Most anglers would not believe the size that fish can grow up to in tiny rivers. In fact, the British Barbel record was once held by a fish from a small tributary of the river Ouse. Alongside surprisingly big fish, these intimate rivers and streams can offer both beautiful surroundings and a variety of species.  
River Erewash

 Small River Roving Tactics

 Peak British summer time can offer some of the most exciting, intense, heartbreaking and exhausting fishing of the year. This article will show you how I tackle small rivers at this time of year.

Essentials


 Travelling light is a must for this style of fishing. You could cover several miles a session easily. Really, if you condensed everything down you could fit your ledgering tackle into a tobacco tin! Don't believe me? 
The essentials for ledgering on small rivers.

I have upscaled my luggage after taking this photograph. I use the Korum Roving Rucksack, and whatever I can fit into that and carry in my hands I take. In preparation, I write out an equipment list before I pack my bag the night before. Without fail these items are on it:

  • Cap
  • Polarised sunglasses
  • Whatever terminal tackle I need e.g hooks, weights floats etc
  • Rod
  • Rod rest
  • langing net
  • Bait bucket
  • Catapult
  • Water (dehydration is a soldiers worst enemy!)
  • Any food for the day
  • Waterproofs

I then tend to fill the rest of the rucksack with rubbish I don't really need such as my Ghillie Kettle (when it's cold!), scales, weighing sling etc.





Surprisingly, big chub and barbel tend to inhabit little rivers and are spooked very easily, so dressing in drab clothing and staying back from the waters edge is paramount.  

Ledgering

This is probably my favourite method for fishing small rivers. It requires very little tackle and there is just something about seeing a bite develop on the quiver tip that makes my heart stop. The key to success on a small river is preparation. Me and Chris will go and perform a recce mission on a new venue to see what the calibre of fish are like, how easily spooked, and where they are. Once you have found these locations you are in the money. Pre-baiting six to ten likely spots with a couple of hand full of liquidised bread, hemp, or sweetcorn and fishing them in quick succession (no more than 30 mins in each spot) will produce results. 


My Set Up For Ledgering Small Rivers
That is it!

That is it, 8lb Shimano Invistitech fished straight through to whatever hook you need for the bait you are using (I have a size 4 Drennan Specimen on in the photograph as I was using bread on this particular occasion) tied using a improved clinch knot. I attach a length of 20lb line using two Drennan Floatstops to use however many swanshot I need to hold the bottom. The advantage of using this set up is that you can slide the weights to make your hook length as long as you like. No knots apart from the one attaching the hook minimises any weaknesses. I use a Drennan Medium Feeder with the lightest tip I can get away with, and a Shimano Stradic 4000. This set up has more than enough backbone to tackle even the grizzliest of small river barbel, or collosal chub. 

This old warrior was taken on two grains of sweetcorn on a size 10 Guru MWGB. Weighing in at 8lb 8oz it put up a tremendous, adrenline pumping fight in a river no more than 8ft across and 3ft deep.


Trotting


 Trotting with more natural baits such as maggots, bread (not really a natural bait), or worms can be deadly all year round, but artificial baits like pellets etc will work too. Me being a purist, I like to try and stick to natural as much as possible, it is very satisfactory when you pick up a worm or a slug and hook a wild chub. Nine times out of ten the fish in these small rivers have never been or are very rarely fished for, and I believe that you can pretty much catch them on anything.

 Again, staying mobile is key, you'll catch more fish this way. The fish in small rivers can be mobile too! Pre baiting several spots and fishing them in rotation will boost your chances of catching. During the summer when the water levels are low head for deep holes, undercut banks, or well oxygenated parts if the river. The fish will be close by! When trotting feed little and often, every two or so runs down with the float. You can always put more bait in, you cannot take too much out. Stealth is crucial, tread softly, and stay off the skyline! There is nothing worse than seeing a group of large chub or barbel bombing it down stream! Always treat your line with a line grease product such as Mucilin. This will prevent your line from being dragged off course.


My Set Up For Trotting Small Rivers

Simple, but very effective.


Some may believe this is a bit crude, but its simple and it works for trotting large baits such as bread flake lobworms. If i was fishing small baits such as maggots I would use a different float! But for the larger baits I use a Drennan IM9 Classic Float Rod and a Diawa TDM 2508 with 5lb Berkley XL float straight through to a Drennan Specimen Size 8 hook, with a Drennan 2 Swan Loafer. With the shotting pattern adjusted to make the bait fall naturally in the water. This set up is easy to cast, it can muscle its way through streamer weed, and its highly visible. Fishing straight through gives you a bit more wiggle room in those harder swims. Although as I recently found out, you can still be smashed on this set up! But it is all part of the fun, you're not a "proper" angler until you have some fishing tales about "the one that got away". 

The set up in action.

Baits


Nature has the answer when it comes to small rivers. You cannot beat:

  • Worms 
  • Slugs
  • Maggots
  • Breadflake
My top summer bait is bread flake. Fished alongside liquidised bread it is deadly. Chub, Barbel, Roach, Carp (you never no!), Brown Trout... the list goes on. Worms are a very close second, but they are expensive, and I don't have a garden to dig them up in. Bread is cheap, very little preparation required.

My top summer bait, bread.

Give it a go, tight lines.