One species one method?

[john conway]

On a current tread ?Summer Chubbing? various methods have been discussed on how to fish for this species and the overlapping of techniques of Chub and Barbel fishing. There seems to be a view that Barlel techniques are somewhat cruder than those used for Chub! What are your opinions on this and what is wrong with targeting both species in the same session? Is there an element of elitism involved in looking down on those who target both species?

 

[Dave Rothery]

didnt we all used to fish for "whatever comes along"? (says dave the carp angler!)

 

[John Pleasance]

John,unfortunately most of the references to barbel by chub anglers are wind-ups,which most barbel anglers learn to ignore. )

 

[Dave Slater]

John, The same applies in reverse i.e. wind-ups by barbel anglers. It is possible to target both species together although many anglers, myself included, prefer to target them separately. Personally I get far more satisfaction from catching the species I am fishing for. Most of the fishing I do on my local rivers is for big chub. I sometimes catch big roach and barbel when I am chub fishing. Although I am very happy to catch them I much prefer catching them when I am fishing for them. In general terms I would say that barbel tactics are much cruder than chub or roach tactics. To an extent they have to be as barbel are much larger and more powerful. I usually find barbel to be far more predictable, which is why I prefer fishing for chub and/or roach.

 

[Dave Barringham]

I was talking to a lad fishing a stretch of the Trent local to me the other day. He was after barbel with two rods set up with bolies and bolt rigs. I suppose that catching chub when barbel fishing and vice versa is unaviodable to some extent, but I was surprised that he regarded chub as nuisance fish far less worthy of his atention than the barbel. To be fair, I enjoy catching both, but this angler seemed shocked that I would expect to get more satisfaction from landing one six pound chub than two twelve pound barbel. I have seen decent barbel, but nothing has ever fired me up as much as seeing my first five pound chub (5.8 - but a friend of mine caught it in a match). Another match angler had another of 5.7, which confirmed my desire to catch one. I've yet to get a 'five', but will target one seriously this year. I also fancy a big perch, and I hope to combine my quest for a 'five' with some perch fishing. OK, so they're not as big as barbel, but for me they are all I want at the moment.

 

[Richard Drayson]

I don't think the techniques for catching barbel are necessarily cruder than they are for chub. Necessarily different perhaps? Tackle needs to be heavier but not cruder.
Use the right tools for the job.
Trying to coax a chub to accept a freelined bait can be exasperating at times. Laying down a bed of particles and fishing the feeder over the top, being a popular method for barbel, could apply to many species, not only barbel and chub.
As for targetting chub and barbel during a session. I'm with Dave on this and personally much prefer to target one species at a time. Nothing to do with elitism as far as I'm concerned.

Targetting roach and dace together, chub and perch together, tench and bream, pike and zander (just examples off the top of my head here) would make sense wouldn't it? Assuming you'd be using the same tackle to catch them.

 

[Bob Hornegold]

I like fishing, and it does not matter one iota what species I'm fishing for, as long as it is caught by fair means.
Chub and Barbel fishing seem so linked that they are almost siamese in approach and baits.
The Barbel where I fish have grown to such large size that it is wise to increase your line strength.
And of course Barbel are just about the easiest fish in the river to catch, with there underdeath mouths and small brains.
Where as Chub can be the most flustrating of fishes, sucking the bait in it's lips to investigate it for danger.
Maybe we should all be made to float fish for the desired species to increase the difficulty ?
Bob

 

[Graham Whatmore]

I agree with you Bob, the satisfaction is in catching a fish and not being disappointed because not as big as you hoped or the 'right' species. I don't agree that float fishing is harder than ledgering,though its certainly harder work. I always think you can search more of a river on a float but thats just me.

 

[DAVE COOPER]

Dave B - your experience just goes to show the evergowing carp like mentality that is creeping into barbel fishing. Just like some carp anglers belittle specimen bream and tench so these 'barbel' anglers are doing the same to chub etc. Bloody stupid if you ask me.

 

[Ron Clay]

The one species that I think you will catch whilst barbel fishing other than barbel is a chub.

I certainly do not complain if I catch a nice chub whilst after barbel. The Trent has some monsters but they have evaded me up to now.

 

[Dave Slater]

Dave C, you are right about the carp like mentality creeping into barbel fishing. In fact I would say racing into barbel fishing rather than creeping into it. This is one of the reasons I do not fish for barbel now, although I still catch a few nice barbel while chub fishing, and very welcome they are too. I disagree with Richard and would still use the word cruder to describe the methods used for barbel fishing compared with chub or roach fishing.
Dave B, chub and perch are two good species to use a joint approach for. When I fish the Upper Ouse or the Claydon Brook I nearly always use lobworms as bait these days. I rarely use livebaits as I would miss out on the chub and I seldom use bread or cheese as I would miss out on the perch. I caught very good perch and chub from both venues on lobworms last season. As you have good perch and chub on the Trent a campaign with lobworms could well suit your purposes. They can be fished using a float or legering. A bobbin is good when there is not much flow but it may be necessary to use a quivertip if the flow is stronger. I have often read that quivertips are no good for perch. I have not found this to be true but I always use the lightest tip possible with the lightest lead useable in the conditions.

 

[Jon Moores]

John - Talking specifically about the Ribble I can honestly say that it is generally much better to concentrate on either chub or barbel. This is not some sort of elitism, but my experience of the Ribble. All the big chub I've had from the Ribble have come whilst specifically targetting chub, which convinces me at least that the chub are best fished for with a targetted approach.