River Fishing Tips - How to fish for Wye barbel - Kevin Clark

The River Wye is one of the most scenic, prolific and best barbel rivers in the UK.

If it is your first time on this beautiful river, however, it can be a bit daunting due to its large and powerful nature. So how should you approach the fishing?

At the start of the river season you should be fine with a quality 8lb mono, a 1.5lb test curve rod and a reel with a good clutch.

I’d suggest a 2oz gripper lead and an open-end feeder to start with. Try casting upstream, which helps to hold bottom with less weight – handy if you’ve forgotten your feeder add-on weights or you’re slightly undergunned with your leads. Let a bow of line out between rod-tip and feeder before sitting the rod on the rest. 

A gripper lead will help you hold bottom

A high oil pellet approach should serve you well on most Wye stretches, or small cubes of meat on 8lb fluorocarbon hooklengths, provided your stretch is not too snag-ridden.

Kevin Clark with the Wye record barbel of 14lb 12oz