I want to pose a simple question.

  • Thread starter Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)
  • Start date
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
I've caught thousands of them in my life and have to admit that they do pull a bit and in most rivers are quite pretty fish.

Yet where they are numerous, they are not particularly hard to catch and don't demand anything special in the way of skills or baits.

Yet I am told that they are probably the most desirable and esteemed of all British river coarse fish.

Why?

I would certainly put chub and quality roach above barbel any day, and even river bream.

But everyone wants barbel.

Let's have your reasons for this?
 
C

Christian Tyroll

Guest
For me because its a real challenge, but i wouldnt really call myself a barbel fishermen...
 
G

Gary Knowles

Guest
Because they have been born with anti-eject mouths and as such are prone to bolt rigging.

In short they are big, fight hard BUT ARE EASY TO CATCH!!!!
 
F

Fred Bonney

Guest
I'm not certain everyone does,I just think the press are pushing them at the moment.
I'm not certain about bream but, chub and roach are certainly as popular, with those that I know.
Having said that, Barbel certainly give you a good tug for your money,especially around the 4-8lb mark.
 
B

BAZ (Angel of the North) aka Fester

Guest
I think that with a lot of people, biggest is allways best.
I spend more time trying to avoid them and go for the Chub instead.
But usually I end up getting barbelled out anyway. So no they aren't hard to catch at all.
 
J

John McLaren

Guest
I think the main feature that makes barbel so popular is their sheer power and tenacity. I like chub but they don't fight anything like as well pound for pound. What I find amazing is the amount of special "barbel" gear most of which really is not necessary.
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
Keep the reasons coming chaps, keep 'em coming.
 
Y

yoggy

Guest
Ron,for me personally i do not put Barbel above any other fish i enjoy catching.If i`m perfectly honest i do not have a favourite fish.I enjoy catching different species for different reasons.However as you know, the area where i live isn`t renowned for its Barbel rivers.[Apart from a few stretches of the Nene].So for me to have a decent chance i have to do an eighty mile round trip to my nearest decent Barbel holding river.Because of the milage involved and time factor my Barbel fishing is somewhat limited to my other fishing.So when i`m lucky enough to catch a Barbel,i suppose i`m slighty more excited when i catch one!!!.So for me this is my reason in wanting a Barbel.If this was right on my doorstep probably my views would be different?
 
B

BAZ (Angel of the North) aka Fester

Guest
I also think the reason that barbel are so easy to catch and popular is that they have been stocked more than chub or roach. In certain areas this can give the new angler that feeling and much coveted title of being an instant specimen hunter.
 
N

Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)

Guest
Used to be a barbel nut before they got so popular recently.As a young river fisherman they presented an obvious target given their size and fighting prowess.

As I got older I realised there were too many other fish to catch and methods to master to target them solely.I still enjoy catching them though when the opportunity presents itself.

Ron, you have answered your own question in your second paragraph subject only to locating them in the first place which is still a challenge on a lot of rivers.
 
B

Bob Watson

Guest
Barbel have no special place in my heart, no more than any other fish at least, in fact, this season is the first time I've targeted them specifically since catching my PB two or three years ago. I do love catching them, they pull like stink, look absolutely stunning and are relatively easy to catch. I find Chub a bigger challenge, especially in the summer and will be trying a stretch of the river Ure, below a weir for them the first chance I get. Then, come the autumn I'll be trying for a 2lb plus Roach from Catterick lakes.

Dream on Watson....
 
L

Laurie Harper

Guest
They're lovely creatures and fight hard. Also, for me, the appeal is as much to do with where you go to fish for them as the fish themsleves - clean flowing, more traditional waters, usually places that are nice to spend a few hours in in.
 
C

Christian Tyroll

Guest
Yoggy says,
"If this was right on my doorstep probably my views would be different?"

I think Yoggys reasons would be very similar to my own. I also think if i had some easy barbel fishing on my doorstep it would be just like catchin a few 5lb carp good fun but not a challenge. Although its a bit different to me so i guess thats why i like it.
 
Simon K

Simon K

Well-known member
Joined
May 18, 2005
Messages
768
Reaction score
2
Location
London
"Yet I am told that they are probably the most desirable and esteemed of all British river coarse fish."

Told by whom, Ron?! They're the people you need to ask. (And will they come out of the woodwork?!)

They certainly don't (imho) have the aesthetic beauty of a Perch in full colour; the guile and subtlety of a Big Chub; the fickleness of a Tench; the sheer power of a Carp; the rareity of a Big Roach etc.........
............and you waste hours of good fishing time holding the little blighters in the water while they get their "breath" back.

I can't answer your question, as I do question the cult status (with it's attendant, dubious, members-only "ethics code") that the species has had thrust upon it. Many of whose members, it seems to me, don't seem to be able to catch many of them. Could this have a bearing?

They're an angling watercolour, not an oil-painting. ;-)
 
R

Ron 'The Hat' Clay (ACA-Life Member)

Guest
Many different sources Simon, from Isaac Walton to the barbel specialists of today.

As far as I am concerned they are just another species, and I do like catching them make no mistake.

But I certainly do not elevate them to something special, because they are not. Perhaps it's because I have always lived close to the rivers that contain them.
 
Paul Morley

Paul Morley

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 9, 2004
Messages
256
Reaction score
2
Location
Manchester
As a young angler in Lincolnshire in the 70's I had no chance of seeing one, I used to read articles featuring sausage meat rolling in fast water etc. and this seemed the height of excitement. Sadly now they are the 'bait and wait' species for many, ie easy and suited to bankside sleeping, bankside drinking etc. Poor old Barbel, what have we done to them? Give me chub any time!!
 
Dicky (Angling Trust PAC)

Dicky (Angling Trust PAC)

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2005
Messages
2,437
Reaction score
1
Location
The West
Ron,

My earliest fishing days were spent on the river Teme on hot summer days in clear water conditions stalking these 'easy-to-catch' barbel and presumeably just as easy chub.

You can't fine down your tackle, this is the Teme. You have to beome a veritable heron to stand any chance.

Barbel fishing is not a uniform chuck and chance for greedy guts all the time and the summer clear river is surely still a challenge for any barbel angler? :)
 
Neil Maidment

Neil Maidment

Moderator
Joined
Oct 7, 2003
Messages
5,087
Reaction score
296
Location
Dorset
They are really stunning looking fish regardless of size.

Bearing in mind I used to live just a few minutes walk from Throop and obviously a short drive from other stretches and the Avon, I went several years without catching one (back in the 70's). I thought they were the hardest of all fish to catch.

Once I finally landed one I couldn't stop catching them. In matches, trotting for dace/roach, in deepest winter. It was great.

What really got me going for several years was searching and fishing for barbel where I could see them, sometimes only a few feet away. To sit there and watch as a single fish or several work their way up the swim, reach the top and turn back down to start all over again was simply riveting. Many the time I just sat there feeding away watching these creatures glide through the patch of gravel without a hint (apparently) of my presence.

Several times I've had barbel almost swim past me when I've been wading and feeding/fishing...brilliant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top