A beginner's guide to catching barbel at Fishers Green...
Getting The Rub Of The Green | Specialist World
Getting The Rub Of The Green
Given the problems suffered by many of the barbel-seeking anglers at Fishers Green, who perennially seem to struggle to catch their quarry, I thought I’d pen a quick guide towards catching on the Old River and see if we can lift the veil on the Lea’s mystique.
Because it’s been a nationally renowned barbel water for some years, many anglers join with high hopes and expectations, only to find their patience tested by blank after blank. Well, with a little lateral thinking, it needn’t be that way, but I’ll say it up front; in good conditions, one to two barbel (over 5lbs) in a session is good to excellent, three or more is a rare red-letter day. This is not a “runs water”, but equally, anyone can catch. To catch consistently is the challenge we face here.
First, let’s explode some myths. Contrary to popular belief, barbel and chub inhabit the entire stretch at Fishers Green, not just the top end. Barbel are not shy biters and because of their underslung mouths cannot easily reject bait like a chub; if you can get the bait into their mouth, the rod should arc round with a hooked fish within seconds. Barbel can be more easily caught and, more importantly, landed in open water than by fishing to snags. A barbel fighting in flow makes powerful lunges, do not fish for them with less than 8lb line as the weakest link. There are carp throughout the river, if you get broken up by a powerful fish, chances are you’ve hooked one of them. Lastly, barbel will eat almost anything, provided they’re not spooked.
With the exception of a couple of very shallow sections, most of the river (in normal conditions) has between three and six feet in depth through the stretch. Almost all of it is gravel which, to varying degrees, is covered by streamer weed, 'cabbage' and reeds. Prime barbel country. Now, while at rest, where will they be? Either under or between the weed (or cabbage), under networks of overhanging tree branches or sheltering in the many sections of undercut bank.
Next, look at the flow. In normal summer/autumn conditions they’ll generally be in and around the main flow to feed. If the cover is just off the flow, that’s their refuge. It’s generally better to bait up a little way away from their resting places and entice them out, as putting pressure on them while at rest may force them either into moving elsewhere or, at least, becoming very wary.
A good holding area tends to remain one, season after season, as long as the features that make it attractive don’t change, and don’t forget that baiting just below a holding area can be just as effective as baiting above. Some swims will just be 'feeding highways' that the fish move up and down. barbel can (and do) travel a long way, even in winter.
Once flood conditions arise you’ll find them anywhere from the margin (six inches depth suddenly becomes two feet plus!) out into the fastest visible water, especially where there’s some extra depth. Good flood swims will have smoothly flowing water and little boiling or eddying. This denotes a smooth gravel run which the fish prefer. Remember that the water flows slower on the river-bed, due to friction, than what you see on the surface.
A presentation I use, is to cast into the main flow, then back-lead under my rod-tip in the slacker water, cutting down the drag (and build-up of debris) on the line. Even if you can only keep a bait in the water for five to ten minutes, keep casting to the same spot. If barbel are around, they’ll find it surprisingly quickly. In winter, as their metabolism slows, they’ll look for slower flow to feed in, reducing their energy output to balance less food being consumed. A mild winter flood however, particularly after a cold spell, will see them back out on their normal feeding spots, while the higher temperatures last. Barbel will generally go off feed when the water temperature is falling in winter. However, once it stabilises after a few days, feeding activity will resume for a couple of short periods each day. Usually in the morning and at dusk. Even in frost and snow.
There are plenty of other rivers, other stretches on the Lea as well, where traditional baits and presentations will catch bags of smaller barbel all day long. The Green isn’t like that, though. These bigger fish have been targeted every day of the season for most of their adult lives. They know certain things spell danger. Certain baits and, particularly, line. The angler must match his approach to the conditions. If the water’s clear, go with particles. If it’s coloured, single 'smelly' bait with perhaps some freebies if the strength of the flow won’t wash them away! Particles can be hemp, maggots, caster and micro-pellet, while 'smellies' can be boilies, pellet, paste, meat, worm, or even a big bunch of maggots. Flavoured? Lovely!
In summer/autumn, the trick in clear water is to feed away their caution. Don’t expect to catch without four to six pints of bait, sometimes a gallon. In winter this is scaled down to one to three pints, depending on the length of your session and prevailing temperatures, but this method needs time to be effective. Patience is the key here; either find your fish, or know where they’re most likely to be, then build the swim. There’s nothing quite like looking down on big barbel happily munching away a rod-length in front of you. You can drop a large bait-dropper on their noses at this point and they’ll just shake their heads at the interruption and carry on regardless.
Personally, I prefer, whenever possible, to have multiple barbel feeding away on particles without being spooked by a hookbait, before I put a line in the water. A lone fish will still be cautious, in a group, like any shoaling species, they feel safer. Bigger chub often feed alongside them as well as smaller fish. Whatever you catch along the way before hooking the barbel, they won’t be spooked for long. Keep the bait going in and they’ll keep coming back for more. To this end I would advocate either a bait-dropper or a large feeder (without hook-link) topping up the swim regularly (about every 20 minutes) before trying to catch them.
Barbel are greedy fish and can soon become oblivious to anything else but the dinner-plate. Match the hook-bait to the loose feed, and if two maggots aren’t working, try one. If red isn’t working, try white. Or fake hemp. Try a longer link, or a shorter one. Ring the changes. Why do particles work? Because if the fish get hooked once for every 1000-plus bits they eat, they associate it less with danger. If they get hooked every time they eat a single lump of meat in clear conditions, the association with danger is far more direct! Remember, pressured fish wise up quickly.
I would also say here that I don’t agree with the theory that if you catch a chub, you won’t go on to catch barbel from the same swim. In my experience, in daylight, they may take up to an hour to return; after dark, 10 minutes. Don’t give up!
In coloured, faster water, keep bait to a minimum otherwise it’ll spread all over the place. All you need is a good scent trail to bring them to the spot. I’m quite happy casting out a single hook-bait and, knowing it’s on the right spot, will be confident of potential action. You can also try different lines of flow this way, perhaps a half-hour on each, to search out a swim, particularly if you’re not familiar with it. Search out the river-bed with a lead first. Find the clear gravel. Don’t worry about disturbing the fish this way; anyone who’s observed the surface and sub-surface commotion continually caused by coots, moorhens, swans, grebes, geese etc. will realise that fish are quite used to splashes and water noise.
I have found though, that even in flood conditions, the Fishers Green barbel often only feed in the morning, or towards and after dusk. Yet in clear conditions, you can bring them on to the feed almost at will. But they can still surprise you.
Some tips to consider:
Unless you’re using a long hook-length, pin your main line down, especially in clear water. (e.g. use a back-lead.). I still pin it down even in flood to stop the fish spooking just from touching the line.
Don’t fish with rod-tips up in the air unnecessarily. This raises the angle of line and can spook fish as soon as they see it. The atypical 'barbel bite' will take your rod into the water as they pick up the bait and turn with the flow (unlike the chub, which will pull your rod in the water, strip off your bait and laugh at you!), whether you’re bolt-rigged or free-running. Use butt grips and let them hook themselves against the curve of the rod.
Don’t forget to set your clutch/baitrunner properly before you start! You can guarantee the bite will come when you’re making tea, eating a sandwich or answering the phone and you’ll wonder why you ever bothered packing that quiver-tip! This is also a caution against snag-fishing. You only need to be distracted for a moment and the barbel has stripped yards of line and it’s snagged.
In some swims the barbel will be feeding anywhere from under the bank to six feet out. Don’t ignore the margin below your feet. The flow and depth of water will determine if this is the case. Almost all of my biggest barbel have been caught within a rod-length or so of the near margin and some within inches. When building a swim in flow, accuracy counts. This also makes fishing into darkness simplicity itself when you only have to lower your bait in, or, at most, a gentle swing.
'Study to be quiet'. Noise travels well through the bank-side and water, clumping and banging around the swim will send fish packing. Building leafy screens and super-gluing gravel to leads (as I’ve seen some do) is perhaps taking things a little too far. I nervously await the day that tethered, inflatable 'attractor barbel - Now With Real Pheromones!' start to appear in the water!
Finally, I hear of anglers losing fish at the net. I can’t recall that I’ve ever lost a barbel this way. If this is happening to you I would suggest either trying a different hook pattern, playing fish more sympathetically (especially when using smaller hooks) or taking a little more time before striking. When quiver-tipping or touch-ledgering, the initial trembles you might see or feel will be either body or fin liners as the fish move around hoovering up the bait, or the action of mouth and barbules grubbing around giving indications before the bait is actually taken in.
Wait for the big pull-round rather than striking too soon. You may be gaining a poor hook-hold outside the mouth, rather than inside. This also reduces the risk of foul-hooking, most commonly on the pectorals. When fishing over a bed of particles, I prefer to have my hook-bait positioned at the upstream end to reduce the risk of spooking the fish if they feel the line while feeding on the freebies. In clear conditions this is easily achieved by putting on a high-visibility indicator (e.g. a piece of white or yellow material), seeing where it settles, then adjust your casting spot and replace with bait when it’s right.
In conclusion, my advice would be to fish as many swims over time as possible. Get to know the river. In flood conditions there is no greater advantage than looking at tea-coloured water and knowing exactly which features (a smooth gravel run, a hole”, a drop-off or a snag) lie beneath. Look especially at those nearside shallow runs. In normal conditions a few inches deep, but what if there was three feet of water flowing there? In clear water, take a walk with Polaroids, you’d be surprised how much you can see and learn before the perfect barbel conditions arrive. Test the depth in swims, water depth is notoriously difficult to guess.
Don’t get hung up on one bait, one technique or one swim. The more options you have available, the more likely you are to catch. Be adaptable. I still see anglers arrive and immediately leave the fishery, depriving themselves of a potentially great session in perfect conditions, all because their favourite swim is occupied. What’s that all about? You’ve got a mile of prime barbel river there and virtually every swim can produce!
Above all, remember the angling pressure these fish are under. The more you can tilt the odds in your favour before you’ve wet a line, the better the chance on the day.
Oh, yes, one final tip; the day and night ticket (also the Coverall), with the extra hour and a half past sunset on the river, is worth every extra penny and definitely tilts the odds. The rest is up to you.
Tight lines and screaming clutches!
Simon King
A rare double on the mat. 10lb 15oz barbel and a 6lb 10oz chub caught almost simultaneously. This is why I use bite alarms when fishing two rods!
An 11lb 2oz summer fish caught on single maggot. Plenty of daylight left for another.
An autumn 12lb10oz on boilie. The biggest of three caught that session.
Winter 14lb 8oz. I was just pouring coffee with half an hour to go.
