Barbel fishing
Discussion
Kinda taken over my spare time (with 3 Alfas there is not much of that) for years I had been trying to catch them then 18 months ago I decided out of desperation to go to the Ribble, a river I had assumed was dirty and ugly (oh how wrong I was)
An 8lb bar of gold caught me hook, line and sinker, counting the days until I can go again.
An 8lb bar of gold caught me hook, line and sinker, counting the days until I can go again.
'tis indeed a very special fish. I have very fond memories of catching them in the Severn. Must be the most violent bite a fish can give and that first run down stream they make is one of raw power. I love 'em. Not caught one for ages...you've inspired me to get back down to Ironbridge this year and search them out. 
boxsey said:
'tis indeed a very special fish. I have very fond memories of catching them in the Severn. Must be the most violent bite a fish can give and that first run down stream they make is one of raw power. I love 'em. Not caught one for ages...you've inspired me to get back down to Ironbridge this year and search them out.
Good man, I do remember the first Barb bite I got, looked at it haul round in amazement waynedear said:
Good man, I do remember the first Barb bite I got, looked at it haul round in amazement
Me too. I remember getting bites that were from chub. Each time I struck I kept hoping it was a barbel. An older wiser angler friend said "you'll know when it's a barbel". He was right because when that first barbel bite came in nearly pulled the rod in! rb5er said:
I've caught loads of fish but I've never caught a barbel, really really want to catch one.
If you are anywhere near Preston there is a free (£5 parking) stretch of the Ribble, fish up to 14lbs you are welcome to come with me and my brother, we would do are best to put you into the golden girls.Edited by rb5er on Thursday 12th May 22:00
Well it's taken me six trips to the Severn to get my first barbel of the season. Three trips above Shrewsbury, one to Coalport and one to Hampton Loade produced only a few small chub and dace. Not a sniff of a barbel. My luck changed at the second trip to Hampton Loade yesterday. One barbel....but it was less than a pound! However I lost one of around the 5 pound mark when a badly tied knot gave way when I tried to stop it from reaching submerged roots. Then to compound my luck I got well and truly seen off by one of the really big fellas that went like a steam train through the same roots. The power of those fish is boggling!
I came away thinking that barbel fishing has moved on from when I used to fish for them. The groundbait feeder and luncheon meat doesn't really work any more. Speaking to the bailiff it's all about loose feeding pellets and straight leads. And my John Wilson Avon rod doesn't have the power to tame the big fellas. Need to do some re-thinking before the next trip!
I came away thinking that barbel fishing has moved on from when I used to fish for them. The groundbait feeder and luncheon meat doesn't really work any more. Speaking to the bailiff it's all about loose feeding pellets and straight leads. And my John Wilson Avon rod doesn't have the power to tame the big fellas. Need to do some re-thinking before the next trip!
Barbel seem to be the new black , if not the future of rock and rill as we know it, for many . Sadly , a lot of the born again barbellers I see in Yorkshire are as utterly clueless and as keen on littering as they were when they were carp men .. But a great fish- I caught my first in about 1967 and am still amazed how hard they pull. I have caught salmon to 20lbs but none would outscrap a barbel.
Well it took me nine trips to finally get my first proper Severn barbel of the season. I managed three of the bronze beauties from the day ticket stretch at Coalport. All weighed between 5 and 6 pounds. I went back to my old tricast trophy feeder rod which has more low down power than my newer John Wilson Avon quiver (which has more of a through action). The older rod gave me more confidence to steer the fish going into snags. A new Shimano 4500 baitrunner was also key, I feel, to keeping the fish under control.
Over those nine trips I'd experimented with the, new to me, methods of halibut pellets (4, 8 and 14 mm) and krill boilies. Tried fishing them by loose feeding and bomb, blockend feeders and open end feeders. All to no avail save for the odd suspect bite. It was good old fashioned luncheon meat that finally got the fish (maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by this working at Coalport after collecting a carrier bag of other people's spam tins and assorted rubbish from my peg before I started....grrr)!
What I did notice is that the bites were nothing like those I used to get 20 years ago. Rather than wrap arounds they were just quick tugs. In retrospect, I missed a lot more than I hooked. This was confirmed by the last fish I hooked..by this time I'd switched to a straight lead and had missed maybe half a dozen little tugs which I'd put down to small chub nibbling at the meat. So I then decided to hold the rod and feel the line with my finger and struck immediately on the next slight tug. And sure enough it was the last and biggest barbel of the day.
Over those nine trips I'd experimented with the, new to me, methods of halibut pellets (4, 8 and 14 mm) and krill boilies. Tried fishing them by loose feeding and bomb, blockend feeders and open end feeders. All to no avail save for the odd suspect bite. It was good old fashioned luncheon meat that finally got the fish (maybe I shouldn't have been surprised by this working at Coalport after collecting a carrier bag of other people's spam tins and assorted rubbish from my peg before I started....grrr)!
What I did notice is that the bites were nothing like those I used to get 20 years ago. Rather than wrap arounds they were just quick tugs. In retrospect, I missed a lot more than I hooked. This was confirmed by the last fish I hooked..by this time I'd switched to a straight lead and had missed maybe half a dozen little tugs which I'd put down to small chub nibbling at the meat. So I then decided to hold the rod and feel the line with my finger and struck immediately on the next slight tug. And sure enough it was the last and biggest barbel of the day.
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