by KINGFISHER

WE all know the rivers have been bank-high lately but it really is worth taking a chance because they are in their best form for many years.

Anglers are usually asking themselves two questions when they set off for a river session. Firstly will the conditions allow me to fish? And then if I can fish, will I catch?

I am sorry to say that, in common with most of the so-called professional weather forecasters, I am unable to answer the first one but the answer to the second is a most definite YES!

Barbel, the recent best being nearly 12lbs as far as my information has it, have to be a target but loads of chub to 4lbs are a very reasonable alternative should you fail to attract the barbel into your swim. Roach too, particularly as the river reaches Preston continue to show as well, with odd fish nudging that magical 2lbs.

Having said that, there is no reason why you shouldn't catch some barbel - from almost any swim these days. To catch the very big ones frequently you will need some specialist knowledge, but there are plenty of fish in the three to six pounds range that will have your rod bending using very simple tactics indeed.

There is one thing to remember though which is that, unless there is a reasonable colour in the water and you are there under a very overcast sky, very early and very late sessions will produce most bites and most fish.

The best tactic remains to feeder fish, an open ended job, with pellet or paste on the hook, though I have heard of an alternative which may produce a big fish from amongst the smaller ones.

There is no reason why anyone should not be able to hair-rig a couple of pellets these days, with ready tied rigs now in the shops, and the bait for the feeder is simply crushed pellet with a bit of hempseed. Halibut pellets are THE ones to get, though it is still possible to do the business with old-fashioned trout pellets.

The alternative I have referred to is the use of a small boilie (a bright colour and flavour of your choice) fished on a straight lead at the tail of your swim. If you set your feeder rig up with a swivel you can easily change to the lead and, in the absence of a boilie, a couple of grains of corn has been doing the trick - hair-rigged of course.

If you get to the river and are unlucky enough to find it running too high, do not despair. There is an alternative for you within a couple of miles or so, but you need to have some different tackle with you. That's because the barbel gear will not be suitable for presenting a single caster to the quality roach that are showing in numbers on the Lancaster Canal through the city.

And the canal is a pretty good first choice - just ask 11-year-old Joe Robinson, who has been down his local stretch of canal at Rishton where 30 or 40 fish on a short whip/maggot has been his reward for a short session with his dad.