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As can be seen above, I live in Shropshire and have some fantastic places to fish. With Barbel what you are really looking for is the features in the river , but at the same time an idylic surrounding makes for added enjoyment and also goes some way to making up for a blank day!!!! On the left is my hometown of Bridgnorth, which I might add, I have had a great deal of sucess in. 12lb 12oz been the best last season! The middle picture Hampton Loade, which again has proved very sucessful in the past. On the far right is, if you haven't guessed is Ironbridge. In this area the fish are apparently there and people do well, I however have struggled. Other places you may like to look at are -
Looking For Swims -
When your looking for a good swim, don't just look at the well trodden sections of bank or the obvious wooden pallets. This is a peg that not many people fished last year on a heavily fished section of the Severn. Now it looks like there was never a peg there, but beleive me, if you walk through the overgrown grass then little gems can await you. If your careful and don't disturb the bankside vegetation too much then it could be your own for the season!  The Crease - You will no doubt hear many anglers talking about hitting the crease. Th crease is the line created on the surface of the water where slower deeper water, meets slightly quicker water. This is an area that Barbel will sit and pick out the food washed down in the faster flow. The idea being that if you can find and cast onto the crease you should find the fish. I have tried to take a photo which shows the crease in the water, but its suprisingly difficult!  Bends - When choosing your swim, a bend in the river can be very important. If it is really pushing through, with tonnes of leaves and debris, think about fishing a slack close in to the inside of a bend in the river. This will assist you two fold. 1. There will be far less debris washing down the inside. 2. Barbel and Chub will not want to be constantly swimming against a strong current, so will often sit on the crease between the slack and the fast water where all the food collects! Fallen/overhanging Trees - Nothing pleases me more than the sight of a fallen tree, or a large willow overhanging a potential swim. During daylight hours, Barbel will be wary of coming into completely open water. This is especially true with low clear water, due to the areial threat from large birds or the water threat from large Pike. One of the best ways to winkle out a sneaky Barbel during a daytime session is to drift a bait under a fallen or sagging tree. The best way to do this is to 'link ledger' from upstream, allowing the bait and link to sink and bounce along the bottom! Excellent.  Bushes - Ahhhh, you may be thinking, the same as the tree thing. Well almost!! Bushes along the edge of a swim, may well provide shadow on the water, but I am talking about them in relation to you yourself. If you are fishing swims close to the bank, the bushes can provide good cover and break up your outline. This can be more important than you may think! Rafts - Not something that you float down the river on! A raft is when an obstruction to the river has caused a build up of rubbish, leaves, branches etc. This should be attacked in the same way as fallen/overhanging trees. Weirs - Particularly during low, clear, summer river conditions, the Weir can be a great friend. Barbel often crave oxygen, hence the reason they will often be found in the slightly faster moving water. When the water is particularly oxygen defficient, a weir is like a natural oxygenation pump that you would find in your pond at home. Barbel and lots of other fish will often crongregate in the weir pool or just below the weir itself.  The next few things to look for must be done on several reconnaisance trips whilst the water is really low. Wear polarized glasses and look at features on the bootom of the river. Gulleys - You will be able to see gulleys fall away from the rest of the riverbed. Gulleys will always hold food and thus Barbel. When i say a gulley, I will also include depressions, holes etc. All of which serve the same purpose - to hold food. Undercut Banks - Undercuts in the banks will be found on the outside of most bends with soft banks. They are caused by centrifugal force increasing the speed of the river as it sweeps round a bend (like you lean when you drive round a corner to quick), which wears away the underside of the bank. This forms natural areas of cover for many species of fish. They will feel safer under these and can grab scraps of food that go past of are collected under there. Streamer Weed - Barbels favourite!!! Lots of streamer weed will generally encourage the presence of barbel, just look at the prolific stretches on the Great Ouse. This can cause problems with rig presentation - this is one of the only occasions i will use PVA bags. Stick the lot, weight, hook and bait in one and it will sink through the weed and avoid getting tangled in it! Find weed, find fish!  One thing I have forgotten to mention is to find a swim that is both safe and comfortable, particularly if you plan on staying in it for an extended period!! If you aren't comfortable, confident and above all safe, you just won't enjoy your fishing as much as you should! When looking at going fishing you must take into account several important factors - Firstly
you should look at how much water the river is carrying. This is
important because it will dictate what tackle you will need to use. If the river is low, then you may well choose to use a quiver tip with a 3-4 oz tip or a 1.2lb test avon rod. However, if it is in flood, that would be little or no use at all! I generally find that my Fox Dou Lite XS is good for most conditions except very heavy floowater when I would use my J.W Youngs 2lb test rod. Secondly, the colour
of the water. For example, if it is very muddy and frothy you should be
looking to use the smelliest baits you can find. Don't be afraid to use very large lumps of meat. Barbel can fit a suprising amount in there mouths when they are really feeding! If its gin clear,
smaller baits such as hemp may prove more effective. With alot of anglers only really using pellets, if thats you then you may need to glug your pellets and vary the size depending on what colour is in the water. Thirdly, the temperature of the water. If the temperature is falling fast then the Barbel will generally switch off, but after a sustained cold spell they should start to feed again as they aclimaitse. During the Autumn/Winter, a few mild nights can make all the difference. The water temperature will begin to rise. this is generally a good time to catch! Follow this link and it will give you a good idea about river level and colour on the middle Severn - http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/webcams.nsf/open/78DEA41B4DEAC84C8025759800488158 |
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