Yorkshire’s River Swale Barbel specialist Mike Hunter has reported some quality fish to us this Autumn.

Mike has put a lot of effort into a series of trips and been rewarded with some cracking Barbel – on what is regarded as a difficult river to fish for the species. The Swale rises in the Yorkshire Dales and flows for some distance before merging with the River Ure.

Mike uses a Daiwa Infinity Barbel rod and Daiwa reel with ESP Syncro line and favours an inline lead presentation in conjunction with a back lead. He uses a short 8 inch length of super supple camo Drennan Gravel braid, to a size 10 Super Specialist hook. He generally baits up a series of swims with classic Hemp, Caster and mashed meat, then sits back and enjoys the stunning scenery of the Swale valley for a bit, before fishing small pieces of meat hookbaits.

“I set off to the Swale one sunny afternoon not that confident I was going to catch. I baited three swims that I know hold barbell then sat back to enjoy the surroundings.

After about an hour I fished the first swim; an immediate twitch on a small piece of meat got me ready for a take but then produced nothing for over an hour. Nothing in the second swim either, but it was a nice day with high pressure so any fish was gonna be a bonus! The third swim produced two small chub within 10 minutes of each other, so I re-baited and waited… half an hour later I recast and this gem of a barbel was resting in my net shortly after! It kited all over the river before coming to the net.”
Explained Mike.

For full details on the Drennan Gravel Braid as used by Mike, click here.