Landing barbel, which way is best?

On Tight Lines last night Bob Roberts said it was a good idea to strike into a fish, stand up and raise the rod as high as possible. Then really crank into the fish because their mouths were like leather.

I saw a Dave Harrell piece on barbel fishing where he recommended keeping barbel low and only lifting when near or ready to net. The reasoning behind this was that the fish were easier to move when on the bottom because of their shape.

Who is right? Or are they both right?

I've not been lucky enough to have had one grace my net yet. Well not from a river!

The first thing I do when on the Trent, is to try and get them up from the bottom, and the rocks.

I would say that barbel are in their element when on the bottom, so to land them safely and as quickly as possible bring them off the bottom.

I'm pretty certain Bob wasn't advocating dragging them along the surface either, anymore than Dave was advocating giving the fish i'ts head and waiting for it to wear out..

Never realy caught a lot of barbel , But i would imagine a nice low retreive would be best, These fish hug the bottom and are easier to glide along with a low sideways action as uposed to trying to get the fish up. Any fish you are trying to get in will benefit from a low sideways pull as you ruduce the chance of hookpulls, less presure on the hook and the fishes mouth. Just another bullying tactic by bob roberts not realy a good way.

I'm not suggesting Bob is wrong because as Fred says if there are snags on the bottom then it makes sense to get the fish up and away from them.

But in a situation where there are no snags etc, what do you think is the best way?

It would be interesting to see or hear both quotes in their entrirety, neither of them appear to me to tell the whole story!

Scott, I think it depends on a lot of things, the tackle you use the size of fish expected and the river you fish.



If you are useing well balanced tackle,for the river you fish and the size of fish you expect to catch, get them in as quickly as possible, without over tiring them.

That doesn't mean skull dragging.

Ive always played fish to circumstance and the state of the river i.e. if weedy,what weed,bedrock,boulders,trees,roots and even distance could change the way i play a barbel(or any fish come to that),one thing im pretty sure about if you have a barbel downstream of you and you need to get it up there is no point having the rod up in the air,sidestrain must be applied.
p.s. ive probably left some different reasons out,sorry.

Not wishing to totaly disagree Alan, your sideways action is no better than a rod held high, if you have the room in front of you facing down stream.
In fact, I would say it doesn't give you the full control needed to keep their head up.

So, horses for courses.

I read in an old BCC magazine that some of the Yorkshire lads would pick up the rod, stike and run up the bank at the same time. Bob Roberts would be just starting match fishing about then
Too many things happeningat at the same time for me

Didn't the carp fishers used to do that (too) John?

Without doubt Fred 'horses for courses',you must use the rods action at whatever angle necessary for best results.

I have found by putting the rod tip into the water, barbel seem to come towards the top, how you play the fish depends on the swim, rod high, rod side ways etc. Horses for courses as Fred has said.

I can't see there being any right way, or wrong way for playing any fish, everywhere is different.

Having just said what I have about damage to the mouths of carp in another thread, barbel present a completely different problem.

It's horses for courses as said, but half the time you don't fight a barbel, it fights you. IMO.

It will only get its belly off the bottom when it's had enough and is tiring (not worn out though). So rod fairly well up until then and after steer it around until it falls into the net, whether that's rod up, down, sideways or however you can manage it. You are not in charge with barbel.

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Scott Whatmore. said:

I've not been lucky enough to have had one grace my net yet. Well not from a river!

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Not even from the Racecourse stretch? You do surprise me.

I agree with you Woody, this is my first season barbel fishing and the barbel I've caught have played me rather than vice versa!

I do have a tendency to get my rod up high when I play fish, whether this is good or bad I'm not sure, but my first double figure barbel came up to the surface fairly quickly (and my heart sank when I saw its size) but it soon got back down plodding around on the bottom.

Whichever method people use, there's no denying that a barbel scrap is one of the most exhiliarating moments in angling!

This becomes a slightly different scenario when snags of any sort are involved within a 15m radius or on smallish rivers where barbel never move far from dense poker beds,lilies or scourings caused by fallen or bankside vegetation,on larger rivers it is a must to fish away from these snags on the little rivers its just not feasible.Fish must be be firstly stopped from reaching any obstruction and then the barbel playing you can be allowed to take place,i am lucky most of the rivers and swims i choose to fish are big enough to allow me to fish more than far enough away from snags and allow for the far more pleasurable playing experience.

I think it is best to play a barbel with the rod tip low just as you should any other decent sized fish. There is a lot of truth in the theory that the fish will pull the opposite way to your pressure, it makes a lot of sense when you think about it doesn't it? Holding the rod low will usually result in the barbel coming up off the bottom, if the pressure is upwards then the barbel will stay low, try it next time you have one on if you don't believe me.

I would say using the rod held in a higher position makes sense. If you think about it holding the rod down and into the direct direction of the fish prevents it's action from being incorporated into the playing of the fish. When the rod is held up higher it can bend right through to the butt so acting as it should...as a buffer giving/bending on hard pulls but automatically trying to straighten out all the time and combined with the correct clutch setting prevents mouth damage and hook pulls. If the rod is held low and directed at the fish then the rod is playing no part in playing the fish as it's being played straight off the reel and the clutch. If using the rod at a low angle it must be used at a angle away from the fish allowing it to bend much the same as when it's held up higher.
Regarding playing a Barbel I would always prefer to try and get it up off the bottom asap to prevent it getting into a sang and possibly leaving it tetherd.

When a barbel first makes a run, in my experience it invariably runs downstream to take advantage of the strength of the current. This is a clever tactic, in my view. How does it know? However, all fish seem to do it, not just barbel. Perhaps we underestimate them, though for the fish, the downstream direction is the line of least resistance, and it is on the run, after all.

I have only ever caught barbel from the trent, which is mostly a very wide and powerful river. When the fish runs it can travel quite a long distance before you get the chance to close the baitrunner, even when you are quite close to the rod. I was absolutely stunned by the sheer power of a barbel run, the first time I experienced it.

Most of the time you are playing the fish, it is mainly a matter of bringing the fish upstream towards your position on the bank. When it gets closer then the fish may run upstream towards a snag, which may simply be weeds. Is it just hiding when it runs to a snag, or does the fish realise it is attached to a line, and it can tangle the line in some way around the snag? I have had fish run onto snags which immediately cut the line. In the trent, that probably means sharp rocks. My fish playing action is mostly to hold the rod high at first, to get it to turn and come up off the bottom, then I hold the rod diagonally to direct it towards me.

On the whole, I think Woody the wolf person is right. The fish dictates events. Barbel do not give up until they are good and ready to do so. I am definitely of the view that we should land fish as soon as is reasonably possible. In the end though, for barbel, the line between skull-dragging and playing to exhaustion can be quite narrow. As we know, barbel quite often exhaust themselves anyway, what ever we do.

I think it also depends on the size of the barbel. Barbel approaching 10lb and over tend to hug the bottom - it is pretty near impossible to get them to the top of the water until they are played out.

klik2change said:

When a barbel first makes a run, in my experience it invariably runs downstream to take advantage of the strength of the current.

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Quite different on our stretch where we have a 5-8mph current. The fish run further out from the bank and get their heads down to run upstream as hard as possible. Almost every time this happens.

People often exagerate the length of a fight with any larger fish. It's best to just take a look at your watch when the fight commences (if you can in the excitement) so you know just how long it takes. Believe me, it has rarely been longer than 5 or 6 minutes to land the most difficult of fish.

With most fish, 20 minutes is the maximum you can safely play them before the lactic acids start to build up in their muscle tissue. This can slowly poison them, of course. Work on the basis that if you haven't landed them in 15 it's time to start working out how to get them in quicker. Even after 20 minutes the fish will probably still survive if treated well, but don't go hanging it on balance scales and taking 20 photographs of it.

First of all, leave it in the net every time in the current for at least 5 minutes or longer if you can. Don't lift it until you see signs of recovery. Then, unhook and quickly back making sure all the trapped air has disolved through its gills. Even then, you can never be 100% sure, but they will often just sit on the bottom and sulk for a while after. I have watched them.



An unusual picture of myself, not throwing up as some suggest, but recovering yet another barbel.

You can only do your best for them.

How very true Woody,as you say most fights are over quite quickly its the adrenalin rush that makes barbels fights seem everlasting,going back to rod angle on big rivers it is easier to play with the rod up,however on smaller rivers in certain swims it just wouldnt be viable,the old 'horses for courses' quote pops up again.