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Rise and Fall

Mark Hooper

Mark Hooper

Senior Member
My question is will barbel feed on a rising river.
The reason why I ask this question is because a friend if mine who has been fishing for barbel 12+ years won't entertain it at all n it's a debate we have every month in the bank together.
Background:
Now I've been fishing for thirty odd years but have only come back to the rivers the last 3 so every day is a school day for me.
Example went last week on the bristol Avon & the river looked good for a bite, air temp was double fig river was a lovely chocolate brown but clearing in the edge.Had one wrap round lost it caught one chub but by the afternoon the river rose by a foot???? Then the debate started again " river has risen we might as well go home"
So what's your views on a rising river
Regards
Mark
 
fish it definatly, big smelly bait,love it. :)
 
I don't believe it slavishly but it does seem to depend on the river concerned.
I tend to have greater success when my local is falling and little when it's on the rise. However, I'll acknowledge that there are plenty that have the complete opposite view.
 
Not fished it that long (6 years), but the B.A. has always fished well on the rise! I know there are some other rivers that don`t, but the B.A does! (Or has for those I know that fish it, and myself)
 
If it is a sudden and quick rise then normally it is a no-no, if it is a slow rise and the river starts to colour up I have found a VERY big lump of meat (take a large tin of ham and pork, I use Tulip with no flavour, cut it into quarters and fish it on a size 2 hook no hair) absolutely deadly.
It MUST be a big lump, a smaller piece just does not cut it, flavouring makes no difference, be bold and have a go and you might just be surprised.

Barbel on heavily fished sections DO associate meat with danger, but changing the size and shape can make a huge difference.
I used to fish a section of the Kennet, on this section a lump of cubed meat dropped in front of a fish would often spook it, however changing the shape and free lining (I think rolling is the modern term) would often produce a take and when the river was up and chucking a BIG lump would often work a treat.

I have found that snow water makes life very difficult but road salts will kill a river for fishing so when the temperature rises after a snow fall it is a good idea to fish rivers that do not have major or salted roads upstream of where you fish.

If a river is high, stable and coloured, then I find maggots work very well, but you have to feed regularly, little and often (and I mean regularly) will get them to have a go.
You don’t have to fish the float, a small bomb with a small hookbait will also do the trick, I tend to avoid feeders, they make too much noise and put in too much feed in one go, dropping in a small bomb and searching down the swim will not cause too much disturbance, start by fishing where you think the loose feed is hitting bottom and then work your casts down and back up again from there, but you MUST keep the loose feed going in constantly

I fished yesterday; the river was up and carrying good colour, the snow (and road salt) had fined out, wind was a pain but the air temp had jumped up a bit, I reckoned it was good for a fish and as luck would have it I nicked this fish with the last trot of the day as the light fell.

Picture379_zpscb174808.jpg

15lb 2oz.

Over the period of the day I put in two and a half pints of maggots at a rate of about 15-20 at a time, I know it is a lot of effort but it did work?

Tight lines chaps.
 
Brian Kelly said:
Had some of my best days on a rising river but it can be hard work as the debris increases
Click to expand...

Most of the rivers I fish are Northern spate rivers , and when rising rapidly , particularly in Autumn and Winter, the amount of debris coming down can make them very difficult to fish . As Brian remarks , rising rivers can be very good but very challenging in equal measures. This time of year they can be very cold rivers as well, being constantly fed by snow from the hills as well as the melting stuff off the fields and surface drains . Very nice fish that Keith , stuff of dreams a fish that size in the real North , i.e above the Humber
 
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Going to have to disagree with Keith on the sudden rise bit.

That might be the case on a small Southern stream but on the larger rivers all it means is that the barbel move to a place where the flow is simlar to what they have been used to, then after a while (usually a couple of days) they move out into the big flow again. If you find such temporary holding area you can fill your boots on a fast rising river if you get the timing right.
The very top of a big flood is my favorite.

Nice fish Keith.
 
More grist to the mill.a credit to Keith and Tony for their take on this puzzle.given in a free manner it goes in my notebook.you never stop learning at this game and when you get older you need a kick up the backside to refresh the ideas
Albert
 
I'm with Tony regarding the very top of a big flood - if i can get on the banks just as it's about to peak I'm a very happy man. Less confident on the rise but have caught few. Cracking fish Keith. :)
 
As you say Albert, you never stop learning in this game, and like you some of these thoughts have gone in my little book. Mind you, one of the most surprising things that I have learnt from this thread is that on at least one occasion, Keith used a size two hook, a huge lump of meat....and NO FLOAT :eek:

Cheers, Dave :D
 
Yes dave a big hook.not one that I am familiar with.8 was my limit and I have many fish free lining.in passing I have had barbel on the drop with that method
Above once.massive fish by the way Keith.i am sat here with gritted teeth
Albert:)
 
Keith Speer said:
If it is a sudden and quick rise then normally it is a no-no, if it is a slow rise and the river starts to colour up I have found a VERY big lump of meat (take a large tin of ham and pork, I use Tulip with no flavour, cut it into quarters and fish it on a size 2 hook no hair) absolutely deadly.
It MUST be a big lump, a smaller piece just does not cut it, flavouring makes no difference, be bold and have a go and you might just be surprised.

Barbel on heavily fished sections DO associate meat with danger, but changing the size and shape can make a huge difference.
I used to fish a section of the Kennet, on this section a lump of cubed meat dropped in front of a fish would often spook it, however changing the shape and free lining (I think rolling is the modern term) would often produce a take and when the river was up and chucking a BIG lump would often work a treat.

I have found that snow water makes life very difficult but road salts will kill a river for fishing so when the temperature rises after a snow fall it is a good idea to fish rivers that do not have major or salted roads upstream of where you fish.

If a river is high, stable and coloured, then I find maggots work very well, but you have to feed regularly, little and often (and I mean regularly) will get them to have a go.
You don’t have to fish the float, a small bomb with a small hookbait will also do the trick, I tend to avoid feeders, they make too much noise and put in too much feed in one go, dropping in a small bomb and searching down the swim will not cause too much disturbance, start by fishing where you think the loose feed is hitting bottom and then work your casts down and back up again from there, but you MUST keep the loose feed going in constantly

I fished yesterday; the river was up and carrying good colour, the snow (and road salt) had fined out, wind was a pain but the air temp had jumped up a bit, I reckoned it was good for a fish and as luck would have it I nicked this fish with the last trot of the day as the light fell.

Picture379_zpscb174808.jpg

15lb 2oz.

Over the period of the day I put in two and a half pints of maggots at a rate of about 15-20 at a time, I know it is a lot of effort but it did work?

Tight lines chaps.
Click to expand...



Cracking fish Keith, well done matey :)
 
Just a side thought - the huge lump of meat method does work well in a flood but Barbel are more than capable of finding the smallest food items in the biggest of floods. Don't feel you have to use a big bait to help them find it, they'll easily home in on a small bait. Keep your options open and be prepared to move if you aren't getting indications - locating them is, as always, the key.
 
Yet again some interesting points and some that we can all learn from I feel.
I've not been let down yet with alot of the sound advice I get from this forum.
So next week when I'm on the BA n the debate starts again I' ll show this thread to add weight to the debate over a steaming brew.
Cracking fish Keith by the way & would have never had the confidence to go for a size 2 hook with a huge lump of meat but I think I will be trying it before the end of the season.
Thanks again
Mark
 
Depends on the circumstances leading up to the rise. If the river is constantly up and down with mild conditions then the barbel have good feeding conditions for the duration of this weather. Then a rise may not trigger a big feed as the barbel may be full. But if the river has been low for a while then a rising river due to warm rain provokes heavy feeding. Summer or winter, at least on the WA, this is far and away the best time to fish.
 
On a few occasions when i have fished the swale in summer, if the river begins to rise, when low and clear,the barbel seem to switch on as the water colours up. But when the debris becomes to much the bites tail off. I think they may then settle behind any rocks/snags or out of the main flow to avoid the debris.
 
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Being a soft southerner, I know little of the bigger norfen rivers, the Trent being as far as I can go without getting a nosebleed, so my comments are about our rivers dann souf.
I have to agree with Tony, the very top of a flood is the time to get after the big fish and yes BIG baits work well then.

As for small baits in a full river, yes my hookbait is small, but my bait trail after feeding little and often for a few hours is quite large, last evenings fish came at the end of my trot, 20 yards from where my aim point for the feed was.
I also had a 5lb Chub yesterday, that too came from the end of my trot, when I un-hooked it I had a look in its mouth and there were several maggots to be seen, so I know my loose feed was getting all the way down the swim.
Sometimes I get them close to the head of the swim sometimes at the bottom end, it all depends where the fish are but I suspect last evening the fish were downstream of me and upon finding the bait trail they worked their way up it, grazing on the odd maggot, intending to find the area where the highest concentration of maggots were, I don’t always guess right and fish a swim that already has fish in it, on those occasions feeding little and often will draw them into my swim and into the area where I intend to hook them.

The only problem last night was that 20yds down the swim is a long way away and trying to bully a big fish back upstream makes me tremble just a bit.

After I packed up and was walking back to the car I happened upon a friend of mine, this chap has a VERY impressive list of very big fish to his name, I won’t embarrass him by giving his name, he keeps quiet about his captures and avoids publicity, he was playing a large fish and I stopped to help with pictures and weighing (the bank was very steep and awkward at his swim).
When all was done and the fish returned, he said to me:-

“It doesn’t matter how many big fish you have caught, It’s still squeaky bum time when you see it’s a good one, isn’t it?”

Tight lines chaps.
 
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