The Barbel Society Handling Code

[Graham Marsden]

This is a dedicated thread for discussing article: The Barbel Society Handling Code

[Stealph Viper]

A well written, and easy to follow guide to fish care and fish safety.

[Jeff Woodhouse]

Is that OK, Fred?

[Fred Bonney]

That's good Jeff, thanks for spreading the word.

The pictures came out well, you'll have to let me know the technique.




The Barbel Society will be celebrating 15 years next year, and will have a special annual Show in May, details to follow.

[Paul C]

Why has the society never added to or recognised within it's handling code that barbel might be targeted and caught on the float?

Whenever I read it, whilst it all sounds sensible advice, it's directed only at fishing for barbel with ledger/feeder set ups, strong test curve rods where it makes sense to have an un-hooking mat and huge landing net with you.

There nothing to cater for trotting a stick with a pin or waggler fishing whilst waded out, where the use of a huge net, big test curve rod and unhooking mat are not practical.

I realise the majority of people targetting barbel do so using a more bait and wait approach, but there are some around that like to do it a bit more crabtree style.

At least some acknowledgement of it or better still some advice when using more sensitive set ups would be good.

I've had some decent barbel on the float and as long as the float rod has the backbone for the job, you play the fish sesnibly and use line capable of withstanding the pressure, conditions and type of swim, landing fish that are still full of energy is the norm.

This is especially so when you are waded into 2 to 3 feet of water and you are playing them close in, yet mid river as you can often net them early. Most fish never leave the water and can be un-hooked and released with minimal contact. Smaller fish can be safely cradled without the need for a landing net if you are used to steering fish within arms reach.

Perhaps that's why the BS never seems like it's a society for me as it simply doesn't reconise any other style of barbel fishing.

[Fred Bonney]

Isn't it covered by this very first piece of advice Paul?

1. Always use well-balanced tackle, aiming to land your barbel as quickly as possible, but without undue pressure or bullying. Playing fish to exhaustion on light tackle causes unnecessary stress. A minimum of a through action rod of 1 ¼ lb test curve and eight pound line should be used, with much heavier tackle advisable in snaggy swims or flood conditions.

Knowhere in the advice does it refer to fishing with a ledger of any description

[Cakey]

they were all naughty on the fishomania final then ?

[Paul C]

Those targeting them or those fishing for anything that swims, knowing that it will include barbel at some stage.

To a degree, but you wouldn't use that test curve of rod and rarely 8lb line as it wouldn't trip freely off a open faced reel. You might be able to get away with 8lb with pin in a fast flowing swim.

The advice just goes into good detail where the use of a ledgered type set up is concerned, but doesn't give the same level of detail for float fishing. It doesn't acknowledge that a big speci net might not be feesible for example.

If you used one that size whilst waded out, not only would you be unable to hold the thing in the current, but it would drag you and everything else off to the estuary whilst it was parked up ready for when it's required.

If you read it word for word, it assumes you will ALWAYS lift the fish from the water. It assumes the un-hooking process will ALWAYS take place on a matt. Nowhere does it say, if possible, don't even remove the fish from the water. Un-hook it in the net, rest it and release....

Like I say, it's firmly written with ledgering from the bank in mind and doesn't recognise that there's more than one way of fishing for them.

[Fred Bonney]

Paul, we generalise and hope that gets the message over to all anglers, without steering them in specific directions .

We certainly wouldn't encourage anglers to wade, it does therefore aim at bank anglers.
You will note we don't give details of fishing from a boat either.

After all, it is only general advice about barbel handling, and not meant to cover all the angles of how we go about catching them.

By the way I use a big net, that is also used by wading salmon anglers, it collapses and straps goes over my back until needed.

[Paul C]

Originally Posted by Fred Bonney

We certainly wouldn't encourage anglers to wade, it does therefore aim at bank anglers.

The dreaded Health and Safety!

I am sure more than half of my fishing has been done from within the water as oppose to on the bank. It depends on the river or lake, I know, but there's something a bit special about being in there.

Boat fishing I can understand, but wading seems a step too far if you pardon the pun. There are pegs on the Ribble where you have to wade to land a fish otherwise you would be beaching the fish, because the nearside is shallow gravel for 20+ yards out and hundreds of yards either side of you.

Summer on the ribble can result in thick weed that extends out 25 yards. On some barbel rivers, wading is a must at times even when bank fishing. If wading is ill advised, it's a good job barbel don't much like shallow fast gravel areas then I guess!!

I know the code won't get changed because the BS aren't interested in anything beyond a very set way of barbel fishing. Those that fish that way are probably not the ones in greatest need of hearing the message.

Which folding net do you have Fred, as I have been interested in having one but never seen one that looks suitable.

---------- Post added at 15:09 ---------- Previous post was at 14:49 ----------

Originally Posted by Fred Bonney

Paul, we generalise and hope that gets the message over to all anglers, without steering them in specific directions .

BTW I don't see how you come to that conclusion Fred. There’s nothing general about it. It’s specific to one style of fishing and goes into great detail about that one style of fishing.

If the code is not steering people into bankside barbel fishing with big test curve rods, strong line, speci net, unhooking mat, then I don’t what is?

It’s good advice if that’s how you fish, but it is not giving general advice to all anglers that may encounter and handle barbel.

But fair enough, it’s upto the BS if they don’t want to acknowledge or advocate any other way of fishing.