Barbel in the Itchen

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Adrian Chubb

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I read in the fishing column of the Southampton Echo last week that a barbel of 4lb 7oz was caught from the free stretch of the river Itchen in Southampton(Woodmill). Has anyone else heard of barbel captures from the Itchen ? if so, how wide spread are they and what sort of sizes are being reported ?
 
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Richard Drayson

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Hi Adrian. Yes, I've heard of barbel being caught from the Itchen at Woodmill but don't know anything about sizes or how widespread they are.
 
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Richard Baker 4

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I've fished the Itchen extensively upstream and never seen anything to suggest there are barble. Even the more nomadic chub are rare. They're more common on the test though. I should think if barble were discovered on the Itchen they'd be removed. They'd eat a tremendous amount of Trout and grayling spawn off the shallows and ruin all the work the EA are doing to get these two species breeding successfully in the chalkstreams again.
 
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Adrian Chubb

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The report in the Southampton echo included a photo and it was definatly a barbel. I have also fished upstream and seen no evidence of barbel, I have seen a few chub around the bishopstoke area.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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Although I love barbel, they do not belong to the Itchen.

The EA must do all they can to get rid of them, if they are there.
 
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Feeling tranquil

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Yes and put them in a little pool for the SBS!! :O)
 
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Adrian Chubb

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Ron, I agree, they do not belong in the Itchen and probably several other rivers up and down the country, however if there are more than the odd one or two it is likely that they will thrive in the Itchen as it is near perfect habitat for them.
 
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Richard Baker 4

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I suspect they would thrive, The itchen has strong flows, clean gravels and is stuffed with natural food. However, in my personal opinion they should not be in there.

Lets be honest about this. The chalk streams are historically natural trout and grayling venues, not because they're only suitable for Trout and grayling, but because Man has conditioned them that way for nigh on 150 years. Pre that time there used to be far more coarse fish in the rivers. And why wouldn't there be. Fast, clean water, even temperacture, excessive amounts of natural food etc.

However, they are trout and grayling rivers now, man has made them that way and in the eyes of any angler of any age they always have been. They must be kept as such.

arble if found will be removed by the angling clubs quickly and efficiently, be it by electro fishing, or catch and kill. They'll be dealt with.

It sounds sad ut when these rivers can charge 450 a day for trout fishing then you can see why it has to be pristine. If I was paying that much I wouldn't expect anything less.
 
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Steve King

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Must get some stronger glasses, I thought this thread was called "Barbel in the Kitchen"!
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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And historically the Hampshire Avon and some of the bigger chalk streams held some excellent coarse fish such as roach, chub and dace. I hear that the barbel are declining on the Avon.

Good.

They were put there by man anyway. Any barbel taken from these chalk streams should be put back where they belong. The Rivers Trent and Thames. Certainly not the Severn or Wye.

Let's look at history. Barbel were stocked into the Hants Avon at a time when the classic barbel rivers were grossly polluted and the barbel all but disappeared.

Now that barbel are back and thriving in the classic rivers it's time to clear them out of where they were wrongly stocked.
 
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Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)

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Richard,

There is some merit in what you say although Grayling were for a long time ranked at the same level as coarse fish in the classic chalk streams.

Barbel however were never natural to these rivers and should not be artificially stocked simply to satisfy demand for the latest "in" fish.To me the improper stocking of barbel is just as damaging as the uniform stocking of carp into stillwaters with little thought for the exiting stocks.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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Hear Hear Nigel.

I'll probably get the BS upset but you have never said more true words.

If I had my way I would clear out ALL the barbel from the Wye, Severn, Teme, all three Avons, Dane and Ribble.

Barbel should only be found in the Thames system and all river systems entering the Humber.

Let them swim wild and free in the rivers where they truly belong.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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And I'm not sure yet whether they really belong in the Great Ouse.
 
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Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)

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I thought that as the Ouse flowed eastward it was a river in which barbel were indigenous? Or was that post a tastily baited hook?

Most of the Barbel in the Hants.Avon seemd to have cleared out anyway.
 
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Laurie Harper

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Historically, barbel "belong" (if that's the right word) in easterly flowing rivers, which were, of course, once part of European river systems before continental drift and rising sea levels caused us to be separated from the European mainland. The trouble with all this talk of what species belongs where is deciding where in time to draw a line. Go back far enough and one could argue we should get rid of indigenous mammals in favour of dinosaurs...
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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But Dinosaurs became extinct.

During the late 50s quite a few anglers were being "smashed up" by certain fish in the Great Ouse. All sorts of suggestions were put forward from big carp to even burbot would you believe.

**** Walker investigated the matter and concluded that the fish in question were barbel. He even went out and caught a 9 pounder to prove his point.

Walker maintained that barbel had always been in the Ouse and he may have been correct. Remember this was the time that if you used a line over 4lbs bs you were considered to be unsporting! Proper barbel tackle was never thought of, so anglers who hooked these fish, which lived in snaggy water, carried on losing them.

Then a very good friend of Walker - Ian Howcroft (who now lives in Australia) together with a friend, went out and caught several barbel in the Newport Pagnell area using adequate tackle.

And you know the rest.
 
Graham Whatmore

Graham Whatmore

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I think the Trent should be cleared of fish and revert to the navigable river full of boats the way it always was, its the perfect place for them and it was always a working river in the past anyway.

If we're going to be daft we might as well all join in.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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It still is Graham.

And the boats don't worry the fish at all.
 
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Ron 'The Hat' Clay

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And what is daft about wanting our rivers back into their natural states.
 
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