The Tidal Trent at Cromwell Weir
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During the past few years the mighty River Trent has become a barbel fishing Mecca. The fish are getting bigger and the populations of this species are well established.
I have spent some time in search of Trent barbel, mainly on the tidal reaches which in my opinion offer the best chance of all for success, not only with numbers but size. The biggest barbel caught are certainly from the tidal areas which start at Cromwell Weir.
Location
Barbel love gravel. That goes without saying. A large percentage of the bed of the River Trent is gravel. But there are also areas of silt and mud. To locate the gravel areas is fairly easy. Look at the shores, especially at low tide. If the banks are gravelly you can be certain that the river bed is too. Another way is to tie a fairly large lead, say about 2oz, to the end of a braided line, cast it out and feel for the gravel at the bottom. A muddy bottom will cause the lead to come back smoothly. A gravelly bottom will cause the rod tip to vibrate. Easy isn't it.
There are other features of the river bed that barbel also love. Dirty great big rocks and there are plenty of them on the Tidal Trent.
Another significant location feature is bends. Although I have caught many of my fish on quite straight stretches of the river, I am always very confident when fishing the outside of a bend. Here the water is fairly deep and you don't have to cast too far either. If you fish the inside of a bend it often means that you have to cast a fair distance. This is something I try to avoid. Certainly during the daylight hours, passing craft can cause problems with long casts.
One thing you can't do on the Trent is see the barbel, except when they are rolling. This they often do in early morning or late evening. I have often heard them make enormous splashes in the middle of the night, even right under my rod tip.
Two rod set-up on the Trent (click for bigger picture)
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Surfacing barbel do it in a variety of ways. Sometimes they jump almost clear of the surface making a fair sized splash. Other times they do it silently. All you see is a distinctive triangular fin break surface much like a rainbow trout performing a 'head and tail' rise.
Tackle
A sound, through-action 11 to 12 foot barbel rod with a 11/2 to 1/3/4 lb test curve will be found ideal. Keep clear of those heavy feeder rods with actions like the proverbial poker. You want a rod that will give to the sudden plunges that take place when you have a good fish under your rod tip. One thing you don't have to worry about are quiver tips. Trent barbel are not delicate biters. I normally paint the first few inches of the rod white and then attach a beta light.
I often use two rods. The Trent is a big river and casting to two separate areas can help with fish location. When the fish start coming, I often as not dispense with one of the rods for obvious reasons.
My favourite barbel reel is the Shimano Stradic - X 4000 GTM with the fighting drag. This can be used as a baitrunner with the drag adjustment. Any sound reel with a baitrunner that will take 200 yards of 12 lb line should be found suitable.
After experimenting with several lines, some of which have proved problematical, I have gone back to my old faithful Daiwa Sensor. This I use in 12lb bs and nothing less. Daiwa Sensor is tough, reliable and abrasion resistant. Not only that it's not expensive at all, an 1160 metre spool costing less than £7.00.
For hooklengths I have complete faith in fluorocarbon in 10 lbs BS. The best fluorocarbon is Stren, which is quite unobtainable in the UK. If you have friends who visit the USA or even South Africa it is quite easy to obtain. If you can't get Stren, the next best bet is one of the fluorocarbons produced for fly leaders. Airflo Sightfree is excellent.
Bob Roberts prepares to net a Trent barbel (click for bigger picture)
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The only time I use feeders is for maggot or caster fishing. The large flat Drennans are the best I have found. You may have to add the odd 'Dead Cow' lead in a fast current.
For leads, you can't beat the flat ones made by Korda and for really fast currents, a watch lead.
Rigs
Most of the time I use a simple rig consisting of a lead stopped by a swivel and a rubber bead. The feeder is attached in a similar way. Then attach a 3 to 4 foot fluorocarbon hooklength. That's right - up to 4 feet long. I have found that a long hooklength prevents the fish being spooked by the reel line, especially when fishing close in with the line entering the water almost vertically at times. For large baits such as meat, pellets and boilies, a size 6 or 8 Drennan Continental Boilie hook does very well. For maggots and casters, a size 10 or 12 Drennan Super Specialist can't be beaten.
Landing Nets
The best type of landing net for barbel is a pear-shaped job of 29 inches diameter with a deep fine mesh. They are much easier to wield than a triangular carp net. Your landing net mesh should also be big enough to allow your barbel to recover. Never put barbel into a keepnet. You will need a long landing net handle on the high and rocky Trent banks.
Rod Rests
Those adjustable rod rests with the hardened screw thread are indispensable on the Trent banks. You can take one of those fancy angled rod pods of course, but I prefer to travel light. A buzzer bar and two buzzers screwed to the top complete the equipment.
Tactics and Baits
It pays to consult a tide table, not only for the best times to fish but for your own safety. The tides on the lower Trent can be awesome at times. Watch out for the big spring tides which are more common in the September - October period. A 5 metre tide at Dunham Bridge means 5 metres between high and low water! That's 15 feet so watch it.
Bob carries it away from the rocks for a photo (click for bigger picture)
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If the river drops down to a very low level at this time, it means that a big tide is due. Get well back from the river or you could lose all your tackle. Sometimes the Trent will have a tidal bore, a dramatic wave that can be as high as 1 metre, Be very careful indeed if you are fishing at night.
The best time to fish the Tidal Trent is after high tide when the river is running off. If this coincides with evening, and you have some extra water in the river you have the best conditions of all.
Most Trent barbellers use what are called 'Bait and Wait' tactics. If you can get to the river at high tide when the river stands still, you can then get a carpet of bait out and it will go straight to the bottom. In the lower Tidal river the current will reverse in flow, but I have caught little during these conditions.
Pellets, boilies and other items can be fed close to the hookbait via PVA stringers and bags. The mesh bags are especially good for this tactic.
For groundbait these days I tend to use a mixture of pellets, crushed up boilies and Nutrabaits Carpet feed. This stuff is excellent for binding the mix. To deposit the bait, try tying on a heavy Method feeder. Mould the bait around it and jerk it off when it hits bottom. An hour spent doing this in your chosen swim will often pay dividends.
Bait droppers by the way are a complete waste of time.
Many baits work well for Trent Barbel. Halibut pellets, luncheon meat and boilies based on fishmeal all have their days. For low clear conditions you still can't beat maggots or casters. It also pays to have some lobs when you have a flooded river to contend with.
It's a nice fish, in typically good nick for the Trent (click for bigger picture)
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And talking of flooded rivers, these are the best conditions of all. Most anglers will baulk at the sight of the mighty Trent running 8 feet up, the colour of chocolate with the odd tree, dead pig or sheep floating down. I have seen dead horses and cows before today.
During these conditions it pays to know your ground. You must take note of features such as cattle drinks, rocky headlands thistle patches and little bays during low water conditions. When the river is running bank high, this is where the barbel will be, and right under your rod top of course.
I have lost count of the times I have taken a good barbel from the space where anglers normally sit between two thistle patches.
In conditions like this it pays to step up your tackle to 15 lbs. A big chunk of luncheon meat is one of the best baits then, and don't cut it into cubes, tear it off in rough chunks and hair-rig it using two bits of grass crosswise.
The whole of the Tidal Trent from Cromwell to below Gainsborough contains barbel these days. There are plenty of new swims to be discovered and who knows you just might be lucky enough to contact a new record.
Matt Brown
