River fishing for barbel on a big river like the Trent often involves casting regularly to introduce plenty of bait and scent into the swim, encouraging the large shoals of barbel to feed. However, with temperatures now plummeting, a change in tactics can often prove invaluable. Ian Potts demonstrated this perfectly when a slow session turned into a memorable one, culminating in him landing a new personal best barbel weighing 18lb 10oz!
“This season I’ve had some great barbel fishing on the River Trent, but over the past week or two things have got much harder," Ian divulged.
“I was out on a guiding session and noticed that the water temperature had dropped by 1.5 degrees from the week before. I’d enjoyed a prolific session then, landing 10 barbel, eight of which were ‘doubles’, capped by a specimen of 17lb 3oz. But this time, things couldn’t have been more different."
“There have been a few frosts, and water temperatures have started to plummet. The fish aren’t really feeding hard, and if they do decide to eat, you want there to be a good chance of them picking up your hookbait among the freebies."
“Boilies are my bait of choice on the Trent, and Vortex’s Cocoons are a favourite of mine. But rather than feed a load of them, as you could do in warmer water, I fished small PVA bags containing a dozen, next to a matching hookbait."
Despite his client catching a few barbel during the 48 hours they had been fishing, Ian had struggled to catch a fish. Remaining positive and believing he was fishing correctly, he stuck it out and was rewarded with a 12lb fish in the early hours. After recasting he got a bite that will remain with him forever that would end up being his new PB.
“The 18-pounder gave me an epic battle, surging upstream before heading back down again, then out into the main flow.
“Eventually, when I had it at my feet, it plodded around in the deep water before I finally had the incredibly long fish safely in the net. I knew it was a good one when I went to lift it, and when I came to hold it, my arms were aching from the fight, as well as from its weight!
“The bait that fish fell to had been out for six hours before I had the bite, and I believe those my client and I caught were the ones in front of us."
THE BEST BARBEL RODS WILL HELP YOU LAND THOSE BIG BARBEL WHEN YOU HOOK THEM!
