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Some basic advice.

D

Danny Ash

Active Member
Afternoon everyone, just back from a session on the Trent at Walton. No fish but enjoyed the day all the same, having spoken to another angler their hasn't been much out for the past couple of weeks which has given me a little comfort. I just wanted to ask a few questions on a few things that I still cant get my head around, when assessing a swim for chub and barbel fishing, are their obvious things I should be looking for? I think the main thing im struggling with is the watercraft side of things, I know this will come over time but are there a few basic things to look for to get me going? Also once iv chosen a swim are there certain areas within that swim that I should be casting to, or avoiding? I will either tackle the stretch of river with a trotted float setup with a bunch of maggots on a size 10 hook ( used to avoid smaller species ) Or I will turn up with a fixed spool setup, long hair rig, lead clip either with a feeder or normal grippa lead, coupled with either a 1.5tc or 2.25 tc rod depending on what river and what the flow is doing, these are fished bolt rig style and the fish are hooked before I pick up the rod. Iv watch a lot of videos, read articles and this seems to be a popular method, would I be better scaling down to a lighter feeder rod and fish more conventionally? Im never sure how much to bait up once iv found a swim, should I put loose feed in or should I use only what goes in the feeder or pva bag ext? How much benefit is there to walking the stretch first and priming different areas before fishing? I think If I can start to build a little watercraft knowledge I can start to build from that.
I understand that there is a lot going on here so any little pointer or bit of help will be really appreciated, if you guys can recommend any books, videos that would be fantastic. Thanks
 
Danny,
Are you only fishing the Trent, or are you tackling other rivers, if so which ?
What you can see when walking the bank will be very different on say the Dove compared to the Trent.
 
Hi Danny.
Just some basic info.

The Trent has been tough last few weeks at least till gone 6pm.

Do away with the bags and go groundbait and pellet feeder.

Feed heavily for first hour. That is cast every 5 mins after casting out 5 to 10 times on arrival and pulling the feed /bait out initially.

Look for steady even paced water at the moment with bright skies also deeper bits.


Just some basic stuff before you fine tune and get more confident.

Don't give in.
 
I've caught hundreds if not thousands of Barbel and very rarely use a hair rig. Only time I do is to fish pellets, because they can't be hooked and even then I've found banding just as successful, if not more so than hair rigging. Don't get obsessed with it, the Barbel are not that fussy.
Find where they are and you're 95% there.
Feeding times are important too, last hour of daylight and first hour of darkness being usually the best times. They can turn up at any time though, most often in coloured water (floods). Having said that I've known them to only feed after 1.00am.
Most successful method is without doubt ledgered luncheon meat directly on the hook.
 
"Most successful method is without doubt ledgered luncheon meat directly on the hook."

Lovely way to fish Paul....but.....
 
But what? Pretty sure more Barbel have been caught on that than anything else the last 40 yrs. Not saying there aren't other methods that could be better but it's cheap, easy and well proven.
Perhaps I should have mentioned Maggots, swimfed or trotting, especially in winter.
Also rolling meat. Shows up locations, sometimes very unexpected locations. Not sure about using it on the Trent though.
I'd add that sometimes they have their feeding spells in the morning or early afternoon, the Kennet tends to produce in the day now, apparently.
Previously mostly night fishing, it's possibly due to the Otter presence.
 
Last edited:
Mike Thompson said:
Danny,
Are you only fishing the Trent, or are you tackling other rivers, if so which ?
What you can see when walking the bank will be very different on say the Dove compared to the Trent.
Click to expand...
Hi mate, iv fished the dove around 10/12 times, had a few chub up to near 5lb, I find the dove a lot more intimate and close quarter fishing, overhanging trees, narrow swims ext! I enjoy the dove but iv been told to avoid as it’s really been decimated by the otters! Iv fished the Trent twice now, still no fish to report but it seems to be a lot more open and a little more baron than the dove, lots of open streatches, flow is greater! I’m coming to the end of my first season on the river having started in August! I think I’m still in the process of trying to find a bit of river to focus on really
 
Graham Elliott said:
Hi Danny.
Just some basic info.

The Trent has been tough last few weeks at least till gone 6pm.

Do away with the bags and go groundbait and pellet feeder.

Feed heavily for first hour. That is cast every 5 mins after casting out 5 to 10 times on arrival and pulling the feed /bait out initially.

Look for steady even paced water at the moment with bright skies also deeper bits.


Just some basic stuff before you fine tune and get more confident.

Don't give in.
Click to expand...
Hi mate, really appreciate that bit of info! Am I potentially costing myself fish by trying to fish 2 rods self hooking style? Would it be more productive to fish 1 rod and have the rod to hand to strike at the bites, as opposed to sitting back and waiting for a fish to hook itself bolt rig style! Thanks
 
Paul Collins said:
I've caught hundreds if not thousands of Barbel and very rarely use a hair rig. Only time I do is to fish pellets, because they can't be hooked and even then I've found banding just as successful, if not more so than hair rigging. Don't get obsessed with it, the Barbel are not that fussy.
Find where they are and you're 95% there.
Feeding times are important too, last hour of daylight and first hour of darkness being usually the best times. They can turn up at any time though, most often in coloured water (floods). Having said that I've known them to only feed after 1.00am.
Most successful method is without doubt ledgered luncheon meat directly on the hook.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info mate, what setup would you Fish that on if you don’t mind me asking? I’m normally setup with a hair rig and lead clipped lead or feeder fished bolt rig style, sat back slightly from the rod! Every fish iv had so far has been hooked and iv then lifted into the fish! Can this still be achieved with the hooked meat or would you fish this a little more quiver tip style, actually striking the bites? Thanks
 
Danny.
When I fish the Trent I generally fish one rod.
Mainly because when they feed it can be hectic.
If you fish a hair rigged pellet with paste wrap make sure the gap between hook and bait is minimal.


On a size 10mm pellet you should be looking at a size 9 or 8 hook.

I like one rod as indications on the tip tell me what's happening. I sit on my rod watching.
You may often get a few jags before it wraps around.

I still believe that if feeding enough and watching you can pretty much draw fish into any swim that has even paced water of decent depth, more so in winter.

IME it's a water that really does switch on at evening more cases than not. Especially , as now low clear and bright.

You could sit it out with a big lump of meat. But you will overall catch far less fish than as I describe.....maybe a better one though.

Over the last 20 years I would reckon that pellet catches have outweighed those caught on meat by 50 to 1.
 
Location is the thing especially in the winter and nothing beats experience of a water. Where they were caught last winter will usually be where they are this Winter. When fishing a big river watercraft is a lot more difficult but if fish are caught keep fishing the area. What I would look for is drop offs into deeper water which take time to find and possibly electronic help. Grahams method is a good one and if you fished your upstream rod with a pellet feeder you could fish a second rod on a running rig, downstream 20+ yards on the same line with meat, lobworm or both on the hook. Bites on meat are usually savage and you should not need a bolt rig but you should be sitting close to your rods to strike. With the bright Sun and colder weather after dark fishing is the way to get success
 
Th
Graham Elliott said:
Danny.
When I fish the Trent I generally fish one rod.
Mainly because when they feed it can be hectic.
If you fish a hair rigged pellet with paste wrap make sure the gap between hook and bait is minimal.


On a size 10mm pellet you should be looking at a size 9 or 8 hook.

I like one rod as indications on the tip tell me what's happening. I sit on my rod watching.
You may often get a few jags before it wraps around.

I still believe that if feeding enough and watching you can pretty much draw fish into any swim that has even paced water of decent depth, more so in winter.

IME it's a water that really does switch on at evening more cases than not. Especially , as now low clear and bright.

You could sit it out with a big lump of meat. But you will overall catch far less fish than as I describe.....maybe a better one though.

Over the last 20 years I would reckon that pellet catches have outweighed those caught on meat by 50 to 1.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the help Graham, looking forward to my next trip to hopefully put some of this into practice. Little question here where I fish Saturday I was bringing strands of weed back when reeling in, also getting some bits caught on the line in the water, would you avoid this area or is it still ok to fish in, was a little concerned about the hook getting stuck when casting in? thanks
 
I probably fish half the time upstream slightly allowing 3 or more rod lengths out after hitting bottom. Bites will then be generally a simple firm bump / bang on the rod top.
Tighten up quickly. Most fish will be hooked.
It will negate the weed problem greatly.

Weed shouldn't be a problem at the moment though?

I am fishing the Trent this Fri and Sat and don't expect much to happen before 5pm. If I get one or two of my favourite swims both will be fished upstream.

Last time 11 barbel with 7 being dfigs up to 13lb+ in an evening to 2am.

Remember what I mentioned re baiting.

Good Luck
 
Graham Elliott said:
I probably fish half the time upstream slightly allowing 3 or more rod lengths out after hitting bottom. Bites will then be generally a simple firm bump / bang on the rod top.
Tighten up quickly. Most fish will be hooked.
It will negate the weed problem greatly.

Weed shouldn't be a problem at the moment though?

I am fishing the Trent this Fri and Sat and don't expect much to happen before 5pm. If I get one or two of my favourite swims both will be fished upstream.

Last time 11 barbel with 7 being dfigs up to 13lb+ in an evening to 2am.

Remember what I mentioned re baiting.

Good Luck
Click to expand...
It wasn't a major issue I was just bringing bits back on the way in, I wondered if I needed to cover the hook in either some foam or a small pva bag before casting in, just to keep the point clear. What a cracking session that must of been, id take one barbel at the moment. Thanks for the help Graham
 
Danny Ash said:
Thanks for the info mate, what setup would you Fish that on if you don’t mind me asking? I’m normally setup with a hair rig and lead clipped lead or feeder fished bolt rig style, sat back slightly from the rod! Every fish iv had so far has been hooked and iv then lifted into the fish! Can this still be achieved with the hooked meat or would you fish this a little more quiver tip style, actually striking the bites? Thanks
Click to expand...
Apologies for late reply, been a bit busy.
I've never used a bolt rig set up, wary of tethering fish if broken up. My fishing these days is mostly on a couple of very productive sections of the upper Lea and my set up is :-
30lb + braid mainline, running ledger bead with either an arseley bomb, 1 oz+ or a large cage feeder. Nylon hooklink, usually 8lb Perlon or 12lb Reflo Powerline (same diameter) 6"- 2ft. Centerpin reel, it's a small river. Rarely use the meat nowadays as the pellet aproach is very effective there but wouldn't hesitate to try it if I was elsewhere. For fishing meat I'd be using a size 2 Drennan specimen hook concealed in the meat with just the point exposed. I'd start with a piece torn off a slice about 3/4" thick, about the size of a matchbox. This can obviously be scaled down but big baits do work more often than you'd think. Torn off because they can be a bit suspicious of sharp edges.
For the pellet approach I generally use 4mm halibut pellets in the feeder and 6mm banded on to a Drennan Super specialist size 12. Larger pellets, larger hooks. I've caught on all size pellets up to 16mm as hookbait, I'd hair rig (pellet touching bend of hook) with the larger pellets, would be quite happy to band up to 10mm. For the 16mm I'd be using the 2's.
I wet then almost drain off enough pellets for my session, after about an hour soaking they'll be soft enough to block one end of the cage feeder, then fill feeder with dry pellets, plug the other end and gently swing out. I then pull a few feet of slack off the reel and place the rod in a rest very close to my right hand. Bite indication, wait for the reel to scream, fish are usually well hooked, the heavyish weights help with this. If they're being a bit cagey I'll touch ledger which can be very useful for detecting if there are fish in the swim. When you feel a few taps or plinks or the fish brushing the line be ready for the three foot twitch or any other sign a fish has the bait in its mouth and hit it.
On a bigger river like the Trent obviously a fixed spool reel would be a better option for range. 95% of the time the rod will just hoop over and the fish will be hooked well but holding the rod and touch ledgering will teach you a lot and win you some fish.
Check out rolling meat, Ray Walton is the acknowledged expert on this. It can be a devastating method and is a lovely way to fish, I did very well on it when the Kennet held plenty of Barbel.
Only ever fished the Trent once back in the 80's not long after the Barbel had been re stocked, on the upper river at a place called Kings Mills. Prior advice was big baits only for the Barbel. We took a gallon of casters and one of hemp, to last a weekend. !st cast almost as the feeder hit the bottom, 3 foot twitch, we cleaned up. Hemp & Caster or maggot can be devastating, especially Autumn onwards.
Keep it simple, find the fish, appreciate that they're not that fussy or clever and you won't go far wrong.
 
Cracking read that was Paul, some invaluable info in there which is much appreciated! Hopefully I can put a few things into practice tomorrow! Thanks mate
 
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