The Coach
THIS WEEK: Perfect your tactics and catch more stillwater barbel BOB NUDD REVEALS THE SIMPLE STEPS TO BIGGER CATCHES
The legendary Bob Nudd is your guide to bagging stillwater barbel
ON SOME fisheries barbel are so prolific that they can be match winners in their own right.
For the pleasure angler, this river fish offers something completely different. Its brutal fight will test your tackle and your mettle, but the rewards are worth it. Fish on established waters average 4lb!
Catching an odd one is not too difficult, as barbel live and feed happily alongside carp and bream, but if you want to deliberately target them there are a number of techniques to master.
Follow the advice of four-times World Champion and angling legend Bob Nudd this week and you won’t go far wrong!
1 FIND AN UNDERCUT BANK
The first job you need to do is find the fish. They love hugging the margins, especially if the bank has become undercut from erosion, as this gives them cover to hide under.
They will move out to feed and then retreat back to their hideyholes. To find an undercut bank, simply roll your sleeve up, get on your belly and have a rummage around in the water, feeling back towards yourself.
When you find the peg you’re after, fish the pole and tuck the float tight to the bank so that the hookbait is as close to the undercut as you can get.
2 GETYOUR ELASTIC RIGHT
Barbel never know that they’re beaten when hooked, and even as they near the net, they can power off and try and get under the platform you are fishing from or between your keepnets in a match!
It therefore goes without saying that your tackle needs to be strong enough to get the upper hand.
On the pole, the most important aspect of this is your elastic. If it is too light then the fish will lead you a merry dance and it will take ages to net them.
Gear up with a hollow grade 14-16 elastic. That sounds strong but is actually very stretchy and forgiving, while having plenty of power.
Use it with a puller kit and you will soon be in charge of the battle – just watch out for those lastminute runs towards the bank.
3 FEED HEMP
Much like their river cousins, stillwater barbel love hemp, so to kick the swim off, introduce a couple of large pole pots of hemp.
This creates a bed of oily seeds that the fish will soon find and grub over. Once you begin catching, keep feeding with a smaller pot on the pole after every fish or bite. You can also add 6mm pellets or pieces of corn to the hemp if you want the chance of catching a few carp or F1s too.
These extra goodies also give you the option of fishing them on the hook later in the session.
4 BIG HOOKBAITS RULE
When they are feeding well, barbel are a greedy fish that will take a big bait without a second thought. You can catch on double maggot or a pellet but for a real elastic-stretcher every time, pop a real mouthful of a bait on the hook. A lump of meat, two bits of corn or a whole worm with the tail nipped off are good, but nothing can beat a bunch of dead maggots. Cram six or seven on to a size 14.
5 POSITIVE FLOATS
You may be fishing at close range but that doesn’t mean a light float will work. Barbel are bottom feeders – so pin your hookbait on the deck and keep it relatively still as fish churn the bottom up.
That means a 4x14 or 4x16 float with a positive round or diamondshaped body. Shot this with a bulk just above the hooklink and no droppers, and leave most of the bristle showing so that you can read the bites properly.