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Trent now and then.

Richard Barrett

Richard Barrett

Senior Member
First a big thanks to Andy for getting back up on the forum.

I meet an old friend fishing the Trent last week, someone I've known for a lifetime, trust and respect. He told me that in his view the Trent is not half the barbel river it was 20 years ago. He said at one time you could take good bags if fish, smaller then now, but numbers, and lots of chub.

Having only fished the Trent for a few years, I'm in no posisition to judge. I do know this season has been difficult, but I put that down to it being so very clear. I'm sure heavy tackle stands out like a sore thumb, in such conditions?

One chap I know has had 13 blank trips without a fish. His normal tack is two rods skywards, with a feeder, pellets, or boilie.

I'd be interested in Trent anglers opinion, especially those long served.

Richard.
 
Though the barbel are generally bigger, there don't seem to be quite the numbers that there were five years ago. However, the pressure that the river has seen in recent years is bound to have an effect. I don't get to fish it nearly as much as I'd like to, but I've had more success float fishing with small baits than I have with heavy legering, especially in low, clear summer conditions.

As far as twenty years back goes, to me, that was pretty much the lowest point for the river. It was no longer the belting chub, roach and bream match water that it had been, but the barbel hadn't really taken off yet. Prior to the nineties, it was a match venue I couldn't wait to fish. Decent weights and a pretty level playing field for all. In the nineties, it became a match venue I dreaded going to. Hit and miss didn't cover it as it was far more miss than hit.
 
I first fished it in 2001 at Farndon, all I used to catch then was chub and bream.
 
Can't really fault it this year or previous one had a fair share of barbel chub & bream also good roach fishing on float i've fished it over 50yrs & my opinion is that it's coming back to it's former self.
 
Pressure. Predation, predation by foreign nationals.2012 floods and bad angling have all made their mark.
 
I've been fishing the Trent since the early 70's and in my opinion it is a better barbel river than 20 years ago.Back in the mid 90's it was predominantly chub with the odd barbel being a bonus.At that time the average fish was between 3-4lbs,the barbel have grown on and now average 7-8lbs with double figure fish being quite common.
Obviously it's going to be harder when the river is running clear with low levels but with a bit of colour in the water the barbel fishing can be prolific.
Heavy tackle is essential,it's a big river with big fish to potentially record breaking size with big snags.
 
I rarely fish it now with two rods and all the bells and whistles- been Rolling meat for a few years now with some fantastic results or in the deeper spots just one rod and travel light, same again some pretty good results.
This season has seen me miss out due to an unfortunate badly broken ankle on June 22nd( Sod's law I couldn't do it in December and be back ready for the new season) so I can't comment on how it's fishing .
Been fishing it since the 70s when it was full of small chub,bream and Roach to the 80s -90s when it became a great chub venue ,I would say that the early 2000s was when it was Barbel prolific .
Is it better or worse now? I would say we are in the declining curve along with a lot of rivers- the Trent being slow to change due to its size and volume of Barbel
Adapt your style if your Fishing is suffering, small baits and strong size 12 hooks for me if I do static fish oh and the holy grail of bait - the original ellips as I still have a tub full !
In summary they are still there and if you find them fill your boots!
 
Fewer barbel today than 5 years ago where I fish, but bigger - 30% of my fish this year have been doubles. Tail fin damage is definitely on the increase !

Nick C
 
Been fishing the Trent for over 50 years it's better for barbel now than ever but saying that more and more are fishing exclusively for them. At one time we fished for anything that swam, now we target specific species.
As a river it's changed dramatically since those early years.
 
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