Floodwater barbel, river Lot

[Steve Arnold]

I had just about given up on fishing until next month. Days of heavy rain and the river running as a rapid torrent, forecast for the next few days looked bleak. But this afternoon the sun broke through and I spotted an opportunity.

First I chanced the main river, sometimes there is slack water under the bank here.......

.....just wishful thinking!

So off downriver a few kilometers, some slack water where a canal section joins the river, this afternoon it would be a suntrap for a few hours.

With the river so high I could fish from the back of the car!

First bite within minutes, missed. Five minutes later another bite resulted in a 2lb barbel. A couple more bites followed but none hooked, until I cast downstream to more turbulent water. Then a slack line bite resulted in a good fight and a barbel close to 6 lb.

Now that's more like it!

It's always a great buzz to catch fish when the river is so out of sorts!

 

[Alan Whitty]

According to barbel fishing experts floodwater is the time to fish for them, for me however its a time to stay clear, never enjoyed it even when I caught.... well done to you Steve for showing the intestinal fortitude to bother...

 

[Steve Arnold]

According to barbel fishing experts floodwater is the time to fish for them, for me however its a time to stay clear, never enjoyed it even when I caught.... well done to you Steve for showing the intestinal fortitude to bother...

After all the rain we have had I was just desperate to fish, as soon as I saw the blue sky I was down the river and had to get a bait in somewhere!

The Lot fishes best when it is running clear, I suspect the barbel do not move around much when it is mucky. Perhaps it's all the silure that have happy hunting days during flood conditions?

 

[@Clive]

Its the time of year Steve. I usually hook the zoo creatures in Feb/Mar and again in Sep/Oct. Bl**dy nuisances they are.

 

[Steve Arnold]

Hi Clive, when the barbel here are slow to feed I usually manage to tempt them with a prawn. Downside to that is the silure love prawns!

As I am a bit bored today I dug out an old compact camera dating from 2011. It has an optical x18 telephoto lens which should be better than the digital zoom on my phone. Anyway, very pleased with the results - once I worked out how to get them into my Google Cloud storage!

I will post one of todays river photos when I have worked out how to shrink the file..

 

[@Clive]

I use Lit Photo app to re size digital images.

Still temperatures in single figures here with rain every day, cold winds and the rivers 3 feet up. I won't be fishing until at least next weekend. At least the decorating will be finished this weekend. And the lawn mowers serviced.

 

[Steve Arnold]

I use Lit Photo app to re size digital images.

Still temperatures in single figures here with rain every day, cold winds and the rivers 3 feet up. I won't be fishing until at least next weekend. At least the decorating will be finished this weekend. And the lawn mowers serviced.

SHhhhhhhh!!!!! Don't raise your voice with the "decorating" word......my Sally is close by....

 

[Steve Arnold]

I use Lit Photo app to re size digital images.

Still temperatures in single figures here with rain every day, cold winds and the rivers 3 feet up. I won't be fishing until at least next weekend. At least the decorating will be finished this weekend. And the lawn mowers serviced.

I will have a look at that app later, Thanks.

My quick work-around was to load it to a post on Facebook, copy it from the Facebook screen and then paste to a file on my laptop. THEN it was a size of file this forum would accept. PHEW!!!

 

[The bad one]

Hi Clive, when the barbel here are slow to feed I usually manage to tempt them with a prawn. Downside to that is the silure love prawns!

As I am a bit bored today I dug out an old compact camera dating from 2011. It has an optical x18 telephoto lens which should be better than the digital zoom on my phone. Anyway, very pleased with the results - once I worked out how to get them into my Google Cloud storage!

I will post one of todays river photos when I have worked out how to shrink the file..

View attachment 29591

looks about normal level and colour for the Ribble this time of year. The barbel would be going mad on the feed in that!

 

[Alan Whitty]

Went to the small river Saturday, bad move on my behalf, upon arrival the water was just over the front of my chosen swim, so after my last visit I started on the float, it went through perfect but after an hour or so no bites were forthcoming, so I quickly set up a small feeder, one tap, no hooked fish or sucked maggot, all this time the rain came down, twice in biblical proportions, when it was that heavy the wind turned from upstream to straight in your face, by 9.30am I was soaked to the skin and frozen, I packed, the river had risen 4ins in 15 mins, the fields were becoming a lake, I got back to the car and the temperature gauge showed 3°, I take it the rain was a similar temperature so its no wonder things were difficult, the drive home was eventful too, two road closures due to flooding and even major A-roads were 3ins plus deep in mucky water, I got to work on my ark upon putting my gear away....

 

[Steve Arnold]

Went to the small river Saturday, bad move on my behalf, upon arrival the water was just over the front of my chosen swim, so after my last visit I started on the float, it went through perfect but after an hour or so no bites were forthcoming, so I quickly set up a small feeder, one tap, no hooked fish or sucked maggot, all this time the rain came down, twice in biblical proportions, when it was that heavy the wind turned from upstream to straight in your face, by 9.30am I was soaked to the skin and frozen, I packed, the river had risen 4ins in 15 mins, the fields were becoming a lake, I got back to the car and the temperature gauge showed 3°, I take it the rain was a similar temperature so its no wonder things were difficult, the drive home was eventful too, two road closures due to flooding and even major A-roads were 3ins plus deep in mucky water, I got to work on my ark upon putting my gear away....

More rain here than I have ever known in over 6 years living in the south of France. I plan to fish on Thursday afternoon as the forecast shows some sun (maybe?), but there will be few choices of swim.

 

[Philip]

I too had a quick wonder along a small stream that I found over its banks. Usual swims appeared fishless but part of me just knew they were stacked up somewhere.

 

[@Clive]

Today was forecast to be showers in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. Wot I got was rain from 8:50 through to midday the torrential rain, sleet and hail in the afternoon. The temperature dropped from 11C to 2C in an hour. I went to look at a swim on the Vienne. The access slope was treacherous and the water high and coloured.

I'll take another rain check this week and check again at the weekend.

 

[Alan Whitty]

More rain here than I have ever known in over 6 years living in the south of France. I plan to fish on Thursday afternoon as the forecast shows some sun (maybe?), but there will be few choices of swim.

The worst of it is Steve is most of my fishing during winter is based around maggot and I get them from a farm, a gallon at a time, so last week I went and picked up my gallon of yellows to see me to the end of our season, after riddling and sieving I ended up with more than 11 pts (it varies), but after a short session Saturday and continued high water levels I can't see me using half before the birds get a feed as I don't get usage of dead maggot much in my angling...