October

[iain t]

Oct,Nov, and December love that time of year. All the fair weather anglers disappear, the weed starts to die back. The Barbel and Chub are scratching around for food and the dead baits comes out for the Pike. Jan and Feb even better, i hardly ever see a soul on the banks and have the entire river to myself

 

[theartist]

In the rivers I fish float fishing for barbel becomes a total waste of time during the winter months, especially the larger rivers. You do still catch them quite often on the leger rods but i'm a bit of an obsessive float angler and so I either carry on after the barbel and have numerous biteless trips out (appart from chub) or I target some other species for a change. I do like my grayling fishing and luckily the closed game fishing season co-insides with the slowing down of the barbel (on the float) and opens up some normally taboo rivers to course anglers during this period.

I'm guessing your rivers push through a lot more than ours down here come winter making them harder to trot for barbel. I remember talking to a chap the other year who lived in York, when our rivers were finally up and running and fishing well, his was running through his high street and was unfishable for ages, I felt for him I really did. Saying that though the nearest grayling fishing to me is the best part of two hours away so it's swings and roundabouts really.

 

[tigger]

I'm guessing your rivers push through a lot more than ours down here come winter making them harder to trot for barbel. I remember talking to a chap the other year who lived in York, when our rivers were finally up and running and fishing well, his was running through his high street and was unfishable for ages, I felt for him I really did. Saying that though the nearest grayling fishing to me is the best part of two hours away so it's swings and roundabouts really.

Often the rivers round here flow very much the same during winter months as in the summer months (levels being up and down) so it's not the speed of flow that causes the barbel not to take a moving bait, it's once the temperatures drop off the fish just stop taking a moving bait and to be successful you really need to leger and keep your bait static. Funny enough, this summer the barbel round these parts really haven't been very interested in a trotted bait and on most occasions i've had to really put an effort in to get any joy, usually the bait has had to be fished well overdepth to induce a take. I may well be wrong but arn't a lot of the southern rivers fed by water from below the ground and so keeping the actual water temp's up a little? Whereas round here the water flows off rocky hills and moors etc with most of the peaks being snow capped in winter.
Regarding the grayling, to get in among any number of them I also have an hour or two's drive to a suitable venue.

 

[mikench]

Are you oop north Tigger? I recall vividly the pics I saw of a guy fishing in the Main Street in York last year after the floods! Wasn't you was it?

 

[ribblemeister]

Now is the time of year to dust down the stick floats and float rods and get on the river.
The fish start to shoal together in their winter areas and the fishing can be fantastic.
Really look forward to the next few months and will be giving the commies a miss and concentrating on some proper fishing.

 

[theartist]

I may well be wrong but arn't a lot of the southern rivers fed by water from below the ground and so keeping the actual water temp's up a little? Whereas round here the water flows off rocky hills and moors etc with most of the peaks being snow capped in winter.
.

That could be it Tigger as they seem to still feed down here regardless of the temperature. I've had all of my doubles when it's been freezing and whilst it's never hectic sport the cold does seem to sort out the bigger ones. They've all been on a size 18, single maggot job. My theory is that they just can't resist the trickle of feed going by eventually so i've never bought into the water temp issue. Although if you get a warm spell in winter it can be like flicking a switch. We definately don't get cold water from any hills or snow melt much although I've had them when snow is on the deck back when it used to snow.