With the season coming to an end it’s time to make the most of it. After the long harsh frosts of recent weeks the temperatures have started to rise and the barbel are on the feed.

With the season coming to an end it’s time to make the most of it. After the long harsh frosts of recent weeks the temperatures have started to rise and the barbel are on the feed.

This winter has been relatively poor in terms of good barbel conditions so therefore the fish have not really seen a great deal of pressure so simple methods can still bring good results.

On a recent session I arrived to find that the river was still running low and clear but the water temperature was up two degrees Celsius. I have generally found that mono rigs produce more bites in clear water so I opted for a simple running lead rig with a fifteen inch mono hooklength to a size ten S3 hook. Due to the rise in temperature I thought the barbel should be feeding well so I fished an 8mm pellet ‘o’ with a PVA bag of pellets attached straight to the hook. My pellet mix consisted of 4mm, 6mm and crushed halibut’s with a few tuna pellets mixed in.

Due to a combination of good conditions and a simple effective method I managed to land four barbel to 10.3 and a few chub over the course of the three-hour session.

There is only four weeks left to bag some barbel so get on the bank and give it a go.