How do you fish in these cold river conditions, I see that some still pile the bait in as if its summer others like myself fish lightley but still use the pellet or boilie.

I was going to fish maggot but some bugger bought the last "4 pints" before me.

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You will probably find whoever bought the 4 pints before you was probably a matchman, in which case 4 pints won't be a lot.

It depends if you want to catch fish or want to catch Barbel.

Worm is a decent substitute for maggot.

hi chaps,
glenn i would say that in running water the bait washes through the same winter or summer if not even faster in winter due to added water therefore i dont think the amount is a major concern,however i do think that scent/flavour.colour can make a difference,its a fact that oil breaks down very slowly in colder water so if your using pellet then you need low or no oil content pellets,if boillies hi viz to combat the water colour they'll stand out better, other things i've used is........curry powdered spam and any strongish spices in your maggots,cheesy garlic paste is a good winter bait,i think the little and often rule applies more to still waters in winter,hope this is usefull

cheers
kev.

I think I would probably disagree there Kev, with apologies. Surely fish spend less time moving, their metabolisms slow down, even the chemical processes in the stomach will fizzle along more slowly, as the water gets colder. Fish that are relectant to feed, but which manage to force down a few morsels of your freebies are then less likely, in my opinion, to take your bait. Grayling, and to a lesser extent chub, I believe to remain more active than do barbel, and therefore probably feed more. In the summer, you also have other species in more severe competition. minnows and crayfish etc.
near the end of the season, there might be a case made for a little more bait, as the build up to spawning commences.

hi chaps,
john don't apologize for having an opinion mate,i take your points as good ones and guess theres plus and minus to both trains of thought on this 1,lol, its just that last time out i fed very very little and blanked whereas the tank fed quite heavily and scored 4 or 5 chub from the next peg to me,as has been said many times.......if they want it and its there the buggers will have it !!!, anyway did you get the pm or message i sent you re- J.W?

cheers

kev.

Yes thanks for the email address. We are not too far apart on feeding. The Tank was catching chub, and as I mentioned, I think they are less afftected by too much feed than are barbel.

Cheers

your most welcome john, hope he remembers you,

kev.

Well as for winter barbel baits id say none of us know the answer as we've been out all winter and have had no barbel yet I've had plenty of cold winter barbel in the past but only one when water temp was below 4c (11lb fish off the Ribble)
Most of the fish i cought in cold weather on the Dane and Ribble were cought within 5 mins of casting in which suggests that i put the bait within inches of a fish so i don't think it mattered what the bait was as long as the fish didn't have move to far to get it
Barbel activity in winter is only 20% of that of summer activity and is usually done in the evening for a short time, this was proven in fish that were tracked over a few years and monitored every day.
I'll try and find the report to put on here
As for other fish i would say maggots, corn, bread. cheese. pellet will catch most fish, its just about getting the feeding right on the day, (as Tank proved last week) fishing the float, yet a few days befor no one cought on the float jet i cought on the lead,
Thats fishing for you


Barrie