electrofishing the colne throws up a 22lb barbel !!!!

[adrian hoare]

a couple of weeks ago , a free stretch of the river colne near staines was electrofished and found to contain a mammoth barbel that was weighed on 3 sets of scales at bang on 22lb !! i didnt believe it at first until i heard from my local tackle shop "tackle tarts" in ashford , middlesex who confirmed it was true , and the barbel was released fighting fit after the weighing .
just goes to show you never really know whats in these small rivers !!!
im just hoping somebody catches it and gets some wicked pics to send into the anglers mail !!

 

[Ben Haigh]

a couple of weeks ago , a free stretch of the river colne near staines was electrofished and found to contain a mammoth barbel that was weighed on 3 sets of scales at bang on 22lb !! i didnt believe it at first until i heard from my local tackle shop "tackle tarts" in ashford , middlesex who confirmed it was true , and the barbel was released fighting fit after the weighing .
just goes to show you never really know whats in these small rivers !!!
im just hoping somebody catches it and gets some wicked pics to send into the anglers mail !!

i would be interested to know if this is true, as it would certainly get people talking.

the trouble is, i find it difficult to believe that there aren't already pictures of this fish, as in todays world where everybody has a millionty mega-pixel camera on their phone, i'm sure someone would have taken pictures. they obviously knew what a monumental fish this would be to weigh it 3 times.

 

[peter crabtree]

Anyone know who was doing the electro-fishing,and why?Presumably the EA,as it's a free stretch and no club is involved in controlling it...

 

[slime monster]

I hope its true and that it remains a mystery ,what would angling be if we knew everything about what lurks beneath ....
EDIT... I have just re read the post and noticed..wicked pics to send into the anglers mail !!.

not sure what to make of the reference to an angling rag

 

[Mike Stafford]

So 3 sets of scales all weigh bang on 22lb - what rubbish.

I wouldn't imagine the ea even had 3 sets of scales with them while electro fishing. You are going to have to do better than that.

 

[richiekelly]

So 3 sets of scales all weigh bang on 22lb - what rubbish.

I wouldn't imagine the ea even had 3 sets of scales with them while electro fishing. You are going to have to do better than that.

why is it that if a fish isnt a known fish caught by a name then it must be rubbish, i dont know weather this fish is real or not but i would like to think that there are unknown big fish out there.

as for scales weighing the same my biggest barbel of 15:14 was weighed on two sets of fox digitals both said the same weight so scales can weigh the same it depends on the quality of the scales

 

[Fred Bonney]

My experience with the EA is they measure fish, never seen them weigh them.

So why should they have 3 sets of scales with them for an electrofishing exercise?

I suppose it could be the Trent fish?

 

[paul blackbourn]

nah, the trent fish must be at least 25lb by now

 

[S-Kippy]

The Colne is my local and though I'd never claim to be an expert on the river I'd be very,very sceptical of a fish that size,particularly if its from where I think is being alluded to.As has been said before...why were the EA there and 1 set of scales I might believe but 3 ? Unlikely.

What with the Trent fish it does make you wonder if there is a bit of tactical goosechasing going on.

But what do I care ? I had a 23-6 barbel off the Grand Union at Brentford on Sunday.65 independant witnesses but I'd left me camera at home !

Trick or treat !

 

[Morespiders]

But what do I care ? I had a 23-6 barbel off the Grand Union at Brentford on Sunday.65 independant witnesses but I'd left me camera at home !

Trick or treat !

I think your exagerating Mr Skipworth, now tell the truth, cant be doing with liars

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

My experience with the EA is they measure fish, never seen them weigh them.

But I sent you that picture of a fish scale last week, Fred, that was taken from a barbel and 'weighed' as well as measured by the EA. Of course they always take scales along with them, it's of interest to the anglers and many of the Fisheries Team are also anglers.

HERE-

 

[adrian hoare]

ok then guys , if im a big liar , one of you send an email to - studio@brooklandsfm.co.uk , they have a section called "in the net" . its live internet site coverage which has the 20 min chat at 11.25am every friday morning with bill rushmer , paul barton (tackle tarts in ashford common ) and terry peters .

i dont know the ins and outs of why or what they were doing there or for what reason , but they will confirm to you live on air .
i have no need to lie , i dont even fish that river , im just passing on the info that bill rushmer and paul barton mentioned a couple of weeks ago , just to see what people thought thats all guys .

someone please do this and i will be proved right !! they know much more about the details .

 

[Stealph Viper]

Adrian,

I don't think anyone for a minute is calling you a Liar, what they are calling in to doubt is the existance of a 22lb Barbel.

If it was mentioned on their show, then that is factual, what is in doubt is where is the evidence of a 22lb Barbel, that's twice in the last 2 or 3 weeks i've read on here about a 22lb Barbel being caught.

Is it True ?

Is it a Publicity Stunt ?

That is what is being called in to question, not that you heard it on the show.

 

[Dave Burr]

Is it just barbel?

I go on carp sites and there's never been a "75lb common electro-fished from village pond" headline. Do Pike, perch, tench and gudgeon sites all have these incredulous claims on them?

Why is it the barbel?

Answers on a postcard..........

 

[Lawman]

Well I've never felt really compelled to post on here, but on this occasion I will.
I'll eat my WBC baseball cap if this is true. Me thinks this is just smelly chat.
22lb..from the Colne? I don't think so.
I believe if there was a unique environment that made this fish grow to such proportions, especially in this small river, then there would be a handful of fish around the 18/19 mark. Without sounding like Billy Big Bo44ocks, (cos I'm not), I've seen loads of Colne barbel from that end, of all weights, some coming out 2/3 times a year. If that fish was in there then it would have come out at a lesser weight, (18lb! 19lb!), at least once, (and don't give me the hush hush theory as most would shout a fish that size from the proverbial roof tops...)

Ian

 

[geoffmaynard]

There are a couple of bits of the Colne at Staines that are very, very rich and strictly no fishing, and they haven't been fished for years. It is quite possible this fish came from there.

"as for scales weighing the same my biggest barbel of 15:14 was weighed on two sets of fox digitals both said the same weight so scales can weigh the same it depends on the quality of the scales"

It is most likely they would show the same weight because they came from the same factory and were probably calibrated on the same machine. It don't mean the weight was correct however. They could be under-reading as well as over-reading! I did some tests on Berkley digital scales some years ago and found them to be very, very inaccurate, so a good quality brand-name is not enough. In fact, three agreeing scales of differing makes would be far more conclusive.

 

[Fred Bonney]

Oh all right Jeff.
I still don't accept the story, unless the Trent fish swam down there.

 

[richiekelly]

"as for scales weighing the same my biggest barbel of 15:14 was weighed on two sets of fox digitals both said the same weight so scales can weigh the same it depends on the quality of the scales"

It is most likely they would show the same weight because they came from the same factory and were probably calibrated on the same machine. It don't mean the weight was correct however. They could be under-reading as well as over-reading! I did some tests on Berkley digital scales some years ago and found them to be very, very inaccurate, so a good quality brand-name is not enough. In fact, three agreeing scales of differing makes would be far more conclusive.[/QUOTE]

if this is so how can we trust any scale as being acurate, i suppose all we can do is use a good quality scale which i belive fox to be, when weighing a fish all we can do is be as accurate as possible and accept the weight as true. personal bests are just that personal to an individual angler who can only go by what he belives is an accurate reading of the weight,i remember bob roberts telling me while i was on the trent that the scales he had been using were found to be weighing a full pound light (i think that was the figure ) but when he used the scales he must have trusted the weight that they said,

 

[geoffmaynard]

You can be fairly sure your scales are accurate if you check your scales with a few different sets of Avons, Weighmasters, Heaton Reuben or Salters. If they all agree that the same bag of sugar weighs a kilo then try them with something heavier. Be aware though that scales that weigh a pound light at say 10lb, might be perfectly accurate at 30lb. Digital scales are not actually digital at all, but only digital read-out. They have the same springs as any other scales.

Sorry, I seem to have drifted off topic!

 

[Dave Burr]

Er, no they don't actually. A lot of the better digital scales have a sliding plate mechanism as opposed to a spring.

Don't ask me for details, I only know that it doesn't involve a spring.


Apparently.


So there