Tactics

[christhoel]

what tactice would you use to attack a water/river that you know has barbel lower down but not sure they are at the stretch you are at?
what do you advise to widen my prospects?

 

[The Sogster]

Just fish it as normal for anything that comes along. Get to know the stretches intimately at all times of the year, if they're there you'll find 'em.

 

[Keith M]

Do your homework and ask around the tackle shops for any information they have weaned from customers, and look for stretches that have gravel or hard sand with streamer weed and cabbages and flowing currents and different depths, if there are barbel in the river thats the first place I would look for them.

Keith

 

[108831]

I'm afraid that barbel do not follow the rules that anglers lay down for them,fast smooth glides,weedy water etc,I know of several steady deep swims on the Severn 12/15ft,similar on the D.Stour and H.Avon that are often bankers for barbel,also slack flyer swims with no flow whatsoever,yet flowing water 15ft away with no fish present,sad to say that imo it would be best to throw several handfuls of hemp into four swims at evening time and fish over it with meat,this may not end up with a barbel on the bank,but if they are present line bites should occur,if not try another four,then another four until you find them,then perhaps a pellet and boilie approach,all the best,Alan.

 

[christhoel]

Thank you mate much appreciated !
I’m not %100 sure the barbel are there but do know about 30 miles down stream they are caught regularly!
I do though know the stretch I’m fishing has big chub and trout and with that in mind I may try a maggot approach to begin with then and a second rod with meat but I’m pretty everything will get thrown at them I’ll leave pellets to the last

 

[ian g]

sounds like a decent approach to me . If there are plenty of barbel downstream there is a good chance 1 or 2 have ventured upstream . Pick a few swims and rotate between them I'm sure you'll find rhem.

 

[108831]

Maggots are a great bait for barbel if small fish aren't a nuisance,try them and see,if little fish muller your maggots forget em,try to get liners first,usually only bream,carp and barbel give decent liners...

 

[christhoel]

Hopefully get a few hours tomorrow will keep you updated on the hunt

 

[Borderline]

Hopefully get a few hours tomorrow will keep you updated on the hunt

whereabouts did you fish? did you have any success?

 

[christhoel]

Fished the river rother at chesterfield

 

[108831]

If you are not finding lining fish,chances are they aren't there,try the outside of bends,or next to reed beds,places where the shade is off of these reeds for all the afternoon,fish and feed tight to them,as I say,several spots would be good,rotate them if possible during a session,do not fish for anything else and take the blanks until swims with lining fish are found,then fish them repeatedly until the culprit is on the bank,catching barbel can be difficult unless you have a water with a good population on it...

If you are fishing for your first barbel,or you have not had many,then fishing a venue where you are unsure of barbel numbers,you are going to have problems,purely because your experience isn't giving you any tips,I fished a club wayer downstream of Bedford on the Ouse,knowing there were a few there,did not catch one for four years,didn't only fish there,but had several sessions a season,had one in the end 10lb 3ozs,moved on...

 

[Philip]

I have found myself myself in the position of fishing streaches of river that I am not sure hold Barbel and the way I go about it is to spend allot of time looking to see if I can physically see the fish. A pair of Polaroids will help especially around midday with the sun behind you. I will also sometimes bait several swims were I can see the bottom then leave them and come back to see if I can actually see Barbel feeding. I will also speak to other anglers but don’t assume what they tell me is 100% guaranteed. You need to use some common sense in that respect. Fishing blind can work but its going to be hit and miss & you will have allot of blanks. Saying that sometimes you just get the feeling your onto something and I can think of occasions I have visited rivers wth zero track record but I just look at it and think thats GOT to hold Barbel and I have usually been right..you sort of get a feel for it. Actually I have fished a streach of river twice this year thats exactly like that...I have spent quite some time looking but I have yet to see a Barbel but I just KNOW they are in there. somewhere.....I just wish I had more time to prove it to myself ...one for the bucket list...

Basically unless someone puts you on the fish there are no short cut other than working at it yourself. The plus side is there is a great deal of satisfaction in catching a fish you have found off your own back regardless of the size.

 

[108831]

I fished a stretch of the Gt Ouse and not above Bedford,in fact a fair way down,I knew barbel were present in the weir,but I didn't enjoy it,it was very snaggy,I knew there were odduns caught downstream but could I catch em,could I hell,some sessions I got liners(too deep to see them)that I felt were barbel,others I had them and felt sure they were bream(which they were,had them to over 8lbs),one particular swim appealed to me,don't ask me why,but I felt it shallowed from around 9/10ft,shallowed to to around 7ft before immediately dropped back to 9/10ft again,the water was a nice pace,anyway,I fished it 3 or 4 times without anything other than odd bream,then one particular day,just after I retired,I got into the swim,as I set up a barbel head and shouldered just upstream,I threw 8 boiling out,cast in with a small pva bag of pellet and broken boiling,a few liners early then after 25 minutes the rod twitched(3ft of course) and my only barbel from the stretch was on,10lbs 2ozs,about an hour later another barbel rolled,then I had a bream,action over....

 

[mikench]

I enjoyed this short video and liked the simplicity of the rig.

Daiwa UK - Bob Roberts Maggot Feeder Rig For Barbel | Facebook | By Daiwa UK | The glorious 16th is finally here! If you're out on the bank, good luck. Here's Bob Roberts with a very simple, yet effective, maggot feeder rig for...

118K views, 190 likes, 4 loves, 9 comments, 18 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Daiwa UK: The glorious 16th is finally here! If you're out on the bank, good luck. Here's Bob Roberts with a very...

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I assume the float stop goes on the line first , then the feeder and then the swivel/ quick change bead.