Thanks Wol and Ron.I keep thinking I will bump into you one day on the Thames Ron.
Jason I have no idea ,but it is what I call the middle Thames , there are about a dozen different stretches I fish , all of which produce Barbel.I hope you understand why I cannot name actual places, the Trent debacle is proof enough of why not.What I will say is If it helps anyone wanting a go avoid the weirs and what might be described as 'classic' Barbel water there will be Barbel but I generally find them to be smaller fish.What does apply are old standards like deep gravel runs which shallow up.Fish on the area where it starts to become shallower.Anywhere where the water runs into and under the bank you are on,mussel beds,avoid heavy blanket weed,areas where the river narrows causing a quickening of pace and creases,these last two are tricky to find until the rains start pushing the flow along.Virtually static water in Summer is no measure of whether it will contain Barbel.Finally old books provide keys like John Everards bit in Fishing As We Find It,Old Father Thames by Peter Stone and The River Prince by Chris Yates.The swims and areas in these books used by the Thames Professional anglers in Victorian times hold true as they did then.
