The Yorkshire Ouse - Barbel Fishing, Challenges and Rewards
by Michael G Hodgkiss
I have heard it said, and sometimes written, that the Ouse is a difficult river to read and thus locate barbel. I am not going to be wholly disputing this view by any means. Mother Ouse can be a very enigmatic and at times hugely frustrating river, it certainly doesn't have as high a barbel population as say the Swale or the Wharfe. However in the ten years or so that I have fished it 'seriously' for barbel I have discovered that with plenty of bank walking, some lateral thinking, persistence, and a dash of luck the river can produce some nice fish.
I guess the most challenging aspect of the river is its size and, at first glance, the seeming lack of obvious fish holding features. Compared to most of Yorkshires barbel rivers it can hardly be called intimate. Observing fish in its turbid waters is completely out, the swaying beds of ranaculus weed found in the Derwent, or the riffling glides and gravel beds so common on the Nidd and Swale are in very short supply on the Ouse. Don't let this put you off. The mistake I made when first seeking Barbel on the river was to flit from one stretch to another hoping that eventually I would hit on the fish. Most of the river upstream of York contains barbel, wander down at the weigh in of any match and you will regularly find a few barbel offered to the scales and tales of anglers being snapped off. This is a good start to finding barbel hot spots and also gives you a fair idea as to whether a particular stretch is worth targeting in earnest.
Do your homework
Once you have decided on a particular stretch, stick to it and start work. Visit your chosen location as often as you can, preferably in the evening when the river is running at a low level. Late May and early June are a good time as it's the close season and you won't be wasting valuable fishing hours. Evenings in the summer are by far the best time to witness fish activity. Barbel can often be seen rolling and porpoising, this may not indicate a feeding fish but at least it shows they are present. Write down the locations of the activity and take a photo as an aide memoir. Observing the river when it is low can also reveal the presence of snags which will not be visible in the higher water conditions of autumn and winter. Many large branches, even whole trees are washed down the river in the floods and in low water their location can be pinpointed. In my experience snags mean barbel and are usually well worth some attention. Some stretches of the river have large wooden pilings placed in years gone by in an attempt to stem bank erosion. The barbel are often in close proximity to these structures, and again low water will allow you to locate and note these features. When walking a low river also note the position of cattle drinks and sandy shallow bays with slack water, not very productive in this state but in flood, summer or winter, these can often be good swims. Again make a note or take a photo which includes a landmark on the bank so you can find the swim again.
As well as seeking out these more obvious visual pointers, widen your view as well. Yes the river is big, but it does meander about, the outside of bends are always worth a try, points where the river narrows are also worth noting as the flow is constricted and consequently faster, areas which the barbel often frequent in the height of summer when the general flow is slow, dissolved oxygen contents low, and water temperatures high. The Ouse has a deeper channel but this is not always mid river as you might expect. Look where the flood debris has been dumped on the bank or in overhanging trees this is sometimes an indicator of where the deeper channel and current comes nearer the edge. Some of my best Ouse barbel have been caught in swims like these where I have only had to cast out a rod length or two. Mr Crabtree swims are in short supply but there are areas where willows overhang the river and rafts of detritis accumulate in the trailing branches, again worth a go. When you are out on your recce note areas where there are long lines of tightly packed willows on one bank, these areas will not receive angling pressure from that bank as access is impossible, but casting across can often find barbel in residence as they are relatively safe undisturbed areas.
The above are visual pointers which will help you to locate barbel. If you have a boat and a fish finder [ I haven't ], cruising up the river will reveal a lot of river bed features which attract barbel. One of the most productive swims Ouse I have ever fished looks totally innocuous to the eye, however it contains a river bed ridge which causes a sudden increase in depth and a hollow which the fish frequent. I came across the swim totally by accident, casting around with a loaned fish finder device confirmed the feature. Looking on Google earth can also indicate general depth changes which are often worth further investigation by a bit of leading around.
Methods and tactics
If you are looking for tips re some new cutting edge barbel end rig then you might like to skip the next few paragraphs as you will be disappointed !. I am a great believer in simple is best when tackling up for Barbel. The Ouse does not require any sophisticated terminal gear as there is no need for visual end tackle camouflage given the turbid nature of the water. I always use running rigs with a minimum 10lb b.s line and strong forged hooks. Braid is a non starter for me particularly as a main line, its sensitivity and fine diameter are useful when touch legering or rolling a bait, however I have caught a number of fish with nasty striated marks on their flanks, damage which I believe have been caused by the the cheese wire cutting effect of braid, not me for me but each to their own. Having observed feeding barbel near anglers end rigs on clearer rivers, the one thing that needs to be avoided at all costs is the fish making contact with the main line, this DEFINETLY spooks them. Just because you can't see the barbel in the Ouse doesn't mean you can't frighten them. Although it is almost impossible to completely eliminate this problem, to minimise it I use long hook lengths sometimes up to 4 feet. The only exception to this rule is when I am fishing in a flood when a long hook length may leave your bait moving around in the strong current so things should be shortened accordingly. Whatever the river conditions I always fish with my rod tip as close to the waters surface as possible sometimes even submerging it, this reduces the chance of the fish bumping in to your mainline and spooking. Despite all this line bites are inevitable and to a degree useful, in that they indicate fish are in close proximity to your bait, however if they are occurring DON'T strike at them this is guaranteed to scare your quarry, sit tight and wait for a proper take, you can't miss them, well most of the time.. Another phenomena I have regularly noticed on the Ouse is anglers seeming to abandon any thought of stealth or a quiet approach, they can't see the fish and it's a big river so what's the point of creeping around? I have winced seeing anglers literally hammering banksticks in and dropping seat boxes and bags with an almighty clatter, in your minds eye you can see the fish scampering.
Any good quality avon type rod with a test curve in the 1.5 to 2lb range will cover most conditions you are likely to encounter on the Ouse. As far as reels go, as long they are robust enough and balanced to the rod then the choice is yours. All my reels are at least 30 +year old mitchells or centre pins of a similar vintage, I love em but accept that a more'modern' reel with a sophisticated clutch and bait runner option can be very useful, and no I don't wear tweeds and use a cane rod, but I do have a kelly kettle !. Bait wise all the usual suspects will work, go smelly or natural in floods. In prolonged low water conditions maggots and casters although non selective are worth a go, the humble lobworm has also tempted barbel in high summer when nothing else seemed to work. If it gets washed in to rivers or chucked in by anglers then you can catch barbel with it, I have even caught barbel on dead minnows and bread flake but not on the same hook !. To attract fish I will use a feeder or more often PVA mesh bag containing a few samples, attraction can be further enhanced by flavoured pastes moulded around a pellet, or try some glugs, a favourite concoction of mine is liquid oxo mixed with fish oil, hmm nice...
I am not a great believer in balling in heaps of ground bait and particles, this often attracts the dreaded bream or hoards of little chub, keep 'em lean and keep 'em keen. The key is to attract the fish near your hook, once this is achieved the tastiest morsel in the area should be the one with your hook attached to it. One final tip, once you have cast your rig in to your swim and are happy that it is in the right position LEAVE IT, there is nothing more certain to spook fish than repeated casting and retrieving. If you are in a swim that looks promising, you will either get interest fairly quickly, or you may have to wait a while, barbel do patrol around, however if your swim selection has been correct and conditions are in your favour, more often than not the whiskery ones will turn up. If there has been no action after 90 minutes or so and you can be bothered or have the time, move and try another swim. In flood conditions I would reduce waiting time to say an hour, if the barbel are present and feeding they will make their presence felt sooner rather than later.
You 'probably' know all this stuff anyway so I won't insult your intelligence any further. Lets move on to look at a few sessions on mother Ouse in all her varying moods and conditions
Summer bonanza
As you will all remember the start of the 2007 season saw most of the countries rivers bursting at the seams with flood water. I well remember the opening day on the Ouse, I stood and stared with a sinking heart at a river that was 15 foot up and over the banks in most places. Only 3 days earlier the river had been painfully low and barely trickling through. All that anticipation only to be thwarted by mother nature.
By the 18th of June I was able to stand at the waters edge rather than forlornly observe the river across 100 yards of flooded fields. The Ouse was still in angry mood carrying six foot of chocolate brown water and lots of debris but it was fishable, time to break out the garlic spam and the big boys' leads. My chosen swim had deep water fairly close in with willows at either side. Initially I tried casting out in to the main flow, despite casting upstream and paying a lot of line out to get as much as possible on the bottom I was still picking up dozens of leaves and sticks making holding station impossible for more than 5 minutes. The close proximity of the willows meant casting directly downstream and touch ledgering was a non starter as well. The relatively slack and deep water right at my feet was looking more inviting, however I knew I would be fishing tight to trailing tree branches and my main line would be going through submerged nettle beds and dock plants, ah well, who dares wins.
As the afternoon faded in to a very muggy evening I was still fairly confident; the river was falling slowly, the water temperature 58f and rising. On with a big lump of garlic spam dunked in one of my home brewed glugs and I swung in no more than 2 rod lengths distance, the bait probably settling only a couple of foot out from the 'normal ' edge. Leaves catching on the line was much less of a problem so I settled back in my chair broke out a mars bar and waited for matters to develop. Soon the rod end was furiously tapping away, I eventually succumbed to curiosity and reeled in knowing full well what the culprit was, the blessed eel !. They may be a species in decline but there seems to be plenty of the little wrigglers in the Ouse, the well nibbled chunk of meat confirmed my suspicions. On with an even bigger lump of Tulips finest health food and out again. Soon I had a couple of more promising drop back indications and then bingo, the first barbel of the season was off and running, straight out in to the middle of the river and at a furious pace. Three months without a barbel on the end of my line, two minutes with one on and I soon remembered what it was all about. After a minute or two more a plump six pounder was in the folds of my net and I was a happy boy.
Dark was closing in and my tummy was rumbling, I was even thinking of having a little nibble of the spam when the rod walloped round and I was in again. This fish did not go careering off into the torrent but stayed doggedly at my feet gradually working its way nearer the upstream willow. I had to give it the maximum heave ho and with the corks creaking I winched it up to the surface. It was a biggy, however as soon as it clocked me it was dive, dive, dive and straight in to the nettles and branches submerged at my feet. There can be no worse feeling than that of mono scraping and juddering against an unseen snag. All went worryingly solid and I was forced to slack line the fish, usually the last chance option but this time it worked and out she swam straight into the net - deep joy !. This was a lovely long fish of exactly 9lb, now fish of this size may be ten a penny elsewhere but this was a very good fish for the Ouse, I was more than pleased. Unfortunately a further fish escaped to a rare hook pull in the nettle beds, however two barbel out of the Ouse in one session is good going so I wasn't overly disappointed, a great start.
Three more very short evening sessions in the same swim, with the river still carrying a lot of water produced a further 8 barbel, most very modest fish one stood out though, a nice specimen of 8lb 8ozs.The first week of the 2007 season was one I will remember for a long time. Success was in large part down to the warm high water conditions which had clearly stimulated the barbel in to something of a feeding frenzy, however I like to think that my low water observations had helped things a long a bit in terms of swim choice, enhanced of course by my minging glug, I might patent it one day.......
August, a very different river
The first ten weeks of the 2007 season were really something special, in Ouse terms anyway. Twenty eight sessions no more than 4 hours in duration, and sometimes a lot less produced 43 Ouse barbel and only 5 blanks. A family holiday in the barbel free Hebrides kept me off the river for a while, mid August saw me back on the banks with renewed vigour. However very low river conditions saw things really tail off, often a bream or two was all I had to show for my efforts and barbel were becoming decidedly thin on the ground. The one exception was clonking 11.7 specimen, a repeat capture but very welcome nonetheless.
One late August evening saw me twiddling my thumbs at home. My last foray had only produced a pike of all things and enthusiasm was low, however there was zip on the telly and chores to be avoided so I chucked a few bits in the car and headed of f to the bank, you never know I thought to myself... The river was in a poor state, extremely low with a glacially slow flow, if I had to choose one word to some mother Ouse up when in this mood, languid would fit the bill perfectly.
Again thinking back to my pre season observations and re-reading the fishing diary I headed to the swim with the mid river depression that I referred to earlier. A fish or two had come out of this swim to another angler so I thought it would be worth a shot. My set up was leisurely as I spent a while watching a young Heron learning its trade mooching about in the shallows attempting to spear minnows, I felt I was going to struggle too. Lounging in my chair and watching the water world slide by, the rod suddenly whipped in to life - barbel !. A lovely six pounder succumbed to my pellet and paste tempter. Casting back to the same spot, five minutes wait and another fish was on, again a lively six. This was quite a result in such torrid conditions, however despite this success I was sure nothing else would transpire, and yet I hung on … A further 45 minutes drifted along, the pipistrelles came out to play and my thoughts turned to the pub and a pint or three of the brown nectar. I began to gather my bits up and was stood over the rod going through the age old anglers ritual of the last cast countdown. Yes, you guessed it on the very last count, the rod bounced and took off, I was in again !. As soon as I leant in to the fish I knew I had something special on the end, the fish held bottom with limpit like tenacity only very grudgingly moving under rod creaking pressure. Slowly but surely I edged the fish in to the shallows desperate to get a glimpse. The ledger surfaced then an almighty swirl and the fish was heading to the only known snag in the area with frightening power. With my heart pounding away I turned it, and soon a very big fish rolled on the surface, straight in with the net and the fish was safe, phew !.
Once rested it was with shaking hands that I weighed her in, absolutely perfect nick, the scales swung round to plus thirteen pounds, hells bells this was a river record !. Help was summoned [ therein lies another, very amusing tale as I was on my own and had no phone - perhaps another day ]. A second set of scales arrived [ eternal thanks to Ousemeister Bowes ] and the fish was weighed again, coming out on both scales at 11.14. To me it looked bigger but I had clearly misread the scales in all the excitement. A few snaps and I waded out in to what little current there was and liberated my best ever Ouse Barbel. What an evening, and to think I wasn't even going to wet a line. Moral of the tale, ALWAYS follow your instincts.
Reason for success on this occasion; well the water conditions were clearly poor with a painfully low river and a water temperature of 63f. I think luck paid a part but knowing about the mid river depression and it's attractiveness to fish certainly helped. On other occasions in similar low water conditions I have taken 3 or 4 fish in a short space of time. The barbel seem to pack tight in a few select spots which must be the most comfortable place for them to be. I do think that in difficult conditions like these location can be an even more critical factor.
November, a different world
Late November and the balmy days of summer seemed a million miles away. Half a dozen sessions on the Ouse had produced not a single barbel, indeed I had been tempted away to the Nidd to catch a few grayling and chub on the float. However the pull of the Ouse is strong and an early exit from work saw me out on the banks bracing myself against a bitterly cold northerly. The river was 5 foot up and slowly falling, water temperature was steady at 43f, this was not going to be a long session. With the river really pulling through I decided to fish close to the bank in an area which at summer levels was an almost still cattle drink. The plus side of this swim was I knew there were no snags and the flow was steady with not too much debris to foul things up. Hunkered down in the lee of a willow, I sheltered as best I could from the stinging wind, this was dedication I thought to myself. Half an hour and my glugged spam remained untouched, or so I thought. I reeled in with a view to moving on - the bait was missing. I had noticed a few tiny taps but I put them down to debris catching the line or little chub pecking away, annoyed that I had clearly missed a fish I cast back in to roughly the same area and pressed on. Twenty minutes passed with not a flicker. By now I was in the teeth of a real hooly, the horizontal sleet was doing a brilliant exfoliating job on my face and the positive mental attitude was definitely on the slide. Then out of the blue two gentle taps. Despite being an advocate of waiting for the three foot twitch I struck, I was in !.
By now darkness had fallen and illuminated by a full moon I coaxed in a lovely fat barbel of 5lb, a very modest fish by any standards but it left me with a deep sense of satisfaction as I had pitted myself against a difficult river in miserable conditions and gained a result.I was more than pleased with the fish and sliding him back in to the margins I packed up, leant in to the wind and trudged back to the car before hypothermia set in !. Reason for success; well I settled on a swim that I had ear marked in the summer as worth a go in high water and clearly it was the right choice. Fishing in the main flow would have been futile given the high water and debris, dropping in virtually off my rod end maximised my chances when fish were always going to be difficult to tempt, stubborn persistence also played its part. Cold it certainly was, but my view has always been you can always warm up again, and you will certainly never catch fish sat at home.
Fishing, the best medicine
January now and I had been confined to base camp for a few days with a nasty ear infection, I felt lousy. Thinking about hazy days on the river was not really cheering me up so it was on with the wooly hat and long johns and down to mother Ouse for some fishing therapy.. Air temperature on arrival was a positively balmy 47f, and the water temperature seemed to be holding at 45f, I had to be in with a chance. Against my better judgement I decided to fish one of my 'banker' low water summer swims.The river was 3 foot up, jammed up against the downstream willow was a 50 gallon oil drum, a 6 foot long tree trunk, a picnic table, and the obligatory running shoe, I didn't remember rubbish like that in Bernard Venables illustrations of raft swims !. Perhaps my judgement was slightly clouded by cabin fever as my chosen location really didn't tick all the right boxes as an ideal winter rising river swim, however instinct said give it a go.
The fish holding area in this swim was always tight in and underneath the willow. With all the extra garbage floating about on the surface the challenge was [a], how to get the rig in to the right spot and [ b], how to get the fish out should one snaffle up my tasty morsel. Knowing the depth of the swim and judging the speed of the flow I made a careful underarm lob and my heavily glugged pellet and paste offering settled after a few bounces right on the money. Blue touch paper lit, I settled back in the chair and waited for the fireworks.
Within 5 minutes I had two raps on the tip which were too sharp to be debris catching on the line, this was very promising. Hand hovering over the rod and wallop, the rod bucked round and the fun began. I knew I could give the fish no quarter whatever size it was, on the other hand, all the floating debris meant that bringing it up to the surface too quickly could spell disaster. As luck would have it no mad dashes ensued and with sustained pressure I moved the fish slowly upstream as it doggedly tried to cling to the bottom. Once well away from the floating snags I gave it big licks and readied the net. Up she came, a proper big girl, however as wise old barbel do she threw me a curved ball, just as I reached out with the net she bored down to the old tree roots right at my feet. I couldn't give her any line so the trusty Seer took it all, everything held, first roll, in with the net, and the prize was mine.
As with my little 5 pounder in November I was chuffed with this fish, 9lb 9oz, a beauty for the Ouse and again taken in difficult conditions. Quick picture for the archive, and with an indignant swish of her tail she tore off back in to the murky depths. Carry on fishing I thought ?. No. I felt great, illness forgotten a beautiful fish, I had been amply rewarded. I packed away the gear, sat back, fired up the kelly kettle and just watched the river in the fading light. As I drank the last of my tea an enormous silver tourist leapt clean out of the water not ten foot away from me, a stunning sight. Nothing could follow that. Home James.....
The upshot
As I stated at the beginning of this piece the Yorkshire Ouse can be something of a challenge, if you want to catch barbel in large numbers the Ouse is not the place to go, however as I have tried to illustrate, if you follow your nose and instincts, apply a bit of basic watercraft and keep plugging away some good sport can be had. In the 2007/8 season I fished the Ouse for a approximately 250 hours and managed 64 barbel, roughly one fish for every 4 hours fishing. Not a staggering return but positively manic action compared to a real toughy like the Yorkshire Derwent. The season I have recounted was exceptional, reading back in my diaries I note that 2003/4's return saw a paltry return of 18 barbel. However it's not just about catching fish.On the river in all weathers and seasons I have been privileged to see some wonderful sights; otters, kingfishers and an increasing number of leaping salmon and sea trout. Venturing out in extreme weather is exciting itself, it somehow makes you feel more alive. The Ouse despite its challenges is a mysterious and beguiling river, it's many moods keep drawing me back. Perhaps one day a campaign for something different an Ouse catfish perhaps, or a salmon on the fly, you never know.....
Tight lines
