Chub and barbel fishing – catch more freelining
It’s late summer and I had a bit of free time before my family holiday, so I decided to go chub and barbel fishing on the River Lea. I like to keep things simple and free lining luncheon meat is a great way to tempt them at this time of the year.
CHUB AND BARBEL FISHING \| How to catch MORE by freelining - Watch it on YouTube
I love this approach as you get to know the swims, depths and flow of the river as you move along. My mobile approach, moving from swim to swim, is much better than sitting in one spot and waiting for the fish to come to you.
I travel light with just my rod, landing net and a rucksack with all my essential gear. I love the simplicity of it for a few hours before work to see what I can catch.
Creeping around the river looking for fish
I was lucky to quickly find the fish within the first half an hour and started catching small chublets that devoured the luncheon meat within seconds of casting out.
I was catching loads of chublets between 6 to 12 oz
As the meat is slightly buoyant, I use this to my advantage and let the meat sink slowly in the flow of the river, searching out for chub and the odd barbel too. I didn’t need any shot on the line as the meat was falling through the water nicely, tempting the chub from their lair. I kept trickling in 6mm pellets to encourage the fish into feeding and searching for more.
An old warrior
The small chub were feeding confidently, but I wanted to catch something bigger, so I moved on to another swim. A few minutes later I caught what I was after, an old warrior that had clearly been in the wars. This finished my river session off nicely.
This old warrior put up a great scrap in a tight swim
I left the river for a while as I went on holiday and spent some quality time with the family. Sometimes that’s more important than filming and fishing. After I got home I was keen to get back on the river. We’d had a bit of rain and conditions were just right, so I decided to give the river another go.
Hit and hold tactics
Chub are very wary fish and spook easily, so I’m creeping along the banks being as quiet as possible. I don’t normally get too many fish from a swim before moving to another. I know I can always drop back later and try again.
Another cracking chub from the River Lea
When chub and barbel fishing, they will really test your tackle during the fight. There’s also a chance of catching a carp in this stretch too. It can be brutal at times, proper hit and hold tactics, keeping the fish away from the snags.
Another hard fighting fish comes a bit closer towards the net
You don’t need a complicated set up for this style of fishing. I use my 10ft Korum Opportunist rod, a Korum Axis 4000 reel and 12lb Korum barbel line. I fish with a 10 or 12lb Korum Smokescreen leader straight through to a size 6 Grappler hook. It’s a nice sized hook for a big lump of luncheon meat.
My 10ft Korum Opportunist rod is powerful enough on small rivers
Baiting up is simple. I pass the hook through the luncheon meat and twist it, so the hook comes out at the side of the meat. It’s important to have the hook point exposed.
I keep the hook point exposed to hook as many fish as possible
I keep feeding the swim with 6mm pellets. After I’ve had a fish, I’ll put some more pellets in and move upstream. I’ll drop back later to see if the fish have returned by rolling meat through the swim, picking up any chub or barbel along the way.
I keep the 6mm pellets going in before and after every fish
After walking for what seemed like miles, I finally caught up with some decent chub. I was really happy catching fish from a stretch I’d not fished for chub and barbel before.
The sun was now out and It was becoming a really hot day, so my Polaroids were essential to help me to spot the odd fish and likely areas to cast to.
Stalking along the river for chub and barbel
The main advantage of free lining meat for chub and barbel is the mobile approach, allowing me to cover loads of swims, spending a short time in each, before moving on. After walking all morning, I found a swim with a few barbel. Location is everything and on my first cast I was in – praying it was a barbel and not another chub. It certainly felt a lot heavier and after a tricky battle in a tight swim, I slipped my net under a cracking barbel.
It took a while, but I got one in the end – what a cracking barbel from a small river
I really enjoyed my first chub and barbel session on the river in a little while. I love the simplicity of it all, staying mobile and it’s great fun too, so why not give it a go.