Some Thoughts on Winter Barbel

Neil Maidment · Dec 17, 2007

I'm now really regretting not joining you after the Idle meet Sean! But the thought of a 4 hour+ drive home got the better of me.

I've not had too many barbel of late but way back, I had a fair degree of success with single maggot on a size 12 (!) fished in conjunction with a tiny feeder with hemp. Sounds crazy but quite a number of winter barbel fell to that method.

I was intrigued by our conversations the night before. Down here in the South, we get all depressed when water temperatures drop into single figures and some will tell you it's usually a waste of time to try for barbel (they're wrong). But your (and Bryan's) comments about barbel in much lower temperatures really suprised me. It never occurred to me that such differences exist. Maybe we Southerners do have it easy!

Back in October on the Severn, I had a great day with the barbel in fairly tough conditions (very low and clear). The first two barbel came after I struck at the smallest of knocks on the rod tip. I was using a long (3ft+) hooklength and 8ml pellets on a hair (size 12). Other fish nearly wrenched the rod in but I'm not sure I would have had those first two had I waited for a pull around!

Rickrod · Dec 17, 2007

once again a good article from sean and best of all no secret bait

Deanos · Dec 17, 2007

As usual I find your articles informative and just a bit inspirational Sean, being able to relate to the Northern rivers that you fish gives me confidence, and I hope think a little more about my angling!

The river Nidd has been running up and down like a yo yo of late, but I am chubbing on Thursday evening, Swale on Friday if the river is not out of sorts, I will have half a pint of maggots with me also!!!!.

Keep writing your articals, very much appreciated.

Jeff Spiller · Dec 17, 2007

Good read Sean, wish I'd had a barbel rod with me. Will definitely be taking some maggots with me next time.

Nice to see some one sharing there thoughts on why it did or did not work, it's all to easy to get stuck on one method.

As Deanos Say's, keep writing.

Sean Meeghan · Dec 17, 2007

Thanks folks!

You've hit on what I consider to be key points in barbel fishing Neil:

rod tip low, so line on bottom

small bait

long tail

Of course all 3 points aren't critical all the time, but one nearly always is.

I'm off to the Swale on Thursday Deanos - let you know how I get on.

Fred Bonney · Dec 17, 2007

Good report Sean,I recently experienced much the same problem but on a colder Trent.

Didn't have any maggots, but had the old lobbies,when all else failed I tried them, and was in almost immediatley.

At the time,I put it down to movement attracting the fish rather than the " dead baits", but who knows?

My next trip, and an experiment, with the Trent at 4.5c ish, will be interesting

pcpaulh · Dec 17, 2007

Great article Sean really enjoyed it.

Even down south are lakes are frozen and things are chilly. I don't try to often for medway barbel as I mainly blank, specially in the winter. ButI'm being tempted to give it ago /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA) · Dec 18, 2007

I suppose if you think about it, pellets and boilies are the ideal shape for a barbel to manipulate whereas maggots and worms, as in Freds example, are not given they are soft and move. I wonder if a pellet cut into an irregular shape may have a similar effect when you do not have a change bait?

Sean, do you think that instead of feedingwarily they were actually feeding confidently due to the flood conditions by simply picking up the pellets on the spot and seeking to digest them in situ rather than the usual smash and grab of a nervous barbel.I suppose the same effect could be induced by the cold water as you point out.

All interesting stuff.Keep the articles coming.The format and content are excellant.

Fred Bonney · Dec 18, 2007

Nigel,the only problem with your theory of the fish feeding confidently is, in my view,particularlywith a long hooklength, you would be likely to get deep hooking, and thiswasnot occuring.

My other views, are that the knocks and twitches are fish moving over the hooklength, and that the hook pulls, may be due to foul hooking!

Fred Bonney · Dec 18, 2007

Having re-read Sean's piece,he doesn't mention his hooklength,it was you in different conditions.

I still think the principal is the same, and I'm not certain that feedingbarbel are finicky in their bites, the 3foot twitch,will happen.

Sean Meeghan · Dec 18, 2007

I don't think the barbel were feeding confidently as, apart from the first bite, I had no hittable indications until I changed to maggot. Now I suppose it could be the movement of fish over my bait that caused these indications and that it was the movement of the maggots that induced a take. All I can say is that some of the indications had the look of definite bites - a slow pull for example, but when I struck at them there was nothing there.

Mick and I did discuss the possibilityof foul hooking and this is certainly one possibilty, but I'm not sure that this really matters. The key fact is that the barbel were hooked on the maggot. Now here's another interesting fact. Mick float fishes for chub, whereas I tend to ledger. Mick hooks a lot more barbel when chub fishing than I do. These fish are usuall hooked in relatively cold water temps, probably less tha 6 C. So maybe Fred's idea of movement inducing a take has some validity. The problem is that there are so many variables that its difficult to establish a cause. The effect is a given - I hooked fish that I wouldn't have caught on pellet.

I was using a tail of about 18 to 20 inches (about 500 mm).

I don't envy you fishing a cold clear Trent Fred. I'd bring some bread If I were you!

Fred Bonney · Dec 18, 2007

At the end of the day Sean,it's what fishing is all about.Keeps you thinking.

They may be considered almost brainless,but they certainly keep us on our toes.

Steve Holland · Dec 18, 2007

A mate of mine fishes around Shrewsbury and quite often gets tentative knocks alol year. Originally thinking it was small fish or chub, however, one day these knocks were starting to annoy him so he struck and latched onto a barbel. This happened several times in that session and it was always barbel. He hates to think how many fish he missed before. However, in winter we started using maggots only and we noticed when the river was cooling bites became more 'twitchy' until near the end of the feeding spell as we put it. Normally the last few fish that came out gave a standard wrap around bites whereas at the start they were finicky taps and twitches. Pellets bought less response that was why we started and continue to use white maggots. The only thing we could put it down to was due to the water cooling and possibly affecting their feeding behaviour. Tried and tested against water warming up at the same time of year we founjd bites were more positive earlier into the session, almost like they were reluctant to initially feed but habit forced them to until the were worked into abit of a frenzy, for want of a better word, that made them feed more aggressively, well, as aggressive as fish can get in cold water!

I'm not saying our thinking is right, just what we found and interpreted or mis-interpreted.

Jeff Spiller · Dec 18, 2007

Sean, one way of testing this, I have tried it before with no success, is to glue a few 3mm pellet's on the hair, just to see if they were taking pellet as well.

You've got the old grey matter going know though.

CAT · Dec 18, 2007

Quality Sean!

Great article and very nice to see some Don Barbel, top angling m8.

Graham Whatmore · Dec 18, 2007

Fred, I can't ever recall having a deep hooked barbel on any bait even on long hook lengths. I prefer long hook lengths when the fish seem to be shy biting, in clear conditions for example and in cold conditions though I don't fish when it is very cold these days.

On the Severn in particular a maggot will work when all else fails but I don't know whether that applies to all rivers and I could see Jeffs two glued 3mm pellets working a treat too for that matter. My matchman head tells me small baits get more bites than big baits especially when conditions are against you.

Fred Bonney · Dec 19, 2007

Graham,that's not what I said,I said words to the effect,that if Barbel were sitting on top of bait munching away without moving, as suggested,then the result could be deep hooking, and as that doesn't happen often, they can't be sitting on top munching!

It's not happened to me either,by the way.

I just don't believe that barbel nibble, or blow out the baits, and give twitches as a positive bite!

They feed on the move,not necessarily far, hoovering as their lips are designed to do.

Albert Watkinson 2 · Dec 19, 2007

sean,as always a good read and food for thought along the way.nice handy peg you got there .just the job for an old timer like me.merry christmas to you.
albert

Sean Meeghan · Dec 19, 2007

Thanks Albert - took me ages to dig out. You should see the staircase down the flood bank - its a work of art!

Looks like Severn Barbel behave in much the same way. I'm sure its due to a conflict between not needing to feed because its cold and an instinct to take advantage of an available food source.

Matt Brown · Dec 19, 2007

Fred, I've watched barbel in clear water pick up and drop a bait many times. They get away with murder sometimes. It depends on how tight your feeding is as to how much they move while feeding (as first written about by Tony Miles). They also feed differently through the session. Spooky fish can pick up a mouthful and turn off downstream. Competing fish can move aggressively (giving positive bites), but confident fish, over a bed of hemp or small pellets for instance, can really take their time. If you weren't able to view what is going on you'd often think the swim was devoid of fish.

It's not always like that though.

Sean, I enjoyed reading that. I've fished that peg more than once!

Some Thoughts on Winter Barbel

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