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Winter/ Floodwater tactics

Paul Richardson

Paul Richardson

Senior Member & Supporter
Got to be honest , I really struggle catching barbel from now until the end of the season.
I've read all the books, watched the videos and tried to implement strategies - look for smooth water, avoid boils & eddies, walking pace flow, fish the creases, go upstream & across etc..but with little success.
I've tried really deep holes and shallow summer swims that I'd normally avoid
I move swims, take water temps, feed sparingly and use various smelly baits. But still struggle.

I'd be really interested in what others do as so far it's continuing to beat me.
And I realize that the dynamics change as temps drop; happy to fish for a bite or two.
 
I reckon you've nailed it there Paul, sounds like you're doing all that the books say to do. But it's never going to be easy, especially when water temps drop rapidly, the barbel shoal up, and their metabolism slows. I'd say carry on with what you're doing now but with an added emphasis on 'Location, location, location'....and hope for the best.
 
I agree with Terry re location and tbh I usually still fish pellet feeder and occasionally maggot feeder, and I find that I still catch consistently other than when conditions are really bad, ie. very cold spell, snowmelt etc. For sure pellets (Elipse in my case) still catch all winter as I know some people believe they lose their effectiveness.
 
Paul Richardson said:
Got to be honest , I really struggle catching barbel from now until the end of the season.
I've read all the books, watched the videos and tried to implement strategies - look for smooth water, avoid boils & eddies, walking pace flow, fish the creases, go upstream & across etc..but with little success.
I've tried really deep holes and shallow summer swims that I'd normally avoid
I move swims, take water temps, feed sparingly and use various smelly baits. But still struggle.

I'd be really interested in what others do as so far it's continuing to beat me.
And I realize that the dynamics change as temps drop; happy to fish for a bite or two.
Click to expand...
I’m the complete opposite Paul in the respect I struggle the most when the waters warm, clear and low and my barbel fishing gets much better late season.

Summer months for me are simply all about getting 1 fish in our poxy time allowance after sunset which is 1 hour. Daytime fish I tend to catch once in an eclipse…….

Autumn and winter Floods are definitely exciting times for me especially if they get given the odd nice temperature injection with the rain. Coloured water, weed dying back, prominent water features, swim and feature accessibility all make for better barbel fishing.
Looking at your list Paul, while yes those are things the book says to fish too but don’t think too much about it. If it looks barbelly then have a cast.
I think these barbelly type areas are far more prominent and obvious when the river is carrying a boat load of chocolate water and all the vegetation has died right back.
Barbel also congregate together in these areas when it’s piling through and more so when it’s cold so if you’ve got an eye for these spots then you’ll get afew
I don’t think depth is really that important unless it’s especially cold.
Certainly late autumn early winter when we have double figures °c still in the water I wouldn’t be going mad to find depth.
One thing I will do during the colder months and that’s be more selective on the days. If it’s clear and low……. I’ll cast out a dead bait instead 😎
 
It doesn’t sound like you’re doing much wrong, Paul.

I’ve had a couple of Autumn/Winters on the Hampshire Avon where I’ve felt like I was chasing unicorns. Looking back, I was probably trying too hard; using a plethora of strategies and a number of different baits then putting each blank down as a failure and then trying something else, somewhere else. Last Autumn and up until lockdown 2, I managed to find a zone that held some fish and was lucky enough to get a few, usually within quite tight morning and late afternoon feeding windows. It just came down to location and timing.

It’s possible that they are where you think they are, but conditions haven’t been right on the given day. Or they’d been caught the day before and had moved to an alternative holding spot.

If it’s a stretch that you fish regularly, other anglers might let on where they’ve caught at the back end of the season, if you’re lucky. Failing that, look for well trodden pegs that obviously get a bit of attention, if it’s a predominantly Barbel stretch you’re fishing. Chances are that where there is one, they’ll be more. So dedicate a few sessions on the bounce to that spot, enduring a few blanks, if needs be. You might find that you’re better off exhausting a spot where they should be, rather than trying multiple spots where they might be.

If you have the luxury of picking and choosing when you can go, look carefully at the forecasts, river levels and air & water temps and try to go at what appears to be the best time. Stack the odds in your favour as much as possible. Even if your team are playing on the telly or you’re going to annoy ‘her indoors’. I’m terrific at the latter. If conditions are obviously naff, fish for Chub or Pike. Or stay at home in the warm.

If you can piece together the textbook stuff, combine it with a bit of intel and put an effective rig there on the right day, at the right time, you’ll get ‘em. If they’re there. And you’re lucky.

All the best. 🤞🏼
 
Paul Richardson said:
Got to be honest , I really struggle catching barbel from now until the end of the season.
I've read all the books, watched the videos and tried to implement strategies - look for smooth water, avoid boils & eddies, walking pace flow, fish the creases, go upstream & across etc..but with little success.
I've tried really deep holes and shallow summer swims that I'd normally avoid
I move swims, take water temps, feed sparingly and use various smelly baits. But still struggle.

I'd be really interested in what others do as so far it's continuing to beat me.
And I realize that the dynamics change as temps drop; happy to fish for a bite or two.
Click to expand...
Sounds like your doing all the right things Paul, but I'm wondering if your struggle (as you put it), perhaps is more a reflection of the rivers you fish rather than anything your specifically doing wrong. After all your fishing northern (Yorks) spate rivers which have a significant proportion of the catchments that feed them in the uplands where the rain that falls in winter is consistently bloody cold. Much cooler than the rain that falls on the western side of the Pennines (as a rule). And its often bringing washing down loads of salt and grit that's being applied to the roads, loads more than gets applied in the lowlands. It's a world apart from the chalk streams of the south-east and lowland rivers such as the Nene.

Anyway, just a thought.
 
Paul Richardson said:
Got to be honest , I really struggle catching barbel from now until the end of the season.
I've read all the books, watched the videos and tried to implement strategies - look for smooth water, avoid boils & eddies, walking pace flow, fish the creases, go upstream & across etc..but with little success.
I've tried really deep holes and shallow summer swims that I'd normally avoid
I move swims, take water temps, feed sparingly and use various smelly baits. But still struggle.

I'd be really interested in what others do as so far it's continuing to beat me.
And I realize that the dynamics change as temps drop; happy to fish for a bite or two.
Click to expand...

I'm the same Paul, so much so I very rarely go after the clocks go back. The rivers I fish only seem to throw up fish when it's dark (For me anyway) I don't mind fishing in the dark, although I'm a little unsteady on my feet so have to be careful of slippery banks, but I just don't like setting up in the dark. In fact I'm going Carp fishing for a few days soon rather than after Barbel, simply because it will be easier for me to get sorted.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Sounds like your doing all the right things Paul, but I'm wondering if your struggle (as you put it), perhaps is more a reflection of the rivers you fish rather than anything your specifically doing wrong. After all your fishing northern (Yorks) spate rivers which have a significant proportion of the catchments that feed them in the uplands where the rain that falls in winter is consistently bloody cold. Much cooler than the rain that falls on the western side of the Pennines (as a rule). And its often bringing washing down loads of salt and grit that's being applied to the roads, loads more than gets applied in the lowlands. It's a world apart from the chalk streams of the south-east and lowland rivers such as the Nene.

Anyway, just a thought.
Click to expand...
I used to catch a lot more barbel out the swale than I do the Nene at all times of year.
 
During the late autumn and winter months I wait for a rise in (air) temp, and go a couple of days later if the trend is still upwards. When the river's bank high following a deluge and the air temp's up, with a wind from the south west I'll fish the creases with a slack on the inside. That's where they usually are in such conditions.
But, as has been said above, much depends on location and barbel being in the actual swim. Find them and you'll have a decent second half of the season.
 
Definitely worth the perseverance as I think Autumn /winter is the best time of the year on the rivers and generally a nice place to be. It's finding the buggers that is hard. Roving and bouncing a bait about the swim will find them quicker. It can be a small area within a swim and all of a sudden it's bite after bite, especially when that floodwater comes. It will be like a magic eye picture that suddenly morphs into a porpoising barbel. Keep on keeping on, the effort will be worth it. 👍
 
Keith Humphreys said:
Hi Paul

Out of interest, which rivers do you fish? I only ask as it may temper my answer to your dilemma.
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Hi Keith
I fish the Swale in N. Yorks almost exclusively in winter. I know the stretch very well and that is the frustrating part for me in that I know 9 or 10 pegs intimately and would bet money they still hold fish but they simply won't play ball, not with me anyway.
 
Stuart Linton said:
Definitely worth the perseverance as I think Autumn /winter is the best time of the year on the rivers and generally a nice place to be. It's finding the buggers that is hard. Roving and bouncing a bait about the swim will find them quicker. It can be a small area within a swim and all of a sudden it's bite after bite, especially when that floodwater comes. It will be like a magic eye picture that suddenly morphs into a porpoising barbel. Keep on keeping on, the effort will be worth it. 👍
Click to expand...
Oh I still fish every week when I can but last few years have gone after chub or pike when the river is raging in flood which last year seemed all autumn/ winter. When it was perfect, it was lockdown. Sounds like I just need to keep at it. 👍
Only once did I get to the river and it was chocolate flood water on the rise. I found some fish ( more by good luck than management) and it was an amazing hours fishing - frantic, then it stopped and not a sniff for the remainder of the day as the river continued to rise.
Have tried a lot to emulate that session but failed miserably since.
 
Paul Richardson said:
Hi Keith
I fish the Swale in N. Yorks almost exclusively in winter. I know the stretch very well and that is the frustrating part for me in that I know 9 or 10 pegs intimately and would bet money they still hold fish but they simply won't play ball, not with me anyway.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with the Swale but if it's mainly a gravel bottom and not too rocky I would use a running back lead, shorten the hook length to about 12-18" and fish the conditions, i.e. only target Barbel when the conditions are right for them e.g. if coloured water, fish when air pressure is low and temps are rising (preferably when over 7 degrees C and rising). I use Klips pellets and Boilies with a paste wrap of the same flavour from Kent Particles river baits (I prefer the Garlic flavour) but if the water is clear don't ignore the humble Maggot. There are many variable but find a set up that you have confidence in and be confident ;) hope that helps and Tight Lines.
 
Richard Isaacs said:
I used to catch a lot more barbel out the swale than I do the Nene at all times of year.
Click to expand...
Is that down to there perhaps being more barbel in the Swale then, than there is in the Nene now?

Assuming fish populations being equal, it’s not unreasonable to assume a northern spate river is likely to be harder in winter than a lowland midlands rivers is it? Thinking about it, the Swale must be getting close to the northern limit of barbel distribution in Northern Europe?
 
Not really answering the OPs question but I had a good lesson regarding how localised barbel can be on a flooded river, this was mid 2000’s on the Bristol Avon.

A mate and I were fishing an area of river that was reliable in normal conditions, and very fishable with floodwater on as the river widened and the flow evened out over a large gravel bed.

Flow was left to right, my mate was fishing about 15 yards above me, casting at around 20 yds and slightly downstream, I was putting a bait out same distance and our baits were on the same line and we were using the same bait, Maple 8 boilies.

He had 4 barbel on the bounce while I didn’t even get a sniff of a barbel and had just a small chub later in the afternoon after he’d stopped catching.

2 things 2 consider here really, the fish were definitely holed up in one area and not moving around the swim as you’d have expected, secondly, there was a clearly defined feeding spell.

Those fish would have been easy to miss if just one of us was fishing in the middle of the swim.

Just to add, someone made a good point in one of the posts regarding the possibility of fish being caught the previous day, definitely a consideration on rivers/sections with a small head of barbel at all times of the year.
 
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