Video Inspiration

[nottskev]

I had one hopeless barbel session, then went abroad for a couple of weeks. Since I came back a few days ago, I've been sitting in the shade, enjoying the weather - why not, some years and we can go weeks without a sunny day - but feeling quite unmotivated to fish. Nosing around on youtube, I found the latest Cadence video features James Robbins having a go on my nearest Trent stretch, and I'm feeling inspired to make the 5 minute journey and make the most of what's on my doorstep. He gets a few on a scorching day (although I think he over-estimates his catch at the end ) and the river, despite the conditions, looks good.

YouTube

 

[mikench]

I am enjoying that Kev! Looks a lovely spot !

 

[tigger]

Camera didn't hang around when he released the fish and one appeared to be dead lol.
He'd be lucky if there was 5lb there.

People are going on about low oxygen levels and abstaining from river fishing until we get some rain and yet that clown is keeping the fish in a net.....

 

[Philip]

I like his videos, thing is I am no matchman but I was surprised he was basically casting & feeding downstream of him. Wouldnt it make more sense to cast upstream to start the trot so you get a longer run ?

How do the experts do it ?

 

[nottskev]

I like his videos, thing is I am no matchman but I was surprised he was basically casting & feeding downstream of him. Wouldnt it make more sense to cast upstream to start the trot so you get a longer run ?

How do the experts do it ?

Fair question, but he is actually doing the standard thing. If you cast up or straight out, you never quite get "behind" the float in the same way as far as line control and control over the float are concerned. A further point: should the fish start to come up to the feed or even take it at the point where it is going in, you're in a much better position to manipulate the line and float to get the right presentation if you're able to slow or stop your float. The video was shot in unusually calm weather, so James wasn't having to work too hard to keep the line behind the float; the worse the downstream wind, the greater the need to start the trot below you. I watched Dave Harrell fishing on the local Derwent in a Riverfest qualifier a couple of years ago. In very poor conditions - low river, sunny day, strong downstream wind - he was illustrating how far you sometimes have to take this, casting a waggler half way down the swim and preferring to fish the bottom half of the swim well to fishing more of it badly.

 

[sam vimes]

I like his videos, thing is I am no matchman but I was surprised he was basically casting & feeding downstream of him. Wouldnt it make more sense to cast upstream to start the trot so you get a longer run ?

With the caveat that I'm generally fishing faster, shallower rivers, it's a desperation measure for me to cast or feed even slightly upstream. At most I'll intend to feed parallel to my position in a short run, though I'd still prefer to feed further downstream. Feeding parallel at most will still allow me some leeway if dace, chub or grayling come up in the water to the point that the bait enters the water, which they all have a nasty habit of doing. If they do it when you've fed upstream, you've got nowhere left to go with your casting.

 

[tigger]

Where I introduce my freebies depends on a few different things, the pace and depth of the water, the type of feed i'm using and the fish i'm targetting.
I usually want my bait to be well down in the water, even rolling along the bottom so I mostly feed parralell to myself or even throw it back upstream. As I said it depends on various things though. Very often I just dropp the bait straight infront of me or at my feet in a fast glide.
It's just a case of trying to predict where your taking spot is and trying to get the freebies to it at the right depth.

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

Camera didn't hang around when he released the fish and one appeared to be dead lol.
He'd be lucky if there was 5lb there.

People are going on about low oxygen levels and abstaining from river fishing until we get some rain and yet that clown is keeping the fish in a net.....

I commented on that video mentioning the dead fish and he said "thats the seagulls lunch, the circle of life" hahahaha

 

[thecrow]

Thanks for the E mail Kev I enjoyed the video although it looks hard work to me I was over that way last week what a great road system Nottingham has NOT

 

[mikench]

I thought Manchester was bad but Nottingham is much worse!

 

[Philip]

Where I introduce my freebies depends on a few different things, the pace and depth of the water, the type of feed i'm using and the fish i'm targetting.
I usually want my bait to be well down in the water, even rolling along the bottom so I mostly feed parralell to myself or even throw it back upstream. As I said it depends on various things though. Very often I just dropp the bait straight infront of me or at my feet in a fast glide.
It's just a case of trying to predict where your taking spot is and trying to get the freebies to it at the right depth.

Thats been pretty much my apporach on it too although its interesting to hear a matchmans outlook on it when it comes to building a swim.

Mind you all said and done - I recon if he had just chucked out a bolie on a bolt rig for the Barbel he would have finished with a bigger weight

 

[tigger]

Thats been pretty much my apporach on it too although its interesting to hear a matchmans outlook on it when it comes to building a swim.

Mind you all said and done - I recon if he had just chucked out a bolie on a bolt rig for the Barbel he would have finished with a bigger weight

I do get what beer belly Robinson was doing and have done exactly the same myself if thats whats required on the day but for the biggest part I fish in too shallow and fast a moving water to use that method and I fish as I described which builds a swim just the same.

I realy don't like to watch these vid's because these so called "match anglers" think no one else can catch fish lol.

 

[silvers]

It’s a way to fish it .... not the only way.

Two other reasons to potentially feed downstream ....
1. Flow, depth or features in the swim that suggest a likely holding spot and where your bait may therefore be best introduced. Ie. Watercraft.
2. In a match on close pegging, to avoid the angler upstream stealing your fish. These days there are few matches close pegged enough to worry about this on rivers. I’m only aware that this happened to me once, unfortunately on a Trent national! I was catching chub on an inside line, then ripped my bait apron badly, so stopped feeding for a few minutes as I sorted mysellf out. At that moment the angler upstream piled in the bait and drew the majority of the shoal to his peg.

 

[theartist]

Some rivers I fish I would need to be in the next swim upstream to get the bait down whereas on others I'm feeding at two or three different spots down the swim as it's sooo darn slow. As others have said getting your bait to be in tandem with the feed is the main thing.

They say casting downstream helps mend the line when the wind is coming down and across, but I find any benefit is minimal, I'd rather take my time and hike to the other bank

 

[nottskev]

Not sure who "beer belly Robinson" is. Maybe a friend of the presenter, James Robbins?

Nor what a "so called match angler" might be. Surely you either are one or you aren't?

Tried to find the part where the presenter said no-one but match anglers can catch fish, but couldn't. Where is that said or implied?

You can always chuck a boilie on a bolt rig out. But I'd point out - the stretch fished is 5 mins from where I live - that almost all the big fish caught come out to night anglers, and I've never personally seen a daytime barbel caught under those conditions. There are open matches on the stretch, and anyone can book in and try to prove the so-called experts wrong with a boilie-caught bag...... Perhaps, too, the presenter thought that might detract from the actual purpose of the video - to demonstrate long rod and bolo, mixing instruction and promotion for his Cadence range.

Myself, I like his videos - always full of modest good sense :wh

 

[tigger]

Some rivers I fish I would need to be in the next swim upstream to get the bait down whereas on others I'm feeding at two or three different spots down the swim as it's sooo darn slow. As others have said getting your bait to be in tandem with the feed is the main thing.

They say casting downstream helps mend the line when the wind is coming down and across, but I find any benefit is minimal, I'd rather take my time and hike to the other bank

I fish a few swims similar to those you mention where in I literally catapult my maggots back up stream in order to get them down in the water by the time they travel past me. I suppose nipping to the other side would be great if you could get there . Problem on the majority of those type of swims that I fish is there's no access to the other banks or the banks are so steep and full of undergrowth it's impossible fish from them.

 

[tigger]

Not sure who "beer belly Robinson" is. Maybe a friend of the presenter, James Robbins?

Nor what a "so called match angler" might be. Surely you either are one or you aren't?

Tried to find the part where the presenter said no-one but match anglers can catch fish, but couldn't. Where is that said or implied?

You can always chuck a boilie on a bolt rig out. But I'd point out - the stretch fished is 5 mins from where I live - that almost all the big fish caught come out to night anglers, and I've never personally seen a daytime barbel caught under those conditions. There are open matches on the stretch, and anyone can book in and try to prove the so-called experts wrong with a boilie-caught bag...... Perhaps, too, the presenter thought that might detract from the actual purpose of the video - to demonstrate long rod and bolo, mixing instruction and promotion for his Cadence range.

Myself, I like his videos - always full of modest good sense :wh

Maybe he doesn't have a beer belly then, maybe he eats a lot of burgers and junk food ?

 

[nottskev]

Maybe he doesn't have a beer belly then, maybe he eats a lot of burgers and junk food ?

Couldn't say. I'm obviously not studying his body so closely.

 

[thecrow]

You can always chuck a boilie on a bolt rig out. But I'd point out - the stretch fished is 5 mins from where I live - that almost all the big fish caught come out to night anglers, and I've never personally seen a daytime barbel caught under those conditions.

I have looked at this stretch as well as the syndicate bit just upstream a few times, every angler that I have spoken to on both bits that was fishing for barbel said the same about the water being almost a night only water for the barbel which go very big along there as well as another very hard fighting species that grows large.

 

[theartist]

I fish a few swims similar to those you mention where in I literally catapult my maggots back up stream in order to get them down in the water by the time they travel past me. I suppose nipping to the other side would be great if you could get there . Problem on the majority of those type of swims that I fish is there's no access to the other banks or the banks are so steep and full of undergrowth it's impossible fish from them.

The far bank bit was said in jest although to be fair I prob would still go given how much I detest a bad wind on an open river

Some fast swims need a bait dropper even when float fishing, I've found baits like hemp and maggots not even making it lower than foot even when catapulted upstream, it does work to an extent but is a pain in the proverbials lobbing it out every now and then, that's when you want someone upstream of you with a feeder,