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Trotting For Barbel.

J

John Spilsbury

Active Member
Way back in '72 I caught my first ever barbel: 6-4, trotting the Hants Avon with casters. Subsequent to that, apart from some 1970's and small, Severn barbel, I ignored them until a couple of years ago ( aided by a very long break from fishing). That fish remains my only float caught barbel. I would admit to not trying too hard with the float.
But without the experience to back up the statement, it seems to me that to float fish for barbel is to restrict your chances of success. It has to be fairly hard to keep a bait tripping along the bottom ( certainly in my snaggy, variable depth waters). How often and how far will barbel rise up to take a trotted bait? Or do you need luck and a bait that just happens to stay low as it passes the fish?
In short, how effective is trotting for barbel. How much more skilful?
 
Cant wait for the thread to get going as next season would love to try this myself and would like too no what tackle etc would be needed.
 
I think trotting for barbel can be a very successfull in the right conditions. The best days trotting i had was on the river severn when it was very low. I had positioned myself just downstream from some shallows, where a deeper glide began. I had around 8 pints of bait - maggots, casters and hemp (This was about 15 years ago before pellets and bolies were the main baits for barbel)
After about 1 hour and continually feeding with my catapult each run down, i had my first bite which shot under, and over the next 6 hours i had 17 barbel from 3 to 7lb. Including 1 fish hooked in the tail which was very dificult to land.
In those conditions you can whip the fish into a frenzy with these baits, and IMO it is far more enjoyable than sat watching a tip. Most of the fish were taking the bait as it was trotted through, but some took it as i edged it through or held back, so the bait moved way off the bottom.
As far as tackle goes i was using a daiwa connoisseur 13 foot match rod with 6lb main and 4lb bottom, and an 18 then 16 hook later on. (Not the most suitable rod, but all the fish were landed fairly quickly exept the foul hooked 1) I now use a drennan carp waggler rod which is more suited to barbel with the same Team Diawa reel. As long as you are happy that your tackle is balanced then its surprising what you can land.
 
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Long been a favourite method for me, someone who soon finds himself crawling up the nearest tree to alleviate the boredom brought on by tip-watching or line-feeling. The Kennet used to be good, before the big changes of the past fifteen years brought on by the re-opening of the Kennet & Avon Canal. I saw my first float-caught barbel in summer 1963, as a small boy fishing for whatever came along on a "special treat" day's fishing out of London with my folks at the Old Mill, Aldermaston. Never forget the man a few swims down on the Lawns trotting a big, home-made porcupine quill and cork float, string of big shot and "maggitz" along the far bank as his early-teenage son regularly plastered the river above with more maggitz. Then he began to hook fish that put an incredible bend in his rod and kept the float underwater for minutes at a time - barbel - I nearly wet myself (probably did when he let me play one a bit later)!

Stan Larkman was the man's name, out of Kentish Town in London for the day. Our families exchanged Christmas cards for probably a dozen years afterwards. Nice, "old working-class" London People, the Larkmans - salt of the earth sorts.

So that got me float-fishing for barbel. Years later, as a teenage / early 20s fishing-mad sort in the 1970s, I had some tremendous float-caught catches on the Kennet (Benyons) - 16 or 17 barbel to 5 pounds max. in one day was my best. Couldn't do it now; the river has changed.

I still try and catch a few barbel on float every season, prizing a trotted Thames fish most of all.
 
This thread has loads of potential, i for one will be out tomorrow trotting for barbel on a river 6-9 yds wide. I will be using a topper float, with a bulk shot of AAA's, 1 or 2 no6 shot and a size 14 Korum S3/4, and centrepin.

Cannot wait.

Jon
 
I an going to dig out my 12ft two piece 1.25tc Graham Philllips trotting rod from loft next summer as I've missed out on some good floatfishing for barbel on low Severn this year. Rod has 4lb to 8lb rating, what reel line would you recommend...? Would a Shimano Exage 400RA be ideal...? Going to use partiblend for feed with corn on hook as gone are days of buying/carrying loads of casters & hemp.
 
My first ever barbel was caught in the '60s trotting for roach with a single tare on a size 16 hook midstream at 4 feet deep. The kennet had fabulous roach then.

My mentor, Reg Rogers, always trotted for barbel and the rig was pretty much always the same and works today.

Large porcupine quill nearly a foot long taking 2, 3 or even 4 swan shot.

Hook was size 12 to nylon and the shot were bulked above the link 12-18 inches away from the hook. Bait was between 2 and 6 maggots or casters.

The method was to fish overdepth by the link length, so that the shot were basically just above the bottom. The float was simply held back and released all the way along the swim for as far as 40-50 yards (long trotting).

Bites were the simply noted by the float burying and the rod top thumping round. Half a dozen maggots or casters and some hemp each trot being fed.

The first 10 years or so of my barbel fishing were always long trotting, the main method then changing to the Kennet favourite of simply holding the float back static, laying on overdepth, or stret pegging over a droppered pile of bait.

On the Kennet, Thames,Loddon and St Patricks stream, into the late eighties early nineties, trotting was used a lot. It also produced a number of good fish on the Hants Avon at Severals. the main change for me away from mostly trotting coming because the fish simply became too big.

Basics, IMO for Trotting. Fish overdepth, holding back the float then releasing for a short trot so your bait wafts in the current near the bottom and you don't drag too much. Bulk shotting near the hook and feed every cast. Don't worry about being too delicate, the bites will be thumpers generally. I would be reluctant to use line less than 6lb nowdays.


My Mentor Reg, might be known to some of you. Now 80 years old he was a long time baliff on the Wasing Estate.
 
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Despite the name I chose for use on forums I have probably spent more time fishing for either Roach or Barbel, for me the way I prefer to catch Roach is on a stick with a centre pin and over the years I have been fairly successful.
I have managed to lasso 2lb Roach from a number of southern rivers (not the Thames ½ oz short), for me fishing the tip for Roach is cheating, thus I have only had three 2’s on the tip while deliberately fishing for Roach (those caught on larger baits meant for Barbel and Chub don’t count)!


Why is he banging on about Roach on a Barbel board they all ask?
Well the reason is simple, like a lot of anglers I catch a few nuisance fish while I am fishing and when I fish for Roach the nuisance fish I catch often are Barbel, so this season I have only fished for Barbel on the float.
Partly because I am sick to death of sitting behind two beta lights on my own in the dark and secondly (and more importantly) because it is so much more fun!!
AND I can also maintain a social calendar with others from the human race!!

I’ve had a good season, true I fish some relatively easy waters that have a lot of Barbel but also very few people fish for Barbel DELIBERATLY on the float, many anglers fish the float for whatever turns up and subsequently when they do hook a Barbel they get snapped up, I fish for them with gear that will land them and more importantly I use baits that are:- simple to use, easily available, need very little preparation, and when presented properly the Barbel are absolute suckers that you have trouble beating off with a shi…dirty stick.

I mean Maggots, Casters and Hemp, these baits if fed properly – little and often will still produce large bags of fish on the float.

This season I have caught 167 Barbel, all on the float from 5 rivers:- The Lea, The Kennet, The Colne, The Gade and The Great Ouse, I have yet to catch one from The Ivel but I have hooked two and both have come un-buttoned, one was off quite quickly, the other was a very big fish that I played for about five mins or so before the hook pulled.

This is a problem, while ledgering with big baits and big hooks I rarely loose a fish but using smaller hooks and smaller baits has produced a number of hook pulls this year
The most prolific hook bait has been Maggots followed by Hemp (particularly from rivers where proper Barbel anglers tell me “Don’t put any Hemp in mate, It frightens the Barbel offâ€), then Caster and a few on Tares, the problem comes I think from the way Barbel will inhabit and feed in a swim, you are constantly running the float through the swim and thus the chances of foul hooked fish must be greater.

I have learned an enormous amount about how Barbel behave this year and I intend to continue fishing the float until the end of the season, I would like to get one every month (on target so far) and break 200 fish for the year, I know that is a tall order I may not get there, but I am having immense fun trying.

My fishing pal Terry has also been doing a lot more float fishing and although new to it has been doing quite well, he nicked this Ivel fish at 9lb 13oz before I could get one!

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So all you blokes remember to keep on Pellet bashing at night so that we “traditionalists†have the water to ourselves during the day.

.
 
Fascinating thread... really thinking about giving this a go.

Keith, a couple of questions...

Firstly, how much bait would you envisage getting through? And what mix of maggots/hemp/casters?

Also, would you concentrate in one suitable swim, or would you roam about?
 
I've not really given this a proper go trying to catch abig bag of fish as I dont really fish the right sort of rivers. I just mess about during the day trying to catch perch, failing totally, and occassionally get a barbel. had one last year out of the loddon on an old school quill and lob worm. Very enjoyable.
 
Chris

That's the 64 million dollar question isn't it and the answer will apply to Marks question,

In summer I have used 4-8 pints of Hemp and the same of maggot, last Wednesday I used about half a pint of maggots for 4 fish and one was a double.

The important point is the fish are less active in winter and thus eat less, but they are still very catch able, you just need to apply yourself in a different way, in the summer the fish are very active and bites are as you would expect, in winter they are less so and bites can be very tentative affairs, taking in and releasing the bait very quickly.

The trick is knowing when to use large amounts of bait and when to ease off and that is quite hard to do!

Remember you can always put more in but you cannot take it out.

Sorry Chris I nearly missed your other question, I don’t move about, I consider very carefully where I am going to fish and then once I have decided on a swim I stay and fish it all day, Barbel are suckers for a bit of bait and if you feed little and often and keep up the feed with monotonous regularity you will draw them in, and when they arrive it is very easy to spot, loads of bubbles and disturbance of the bottom, they really are quite predictable in many ways!
 
The Chairman on Sunday

Subject: Bait


The very reason why my Beecham Gentleman's Entertainment Division was founded - to pay for the maggots! Poor young Paul can no longer afford to trot for barbel (or so he tells me), though I do know that he still employs his considerable charms on the Ladies on occasion.


As ever,

B.B.
 
I've got a couple of lovely trotting rods, but neither are really powerful enough for barbel.

Any suggestions for a barbel float rod ?

Edit - Sorry, forget that, I've just seen the thread on barbel basics
 
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Keith thanks very much for the suggestions, as you know I am really fancying catching a barbel on float from my PM to you last week. Good of everyone to share, it's what this site should be about. I'm going to have a go at the next opportunity and I know just the swim. The 'watching the tip' approach hasn't been working very well for me of late, besides trotting keeps you warm.

Conrad
 
Did some barbel trotting today - 1 chub was the result. However it was brilliant, it was my first outing for my Okuma Sheffield and my Harrison 15 foot GTISU. I know it was only one fish, but, after holding the rod for 4 hours, i could easily have done another 4 as well. The Sheffield is fantastic, ultra smooth, perfect for this line of work, and aids the presentation of a trotted bait perfectly. Just need to tame my first barbel. May have gone a little too heavy with the feeding.

There is always another session not too far away
 
i too enjoy trotting for barbel if the riverbanks quiet, ahhh keith the lea
kings weir before the new gates were fitted was one of my most favoured spots for trotting for barbel, over the lock, round side of the house and trot where the pool and shallows ended and the river began, far side in that channel which from memory was about 3 ft wide at best and about 5o yards long, my old walker fluted float, some swan shot 18ins below it and a small bit of spam, yeah remember them days keith , had to be real spam or endure
waiting for bites, in right conditions that run could easily produce 10+ fish, to which i stood on far bank shallows gravel
after that explore the shelving shallows running a float up on them with the shot up against the float except for a AAA a 6ins above the bait,
after that the lazy boys fishing on the far side of weir down in corner by the apron, 10-12ft of water under the rodtop, and lay on over the top of 1/2 gallon carpet of maggots, on shallowish rivers (3 ft or less ) i prefer to put the bulk of shot strung out from the float down for about a foot and then an AAA or swan 6 ins above the hook, this pattern has always served me well
on shallow water, the barbel do and will move up to intercept a bait higher up in the water....j.w
 
Really good thread..... there appear to be several different methods used to tempt Barbel on the float..... I have only ever had the one, it was a baby of about half a pound and came whilst trotting for Roach,using caster.. I imagine that there may well have been other Barbs in the swim, but never connected with any.... I will certainly be giving the float fished bait method some serious time next season.

Dave
 
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