Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Pole fishing for barbel
Running- water expert Kelvin Tallet reveals why a pole is the perfect tool for bagging hard- fighting barbel
WHEN the aim is to extract a barbel from a fast- flowing river most anglers would reach for a rod with a test curve of at least 1.5lb. After all, barbel are pound- for- pound one of the hardest fighting freshwater species in the UK.
So you could be forgiven for doing a double take if you saw Kelvin Tallet sitting on a seatbox and wielding 11 metres of carbon.
But on its day a pole can actually outfish a feeder or running line float attack. Now before you think we’ve lost the plot and move on to the next feature, let’s look at the advantages of a pole. It enables you to feed with precision and place the bait with an accuracy that you could never achieve with casting a rod. And if you’re concerned about the pole breaking when playing one of these turbocharged running water inhabitants there’s no need to worry because modern carp poles are so strong. Providing you tackle up with the correct elastic, hooks and line, and apply a little common sense when the float goes under, the chances of smashed carbon are minimal. Kelvin has successfully bagged plenty of barbel from his local Warwickshire Avon without breakages.
Pole plus points
“Using a pole enables me to tackle raging swims that you might normally walk past if intending to fish the float or feeder,” said the Daventry- based match angler who we had arranged to meet on Stratford- upon- Avon AA’s Severn Meadows stretch of the waterway. He was set up on a peg just below a foaming weir pool.
“This peg just can’t be fished with a float because there’s only a very short run before it shallows up,” he explained. “The feeder isn’t much use either, because I’ve found that the barbel prefer a bait that’s got some movement to it. A pole is the ideal solution,” he stated.
“Not only is it precise in where I can feed and put the bait but it lets me keep the bait moving. The peg has 11ft of water immediately below the weir and it then shallows to a short, flat section that’s 8ft before tailing off to around a foot of water. It’s on that flat spot that I’ll be fishing.”
Obviously, when big barbel are on the menu your tackle has to be up to the task at hand.
“Anglers think nothing of using a pole to catch double- figure carp from a stillwater so why wouldn’t you use one for an 8lb barbel on the river?” he quizzed.
Kelvin has geared up with a powerful Daiwa Yank ‘ n’ Bank margin pole that can easily withstand the pressure.
Tackle to beat barbel
Plainly, tackle has to be up to the job to land a big barbel. Kelvin’s pole is elasticated with Red Hydrolastic on to which he attaches 0.22mm mainline and a 0.16mm hooklink as the peg is relatively free of snags. The rig terminates in a size 12 Drennan Wide Gape hook.
“This peg has all of the flow in the top few feet with very little below it and, as a result, the float will drift around all over the place, thus injecting that movement into the bait.
“I fish a 6g DH12 float and hold the float on a
“Give them a bunch of red maggots on the hook over casters, maggots and hemp, and they won’t be able to resist it”
tight line, enabling the flow alone to move the rig naturally around the peg with the bait fished six inches overdepth,” he said.
Going natural
Pellets are a staple offering for many barbel anglers and it is for this reason that Kelvin favours natural baits.
“The barbel see so many pellets that they’ve become a bit old hat. Give them a bunch of red maggots on the hook over a bed casters, maggots and hemp, though, and they won’t be able to resist it.”
Given the pace of the river that’s all over the place, the only sensible way to feed is with a baitdropper. This enables Kelvin to drop the feed exactly where he wants it.
“I fill each one with an equal mix of maggots, casters and hemp and put in three at the start of the session. After that I’ll hopefully get bites and, when these tail off, that’s my cue to give the swim two more droppers of bait.”
Adrenaline- fuelled action
Rigged up and with feed in the peg, Kelvin lowered in the rig and waited. The float appeared to have a mind of its own as it moved around in the tumult and sometimes even went the opposite way to the natural flow. But Kelvin wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
This movement gave the hookbait that bit of life and after a short wait, the float shot under and the first barbel was on.
As the fish tore off Kelvin added a few sections of pole to follow it out and grimaced as he took the strain.
“With a heavy elastic and strong line and hook, you can let the tackle do its job. On this peg there is an underwater wall of rocks halfway across so the fish can’t go any further and I can stop the first run quickly.”
Even so, the job is far from done. Barbel hug the bottom when hooked and don’t move off it lightly. Indeed, it took a further five minutes of grunt and groan to encourage the fish to come up in the water and within netting range. Eventually a fine 7lb fish came over the net.
No more bites followed so Kelvin added two more droppers of maggots, casters and hemp. This did the trick and a second barbel was quickly followed by a brace of chub, which sit happily alongside the barbel.
A third smaller barbel was netted after he fed once again.
“Catching barbel on the pole is exciting stuff! Yes, a waggler or stick float would let you cover more water on an average river peg with a decent trot through, but on tight swims where you can’t run a float, it’s impossible to beat. It gives you and your gear a proper workout!” he concluded.