River Fishing Tips | Is it worth prebaiting for barbel? - Martin Bowler

The answer to that question is a resounding yes, provided the river isn’t in heavy flood.

I often prebait with groundbait balls in summer, before leaving the swim for a few hours – or even overnight – for the fish to find the free grub and gain confidence. 

Leave the swim for a few hours or even overnight for barbel to gain confidence

Depending on the depth, flow and pace, I’ll typically throw the balls five to 10 yards upstream of the spot I intend to fish. 

You can use whatever bait you want, and my typical mix consists of Sticky Krill Active Mix, pellet crumb, trout pellets and Ellipse pellets. Six orange-sized balls are normally enough to work the oracle, and I’ve had some great results on rivers such as the Wye and Trent using this tactic.

Martin Bowler is no stranger to catching big barbel

For more from Martin, pick up Angling Times magazine every Tuesday!

River Fishing Tips | PVA or feeder for barbel? - Alfie Naylor

Both the feeder and PVA bag have their place in barbel fishing and are brilliant tactics at delivering loose-feed close to your hookbait.

Personally, I think that a PVA bag and lead arrangement creates much less disturbance than a feeder. The feeder does work for the bigger barbel, though, if you want to slowly build a swim by constantly casting and introducing bait.

The feeder is a great tool to build a swim with feed

When fishing for barbel on rivers like the Trent, I like to put a fairly big bed of bait out at the start, then have one cast with a bag on and leave the bait out until I get a take. After each fish, I’ll top up with two bait droppers of feed.

I prefer to use a PVA bag for a ‘bait and wait’ approach

I feel the disturbance from me landing a fish pushes them away from the baited area, and now is the time to feed the swim again.

Both methods will catch big barbel if used correctly

River Fishing Tips | How to catch silvers after the floods

Top matchman Dan Squire reveals how to catch after the floods…

Floods are no good for anyone, but most of all the river angler who will have been sat at home twiddling his thumbs and waiting for the waters to finally recede.

It’s frustrating and annoying, but the one crumb of comfort is the knowledge that when levels do return to normal, the fish will be ravenous, having been unable to feed properly for weeks on end. That means a bumper day on the bank is in prospect!

Rivers will still be holding some colour, and provided the weather is mild, all species will feed – big barbel and chub for the specimen hunter, roach for the pleasure angler. A double-figure net is the minimum target that they should be aiming for.

The best way to catch them in coloured water is without a doubt a groundbait attack, throwing in an opening salvo of balls packed with loose offerings and then running a pole rig over the top. Roach will home in on the groundbait and mill about over it for hours, and this is when you can really plunder them.

Big rivers like the Wye and Thames usually grab the headlines for big nets but much smaller waters are also stuffed with roach.

It was on one of these, the River Parrett in Somerset, where Sensas star Dan Squire was to prove what river fans have been missing out on for so many weeks…

Go for the pole

“Anyone who lives on the doorstep of the Parrett knows it is a phenomenal venue for roach,” explained Dan. “I’ve had loads of double-figure catches, despite the river not looking all that good at first glance. However, it has a good depth down the middle even though it’s not that wide, and that makes it ideal for fishing the pole.

“The stick float can work when the river is running hard, but for an average flow, nothing more than running a rig down over groundbait will bring plenty of bites,” he added. 

“The pole offers a much neater presentation, and accuracy too, allowing you to fish right over the groundbait every run through.”

Feeding

“I’ll begin by cupping in two big balls of groundbait holding casters and, after that, I will loosefeed if the flow allows,” revealed Dan. 

“The mix is 50/50 Sensas Roach Noire and Gros Gardons Noire, which is very sticky and able to hold a lot of casters in each ball. After this I fire in around 30 casters each run through. 

“This will draw fish from upstream but also let me run the float past the groundbait to catch further down the peg where those casters will be landing.”

Positive floats

“On rivers with lots of fish to go at and a good depth, you need to fish reasonably positively in terms of floats. One between 1.5g and 2.5g will deal with most river conditions,” Dan explained. 

“A Sensas Jean François is the classic river pattern and it only needs an olivette and couple of dropper shot.

“This type of float also has enough of a body to let me slow the rig down against the flow if I need to, without the presentation being affected.”

End tackle is relatively fine, though. This, given the target species, is no surprise. Dan goes for 0.08mm or 0.09mm Sensas Feeling as a hooklink to a size 18 Sensas 3405 hook to allow him to fish with either maggot or caster on the hook. Caster is the preferred bait as it always produces a better stamp of fish, and matches what he is feeding.

Keep in touch

Roach are famed for moving about in a river swim, especially if you are loosefeeding, so if the bites suddenly drop away Dan’s solution is to add a pole section to go either further across the river or down the peg. 

It’s amazing the difference this can make, and often produces a bigger fish or two into the bargain.

Specimen fishing tips | Target winter grayling with Dai Gribble

ONE species that epitomises winter fishing is the grayling. There is no better fish to target during the short days, and a bonus is that grayling are predominantly found in streamy upland reaches of rivers – so you’ll most likely find yourself surrounded by some great scenery. 

Here are seven tips to help you get the most out of a grayling trip.

Floatfish 

Trotting tactics allow grayling to fight to their full potential. I generally use a 13ft rod unless I’m fishing a very small river, as the extra length helps control the float. On bigger, open stretches of river a rod up to 15ft long can be useful, especially on windy days. 

Stay mobile 

Grayling take a bait fairly quickly, so if they are present in a swim they often come out on the first few trots through. If after 30 minutes’ trotting you have not caught anything, moving swims is a better option than persisting in the same swim.

Bulk shot the float

I like to have the bulk of the shot or an Olivette weight about 2ft from the hook, with a No4 shot between the bulk shot and the hook. This makes changing depth really easy, as the shot don’t have to be moved. 

Keep the bait down

Changing depth is important, because grayling tend to hold in the current just above the riverbed and it is likely that different swims will be at different depths. Keep increasing the depth of the rig until you are happy that the bait is close to the bottom. If the float gets pulled under due to catching the bottom, just shallow up a little. 

Maggots to start

I have found white maggots to be the most consistent bait for grayling, and I favour a double maggot hookbait. It is worth having a few red maggots as a change bait. Sweetcorn can also be effective, and indeed may single out the bigger fish in swims where there are lots of small grayling.

Feed little & often

Grayling will feed in even the coldest weather, but take care not to overfeed them. You want them to take your hookbait before they have eaten enough. Feed around five maggots each cast – the aim is to get the fish searching for food, not to fill them up.

Take your time 

Grayling have quite hard mouths, and are notorious for shedding the hook. To minimise the risk of losing fish, ensure your hooks are really sharp – check the points frequently – and take your time when playing fish.  

20 ways to boost your winter river catches

REGULAR FEEDING

Try to get into a routine where you feed before you cast and then feed again at the end of the run. You can also fit another feed in between, as a steady trickle of bait going through the swim all the time will work much better than just one handful every now and again.

LINE CONTROL

When you’re floatfishing on a river, always cast downstream to ensure that your line is in the correct position to start off with. Cast in front or upstream and you’ll end up with a big bow in the line. Another thing to keep in mind is rod position while you’re fishing. Keep the rod pointing downstream and you’ll hit more bites, as you’ll be able to pick up a lot of line.

ESSENTIAL INFO

Use the venue information in Angling Times to search out new venues. There are loads of good river stretches and maybe now is the time to try new ones.

Another useful source of information is tackle shops. There is usually a wealth of local fishery knowledge inside, so talk to the people who work there and ask their advice on where best to go.

They want you to succeed, because you’ll go back for more bait and kit if you do!

LINE SPRAY AND FLOATING LINE GREASE

Before you start floatfishing on a moving river, treat your lines with silicone spray. It helps to keep the line floating, which in turn improves control and bait presentation. I also use silicone line grease in pacy water where I might be ‘mending’ the line several times during a run. I take a smear from the tub and coat the line liberally for about two metres above the float.

BE SAFE!

No fish is worth risking your life for, so keep safe when you’re on a riverbank, especially if you’re alone. We’re approaching the time of year when river fishing can be fantastic, so get out there when you can and enjoy it!

ESSENTIAL CLOTHING

While you can buy cheap showerproof clothing from a variety of sources these days, if you want to stay totally dry in the worst of conditions my advice would be to invest in Gore-Tex. Base layers are covered with a Gore-Tex bib and brace, a Windstopper fleece and a Gore-Tex jacket, and I never get wet underneath.

NEOPRENE WADERS

It never ceases to amaze me just how many anglers spend thousands of pounds on kit and then skimp on waders. As far as I’m concerned, any angler who regularly fishes rivers like I do should invest in a pair of neoprene waders. I use the Le Chameau ones which have neoprene lining right down to the toe. Cold feet are now a thing of the past!

GETTING GEAR TO THE SWIM

I now use the largest Riggers platform barrow, the best in terms of design and reliability. Most of the time I use it with a single front wheel but I’ve also now got a pair of rear wheels that I can use if I’m pushing the barrow on hard ground.

Whichever barrow you buy, get one that converts into a platform to allow you to position yourself out in the river. You can then either just use it as a table top or put your seatbox on it.

RODS AND REELS

Think about what you actually want the rods to do and then buy accordingly. Your local tackle shop should be able to advise you on this, or ask the opinions of other anglers if you’re not sure.

The same applies to reels. Think about what you actually need them to do and buy an appropriate size to suit the fishing style. It’s also a good idea to match your rods and reels up so that you’ve got identical kit to use.

FLOATS

One area where I’ve seen a lot of anglers sadly lacking is floats. There are many different situations that you can find yourself in on rivers, yet some anglers seem to want to use their ‘favourite’ float all the time. Take some time out to learn about what you actually need for a given situation and you’ll end up catching loads more fish.

USE THE ENVIRONMENT AGENCY WEBSITE

One of the most useful websites ever for river anglers is the one that is provided by the Environment Agency, which gives regularly updated river levels for rivers all over the country. It’s at www.environment-agency.co.uk

Get into the habit of using it in the winter months, especially as it will save wasted journeys if the rivers are high. You can actually time your trips to perfection when you get to know levels at your favourite venues. 

LINES

Good quality line is vitally important for river fishing. It needs to float, as I can then use it for float or feeder work. I’m currently testing some new reel line, as well as a new clear hooklength and rig line, which I’ve been very impressed with so far. The only way to test lines though is by using them over a lengthy period, as most lines are okay for a few outings.

Use a micrometer if you can and check the lines you are using. The stated diameter can be way off!

FEEDERS

Like floats, many anglers just don’t carry enough. Most anglers also don’t have enough additional weight with them to add to the feeder to make it hold bottom. A rolling feeder can work very occasionally but most of the time it will just end up in a snag and be lost. Invest in some add-on weights to make the feeders stay where you want them to.

CASTING

It’s no use having great kit and then chucking a feeder to a different place every time, so work on your accuracy if you fall into this category.

You can use a line clip, of course, to assist you with this but don’t rely on it all the time, as you’ll often catch more by working an area rather than having everything on exactly the same spot.

When you’re floatfishing in windy conditions, always cast off the side that the wind is blowing to. You’ll get far fewer tangles than you will doing it from the other side in this situation.

ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES

Things in my seatbox that I’d hate to be without include small nail clippers for cutting line, hook-tyers, disgorgers, plummets, Tipp-Ex for marking depths on my pole and flat-nosed pliers for fixing shot and crimping hook barbs. Double up on all items in case of loss.

FISH CARE

I don’t have a problem with people using keepnets as long as they are used properly and fish have plenty of room and depth of water. I also don’t have a problem with catch shots as long as they are done quickly and efficiently.

For a catch shot, get everything set up before you take the picture. Put a weighing mat or an upside-down wet keepnet underneath the net in which the fish are held. Never photograph a catch shot on hard ground.

GROUNDBAIT OR LOOSEFEED?

Generally, the deeper or faster flowing swims often lend themselves to groundbait approaches, while shallow swims tend to be more about loose feeding.

ASK QUESTIONS, MAKE FRIENDSHIPS

Most anglers love talking fishing to other anglers. If you’re visiting a venue for the first time, talk to other anglers there and ask their advice on the place. Not only will you learn a lot quickly, but you can often forge new friendships along the way. 

KEEP GOING

Now that the days are shorter, you will often find that the best catching time on rivers is during the last two hours of daylight. Don’t give up if you can’t catch up for the first couple of hours, as your day could still finish on a high!

RIGS ON WINDERS

Making rigs up at home and storing them on winders will save you loads of time on the riverbank and give you more fishing time instead.

You’ll be more inclined to change rigs to try them rather than staying on a rig you might have started with.

Seven essential river pike tips

Leading predator angler Dean Brook reveals how he targets the biggest fish on the river...

UNDERSTAND THE VENUE

Rivers are wild, constantly changing entities, so you need to take the time to learn the stretch you are targeting to get the most out of your pike fishing. Ideally, walk the river prior to the season, when the river is low and clear so areas of deeper and shallow water are more easily identifiable.

This reconnaissance also enables you to check out areas of weed or even snags.

Take in the geographical nature of the land. The steeper the sides of the surrounding land, the quicker the river will flood during rain. Plus, the lower-lying rivers also tend to stay in flood for longer. All of these things will affect how the river fishes.

KEEP MOBILE

Once you have sussed a length of waterway, it is always best to keep mobile.

I often cover a couple of miles or more in a single session. This means keeping your kit to a minimum but the more water you are able to cover, the more chances you will have of offering bait to a feeding fish.

GEAR UP!

On rivers, particularly strong, powerful waterways such as the Wharfe, Swale, or Wye, the pike have built up a great deal of muscle mass as they are used to fighting the flow.

So, to ensure you are able to land every one you hook, step up your gear up accordingly. I use either 20lb mono or, ideally, braid. I also use 28lb wire for my trace. River fish are not as pressured as stillwater fish. They are not put off by tackle, so why risk losing them because your gear is too light.

EARLY AND LATE

Low, clear rivers can be the kiss of death when targeting pike because their confidence and cover are blown. This means that especially on days when the sun is bright, either early or late starts are the name of the game. I have lost count of the number of decent-size pike I have caught over the years, fishing at either dawn or dusk. 

PREBAIT

It sounds time-consuming, but never underestimate the power of prebaiting. The Wharfe where I fish is a big river, and experience has shown that the pike on this type of watercourse are extremely migratory.

By getting the fish used to feeding in a certain area, you can start to either hold them there or intercept them as they are travelling in search of food. No river pike, especially one of the ‘big girls’, is going to turn their nose up at a free meal! 

TWITCH

I always use float rigs on the river. Floats are better at giving you early indications that a fish has possibly picked up the bait.

To induce a bite, I often give the reel a couple of turns to twitch the rigs back to the bank. This can act like a trigger to a fish that is in two minds whether to take the bait, as it thinks its dinner is getting away.

ON THE RISE

Often the best time to fish a river for pike is when the water is rising. The prey fish become very active and they need to continually adjust their position in the river due to the ever-changing current speeds.

This leaves them wide open to attack from a predator as they are forced to search refuge from the flood.

Conversely, once the river is in flood, the pike fishing will be next to useless due to the extra colour in the water. You will now have to wait until the flow ebbs and the colour once again drops out before the pike will feed confidently.

On the plus side, if it floods for a while, the fish will be ravenous when the waters do eventually start to go down.

River float tips

There’s no finer way to catch fish on rivers than on the float. Here are a few pointers...

The river season is in full swing, and the recent rains of our ‘barbecue summer’ will have helped put them in tip-top condition, so there’s never been a better time to grab a slice of running-water action.

Angling Times got hold of a host of river aces for their floatfishing tips on catching everything from perch to barbel, including the baits to use, the swims to fish and the tackle to get them in the net. The rest is up to you!

Steve Hemingray: European champion

1 Always look for the flow when after chub. The fish won’t be far from this well-oxygenated water, sitting in the slightly slower slack to the side to pick off food. A waggler fished down this ‘channel’ of fast water will waft your hookbait right in front of their noses.

2 Waggler or stick float? The wind will play the biggest part in deciding which method to use, and unless there is a slight upstream wind off your back, which is ideal for the stick, the waggler will be best.

3 Leave a bit of float showing when fishing the waggler as you’ll be running down the peg a long way and need to see the bites. This will also stop the float from being dragged under on any bits of weed there might be, and in shallow, clear pegs you don’t want to be striking all the time because this can easily spook the fish.

4 Always feed slightly downstream of you when fishing the float as chub especially will come right above where the feed is going in. When this happens you must be able to fish here properly and make the most of it. Start with half a pouch of feed and monitor the peg. Never lash it in to begin with though, as you can blow the peg too early.

5 If the river is clear, then bread can be a killer bait and pretty instant in getting bites. The stick float is best for fishing bread as you can slow the rig down to tease the bait into the fish. To do this, just check the line coming off the reel spool with your fingertip. This will pull the float off-line a little, but this is better than having the line in front of the float.

Dab the line for ultimate control

Darren Cox: England international

6 In water coloured by rain, a baitdropper is key to feeding and fishing accurately on the pole when you’re after bream. Dropping in a big helping of chopped worm, caster and pinkie will concentrate a bed of neat feed in one spot and let you drop your rig right on top of this, rather than the random fashion of balling-in groundbait, which gives you more river to cover in a less efficient fashion.

7 There is a school of thought that reckons light-coloured baits work well in coloured water – for instance, white or bronze maggots and lighter coloured casters, but in my experience, dark baits are best. The fish don’t have a problem finding dark groundbait, hemp, caster, worm, red maggots and fluoro pinkies.

8 The flat float can be a killer method to fish on pacy rivers where big bream, tench, perch and eels are the target. However, bites on the flat float are not quick affairs that a normal running rig will produce. Because it’s fished so far overdepth you’ll get a lot of indications on the float before it finally buries, so putting the pole in the rests and almost sitting on your hands is best.

9 River fish are nomadic and even if you’re planning to catch on the pole in one tight area, it’s still worthwhile setting up another rig for trundling a bait over a lot of the swim, or even a waggler. Fish will move upstream towards the feed that goes in, and running a rig through the swim in the early stages of the session will let you pick them off as they begin to move. Once they arrive, it’s time to switch to the more static approach.

10 There is a chance that your swim might fade as the session progresses, and big fish can often be responsible for this. My approach would be to feed some more bait to try to milk the last few fish out of the peg before swapping to a lobworm on the hook. This is the king of big-fish baits, and it might be a waiting game but can produce fish you never knew existed in your river!

Get your tactics right and roach like this will be your reward

Paul Woodward: River Wye match legend

11 The classic chub swim is where the river runs up to a shallow area. This change in depth naturally holds chub, and the angler who runs their bait just into the last stretch of deep water will find the fish. Loosefeed hemp and caster, and keep an eye out for any swirls on the surface, which show that the chub have come shallow.

12 On big, wild rivers like the Wye there’s no point fishing small baits. Three or four maggots or casters, or even a couple of grains of sweetcorn, will catch everything – even the dace!

13 There aren’t many chances to catch barbel on the float, but one way I do it is to fish a long rod with a big Bolognese-type float of around 6g. Fish this up to 3ft overdepth to slow the rig right down, with a banded 8mm halibut pellet, and feed a good pouch of hemp and pouch of 6mm halibuts every run-through.

14 River perch aren’t any different to those on lakes and canals, and snags are prime real estate! A swim with an overhanging tree in the edge holding slack water is the place to fish, flicking a lobworm on a simple bomb set-up underneath. For feed, chopped worm and caster is unbeatable, and if you’re not too proficient with a baitdropper, a groundbait mix will do just as well.

15 Wherever there’s the chance of hooking a barbel or big chub you must fish with tackle that gives you the chance of getting them out. In coloured conditions when big fish are most likely to show, don’t be afraid to step up your hooks and lines; 3lb mainline and a 0.13mm diameter hooklength (around 3lb) with a size 14 hook will give you a fighting chance, while still being fine enough to catch those roach and dace.

Bob Roberts: Trent supremo

16 Don’t go thinking that barbel only feed on the bottom. They don’t! Very often they will drift a few feet up in the water to pick off food, so it can be worth trotting a bait through the peg fished up to 1ft off the deck, ideally small particle baits like maggots and casters.

17 Big, deep rivers like the Trent with a smooth patch of water that runs at roughly walking pace around 6ft deep can prove to be prime barbel territory. Avoid ‘boiling’ pegs where the depth is uneven and the river littered with boulders and snags. Fish will live here, but getting them out might be a different matter!

18 Keep your normal waggler rods at home for big-fish river work. A power waggler rod designed for commercial carp fisheries is better-suited to this type of fishing, using 6lb line fished straight through.

19 The most successful anglers will work their stick float continually on rivers, and over the course of a trot down the peg I will slow the float down to half pace and even stop it completely, presenting a perfectly still bait to the fish. I do this by simply trapping the line on the spool with my finger, or gently dabbing it as it peels off the spool.

20 For summer perch on rivers I think there’s nothing to beat a livebait, but as most big stripeys live near features such as trees and reeds, a floatfishing approach isn’t always best. I prefer a static attack using a float-paternoster set-up fishing with a hair-rigged livebait presented under a large wide gape size 4 or 6 hook. This approach greatly reduces the number of deep-hooked fish you catch.

Even-paced swims scream barbel