trotting for barbel and chub

[Pumping Nylon]

Hi,im looking for some advice on float fishing the middle Trent for barbel and chub this October.I have just bought a 12ft Chapman hunter which i am told is the correct tool for the job and will be using a centerpin.All my previous fishing on the river has been done bottom fishing with moderate success,but i have been thinking that float fishing may be an advantage as you never see anyone doing it anymore,and the fish may not be as wary of float tackle as they used to be years ago.I have never done any serious trotting for big fish and any advice on tackle bait set up and techniques would be greatly appreciated.thanks.

[Hovis]

I will be quite interested to see what other people think about this tactic as my standard approach for Barbel on the Trent is to ledger for them with groundbait/maggot feeder. I have fished the middle(ish) reaches (around the A1 pits) on the stick float quite a bit and caught plenty of roach and a few nice chub after feeding maggots for a while but never barbel?

[Pumping Nylon]

yes if i go back about 20 years when match fishing on the trent was quite big i remember going midweek and quite often catching barbel on luncheon meat that would sometimes have 3 or 4 very small hooks in their mouths from the match fisherman who had been smashed up by them, and a lot of these matchmen fished the stick float at the time.

[Capebreton]

I visited Ontario last week to try fishing for steelhead. Saw several anglers fishing center pin trotting style :long rods, center pin reels, floats and using fish eggs as bait. Fun to watch,

[Phil Arnott]

One of my tactics when fishing the Yorkshire Derwent for chub is to start by fishing a bait on ledger and then after catching a few fish from the swim and the fish become wary, switch to the same bait on float. This usually results in an instant take. They seem to become suspicious of a still bait but will take a moving bait. I once went through my records of 5lb+ chub and found that half were caught float fishing. One tactic with chub of which most people are aware is to never put a baited hook in the swim straight away. Always bait the swim and leave for a while so as the fish can sample the bait and get used to taking it. They normally are at first suspicious of baits appearing in the swim. I know this from observing them.

I’ve also caught barbel to over seven pound trotting on the Derwent. I’ve known barbel become very suspicious of ledgered baits especially when the current puts tension in the line such as when casting across a current to fish the other side of the river. Most anglers deal with this problem by using a bolt rig. Some barbel respond very well to a rolling ledger. Again Float fishing is a useful method when fish become wary of static baits.

[Hovis]

Most of the Trent isn't smooth and by dragging the bottom you will end up losing a lot of hooks. Now the fish will be feeding less I think the static approach will be the way forward but I have been wrong before!

Maybe worth finding area that hold fish in the winter then targeting this area’s on the float in the summer, although the fish will move around a fair bit.

If you give it a go please tell us how you get on.

[Olly]

I think the above is correct for the winter, although some differ!

Trotting for barbel is an autumn or late summer event for me but I have had brilliant catches in summer heatwaves like 1976!

Bait dropper, a gal of maggots (caster better if you can afford them) and a gal of hemp, bouncing the bait along the bottom. Hard work!!
Well it has worked on the Kennet & Avon but the Trent is a very big river.

[LongTrotter]

Hi, this is my favourite mode of fishing on the Trent. I fish the areas between Derby and Burton on Trent , upstream as far as Walton on Trent. Usually with a Purist II loaded with 10Lb line and have had chub to 6lb Barbel to 10.5 lb. Both at Swarkestone and Burton. My technique is to hold back hard with a 3 swan chubber float, all the weight being within 18 inches of the hook in one bulk with just a single no.4 6inches from the hook.

Don't tend to prebait with anything that will attract smaller fish but then fish with about 8 maggots on the hook. Red for chub, bronze for barbel.

It is far more fun than ledgering and allows you to search the swim more.

[Kingfisher]

I often think a ledgered bait in a river in winter when the flow is quite strong is unatural. Therefore, maybe float fishing tactics would work better!?