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Water levels

N

Nigel Whittingham

Senior Member & Supporter
I’ve always fished rivers (mainly the Severn but occasionally , the Wye & local Dane). For years, if planning a trip i’ve looked for a tinge of colour after high water and trying to catch it falling to expect the best success ( in general & usually stick float fishing for any species). Barbel fishing is relatively new to me over the last 5-6 years but my mind still works this way and i’m at my most expectant in these conditions.
However, i find Barbel easier to catch (or locate at least) when flooded as they congregate out of the main flow but my best catch was a few weeks ago in a ‘classic’ coloured, rapidly falling river (dropped 10” in 6 hours whilst fishing)
Watching videos, reading books/forums, i hear “Great! The river is rising rapidly, hopefully this will turn them on to feed” or “ the river is dropping nicely, i expect to catch”
Basically, rising, dropping, steady, clear, coloured, warm & cold all seem to be the best conditions!!
Does this indicate that in reality there are no ‘best’ conditions and they’ll feed at any time?
I know there are no definitive answers in fishing, every day is different and the fish dont stick to rules but what are most peoples thoughts? Is there a pattern or are they always worth a chuck for?
 
Nigel Whittingham said:
I’ve always fished rivers (mainly the Severn but occasionally , the Wye & local Dane). For years, if planning a trip i’ve looked for a tinge of colour after high water and trying to catch it falling to expect the best success ( in general & usually stick float fishing for any species). Barbel fishing is relatively new to me over the last 5-6 years but my mind still works this way and i’m at my most expectant in these conditions.
However, i find Barbel easier to catch (or locate at least) when flooded as they congregate out of the main flow but my best catch was a few weeks ago in a ‘classic’ coloured, rapidly falling river (dropped 10” in 6 hours whilst fishing)
Watching videos, reading books/forums, i hear “Great! The river is rising rapidly, hopefully this will turn them on to feed” or “ the river is dropping nicely, i expect to catch”
Basically, rising, dropping, steady, clear, coloured, warm & cold all seem to be the best conditions!!
Does this indicate that in reality there are no ‘best’ conditions and they’ll feed at any time?
I know there are no definitive answers in fishing, every day is different and the fish dont stick to rules but what are most peoples thoughts? Is there a pattern or are they always worth a chuck for?
Click to expand...
I think it’s not the case that they feed in all conditions but more the case that they do respond differently in different rivers to conditions and times of year too.
So a rising summer wye could be considered a great time to fish. Same as a falling winter river Severn could be.

For me I’ve always found a dramatic change to be bad initially. So a big influx of extra water, sudden temp raise or fall. The first frost or heat wave etc all have negative impacts on my fishing until afew days have passed and I guess this is just time getting used to the change then things tend to pick up generally.

A lot of barbel anglers rush out as soon as the rivers start to rocket up and maybe they are successful but it’s never worked for me. Usually a couple of days into the rise when the weed coming down fines off and the fish have had chance to adjust to the new environment, then I catch the odd 1 or 2

I’m also a float angler like yourself and I do a lot of float fishing for barbel. This changes everything again because the last thing you want is an angry bulging river for this so another thing to consider is ones preferred method for catching them can be in completely different conditions to what you’d expect

Afew inches and a tinge of colour, nothing more is my ideal for taking out a float rod.
 
Nigel Whittingham said:
I’ve always fished rivers (mainly the Severn but occasionally , the Wye & local Dane). For years, if planning a trip i’ve looked for a tinge of colour after high water and trying to catch it falling to expect the best success ( in general & usually stick float fishing for any species). Barbel fishing is relatively new to me over the last 5-6 years but my mind still works this way and i’m at my most expectant in these conditions.
However, i find Barbel easier to catch (or locate at least) when flooded as they congregate out of the main flow but my best catch was a few weeks ago in a ‘classic’ coloured, rapidly falling river (dropped 10” in 6 hours whilst fishing)
Watching videos, reading books/forums, i hear “Great! The river is rising rapidly, hopefully this will turn them on to feed” or “ the river is dropping nicely, i expect to catch”
Basically, rising, dropping, steady, clear, coloured, warm & cold all seem to be the best conditions!!
Does this indicate that in reality there are no ‘best’ conditions and they’ll feed at any time?
I know there are no definitive answers in fishing, every day is different and the fish dont stick to rules but what are most peoples thoughts? Is there a pattern or are they always worth a chuck for?
Click to expand...
I think there’s a lot more involved including behaviours of local barbel populations, types of river substrate, depth, leak off from drains/fields etc..that we will likely never know without a properly designed scientific experiment. I’ve always favoured slowly rising levels following a warmer spell of wet weather but have also caught in freezing conditions when low and clear and after chub. I also think there’s a lot in the fact we are mainly in the mindset of a rising warmer river produces best….so we all try to get out on the bank to then, catch fish and let report the catches so producing a self fulfilling prophecy! The only condition I’m pretty certain puts fish off the feed is when there’s a load of agricultural wash off, salt or other chemicals coming downstream …..other than that any conditions worth a try in my book.
 
An awful lot depends on the particular river, the time of year and water temperature trends.

I don't like fishing a rising river Swale. It tends to rise very quickly and it usually involves an influx of colder water. However, when an influx of warmer water does occur, it can fish well on the rise. I find it safer to avoid a rising river and fish it once it has peaked or is dropping.

The nearby Tees is a bit different. Its headwaters are regulated by five reservoirs. This tends to limit how quickly it rises in all but the most extreme weather conditions. Fishing a slowly rising Tees is not usually an issue. However, you can be caught out if they release water from these reservoirs. There's no warning beyond keeping a very close eye on the level monitors right up the river. At times, water released from the reservoirs can be very peaty and very cold. Fishing it in these circumstances can be rather unproductive.
 
I do agree that a sudden change in any conditions put most fish off and will start to feed after a few days in almost any condition as long as its steady. Also yes, a rise in level due to warm water would be great as apposed to melting snow water etc
 
Richard Isaacs said:
So a big influx of extra water, sudden temp raise or fall. The first frost or heat wave etc all have negative impacts on my fishing until afew days have passed
Click to expand...
I used to know a very good angler who said the first few days of flood on a local river were not good because the extra water washed a load of extra sediment / chemicals (sewage?) into the river which put the barbel off. After a couple of days the barbel would feed heavily and that was the time to fish.
 
Ian Sewter said:
I used to know a very good angler who said the first few days of flood on a local river were not good because the extra water washed a load of extra sediment / chemicals (sewage?) into the river which put the barbel off. After a couple of days the barbel would feed heavily and that was the time to fish.
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I hadn’t thought of it that way Ian but yeah that does make perfect sense. 👍🏻
 
I think thats very relevant with rivers with lots of road crossings, I thinking particularly of downstream of Newark on Trent. I read a very interesting article recently about Canadian salmon affected by road run off and scientists have pinpointed the particular chemical affecting the fish as coming from tyre degradation !
 
I reckon they eat in any conditions as long as they can locate the bait? But I don’t like to fish a rising river and prefer two to three days after it’s peeked and also stopped raining, because with all the farm run off and extra sewage and salt, rubber, plastic etc from roads if in winter, that goes in must make it harder for all fish locate the bait ? Therefore reducing chances of a take unless you put your bait right in front of them. That’s my thinking 🤔 anyway.
 
Kevin Siddle said:
I think thats very relevant with rivers with lots of road crossings, I thinking particularly of downstream of Newark on Trent. I read a very interesting article recently about Canadian salmon affected by road run off and scientists have pinpointed the particular chemical affecting the fish as coming from tyre degradation !
Click to expand...
I think there’s a lot of plastics in rubber tyres added to make them more durable?
 
Apparently from the article it’s a reaction which occurs as the tyre is exposed to the atmosphere as it breaks down and produces this particular chemical. I’m fairly certain the research is Canadian but I’d be surprised if it only affects salmon. The article pointed out that this will get worse with electric vehicles being harder than conventional on their tyres.
All that aside I like a river carrying a bit once the rubbish has washed through. My probably misplaced logic tells me fish that are working harder eat more!!
 
Nigel Whittingham said:
I’ve always fished rivers (mainly the Severn but occasionally , the Wye & local Dane). For years, if planning a trip i’ve looked for a tinge of colour after high water and trying to catch it falling to expect the best success ( in general & usually stick float fishing for any species). Barbel fishing is relatively new to me over the last 5-6 years but my mind still works this way and i’m at my most expectant in these conditions.
However, i find Barbel easier to catch (or locate at least) when flooded as they congregate out of the main flow but my best catch was a few weeks ago in a ‘classic’ coloured, rapidly falling river (dropped 10” in 6 hours whilst fishing)
Watching videos, reading books/forums, i hear “Great! The river is rising rapidly, hopefully this will turn them on to feed” or “ the river is dropping nicely, i expect to catch”
Basically, rising, dropping, steady, clear, coloured, warm & cold all seem to be the best conditions!!
Does this indicate that in reality there are no ‘best’ conditions and they’ll feed at any time?
I know there are no definitive answers in fishing, every day is different and the fish dont stick to rules but what are most peoples thoughts? Is there a pattern or are they always worth a chuck for?
Click to expand...
I don't believe you can ever be sure in any particular conditions. You never know what's running into the river in high water conditions do you? They feed when they want to feed and this isn't always when you think they will is my conclusion! Obviously stock levels will have a bearing on whether you catch or not as well. All that said, I always try and make the effort after rainfall, although when it rains most of the winter like last year I can't see there's any advantage at all unless there's a significant rise in temperature. 🙂
 
So many factors involved . On Yorkshire spate rivers prolonged heavy rain can lead to massive and rapid influx of water , this inevitably leads to huge amounts of debris being washed in to the river ,anything from tons of leaves to whole trees , sheep , I even saw a dead cow floating down the Ouse a few years a go . In summer ,after prolonged dry weather , stagnant drains / ditches get flushed in to rivers which can be detrimental as can run off from road surfaces . In a spate river prolonged rain in wniter or snow melt can lead to dropping water temperatures . This time of year leaves seem to be the biggest problem .In summer and autumn from my experience the rivers in my locality fish best for Barbel at the peak or just after the peak of the flood , when on the rise they can come up so fast angling becomes hazardous , equally they drop rapidly leaving the banks very slippery
 
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