Rivers in winter are in a different league to any other form of fishing

Over the rest of the winter months I will try to explain the different conditions we are likely to find as winter passes and how we can adapt to them to get the best from the waters to still hopefully put some specimen fish on the bank. This month I will start with conditions that we all have got used to hearing about and maybe experienced ourselves lately, winter floods. I am not a great river fisherman, not in summer anyway, but I have done a lot of winter river fishing for just about every species we are likely to find in our rivers. Rivers in winter are in a different league to any other form of fishing. Gone are the lush friendly surroundings, the greens vanished to be replaced by browns and greys. Gone too is the clear water with waving fronds of weed and light brown gravel runs, now we have a boiling mass of brown coloured water. Gone are the nice grassy swims and reeds that we could squeeze between to lower a bait to an eager chub, now we have bank high, or over, water with the only practical footwear being a pair of waders. So, to start on our exploration of flooded rivers, let’s see what species we can hope to catch. Whilst most species can be caught in floods I will concentrate on those species that we have a better chance of catching in winter flood conditions than perhaps in normal winter conditions. These are barbel, chub, roach and pike.

Barbel

Two major factors effect the feeding of barbel in winter, height and colour of the water and secondly water temperatures. Barbel feed voraciously in winter, unless either the water is very cold or an influx of snowmelt water has occurred, they love murky water. When the water is high and coloured roving tactics with large baits is best. Luncheon meat, cheese paste, sausage meat paste are all good but my favourite is good old luncheon meat in these conditions. Barbel will be actively foraging for food so the smell of the bait is very important to bring them in from a fair distance off. It will be essential to be mobile in these conditions, sitting in one swim all day will produce a few fish but the mobile approach will bring far more. Bites will often come almost straight away after casting out in a new swim, this happens so often in fact that I rarely stay in a swim for more than an hour with no action. Often returning to a swim that did not produce a few hours before can produce a bite straight away. Proof, if proof is needed, that a few pieces of smelly luncheon meat will attract barbel from quite a distance away. Flows will be strong and in a days fishing quite a few different strengths of flow will be encountered, often we will also need to fish across a flow. So we need rigs that can hold enough weight to hold the strongest flows and a rig that enables weights to be changed easily and quickly, both with cold wet hands and at night. The simplest rig is a basic snap-link swivel. These enable weights to be changed easily and by keeping the full range of weights in the pockets of our fishing coat this can be done quickly. The carp anglerís flat leads are useful for fishing in very strong flows. The most exciting winter barbel fishing is after dark when conditions are high and coloured. The approach to after dark fishing must be the same as that in daylight though, very mobile, so there is no place for bedchairs and buzzers. Moving from swim to swim is essential Bites are tremendous with the rod hammering round and for this sort of fishing we can not beat touch legering. The feeling of the line coming alive in your hands is one to be experienced; the feeling of surprise and excitement never fades. Bait presentation varies from water to water but the majority of river barbel will want a static bait at this time of year. Certainly on the river Wey and Thames that I have mainly fished in winter, to use a bait that moves would be suicide. However on the Royalty fishery on the Hampshire Avon, a rolling bait produces far more barbel than does a static bait. Trotting a heavy bait works well on the Royalty in a flood as well but in general this is an inferior tactic for winter flood barbel. There is no way of knowing what your barbel will want though so start with a static bait and move on from there. Another good method is upstream legering using just enough weight on the line to hold bottom so a little tug will send the bait bumping down the current. This is more likely to work in the autumn floods before the water gets too cold and it is difficult to differentiate between weed and the pull of a barbel but experience will soon solve that. It’s a method worth trying if you are having a hard time of it as it can be devastating. There is no need to pre-bait swims or to bait up swims with much loose feed when fishing, as the barbel will be actively looking for food. The types of swims we need to look for are the classic crease swims and marginal slacks. I will describe these swims more when talking about other species. Winter barbel are wonderful creatures, their stomachs are full and they fight very hard. The currents created with a full winter flood will really test the tackle so do not be tempted to go light, there is no need. A minimum main line should be 8lb with 6 or 8lb hooklinks. Hooklinks should be kept to around 12 inches and hook sizes dependent on bait; I use an 8 for a cube of luncheon meat. The thrill of the rod pulling round in the darkness on a mild winter night with the river pushing through high and coloured is a not to be missed experience. The fight from these barbel is superb and on the bank they are in top condition and colour. It’s a great way to catch your first double figure barbel, or indeed your first ever barbel – the only problem is, it will spoil it for your summer barbel fishing!Have fun!

John Young