hemp.
After an hour of trickling in bait I decided to run a float through and see what was hanging around. First catch was a nice sized Dace. Second a Gudgeon. Third small Chub. Then fourth I laid into my first Barbel on the float which was 2lb. To be honest I was really pleased. It was my first Barbel caught by float and it gave a nice account of itself by ducking in and out of reeds before finally being landed.
So on I went after trickling more bait in to make sure things kept lively. Then I hooked into something that felt respectable and guess what happened? The hook pulled and all I saw was a flash of belly dispappear into the depths! Not happy a bunny. So I keep at it and about 15 mins later the float dips down in an aggresive fashion again. This time with a flick of the rod to set the hook I can feel I'm onto something nice. Over what seemed like the next 10-15mins I'm fighting with an unknown fish hugging the bottom making sudden dashes between reeds and heavy flows in the river. Finally, after a lengthy battle I start to see a healthy sized Barbel come to the surface making it's last attempts to evade the net. Thankfully, with help fom a mate the net was filled with my first Barbel weighing in at 6lb on the dot!
Here's a photo:
The whole experience has really made me appreciate the skill of people who have caught much bigger fish on light float gear. And obviously a 6lb'er isn't the largest of Barbel but fact I hit my target and did it on a centrepin has made my season so far
So during my anticipation of the new season kicking off this year I made it my target to catch a Barbel by float and for that said Barbel to weigh over 5lb. I figured anything over 5lb on 4lb mainline and 3lb hooklength would at least require a small amount of skill and even more so in fast water with a feisty Barbel on the end.
So yesterday when the conditions were perfect I left work early got a mate to grab me some maggots and lend me a healthy amount of hemp.
After an hour of trickling in bait I decided to run a float through and see what was hanging around. First catch was a nice sized Dace. Second a Gudgeon. Third small Chub. Then fourth I laid into my first Barbel on the float which was 2lb. To be honest I was really pleased. It was my first Barbel caught by float and it gave a nice account of itself by ducking in and out of reeds before finally being landed.
So on I went after trickling more bait in to make sure things kept lively. Then I hooked into something that felt respectable and guess what happened? The hook pulled and all I saw was a flash of belly dispappear into the depths! Not happy a bunny. So I keep at it and about 15 mins later the float dips down in an aggresive fashion again. This time with a flick of the rod to set the hook I can feel I'm onto something nice. Over what seemed like the next 10-15mins I'm fighting with an unknown fish hugging the bottom making sudden dashes between reeds and heavy flows in the river. Finally, after a lengthy battle I start to see a healthy sized Barbel come to the surface making it's last attempts to evade the net. Thankfully, with help fom a mate the net was filled with my first Barbel weighing in at 6lb on the dot!
Here's a photo:
The whole experience has really made me appreciate the skill of people who have caught much bigger fish on light float gear. And obviously a 6lb'er isn't the largest of Barbel but fact I hit my target and did it on a centrepin has made my season so far
