Barbel from Yorkshire Rivers

Ginger · Aug 11, 2006

Excellent feature Sean,a really good read.
Nice to see how the experts do it.
Tell Mick i`m only about 100 behind him for the season,but i am a slow starter.
The river conditions you describe are just what i`m experiencing at the moment,different results though.I shall be making a few changes now after reading your article,thanks for the tips.

john conway · Aug 11, 2006

Excelent read Sean, so different from fishing on the Ribble. I?ve not seen anyone on the Ribble crawling on their bellies yet?
Interesting observation about the relationship with the chub, makes me wonder if there?s a similar relationship with the Ribble Barbel and Chub? Also the reluctance of the chub to feed in the cloudy water.

David Wass · Aug 11, 2006

Good read Sean.
Don't let Spiros see how many Barbel Mick Wood has caught already this season, his head might fall off!!

Regards

Wazzy

Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA) · Aug 11, 2006

Sean, very good stuff.

I fished for Barbel on the Swale a fair bit before coming down south. I was wondering if sight fishing was the exception rather than the rule as I never recall the river being low and clear enough.A sign of the dry summers we have benn having recently perhaps.

Do you ever fish the float at all? On some pegs this was by far the most effective method and resulted in some fish just short of doubles.

Spiros · Aug 11, 2006

Sean - nice article mate.

David - I was talking to Mick the other day and he has told me how many fish he has caught this season, a top bloke he is I might add.

Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA) · Aug 11, 2006

Spiros, I am glad he was able to convince you! ;-)

Bill Ling · Aug 11, 2006

Yeah, it must've been the kick in the knackers that did it. ;-)

Deanos · Aug 11, 2006

Sean,
A big thank you for a great article that will help me no end.
It must have taken ages to put together all the information, and the pictures are brill.
There must be a future book lurking there somewhere????
The articles and features on FM are great, and I think yourself Sean and Mark Wintle set a really high standard.

Sgt Bash · Aug 11, 2006

Very educational and informative Sean, a very well put together article that puts some of the commercial magazines articles to shame. I am looking forward to part 2 and I shall be adopting one or two of your tips in my fishing here on the upper Trent and Dove which is not too dissimilar to your own fishing on the beautiful rivers of Yorkshire. Hoping to meet up with you on one of the future FM fishins.

gilesy · Aug 11, 2006

sean i enjoyed your article,i too fish the yorkshire rivers, nidd and swale,and i am indeed on the swale tommorrow "thornton bridge" from your first part i see you dont use floro hooklengths or mains, is it just personal choice ? got to admit casters are my top early season bait and got me an 11lber last season from the swale

Peter Bishop · Aug 11, 2006

Excellent and informative article Sean. What strikes me is how close barbel fishing is now moving towards still water carping. The approach and rigs are now almost identical. Perhaps that is the way of specimen hunting these days. For many years on the Severn and Dane my chosen line of attack was the traditional hair rigged curried meat, over feeders full of hemp and caster. While that still catches the smaller fish it is now a case of switching to big halibut pellets or boilies and bolt rigs if you want the bigger specimens which makes me feel if I have come full circle and gone back to my two rod carping days-a one dimensional approach I came to detest. Such is life...

David Craine · Aug 12, 2006

Sean, I used to fish Yorks rivers a lot, but I now mostly fish the Ribble..this article, plus a conversation with Duncan Mellors the other week is helping me to remember what I may be missing, it may well be that I will be driving East instead of West for my next couple of trips.

Sean Meeghan · Aug 12, 2006

Thanks all! Glad you liked it. Just to answer the questions above:

Yes Nigel, sight fishing is not too common, but there are places you can do it. I wrote the article after conversations with other people who had also had their eyes opened when they were able to watch what was going on in the swim. I do fish the float occasionally and I enjoy it, but you need to choose your spot carefully to avoid the "this is a good peg mate lost 20 fish already" syndrome!

Gilesy, I've tried fluorocarbon hooklengths, but I not happy about the knot reliability for Barbel. I don't see any need to use it for main line. The braid I use is 100% reliable. In my view a fish will struggle to tell the difference between braid and weed, but mono is very obviously not natural. I too fish casters a lot and it was a suprise to me that the fish didn't start feeding until I put the pellet in. I assume that they would have switched on to the caster eventually.

Yes John the relationship between the Barbel and Chub was a bit of an eye opener! I assume that this only occurs in the shallows on the rivers I fish, but who knows. I think that we have fish in our swim on more occasions than we think and that many blank days can be avoided by a simple change to presentation.

Sean Meeghan · Aug 12, 2006

You're right in general Peter, but I make a conscious effort not to adopt methods without thinking them through first. My rig is actually a standard river feeder rig, with the addition of a short braid hooklength becaus I wasn't happy using heavy mono for Barbel. In fact my rig hasn't changed significantly in 12 years. I try new things, like fluorocarbon, but unless they offer an advantage I don't switch over to them.

Sean Meeghan · Aug 12, 2006

Oh and I don't agree with your statement that you need to switch to big halibut pellets, boilies and bolt rigs. I almost never use them. Typically I'm using a 30g cage feeder or a 1/4 oz bomb Carpbellers catch despite the method they use not because of it. If I'm feeling mischievious I might publish some obsvervations on the methods used by the Barbel Society members who fish opposite me on a certain stretch. That should stoke the controversy boiler in the Barbel forum nicely!

Steve King · Aug 12, 2006

A really enjoyable and informative article!

I almost felt that I was on the bank with you!

Peter Bishop · Aug 13, 2006

Your point is well made Sean, but like you I have watched in cringe mode at the out and out carp gear with carp rods and bait runners being used by some to target big barbel. Even worse when I see them land a much bigger stamp of fish than I do with my old fashioned methods ( not that I catch many anyway.)I wonder if that the way I ought to go. Have they moved with the times and I haven't?
But then I remember why I gave up fishing for carp only using two rod set ups, optonics, and self hooking rigs at fisheries surrounded by drug infused social misfits in bivvies with rings through every bodily appendage and more tattoos than Rod Steiger in the Illustrated Man! From what I've seen some of these people are now switching their attention to rivers and barbel and bringing all their anti social habits with them. Just arrive early doors at the Severn near Shrewsbury and count the bivvy brigade-or better still hear them from half a mile away.

Geoff Cowen · Aug 13, 2006

Nice one Sean! Does the Wharfedale Specimen Group have a web site?

john broomfield 1 · Aug 13, 2006

Sean after reading your article I realise my current methods are somwhat lacking in finess. I am currently trying to get fish off the river Tees. Its a big wide, peaty river in the Dinsdale area with not much chance of spotting fish.
My sucess has come ledgering a far bank swim, about 30yds away with 10mm banded pellet on a 15"/10lbs BS silkworm hooklength and caged feeder loaded with damp, oil soaked 4/6mm pellets. At present I am fishing with the rod tip up high keeping as much of the line out of the water as possible. The swims very tight with trees either side, so lowering the rod would mean pointing the tip straight at the fish. Think I will try back leading with a few SSG's on alink trapped between float stops about three foot back from the feeder. Only problem will be the floating weed and the chub. Present ratio is about 50 to 1, chub to barbel

Sean Meeghan · Aug 13, 2006

Yes Peter I sometimes can't believe some of the things I see. Last week for example I passed a half acre pool a short distance away from my hous and stopped and stared in disbelief. There were at least 6 bivvies all with 2 or 3 heavy carp rods, most with big pit reels. I think this sort of fishing, were hours on the bank make up for a lack of thought or knowledge will cause angling problems in the future.

No Geoff we don't have a web site. We're a bunch of old fuddy duddies - some of us don't even have PCs. Nothing like the slick, cutting edge DVSG ;?)

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