geoffmaynard
Content Editor
"Usually when bream appear in the barbel areas the barbel are off elsewhere."
does everyone agree with this?
does everyone agree with this?
Do barbel and bream ever mix?
- Thread starter geoffmaynard
- Start date
Mark Hewitt
Senior Member
Not in my experience Geoff.
I've had bream (some good sized ones) turn up in very 'classic' Barbel swims - gravel bottom fast flowwing ect. On more than one occasion I've taken Bream in between a number of Barbel.
I've had bream (some good sized ones) turn up in very 'classic' Barbel swims - gravel bottom fast flowwing ect. On more than one occasion I've taken Bream in between a number of Barbel.
Steve Spiller
Well-known member
I can't say too much, but down here the barbel travel with the bream. It's almost like they are using them for cover, if you know what I mean...
Some will say, where you have bream feeding it won't be long before the barbel turnup.
Neil Maidment
Moderator
Get down to The Royalty (and many H. Avon fisheries), bream and barbel side by side, trick is to get the bream to take the bait before the barbel!
Ray Roberts
Well-known member
No, they don't mix, I heard the barbel were a bit "Cliquey".
It's about the only trick I get right Neil!
Only some Ray
Only some Ray
darrengeorge
Well-known member
I don't agree with that.
If bream predominate, I would alter bait and rigs, but not necessarily swim. Course, catching bream doesn't necessarily indicate barbel are present though..
If bream predominate, I would alter bait and rigs, but not necessarily swim. Course, catching bream doesn't necessarily indicate barbel are present though..
geoffmaynard
Content Editor
I wonder because last year I did about 120 hours on the Thames for zero barbel but got tons of bream. On the days when a barbel did appear (to my friend's rods) no bream were caught. I guess different rivers can give different results too
This may be because the Bream are travelling in large shoals and are out numbering the Barbel.
When your fishing you may have both Bream and Barbel in the swim but the Bream are getting to the bait first as there are more of them. On the days you catch Barbel the
Bream shoal is some were else (hence you don't catch any Bream at all) and the Barbel get the chance to find the bait.
Fish hard on the days when there is little Bream activity as those are probably your best bet of catching a Barbel. Alternatively you could try segregative baiting...put alot of
paticles into one spot to try and attract the Bream and then fish a different bait like a meaty bolie to one side over just a few free offerings for the Barbel. Not foolproof but maybe worth a try.
Graham Marsden
Editor Emeritus
Same here.
darrengeorge
Well-known member
I agree with Philip.
I think bream in rivers are grazers, travelling over a distance, eating what they find as they go.
Barbel in my experience are excellent at detecting food that can be quite some distance upstream of their position and in many situations aren't shy about travelling to find it.
I don't fish the thames, but what all this says to me about catching the barbel, is it is as much about avoiding hooking the bream as it is anything else...
I think bream in rivers are grazers, travelling over a distance, eating what they find as they go.
Barbel in my experience are excellent at detecting food that can be quite some distance upstream of their position and in many situations aren't shy about travelling to find it.
I don't fish the thames, but what all this says to me about catching the barbel, is it is as much about avoiding hooking the bream as it is anything else...
geoffmaynard
Content Editor
True enough but it's pretty hard to ignore them in a classic fastwater barbel swim. I had one session last year where I was catching bream one-a-chuck, all 7 to 9lb and every bite was like a barbel bite, rod pulled off the rest etc. All came in like wet cardboard boxes after that though. You are right... How to avoid the bream is the big question.
Graham Marsden
Editor Emeritus
How to avoid big bream?
Fish for them
Fish for them
darrengeorge
Well-known member
Geoff,
If you haven't already seen it, you might find Stuart Morgan and Guy Robb's DVD Barbel Even Closer very interesting, it details Guys methods employed to catch his thames record and addresses how he avoids the bream.
If you don't fancy it, he used very large boiled bait's and large halibut pellets. Something like two 30mm baits on the hair with paste wrap!!
If you haven't already seen it, you might find Stuart Morgan and Guy Robb's DVD Barbel Even Closer very interesting, it details Guys methods employed to catch his thames record and addresses how he avoids the bream.
If you don't fancy it, he used very large boiled bait's and large halibut pellets. Something like two 30mm baits on the hair with paste wrap!!
Last edited:
Yes thats exactly it...on rivers with a big head of them its as much about avoiding Bream as it is trying to catch your target species. Much of my life is currently spent on the question of how to avoid Bream and give Carp, Barbel, Roach and so on a chance of finding the hookbait.
I dont think there is a foolproof anwser. Big hard baits can help but my philosophy nowdays is based more around keeping a bait fishing as long as possible rather than trying to avoid Bream altogether and I would rather have something out there that may not be super subtle but will not be rendered into a tangled ball the moment the first small Bream has a tug....keep it fishing as long as possible and give any Barbel the maximum chance of finding it...big Bream however are a different matter and you may not be able to avoid them hooking themselves.
Sometimes however you have to admit defeat and as Graham suggests on the days when the Bream are going mental I get out a float rod or feeder and have a go for them instead.
Last edited:
A
alan whittington
Guest
Geoff last season i caught barbel with bream 3 times on the Thames,i feel that your problem is that bream find beds of bait or smelly baits quickly and decide to feed on these baits equally as fast,this season the river below Oxford's bream have generally been very few and far between(as have the chub and barbel).
quickcedo
Well-known member
I spend quite a bit of time looking for bream on the small river I usually fish as there is a very low number of barbel (making them very hard to find visually). In my experience find the bream and I find the barbel by default.
A
alan whittington
Guest
I agree with your findings,but is it due to the fact that there are less fish holding swims on smaller rivers so all fish must mix,i feel they use their different senses to find food easier and also because bream tend to be in larger numbers the security is better too.