Are barbel anglers extinct?
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Full of the vermine on faceache, all spouting off where the best pegs are and giving aerial map views of em on google.....bell ends!
Then there's the youtube bell ends trying to make money and showing off all the best spots that people have most likely shown them in confidence.
Because they had the swims shown to them they did no work and it's a case of easy come easy go for these **** heads!
Then there's the youtube bell ends trying to make money and showing off all the best spots that people have most likely shown them in confidence.
Because they had the swims shown to them they did no work and it's a case of easy come easy go for these **** heads!
barbelboi
Well-known member
Since I moved Alan they're somewhat scarce in local waters but I am well please with the river/stream fishing for quality roach/chub/dace on waters that don't see another angler (apart from my fishing buddy). The best I've had from a local backwater is a tiny 8lb, for bigger specimens I have to travel 20 minutes south to the Great Ouse and they're thin on the ground now. After so many decades of fishing the Kennet/Loddon/Colne/Cherwell for big barbel I much rather stay local for a leisurely stroll over the fields for decent roach and chub and a pint in the village pub on the way home..........
sam vimes
Well-known member
I learned a few years back to keep my gob (and typing fingers) to myself when it comes to barbel. There are lots of folks trawling forums for information that never contribute anything.
What's wrong with the whoppers that have been turning up in the Nene over the past few years?
What's wrong with the whoppers that have been turning up in the Nene over the past few years?
john r stockburn
Well-known member
I agree and I would not tell them "jack sh1t" ruining all the best spots , I still have my secret location though
barbelboi
Well-known member
Not in the local areas to me Chris, you've got to go further east or tell porkies...............
Some cracking roach & chub though - also some quality rudd if you're feeling up to a long, long yomp over the fields on the day............
Passionate about that are you Ian,lol. As you say though people are always on the lookout for pictures of anglers with good fish,then hunt them out to see where they fish,with the internet this can only get worse...
flightliner
Well-known member
Barbel. They can be soooo easy to catch at times .
The humble gudgeon present a greater Angling challenge.
Great fighting fish tho, little wonder they are so popular.
The humble gudgeon present a greater Angling challenge.
Great fighting fish tho, little wonder they are so popular.
Keith M
Well-known member
There are still lots of us who are still catching Barbel but as the closed season draws ever nearer some of us are just keeping relatively quiet; lest we get morons fishing our waters over the closed season when no-ones there, which has happened in the past.
Keith
Keith
Ah but there is barbel fishing and barbel fishing Keith and certain venues are not a secret to many,but the rat race is very off putting,at least to me anyway,having to be in a car park for a draw doesn't equate to barbel fishing,more like matching...
Not extinct, but certainly hibernating. Spent a full day fishing for barbel a while back with a well-known former FM member..... we got one bite each, and only one of those was a barbel.
Is that true? There are places where anglers pleasure fishing draw for swims? Sounds a bit overheated. But I suppose it's a better way to resolve competition for swims than racing down the bank and falling out with each other.
Keith M
Well-known member
Yes unfortunately because there are a few of the swims on one of our clubs Barbel stretches that everyone seems to want to get into, so to stop any arguments arising they sometimes have to draw for the best three or four swims. Not always but there is a draw bag there for use if and when it’s needed.
Fortunately there are plenty of other swims along that stretch that hold lots of Barbel anyway; for those of us who are willing to look for them. Plus a host of other more peaceful Barbel venues to choose from as well.
Keith
There is and it stops the running along the bank I suppose,until you get guys waiting for pegs to become available,it's a nice stretch and extremely prolific,it's funny but Keith Spears(sadly no longer with us)used to fill all forms of media with barbel venue locations,to the overcrowding of one(not the venue I speak of above),with anglers travelling hundreds of miles to fish it,today otters have depleted it so it's not worth travelling to...
flightliner
Well-known member
Regarding the o/p it would appear that all the Barbel guys are on Facebook these days but it's mainly piks of the fish but very little accompanying debate .
Your probably right Mick,I am not a barbel society fan,as my spats in my first spell will tell you,Fred Bonney and i clashed many times,I believe that was towards the end of barbel wars,but I just wondered where our barbel posters have gone...
benny samways
Well-known member
I think the whole barbel ‘scene’ became saturated and even for the most hardcore there is only so many ways to write about bait and waiting or fishing 6 foot hook-lengths on the Trent etc.
BFW rarely has any discussion on actual barbel fishing, it is mainly tackle orientated with the odd thread about conservation problems/otters etc.
I would love some threads about barbel fishing, I nearly started one a few weeks back about how I think the Trent has actually ruined the appeal of barbel fishing! Dominated by heavy carbelling tactics as opposed to creeping about flicking a bait here or there. And, I see so many people holding Trent TEENS as if they are nothing, when in actual fact barbel of that size are amazing creatures to be lauded and not just treated as numbers. I refrained from that as it was a bit negative but it is what I think.
BFW rarely has any discussion on actual barbel fishing, it is mainly tackle orientated with the odd thread about conservation problems/otters etc.
I would love some threads about barbel fishing, I nearly started one a few weeks back about how I think the Trent has actually ruined the appeal of barbel fishing! Dominated by heavy carbelling tactics as opposed to creeping about flicking a bait here or there. And, I see so many people holding Trent TEENS as if they are nothing, when in actual fact barbel of that size are amazing creatures to be lauded and not just treated as numbers. I refrained from that as it was a bit negative but it is what I think.
sam vimes
Well-known member
The Trent certainly ruined my barbelling. Nothing to do with techniques and tactics, it simply became too much like hard work to sit it out for the odd bite from one or two relatively modest fish on my local rivers. As it stands, I simply can't afford to travel too far on a regular basis. I might have one trip a year to the likes of the Trent or Ribble, but that's it. If I pick my location and time wisely, it's quite within the realms of possiblity to exceed both the maximum size and total number of fish that I might reasonably expect to catch in an entire season on my locals.
My experience of the Trent has actually put me off travelling to fish for anything that could be caught locally. It's too easy to become disatisfied with the fishing on your doorstep if you do travel regularly. That's fine and dandy if your life, and income, remains stable. If things change, you can be left high and dry.
The tactics people tend to associate with Trent barbelling shouldn't be an issue. Plenty of people are still catching plenty of barbel on lighter legering tactics and float gear. The fact that many don't use such tactics are simply a sign of the times. They still catch fish and are just a matter of personal choice.
benny samways
Well-known member
Binka used to make the Trent seem appealing! I have never seen it so shouldn’t really comment. The way Lee Swords used to fish it seemed appealing as well. Probably more of a saturation thing on my part and a lack of stuff about the small rivers as they’ve been ottered or to secret squirrel to write anything interesting about without spoiling peoples fishing.