Seeing as much of winter
time barbel fishing involves floodwater conditions, it is important
at this stage to point out that many of the usual summer time
hotspots, may well be unfishable. It can be quite a daunting
task, trying to catch fish on a flooded river, as it initially
can be confusing to know where to put a bait! Although resident
barbel will live in the most rapid parts of a floodwater river,
putting a hookbait successfully near them is usually impossible,
even using the heaviest of carp leads.
When embarking on a winter campaign on a stretch
of river, it is essential to get to know the river during the
summer months. During those valuable days spent summer fishing,
you will learn an awful lot about the features and general topography
of a given stretch of river. This hard won ´watercraft´
knowledge can be invaluable when the winter campaign begins.
Also always bear in mind that some of those summer hotspots
can also make very good winter hotspots as well!
As a general rule, during flood conditions,
I would be looking for any potential barbel areas where I can
successfully hold a bait in the current, and I will look for
medium paced flow, of about a walking pace speed. I am not keen
on turbulent boiling water, and I would say that this should
definitly be avoided. Finding out the winter barbel hotspots
on a given stretch of river, is at the end of the day all about
getting to know a stretch of river intimately, and slowly finding
out its secrets.
WINTER METHODS
During coloured floodwater conditions, barbel
feed predominantly by smell. Therefor, a large ´smelly´
bait is usually very successful. Traditionally, luncheon meat
has always been a good winter bait, mainly due to its smell,
and high fat content. My own approach to winter barbelling is
to use a rig, and bait which provides a powerful signal for
the barbel to home in on. My approach to fishing in the winter
is very different to my summer techniques, mainly because I
am very much dictated by the conditions of the river at the
time.
FIG
1: shows a rig which is based
on a standard open end feeder set up. I use a very large feeder,
(3-4 inches long by 1.5" deep). You can buy these commercially,
but if I do I always modify them, so that they have more weight
to get down to the bottom of the river quickly. Or I also make
my own to to fit my own personal requirements. Typically I use
feeders that hold about 2oz of lead. For the groundbait mix
which I put in the feeder, I use a commercially bought bag of
explosive feeder groundbait. I also mix with this ground trout
pellet powder, small trout pellets, and hemp oil. This creates
a very smelly oily mix which the barbel can home in on in a
coloured river. Obviously this mix is crammed into a large feeder,
with several broken boilies also crammed into the feeder as
well. You can also if neccessary, attach a PVA stringer of boilies,
to further enhance the effectiveness of this technique. To supplement
this set up I usually mould some paste around my boilie hookbait,
and the finished set up is very effective in flood conditions.
This is a great method for floodwater fishing,
but it is essential that the feeder does hold a fair amount
of weight, as I may be fishing in up to 12ft of fast flowing
water, and most commercially available feeders are simply too
small and do not hold enough weight!
FIG
2: Shows the method feeder,
which is in many ways fairly similiar to Fig.1, but arguably
more effective. The use and effectiveness of the method, especially
by carp fishing enthusiasts, is now widely publicised, and there
is no doubt about how good this technique can be. This is also
a highly effective technique for floodwater barbel, although
I would say it is little used by most barbel anglers.
Use a mobile approach, and locate
those feeding fish!
As with summer fishing, it is vital to adopt
a mobile approach when winter barbel fishing. seven hours spent
fishing in half a dozen swims is far better and much more productive
than fishing in only one swim for seven hours.
From my own experience of winter barbel fishing,
I would say this. If you have turned up on the river bank at
the right time, and the conditions are right in terms of water
temperature, and water colour, then it is inevitable that there
will be barbel feeding somewhere on your stretch of river. The
biggest problem for the angler is locating where those feeding
fish are. If you cast a bait into the right area, where feeding
barbel exist, then you should get a bite fairly quickly. If
no action occurs within two hours then move on and try somewhere
else. Do not sit there and wait for the fish to come to you,
as this will never happen, and you always have to work, and
make things happen for yourself.
Winter barbel fishing can be a lot of fun,
very productive and very rewarding, if you are prepared to put
the effort in, and you can catch some very big fish at this
time of year! Remember to always fish at the optimum time when
the water conditions, and more importantly water temperature,
are right. Always use a good quality bait, and for boilies,
and paste baits, use a recipe that has a proven track record
for catching fish, and has produced the goods during the summer
months.
Don't be put off by floodwater conditions,
as these are often the best times to catch winter barbel! Remember
to use a mobile approach with regard to the swims you fish.
Never get dispondent if you're not catching barbel, during the
winter months. Sooner or later the fish will come your way if
your fishing correctly and getting the basics right. Remember
too, that the bigger resident barbel are more likely to be caught
at this time of year. The barbel always tend to be in peak condition
during the winter and are always at their heaviest weight!
So that more or less covers my thoughts on
winter barbel fishing. So go out and brave the elements, and
good luck in your quest for a PB barbel.
FIG
1:
FIG
2: