Big rewards from small rivers – Jake Benson

Jake Benson reveals how he catches barbel from his favoured small-river systems…

WHILE Britain’s larger river systems can offer the visiting angler the chance of some prolific sport, I really don’t think you can beat the up close and personal affair of fishing a small river. My love for fishing these intricate systems started as a youngster, fishing for chub in streams little more than a rod-length wide. As I grew older my attentions turned to barbel and, feeling comfortable on a smaller river, that’s where I started – a backwater on the River Nene. Standing on a bridge, staring into the depths of the Crabtree-esque stretch, I was greeted by the sight of three large barbel – the biggest of which I managed to tame just a few hours later. The adrenaline of that nerve-jangling capture in a hectic swim full of features gave me such buzz. But how can you succeed on these often-tricky tributaries and backwaters? Well, I’ll start by saying it isn’t always easy because of the array of challenges but, boy, is it rewarding! Like all fishing, you first have to find them…

Look for features

In my experience barbel are like the older sibling of a chub – very similar, but a little wiser! So, if you’ve ever done any chub fishing you won’t be a million miles away if you check out the spots that could well hold a couple. In fact, once you find the chub you aren’t ever far away from a barbel. I prefer to start by walking the stretch while wearing polarised glasses to check out any likely looking areas. Barbel follow the textbooks when it comes to features. They can be found close to any cover – overhanging trees, deep holes, beds of reeds and rushes, rafts, creases, gravel runs surrounded by streamer weed, and weir pools. On small rivers and backwaters, you will often discover pockets of fish. You may have 100 yards of shallow river that looks identical and devoid of life, then at the end of the run there’s a bend, overhanging tree or a change of depth. These are where the barbel will call home. This is particularly true in autumn when the water temperature cools and the barbel seek solace in the deeper water. Even if your local river is 3ft deep, if you find a hole of 5ft deep, chances are it’ll hold some fish.