Introduction

Fly fishing for barbel can be approached similarly to Euro nymph or French nymph style. Most barbel fly anglers utilise the squirmy worm with a heavy bead head pattern, myself included. However other patterns are also very successful including the peeping caddis. This is without doubt some of the most exhilarating and rewarding angling experiences on offer anywhere in the UK!

The setup is simple:

• 5wt rod or above (conditions and location depending)
• Floating fly line
• Mono leader with an inline strike indicator
• fluorocarbon tippet tied to a single nymph on point.

Know your River

A good local knowledge of the river is a massive advantage and will save a lot of time searching for the barbel’s holding areas. Remember, there is no bait or attractant used so you need to be confident in your swim choice! You are looking for a swim that holds barbel but also provides conditions suitable for presenting the squirmy as naturally as possible in the flow. Our personal favourite conditions for this method are mid-fast flows amongst turbulent boulder sections.

The method

Once you have located a likely swim, start by casting upstream and running your nymph through the swim along the bottom. Try and maintain contact with the nymph at all times and use your inline strike indicator to determine roughly where it is on the bottom. You should be able to feel the “tick tick” of the nymph through your rod as it works through the swim (If not additional weight may be needed). This can be done with a split shot however I personally feel that this potentially creates a weakness in the set up. I’ve opted for small tungsten sliders on the line wrapped in tungsten putty eliminating any potential line damage from the split shot and reducing the potential for snagging. If the putty does become caught between rocks or snagged during a fight it will simply pull off the line under pressure.

Work a swim trying different lines and keep repeating until you are satisfied that there’s definitely nothing there that is willing to feed on what you’re offering. If and when you do manage to net yourself a fish from a swim invest more time in that area, as where there’s one there’s more than likely more. I have had several barbel from the same small swim in an hour.

Flies

The essentials

Accessories