Barbel Fishing on Small Rivers

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It’s the 16th June and the start of the river season. For me, this means it’s time for barbel on the River Lea. I love fishing for barbel and chub in small rivers, it suits my style of fishing with a mobile approach covering a number of swims, until I find the fish.

Short Session Barbel Fishing

My approach to Barbel fishing on small rivers is very different to fishing big rivers like the Trent or Severn. Here you could be fishing with a couple of rods, rod tips in the air, with a baited area and waiting for the barbel to move into your swim. I prefer stalking and setting traps by trickling bits of bait here and there in an overgrown environment. I’ll visit several swims during the day trying to nick a bite or two. I’m looking for signs of fish, bubbles and swirls, spending around 45 minutes in each swim before moving on to the next – that’s the way I like to fish. I’m covered in bites, scratches and stings while moving swims, but to me, it’s all part of the fun.

I’ll use the bankside cover to my advantage, keeping low with plenty of cover. I wear Polaroids to cut out the surface glare, allowing me to spot feeding fish over my free offerings. I prefer to keep my rod tips low, when I can, so my line lays on the bottom. If I can’t keep the rods down to avoid an overgrown swim, weeds or reeds, I’ll use a back lead to keep everything pinned down. I don’t want to spook the shy feeding fish which are just a few feet away from where I’m sitting.

As I prefer short and regular fishing sessions, I don’t take a huge amount of tackle with me and fish with a single rod. All my terminal tackle packs neatly into my Korum Ruckbag. This supports my mobile approach, with all my essentials in one place and my unhooking mat, landing net handle and rod rest attached to the ruckbag.

The Gear Used on Small Rivers

Fishing on small rivers is often a ‘hit and hold’ approach and you can’t give the fish an inch. You need a powerful rod and strong line. I use the 2.25lb Korum Opportunist 10 ft rod, 4000 size reel and 15lb line to keep the barbel and chub away from the snags. 15lb line may appear excessive for a small river, but I want to land as many barbel as I can once I’ve hooked them.

The speed and power of small river barbel is crazy, they are so strong and will head for any snag they can to avoid capture. My rigs need to be strong enough for these jungle-like conditions. I use a short, eight inch, 20lb braided hooklink. A short hooklink really helps if I’m trying to cast a bait under a bush, a tree or in a little hole in the weed.

My braided hooklink is tied to a swivel in the Korum Camo Bolt and Run kit. This has a large run ring which is semi-fixed to a clip with an angled groove, with my swivel inside. When the fish picks up the bait you get a bolt rig effect, but once it’s done its job, the lead becomes free running. An anti-tangle sleeve and clip kicks my hooklink away from the lead to avoid tangles when casting. I prefer to use a 60g flat lead which grips the bottom much better.

Choice of Hookbait

My preferred hookbait is the Sonubaits Pellet-Os. I like to ‘match the hatch’ by matching my hookbait to the free offerings. I believe pressured Barbel are quite cautious of meat and such baits. I find that the fish sometimes drop their guards when you match the hatch in this way.

Bait Application

I normally use pellets for feed and it’s important to remember that pellets will sink at different rates depending on their size. The smaller and lighter the pellet, the further they will travel in the flow, so I keep them in separate bags. I prefer to feed a mix of 6 and 8mm pellets to keep the barbel guessing, with a couple of pellets on the hook.

I wrap the hookbait, and sometimes the lead, in paste for added attraction. I make my own paste by scalding some 6mm halibut pellets and leaving them overnight. Sometimes I’ll add a bit of groundbait to stiffen it up a bit. After the session, I’ll put what I don’t use in the freezer for next time.

There’s plenty of fun to be had within a few feet of the river bank and you can often see the fish picking up your hookbait. So if you’ve got a small river near you – why not give it a go, you could be pleasantly surprised at what you catch.

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