fast stream in flood

[The Flying Tench]

I understand and accept the point that in a normal river when it's in flood the fish will go to the slack areas. But in some rivers there are very few slack areas!

 

I was fishing yesterday in a stream that is said to have an excellent dace population, some good chub, and apparently quite a few not-very-big pike that feed on the dace, presumably. It's not exactly in flood at the moment, but still very high. I tried fishing some of the slack areas and caught one or two dace and a small chub, but that's all. And naturally I wondered what was in those few slacks behind a fallen tree, behind bits where the bank stuck out etc.

 

In truth, in about three hundred yards of river I reckon there were only about 8 such slacks, each only a few feet long. But I'm sure there were more than that number of pike! So does that mean that virtually all the slacks had a pike? The poor little dace were all huddled together with Mrs Esox! Logically that seems to be the answer - no wonder the dace weren't exactly throwing themselves around with abandon!

 

I can think of another fast stretch of river which is fairly prolific with barbel. Once again there are not that many slack areas. Logically the few there are must be solid with barbel when the river is in flood! Yet I can't think it quite works like that.

 

Does anyone share my puzzlement or have any answers?

[Guest tigger]

I think fish don't all head for the slack areas visable to us. There are probably many slack spots on a flooded river what you can't see, even the river bed itself is a slack or slacker area than higher up in the water.

[Leon Roskilly]

Remember that as well as slacks created by the shape of the bank, there are also unseen slacks created by the shape of the bottom.

 

Particularly behind rocks, weed beds, deeper holes, sunken trees etc.

 

Getting the bait in front of the fish sheltering in these underwater slacks is the problem.

 

They will often dart out and grab a morsel coming by before darting back into the shelter.

 

Otherwise it's in with a heavy feeder, or maybe just a leger weight, and hope that not too much rubbish gets swept into your line before the bait is taken.

 

Remember too that the current is much less close to the bottom, so that's where the fish are likely to be, rather than fighting the full force of the current midwater.

 

If feasible, try stet-pegging with a heavy float that normally carries plenty of weight.

[The Flying Tench]

If feasible, try stet-pegging with a heavy float that normally carries plenty of weight.

But how to get feed concentrated there? A bait-dropper is a possibility for some initial feed, but a bit too disturbing to put in every few minutes?

[Leon Roskilly]

But how to get feed concentrated there? A bait-dropper is a possibility for some initial feed, but a bit too disturbing to put in every few minutes?

 

Don't even think about feeding in flood, unless you know the feed is going to go round and round in a slack area.

 

Feeding is all about attracting the fish to your fishing area and holding them there without overfeeding them.

 

In flood conditions it's all about finding where the fish are, and putting a bait in front of them.

 

When any feed put in is being taken downriver by the current, you'll be emptying the area as the fish follow the feed downstream.

 

(But if you fill a tin with just a few small holes with maggots, or a net bag of mashed bread, and weight and sink it so that it sends down a small but constant and steady stream of bait along the bottom, that can draw the fish to the spot)

Edited February 22, 2008 by Leon Roskilly

[Houseplant]

I think fish don't all head for the slack areas visable to us. There are probably many slack spots on a flooded river what you can't see, even the river bed itself is a slack or slacker area than higher up in the water.

 

i agree, the other day i was catching pike and silver fish from what appeared to be the main flow.

[Newt]

John - for preds there is a semi-slack in front of an obstacle such as a rock or a log and they like to hang around there to wait for small fish to drift past them. The water rebounding off the obstacle is enough to create an area where there is much less current than elsewhere.

 

This is also an excellent time for lures or flies since you can search out quite a bit of water.

 

You will be fishing closer to US style than UK since our usual is to search out the fish and we lack a solid tradition of baiting an area to draw in the fish.

[lutra]

I can think of another fast stretch of river which is fairly prolific with barbel. Once again there are not that many slack areas. Logically the few there are must be solid with barbel when the river is in flood! Yet I can't think it quite works like that.

 

Barbel are the most adapt of our coarse fish at coping with flood water, as they just seem to put up with it for the most. Catching flood water barbel is mostly about finding holding areas with in or on the edge of the main flow. Although they do move about a lot in a flood to try and find shelter it never seems to be far from the main flow. Try looking for hollows in the river bed when the river is low or smooth areas on the surface of the water, the inside edge of the flow on bends or behind large obstacle's (weirs or large rocks) when its in flood.

 

When it comes to feeding a flooded river for barbel Ive found its more a case of finding the fish than drawing them in. So i tend to favour using a smelly hook baits over loose feed especially in the winter, although PVA bags, string or stocking can be a good help if you do want to get feed down on the bottom in the flow.

[The Flying Tench]

or smooth areas on the surface of the water,

Interesting post, as were others before you, but why the smooth areas - surely those are the bits where there aren't any rocks etc to hide behind?

[nomadpaul]

Interesting post, as were others before you, but why the smooth areas - surely those are the bits where there aren't any rocks etc to hide behind?

I think a smooth area of water on a flowing river normally indicates some kind of obstruction/shelter beneath the surface layers