The Natural feeding habits

[Ron Troversial Clay]

Although barbel are one of our most popular freshwater species, and although barbel, including big ones are now taken regularly by many anglers, there still exists a great deal of mystery regarding their feeding habits.

There are times when you have them in your swim. There are occasions when they are obviously feeding. But try as you might you blank. Now personally I do not think that barbel are the most intelligent of our species, if intelligence can be applied to a fish. They are certainly not as wary as chub, nor as tackle shy as roach can be at times.

Yet frustrating they can be make no mistake.

Generally I think barbel spend most of their feeding periods digging into gravel, sucking in pebbles and eating the algae and other food items on the pebble and then blowing them out. I have watched barbel on the Dorset Stour, Severn and Swale, digging deep into gravel. I have caught barbel on several occasions that have had their lips and mouths red raw and virtually bleeding.

A result of stone and gravel digging?

I have seen barbel taking floating flys and nymphs with great abandon and turning upside down to do so.

I have also taken many of the barbel's close relatives on artificial nymphs and dry flies in a country who's capital is 10,000 kms from here*

Standard barbel tactics in England seem to be legering with meat, boilies, pellets, worms etc. But there are times when these methods don't work.

Should we under these circumstances start thinking a little more laterally. Perhaps we should take a fly rod? Perhaps we should use more natural baits? Caddis? Live minnows?
Lampreys?

**** Walker reckoned that a lamprey fished under the right conditions could probably be the best bait of all. Some of the biggest Trent barbel ever recorded in the 19th century were, according the JW Martin caught on lampreys.

Come on you barbel guys. How do you think barbel feed and what on?

What should we be doing when we are failing to catch?

And why is it that a barbel will refuse luncheon meat in low and clear water conditions, yet have it straight away when the river is running up and coloured?

Any ideas?

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

* I have promised never to mention the name of this country again on this website.

 

[jason fisher]

if you can't get em on the botton try em on a big moth on the top you mean.
i've had good barble take meat in low clear conditions. one thing i have noticed is they can be just as wary as the chub.
i've seen them leave an area completely when they've noticed line in the water and not come back.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

"* I have promised never to mention the name of this country again on this website." - I'd like to see that backed up with a promise to pay ?1,000 to say, Cancer Research UK, if you do mention it!

"What should we be doing when we are failing to catch?" - I we knew, we wouldn't be failing to catch. I'm not being smart, I just try most baits that I can lay my hands on and when they don't work I accept that it is simply beyond me. If I went fishing and caught more than my fill every time, I'd soon tire of it and quit. I appreciate what you're saying and let's try new baits and methods by all means, but fishing still holds those mysteries that I'd like left alone to some extent.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

That's interesting Jason.

Are you absolutely sure that barbel have vacated the area due to them seeing the line? Or maybe feeling the line?

Maybe we should try fluorocarbon right through? Maybe we should have a length of lead core or use back-leads to get that line on the deck. These tricks are tried regularly I know that. Maybe we should be float fishing?

Sure, barbel will often take big baits like luncheon meat in low and clear water conditions, but sometimes they will not. I've had a big lump before today amongst a shoal of barbel and not one of them took it. They took maggots however. Maybe a bunch of caddis larvae might have been better?

I once played a fair sized fish amongst a shoal of barbel and not one of them appeared to be spooked. A friend of mine who has spent his life fishing the Trent has found breadflake an excellent change bait.

All interesting aspects of a rather remarkable speceis.

 

[jason fisher]

i've seen them nootice the line in the windrush, it's a couple of feet deep and crystal clear the problem is the small ammount of particles that come down the flow tend to build up on the line so it stands out like a line of chalk in the water, they have swum up the near side when i've been fishing the far side got to about 6 inches from the lien and bolted down to the bottom and straight up stream under it not to be seen again.
other times when there's a small ammount of colour in the water and i can't see the line from the bank but i can still see the bottom clearly i've not seen them bolt.
it's the days when you get the line shadow playing on the gravel that it happens. i doubt this would happen on the trent though it's never that clear.

 

[Bryan Baron 2]

Barbel like most river fish will take advantage of the available food source. Though most of the time they tend to be the rivers cleaners hovering everything up. I belive they can also get pre-occupied on one particular food source. Some times this will be minute nymphs and lava at hatching time or that rare occasion a biological drift of insects. After a flood or harsh frost the will feed on the casualties such as minnows, slugs, worms and snails.

 

[Blunderer]

I've noticed this year that the barbel on the River Dane feed much better when the pressure is low.
High pressure seems to make them lethargic, a bit like carp.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

During the summer of 2003, the Trent was incredibly clear, although certainly not as clear as a little chalkstream like the Windrush. I have fished the Windrush on only about 3 occasions and have caught barbel, brown trout, chub and roach from it. Neither of them all that big. It's a difficult river make no mistake.

Even so I tend to agree. The line will spook wary fish on clear rivers. It appears barbel have good eyesight. Maybe not as good as chub or trout.

Tony Miles has used a length of lead core to pin the line on the bottom on the Ouse before today. This coupled with a fluoro hooklength might be the answer. What do you think?

 

[jason fisher]

as you know i always use fluoro for hooklengths in daylight, i don't think the lead core would be any use in the windrush situation for the simple reason it's not wide enough to allow the line to sit on the bottom.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

As an alternative for a static meat cube when they don't seem to want it, try Ray Walton's rolling meat method.

Put a big piece of meat on and nibble the corners and edges away with you fingernails. Make it look like it's been had by a few fish already, all rough and uneven. Then roll it through with just a bit a heavy putty on the line or use plastecine like Ray does.

I've had a few take that.

 

[jason fisher]

what's a meat cube?
you mean a piece that some one has carefully cut up, instead of just tearing a lump off the block of meat don't you, do people still cut up nice cubes like that? other than match men that is.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Yep, less messy. All that greasy meat, urgh! Mind you, you Yorkshire folk have yet to be introduced to knives and forks yet so you'd be used to messy fingers. )

 

[jason fisher]

i like sticky fingers they're nice. mmmmmm!

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

Yorkshire people introduced to knives and forks!!

We invented them you silly southern peanut!!

And we make them in Sheffield.

 

[jason fisher]

jeff you can have no argument with that the finest knives in the world, are made in japan for sheffield companies

 

[Fred Bonney]

There you are Jeff another image,Percy Dalton!

 

[Wolfman Woody]

"And we make them in Sheffield." I thought they were all for export to more civilised areas. )

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

You can still buy a superb knife in Sheffield. I used to own a superb lock blade skinning knife. I bought it from one of the "Little Mesters" just off the Moor in 1970.

Cost me ?25 and that was a lot of money then. It got nicked some years later. I shaved on several occasions with that knife.

Did you know that Jim Bowie, the legendary American Pioneer had his knives made in Sheffield.

I was born in Sheffield.

 

[Wolfman Woody]

Thought you said you came from near Nottingham? Just as well you lost that knife, Ron, they're illegal now.

Threads change again.