hi mate,its not for me advise anyone where to fish but,apart from maybe the goyt the rivers you mention are either having huge issues with otters or mega low stock barbel venues. My advice would be to make the effort to go up to the ribble or if you can down to the severn or wye.
what are my reasons for saying this? well confidence in your set up and plan is essential on low stock venues you need to know what you are doing will work and that confidence only comes with experience and the better stocked rivers like the severn,ribble and wye will give you numbers of barbel under your belt to build that confidence in rigs,set up and bait approach.
just my thoughts mate and thought would share them, if you choose the ones on post then best of luck and hope you manage to get one as it will be more than worth the effort.
Hi Dan, good to hear from you
Ive already figured that mate, when I’d finished putting thought into the setup and started to research venues - I realised that the northwest options were not looking promising.
What you just said aligns absolutely spot on with my research, Ribble / Severn / Wye / Trent, with the Goyt having a hint of potential.
Fully aware which is why I’ve put it off until next season, I’ve got the gear now - I’m going to carry on enjoying my Perch this winter, hopefully have a good Pike season - then start getting up the Ribble, down to the Severn, and over to the Trent next season.
Thanks for input and advice, always particularly appreciated from yourself.
That reminds me, I’ve got 2 weeks of vlog to catch up on, fell behind I’m working my t!ts off atm.