Mild weather keeping them going

[The bad one]

Your a rum un you Phil .

Isn't it strange though, how people get the wrong idea about how a northern spate river fishes and think or imagine them to fish the same as southern chalk stream rivers?
Same goes for fishing methods used to try and induce a take.... scaling down using very low diameter line, single maggots on tiny hooks etc etc. They just don't seem to realise that we've tried all that on countless occassions mg:.
Hard work in'it Phil when people just won't listen to you and would rather throw names of well known anglers at you, who have caught large specimens in their own regular waters where they know it inside out.
You may have seen my invitation to those knowlegable people to come and show northern anglers how it should be done and how to catch those elusive barbel in sub zero temp's on a trotted bait. Unfortunately no one was willing to come and demonstrate.
I think artist may be offended by my offer to come and show me how to catch barbel on the float in winter but I wasn't being nasty, he should take it as a compliment and nothing else!

Indeed it is Ian It's a bit like an ATOS adviser telling a dying cancer man he's fit for work, finding out he's died before he sends out his benefit withdrawal notice.

 

[Keith M]

I have only fished the swale in Yorkshire a couple of times during the colder months (near Richmond) and I was just trying to catch a few Grayling, but I can well believe tigger when he says that the barbel are extremely hard to catch in the depths of winter on the northern spate rivers.

Keith

 

[tigger]

I have only fished the swale in Yorkshire a couple of times during the colder months (near Richmond) and I was just trying to catch a few Grayling, but I can well believe tigger when he says that the barbel are extremely hard to catch in the depths of winter on the northern spate rivers.

Keith

Thanks for that Keith, I appreciate your vote of comfidence bud ..
We all know that you can be very lucky on occassion and catch barbel in cold weather trotting a float (i'm talkin' round here now) but you certainly won't be catching them very often and you need to be prepared for a hell of a lot of blanks if that's how you want to target them. Legering can still be very hit and miss when the temp's are just above and below freezing but there's no doubt that it gives you a much better chance of catching.
To be honest chub are catchable on the float easily enough when it's colder but when it goes really cold your best chance of a fish would be to target grayling as they seem to feed well beyond the point that everything else switches off.
The above is reference to the rivers around me in my part of the country and obviously in other rivers in various parts of the country the fishing may be totally different.

 

[Philip]

Well as the forums a bit quiet at the moment...

All this Southern angler knocking by the Northern experts who really should know better. Fact is trotting wont work for Southern Barbel because you can't trot more than 10 yards without encrouching on the next angler downstream. :wh

 

[flightliner]

Well as the forums a bit quiet at the moment...

All this Southern angler knocking by the Northern experts who really should know better. Fact is trotting wont work for Southern Barbel because you can't trot more than 10 yards without encrouching on the next angler downstream. :wh

Much the same on the Trent Philip if you try running a float downstream opposite a Barbel angler.

 

[thecrow]

Much the same on the Trent Philip if you try running a float downstream opposite a Barbel angler.

I have had an angler above me trotting a float down his swim far enough for it to end up at my feet mg: it didn't bother me as I was fishing much further out away from where his float was travelling, the only thing that annoyed me was the constant striking at the end of his trot.

 

[flightliner]

I have had an angler above me trotting a float down his swim far enough for it to end up at my feet mg: it didn't bother me as I was fishing much further out away from where his float was travelling, the only thing that annoyed me was the constant striking at the end of his trot.

Fair comment Graham , I'll re phrase mine to-- "some Barbel anglers"
A pity tho that two guys opposite each other can't respect each other's right to fish their own club water without one suffering the others gear in front of them be it a float or (two) feeders.

 

[theartist]

I think artist may be offended by my offer to come and show me how to catch barbel on the float in winter but I wasn't being nasty, he should take it as a compliment and nothing else!

I'm not offended, the same as I wasn't offended when you offered to teach me how to fish last year, if I have caused any offence to any Northern Angler that was not my intention and I humbly apologise

 

[Keith M]

All these Northern v Southern disagreements are just daft banter.mg:

We southern anglers usually have a lot milder winters than our less fortunate brothers of the north, so it’s not really that surprising that we sometimes have quite different ideas of what fish will feed and what won’t feed in our rivers and streams in the depths of our winters; but that doesn’t mean that they are wrong and that we are right, so :hippieeace man :rockon:

Keith

 

[Alan Whitty]

I have re-read through this thread and still can't get over how guys can get so irate over what others find on different rivers more than 150 miles away, in my neck of the woods barbel could be caught on two rivers trotting right through the winter, if the river was right, as soon as flow rates got too much you wouldn't dream of it, if you fish spate rivers like the Ribble, the cut off for float fishing comes much quicker, as Flight posted on the Trent, thus too soon becomes impossible to present a floatfished bait, so your wasting your time, not much to do with ability there, but when you can, your catches can be enhanced dramatically, using the right tactics on a given day is what makes a good angler, just wish I could do it more often....🫤

 

[seth49]

In the angling times today, record barbel caught from the river Lea, at 22lbs 1oz from the Kings Weir fishery. If accepted it’s 15oz bigger than the existing record.

 

[flightliner]

In the angling times today, record barbel caught from the river Lea, at 22lbs 1oz from the Kings Weir fishery. If accepted it’s 15oz bigger than the existing record.

I said in the early 20, 000s that the record Barbel would come from the Trent Seth, i still believe it will.
But well done to the angler who caught the new record from the R-lea

 

[@Clive]

I said in the early 20, 000s that the record Barbel would come from the Trent Seth, i still believe it will.
But well done to the angler who caught the new record from the R-lea

Do you still think so Mick? With the power stations closing the water won't get the additional heat that used to give it the edge as a winter venue. My mate Alex has been fishing the tidal section for at least thirty years and his best was around 15lb. He is no slouch. He usually gets at least 30 doubles per year and has also had 14lb+ fish from the Dearne.

 

[Alan Whitty]

With the amount of bait being shovelled into the Trent there is no doubt it will Mick...

 

[Philip]

I think alot of peoples money would have been on the Trent but I wonder if time is running out ? ...these things usually go in cycles & its been riding the crest of a wave for a long time now so I wonder if the current Trent Barble bubble could soon burst as the older fish die off.

 

[flightliner]

Do you still think so Mick? With the power stations closing the water won't get the additional heat that used to give it the edge as a winter venue. My mate Alex has been fishing the tidal section for at least thirty years and his best was around 15lb. He is no slouch. He usually gets at least 30 doubles per year and has also had 14lb+ fish from the Dearne.

Clive the current crop of Barbel were introduced to the Trent after most of the power stations had closed, the only one left (I think) is a mile or so above Gainsboro where had I a permit to fish the river.
I had very few carp (2) I think but spent more time with the stick or waggler after Roach and Chub, it was good fishing and was some ten years ago.
Like your friend my biggest Barbel is a fifteen lb- five oz.
The first I ever caught was at Picks Farm opposite Hazelford wier in 1985.
An old friend loaned me a book some years twelve or thirteen years ago that was published by the Nottingham piscatorial society for their one hundred year anniversary who, apparently stocked their mid trent waters immedietly below picks farm who must have moved up to PF where I had my first Trent Barbel thirty nine years ago.
It's all water under the bridge now as it was years ago.
I still enjoy fishing the river but opportunities to go are getting harder year on year,
I've been fishing the the Trent ever since my dad took me when i was six years old- I'll be eighty on january the first so in total a period of seventy three years (seventy four in january) i've so much pleasure fishing it— would i do it again? Like a shot I would!!

 

[seth49]

The

The best 5 no mention of the biggest trent fish here, think my money would be on the Thames although anyware is possible.

 

[@Clive]

Clive the current crop of Barbel were introduced to the Trent after most of the power stations had closed, the only one left (I think) is a mile or so above Gainsboro where had I a permit to fish the river.
I had very few carp (2) I think but spent more time with the stick or waggler after Roach and Chub, it was good fishing and was some ten years ago.
Like your friend my biggest Barbel is a fifteen lb- five oz.
The first I ever caught was at Picks Farm opposite Hazelford wier in 1985.
An old friend loaned me a book some years twelve or thirteen years ago that was published by the Nottingham piscatorial society for their one hundred year anniversary who, apparently stocked their mid trent waters immedietly below picks farm who must have moved up to PF where I had my first Trent Barbel thirty nine years ago.
It's all water under the bridge now as it was years ago.
I still enjoy fishing the river but opportunities to go are getting harder year on year,
I've been fishing the the Trent ever since my dad took me when i was six years old- I'll be eighty on january the first so in total a period of seventy three years (seventy four in january) i've so much pleasure fishing it— would i do it again? Like a shot I would!!

Mick, we used to fish above and below Collingham Weir every year in a Winter League. I cannot remember anyone catching a barbel in the period 1972-7, but I found a tiny one trapped in my keepnet one time. Given the sheer numbers that are caught now from the weir and tidal sections I think the competition would limit the size that could be attained. When you look at the record list posted by Seth they all come from rivers with low barbel densities. That is why I think the initial Dearne stocking resulted in shuch exceptional growth rates that isn't matched by their progeny.

 

[Alan Whitty]

The list above doesn't show the 20lbs 12oz fish from the Ivel, it was reported in the media, a few months later it had its liver ripped put by an otter, lovely furry creatures...

 

[Philip]

The list above doesn't show the 20lbs 12oz fish from the Ivel, it was reported in the media, a few months later it had its liver ripped put by an otter, lovely furry creatures...

Was that the same fish you had 18pounds Alan ?