The River Ribble is one of the lesser know barbel rivers that we have in England. We always hear about the Severn and the Trent producing good numbers of quality barbel and at good sizes yet right in the heart of beautiful Lancashire we have a hidden gem. The Ribble is consistently producing good numbers of barbel throughout the year. Ribchester and Elston are the prolific areas though the lower stretches at Preston where there's tidal influence also produce top class sport!
Bait, Tackle and Tactics
As with the Severn and Trent, pellets fished with a feeder or in PVA work best. Bacon grill or spam also works great especially as the light drops. Maggots do ok but you've got to get through the silver fish which can be hard work.
My choice of mainline is 8 lb minimum and I use 10lb when fishing with bigger leads and up to 15 lb when fishing heavy feeders in flood conditions.For general Barbel fishing I would suggest a 1.5-1.75 lb test curve feeder rod but in flood conditions I use a 2.25 lb test curve to give me that much needed extra power. The feeders I use are usually 3-4 oz in normal river conditions and 5-7 oz in high floods. To make my rigs Iv'e become accustomed to using coated braid. 10 lb does the trick. My hook size varies from size 14 when using small pellets, up to size 10 when using bigger baits like meat. Now the length of my hook length also varies though usually it's around 2-3 ft.
The best time to fish the Ribble is when it's coming out of flood, yet still produces barbel in low conditions as long as there's a slight colour in the water and a bit of cloud. Check the Environment Agency's website for river levels. Knowing what the rivers like before you go gives you a great advantage. Daylight fishing catches just as many, if not more fish. Iv'e found 3 o'clock to 9 o'clock is the best time to fish personally though I have had a lot of red letter days when you get all day action.
