Well as I write this the new season is only ten days away and I cant wait! Preparations for the "off" are in full flow now: my reels are loaded with new braid, my terminal gear's all sorted into my new ESP bits bag (a cracking little bit of kit that even my girlfriend likes because "it just looks tidy!",) and loads of Team Barbel paste is being prepared in the kitchen which she's much less enthusiastic about. I don't think it smells that bad!

Anyway, it's the time of year when all Barbel anglers are wondering what their season is going to hold, and are thinking about what they hope to achieve over the next nine months: a new PB, mastering a new venue, or for some maybe even a new river or British record! Targets are a really important part of my fishing because it motivates me to keep plugging away when the going gets tough.  Very often I find those days when you look out of the window in the morning and think about going back to bed offer the best fishing! It's a great feeling when you have a result on a day when conditions are extreme and you know 99% of people stayed at home. So, what are my targets for this season? Well,I think most Barbel anglers set a new PB as a target each year and I'm no different! As I said in my last article my current PB from the Severn was a real fluke so I want to replace it with one I feel I deserve! At the moment I'm planning to concentrate on the Avon this year as I think it offers me the best chance of a big fish. Most of the Barbel I caught from the Avon late last season were much lighter than their size suggested, perhaps a combination of the floods scouring the bottom of the river and destroying many of the natural food sources, and the fish battling fast flowing water for a long period over the summer?Opinions very welcome via the forum! Many experienced Barbel anglers I spoke to last season on the Severn in particular described it as the worst season ever so hopefully we'll have a better summer this year and the fishing will be more consistent! Whatever your hopes for the season are, good luck and above all enjoy yourself!

Prebaiting

For my topical subject this month I thought I'd write a little about prebaiting. At this time of year it can be a real edge to not only give the Barbel in your chosen stretch of river a taste for the bait you plan to use, but to get them eating it in complete confidence exactly where you want them to. If you carry out a carefully planned baiting campaign during the close season you can have a massive head start over other anglers come opening day, and provided the bait you use is of the highest quality it's possible to have the fish actively searching for your bait and pretty much ignoring anything else!

Over the course of the past month or so I've been steadily introducing my usual choice of bait (Bankside's Team Barbel) into my chosen stretch of the
River Avon. I have total confidence in this bait: as an instant attractor it is very good, and as a long term bait I have found it to be absolutely superb, consistently catching me fish on those days where everyone else is struggling for a take. Boilies, however, are certainly not the "be all and end all" of prebaiting. There are many different baits that can be used to great effect. Other options include hempseed, sweet corn, maggots, casters, particle mixes and of course pellets. It is a good idea to include smaller food items in your bait as they will keep the Barbel grubbing around on the riverbed for a longer period of time. The fish will spend ages rooting out every last bit, and the longer they spend feeding on a spot the more confident they will become. With smaller food items I'd always advise you use a bait dropper to
make sure it's getting to the bottom exactly where you want it, and consider other species that are likely to be eating it! I always include some larger items in such a mix that smaller fish will not be able to eat, adopting the "baiting pyramid" principal - where smaller fish are feeding large fish will follow! You can then gradually eliminate the smaller items from the mix if you wish until only the bigger baits remain - one of which will eventually be your hook bait!

So whats the timescale you need to prebait over to get the best results? Well to be honest there isn't one! Prebaiting can range from a month or more before you start fishing, to two days before or even a couple of hours at the start of a session before you wet a line. It's where you put it that counts! And how often should you bait? If I had a choice I would bait in small amounts every day, but if you don't live five minutes from the river this isn't practical unless you're ultra keen and have bottomless pockets to pay for all the fuel! It's at least a forty mile round trip for me wherever I choose to fish, and it's probably the same for most people, so as a more realistic
example here's a brief description of my pre-season baiting campaign.

Over the past month I've been baiting twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday, each time introducing a kilo of Team Barbel between my two favourite swims, as well as Bankside XL grubbers and also some hempseed. I've also been trickling a few "leftovers" into my backup swim for when I get to the river and find my favourite swims stitched up. You've got to get up seriously early to beat me to the river though so I'm not too worried about that!

Anyway over the next week I'll really step up my efforts to every two days this week, but in half the usual quantity to keep them hungry and searching for it. Then on the two days before the off a small amount each day. When I start fishing any leftover bait will go in at the end of each session, that's both days at the weekend and an evening midweek if I can. I think that's a sensible baiting program that most people could follow. It does involve a fair bit of effort but the rewards are there! It helps if you can fish as a team with a couple of mates as well. That way you share the cost, the effort and the benefits and has the advantage of having a good old social at the same time! Prebaiting can make a huge difference to your angling so if you havn't tried it already give it a go! I'll let you know how I got on in the opening week next time, and also on the forum!

Best of luck again for next week.

Cheers

Andy