To catch barbel, most anglers will opt to use feeder and straight lead tactics to catch these magnificent fish, and while that can be very successful, they can be amazing fun to catch on the float. When the fishing is tricky, a bait presented more naturally by trotting can get you more bites or help fool the bigger fish in your swim.
Bryan Smith is one angler who realised the effectiveness of a trotted bait when he transformed a steady session, into a memorable one. On the final morning of his 48-hour session on the Gunthorpe stretch of the River Trent, he set himself the challenge of catching a barbel using a centrepin, which paid off in superb style, as he went on to land a 16lb 8oz specimen.
THESE DAY-TICKET STRETCHES ARE PERFECT FOR TRYING TO TEMPT BARBEL ON THE FLOAT.
"I set up my Daiwa Theory 2.25 barbel rod with my centrepin attached to an 8 gram Korum stickfloat and a size 10 Pallatrax Wide Gape hook," Bryan told us.
"For bait, I put a good chunk of spam on before flicking the rig out into the flow and on the very first run through I had a bite and hooked a fish. After playing it carefully, I wasn't sure what it was as I've not used a centrepin very much so took my time, and within a few minutes I had a lovely chub in the net," he added.
After releasing the chub, Bryan was quick to get his rig back into the water, teasing it down the flow to where he had the last bite. As he slowed his hookbait down, the float buried again and a firm strike saw him attached to another fish, however he instantly knew it was much bigger as it held strong in the flow.
THESE TIPS WILL HELP YOU CATCH MORE BARBEL ON ANY RIVER...
"Being unable to gain much line on the fish initially, I knew it must be a barbel and I started to get nervous as the fish got closer and I could start to see the float appear, and before long, I saw the large, unmistakable bronze flank break the surface and my legs went to jelly," Bryan recalled.
"Thankfully my friend was on hand to help assist with the weighing of the huge fish, and it was no surprise when she went 16lb 8oz. I decided to support her in the sling to rest for a while before releasing her into the river."
"While the barbel was safe in the retainer, I thought I'd have a cheeky run through again and on this very next cast, I had another bite, hooking another barbel. A spirited fight saw an 8lb fish in my net, unbelievable."
"I decided to call an end to the session after releasing these fish, all together I had landed 14 barbel, and some cracking chub during the session, but the highlight was the big fish on the float," he concluded.
ONE OF THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS WILL HELP KEEP YOU COMFORTABLE ON LONGER SESSIONS.
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