• 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...

Small River/Few Barbel Advice

V

Vincent Coulson

Senior Member
Hello all,

I fish a small river for its chub but last year I decided to see if I could catch the barbel from it that are definitely in there (what people have told me). On my third evening session I caught one of 9lb along with my PB chub of 5lb12oz.

I fished the same tactics for another 10 or 12 sessions after this in the same and similar swims. Bream and small chub were all I caught.

Now Im thinking there is not a great head of barbel in here. Could anyone give me any advice regarding possible habits of decent barbel in small rivers.

Anything that could help me I'd be very grateful for. I only started fishing for barbel last year so Im quite new to it all.

Thanks a lot.
 
This sounds familiar! On my first ever barbel forray I too caught a nine-pounder from a small river. That was three years ago and it's still my best from there. As I was a guest at the time I had to wait a year to become a member. In my first year I found what could be described as typical barbel haunts and caught a few. The decision has to be made at some point to move to other areas (assuming you've got plenty of water to go at) and try new swims. In my case the river record is under twelve pounds so it's going to be difficult to catch a big fish, so during my second year I did become more mobile. The rewards are intrinsic: if you have to hack your way through undergrowth to get to a fishable spot, then actually catch a fish, size doesn't matter. And so to this season. Once again I plan to fish more spots with the intention of catching barbel. It will be the number I catch that will be of importance (although, I'll be overjoyed to catch a big fish) and if I do find a hotspot, I'll then have to decide if If want to try to pick out the bigger fish by the methods described in some of the 'articles' on this site.

Please excuse my ramblings, which haven't really answered your question, but another way of discovering barbel location is to fish a match on the stretch (if this is a possibility) as you get to find out which pegs they are being caught in. In terms of rigs, a longer hooklength will enable chub to pick up and drop a bait. You'll have to learn to avoid striking at these twangs on your rod tip, but the benefit will be that your bait (assuming it's a pellet or boilie) will still be on the hook and you won't have spooked any barbel by hauling in another fish.

Try trotting for barbel (read Keith Speers excellent article) as an alternative to a ledgering; change your bait to narrow it down to the target species; look for fish through observation instead of fishing for them (if the water is clear enough): finally get to know others that fish the river and share information. Remember, you may be seeking barbel, but they may be after bream/chub, so you can help each other.

Good luck and enjoy your fishing. Don't forget that there will be anglers who have fished the river for a lifetime and never come close to catching a 9 lb barbel.
 
Good advice in my opinion Anthony :)

Vincent, i would also try baiting a very small area, taking in say 1 or 2 swims no more than say 20 yards apart, keeping chub off which are present in numbers whilst you have a small population of Barbel is a nightmare, and really you'll never succeed entirley, but if you can encourage the barbel in the vicinity to congregate into a small area, they may have sufficient numbers to push the chub out, you'll also be attracting more chub though, which is where Anthyonys advice of considering the type of bait you are using can help, there is absolutley nothing a chub wont eat that you put out for Barbel, but there are some baits that Chub love so stay away from those if possible.
Keep the bait going in, fish your spot to the exclusion of all others, let the barbel find you, or every time you visit the stretch, you'll be reseting the clock if you fish different spots, start baiting where you caught that last Barbel, it's as good as spot as any to start, unless you can get hold of some local advice.

Hope that helps mate good luck.

Ian.
 
Cheers for the input.

I do think that you have hit the nail on the head with possibly fishing one or two spots. I have been very mobile and I'm not complaining at catching chub from these swims, it all comes in handy for the winter.

I have been fishing with 4mm halibut pellets for feed and for hook bait. Usually have an 18" to 3' tail depending on conditions. I'm getting very used to not hitting those chub inquiries which can be savage, but not deliberate enough to strike at.

Just got to get amongst those barbel.

Thanks guys.
 
I have the exact same problem so thanks for the information Anthony and Ian.
A quick question that relates to this thread. There are many good looking holding spots on the stretch but I have no evidence that there are barbel in any of them. I have never seen a barbel and I walk the stretch regularly. How would I go about finding the right place to target?
 
I have the same problem with location. When the water is clear enough, which isn't often, you're hard pushed to spot a fish, let alone barbel. Again, the river I fish is full of holding features. It's a beautiful, but frustrating, river. I love it though!
 
Chris Charman said:
I have the exact same problem so thanks for the information Anthony and Ian.
A quick question that relates to this thread. There are many good looking holding spots on the stretch but I have no evidence that there are barbel in any of them. I have never seen a barbel and I walk the stretch regularly. How would I go about finding the right place to target?
Click to expand...

Thats much the same as the river i fish Chris, it would make life a lot easier if you could see them, which is why i rely heavily on pre baiting tactics to draw them to a spot, if you are lucky they may be there already which is why it's wise not to overdo the baiting, you just want to attract them not give them a slap up meal :D
Thats my approach if i can't find them - and usually i can't - i let them find me :D
I've tried the roving aproach, and the 1 hour in each swim approach, and i've come to the conclusion if Barbel aren't present in numbers or other competitors for their food, they'll feed when it suits them, and i got the feeling that by pulling off a really good looking swim, i could be moving away from a fish that would be willing to feed if i gave it time.
I think really sucsessful anglers who rove, and stay short periods in swims tend to know the river like the back of their hand,and/or have that advantage of a high population and i watch people fishing with those tactics suffering many bitter blanks on the river i fish.
When you have a low population - as boring as it is to some bait, and waiting, and targeting small areas is the best approach, - make sure you've got a comfy chair ;)

Ian.
 
Thanks Ian, Been going through so much barbel stuff to find answers recently. I always think I have a plan then I get to the river and it starts to slowly disintegrate as I lose confidence. I read both your articles :) Great read and I appreciate you taking the time to help some of us out. I will also be fishing the Loddon eventually which I believe you do as well. I'm sure if I gave it a little time I could get a barbel from the Loddon as I believe there are quite a few more resident. The Mole and the Wey are my other rivers and both are great for chub but I would be overjoyed in cracking them and getting an elusive barbel from them. They are the one's I'm referring too with low numbers present.
I will try as you say. I suppose it's just down to that thing called patience :p Many thanks for your reply.
 
Ian Grant said:
Thats much the same as the river i fish Chris, it would make life a lot easier if you could see them, which is why i rely heavily on pre baiting tactics to draw them to a spot, if you are lucky they may be there already which is why it's wise not to overdo the baiting, you just want to attract them not give them a slap up meal :D
Thats my approach if i can't find them - and usually i can't - i let them find me :D
I've tried the roving aproach, and the 1 hour in each swim approach, and i've come to the conclusion if Barbel aren't present in numbers or other competitors for their food, they'll feed when it suits them, and i got the feeling that by pulling off a really good looking swim, i could be moving away from a fish that would be willing to feed if i gave it time.
I think really sucsessful anglers who rove, and stay short periods in swims tend to know the river like the back of their hand,and/or have that advantage of a high population and i watch people fishing with those tactics suffering many bitter blanks on the river i fish.
When you have a low population - as boring as it is to some bait, and waiting, and targeting small areas is the best approach, - make sure you've got a comfy chair ;)

Ian.
Click to expand...

Hi Ian,

You have certainly struck a few familiar chords there for me mate :D So many of your points seem to tie in exactly with my experiences on the little river I fish. All I need to do now is weigh it all up as well as you have and catch half the fish you do and I will be a very happy man :p

There are some hugely successful 'short session roving anglers' on the stretch I fish, far better anglers than I, and I do recognise that it is a top method. It is just that despite that, it is not for me. I can't explain it, I just know I am FAR happier 'baiting and waiting'. Lazy? Perhaps...I don't know. However, I DO know what I enjoy, and I do catch a few now and then....good enough for me mate :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
David Gauntlett said:
Hi Ian,

You have certainly struck a few familiar chords there for me mate :D So many of your points seem to tie in exactly with my experiences on the little river I fish. All I need to do now is weigh it all up as well as you have and catch half the fish you do and I will be a very happy man :p

There are some hugely successful 'short session roving anglers' on the stretch I fish, far better anglers than I, and I do recognise that it is a top method. It is just that despite that, it is not for me. I can't explain it, I just know I am FAR happier 'baiting and waiting'. Lazy? Perhaps...I don't know. However, I DO know what I enjoy, and I do catch a few now and then....good enough for me mate :D

Cheers, Dave.
Click to expand...

I think thats it Dave - personal preference, i think most anglers, and in our case Barbel angling, but goes for any species, when they start out as rank novices will try or be taught all sort of methods, most eventually find an affinity with one for various reasons though they may often use others, and some become real experts in that method, Keith Speer and the float, Ray Walton with rolling, to name a couple, for some that use 'short stay methods' i think the deciding factor is the distance they live from Barbel waters, where together with work and family commitments they just can't fish like you or i, so the need to perfect other methods that lend themselves to short sessions become the prefered approach to their fishing, i do believe anglers where those constraints apply, also choose their rivers carefully as well.
One thing is common to all approaches, and thats enjoyment, and at the end of the day it's the only thing that matters at all, because if you enjoy the way you fish you've cracked the biggest nut of all, if you force yourself into a method that isn't really for you, you'll never do well with it, the learning curve won't be fun, which it always should be, because at the end of the day it's the only reason we all go fishing :)

Ian.
 
There's a great temptation to walk a stretch and fish the best looking swims in a particular order (e.g. start as far away from the car as possible and work backwards). If you do the same thing every time, and at roughly the same time of day, you may always be fishing what may potentially be the best swim at roughly the same time of day. This may be precisely when the fish are not feeding. So, if as most of us will consider the last hour of daylight to be the witching hour, give every swim a chance over a period at that time. The problem is of course that weather/river conditions can be so varyable that this isn't productive, but it's certainly worth thinking about.

On a different note, I have been advised never to fish into a snag/holding area but draw the fish out into open water. If they feel they've nowhere safe to feed they'll move away permanently and you may never locate them again..
 
David Gauntlett said:
Hi Ian,

You have certainly struck a few familiar chords there for me mate :D So many of your points seem to tie in exactly with my experiences on the little river I fish. All I need to do now is weigh it all up as well as you have and catch half the fish you do and I will be a very happy man :p

There are some hugely successful 'short session roving anglers' on the stretch I fish, far better anglers than I, and I do recognise that it is a top method. It is just that despite that, it is not for me. I can't explain it, I just know I am FAR happier 'baiting and waiting'. Lazy? Perhaps...I don't know. However, I DO know what I enjoy, and I do catch a few now and then....good enough for me mate :D

Cheers, Dave.
Click to expand...

Dave,

I think I know the stretch you speak of! I personally take an approach that allows me to be mobile If I need to be, but often I will sit it out in one swim If I'm confident the fish are there. The way I see it is you shouldn't move for the sake of moving, but if I'm sat there and the rod hasn't once rattled, not one fish rolled etc then they aren't there. I do believe that they do give you enough clues of their presence when they are about, and if I've sat in a swim - even a noted banker swim - without a sniff then I will be looking to move. This is far from foolproof of course, and I'd probably cringe at the amount of times I may have reeled in just as a big fish is about to snaffle the bait but I have also taken some great fish when moving swims, even venues.

But the biggest truism of this thread is do what you enjoy, because that's the main thing when out on the bank isn't it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top