Where is barbel fishing going these days?

[Mark Phillips]

I keep getting asked to build barbel rods to cast 10-11oz. Apparently you need it on the tidal T**** at that weir. I dunno how anyone ever caught owt in the past on that stretch!

The rigs some are using seem mental to me, too. The 40lb braid I have no problem with but shock leaders and coated braid hook links with bolt rigs?

I saw a vid today on Idiot-tube fishing on my local river, in swim I've fished a fair bit and which is snaggy as feck. The bloke was sat back from his rods under a brolly with storm sides. I get the impression these muppets like to see the rod hoop over and the baitrunner spin for a bit before they pick the rod up.

There's more I could rant about but I have to watch my blood pressure!

I've fished a syndicate stretch just down from a certain weir (as a guest of a member) a few times - we were using 5oz leads to hold bottom when the river was 5ft up and still rising - you only need to fish under your rod tip to catch barbel in those conditions and we never had any issues holding station, it's not exactly hard to catch them in that area after all. I always use my 11ft 2 1/4 carp rods when I get an invite to fish there. 10lb mono on a 5000RE, nothing fancy and I was landing barbel into double figures pretty quickly. Strikes me that you get the same muppets chasing barbel as you do carp. Not much you can do, they won't listen... failed carp anglers I think is how Berry describes them, for once he's probably right.

[stubbojo]

years ago i visited a commercial not for the carp ,but for the perch.... while i was there they had a delivery of barbel i kid you not ....in a still water beggars belief

[Bob Watson]

I fished Makins at Wolvey 93-94 when I moved to Nuneaton for a year. As far as I'm aware that was the first commercial to stock them

[Aethelbald]

I saw a vid today on Idiot-tube fishing on my local river, in swim I've fished a fair bit and which is snaggy as feck. The bloke was sat back from his rods under a brolly with storm sides.
I get the impression these muppets like to see the rod hoop over and the baitrunner spin for a bit before they pick the rod up.

The reason a barbel angler waits for a bite to develop, is that if chub are present they will nibble at the bait rather than sucking it in, as most other fish do. And if the bait is on a hair rig (which you wouldn't use for chub), a 'nibbling' chub might not connect with the hook - it may look like a bite, but if you strike, all you're doing is pulling the bait from the chub's lips.

Sounds to me like OP's 'muppet' actually knows what he's doing.

[davelumb]

I saw a vid today on Idiot-tube fishing on my local river, in swim I've fished a fair bit and which is snaggy as feck. The bloke was sat back from his rods under a brolly with storm sides.
I get the impression these muppets like to see the rod hoop over and the baitrunner spin for a bit before they pick the rod up.

The reason a barbel angler waits for a bite to develop, is that if chub are present they will nibble at the bait rather than sucking it in, as most other fish do. And if the bait is on a hair rig (which you wouldn't use for chub), a 'nibbling' chub might not connect with the hook - it may look like a bite, but if you strike, all you're doing is pulling the bait from the chub's lips.

Sounds to me like OP's 'muppet' actually knows what he's doing.

If you let a barbel take too much line on the initial take it might find a snag before you can pick the rod up. The best plan is to grab the rod as soon as it hoops over and stop the fucker going anywhere. Sit back from your rods and you're a muppet.

[suffolk si]

I saw a vid today on Idiot-tube fishing on my local river, in swim I've fished a fair bit and which is snaggy as feck. The bloke was sat back from his rods under a brolly with storm sides.
I get the impression these muppets like to see the rod hoop over and the baitrunner spin for a bit before they pick the rod up.

The reason a barbel angler waits for a bite to develop, is that if chub are present they will nibble at the bait rather than sucking it in, as most other fish do. And if the bait is on a hair rig (which you wouldn't use for chub), a 'nibbling' chub might not connect with the hook - it may look like a bite, but if you strike, all you're doing is pulling the bait from the chub's lips.

Sounds to me like OP's 'muppet' actually knows what he's doing.

If you let a barbel take too much line on the initial take it might find a snag before you can pick the rod up. The best plan is to grab the rod as soon as it hoops over and stop the fucker going anywhere. Sit back from your rods and you're a muppet.

Agreed , when I fish in the boat with you know who(who genuinely has caught masses of barbel)if you weren’t on the rods in a couple of seconds they have you in the boulders and snags more times that not

[davelumb]

I saw a vid today on Idiot-tube fishing on my local river, in swim I've fished a fair bit and which is snaggy as feck. The bloke was sat back from his rods under a brolly with storm sides.
I get the impression these muppets like to see the rod hoop over and the baitrunner spin for a bit before they pick the rod up.

The reason a barbel angler waits for a bite to develop, is that if chub are present they will nibble at the bait rather than sucking it in, as most other fish do. And if the bait is on a hair rig (which you wouldn't use for chub), a 'nibbling' chub might not connect with the hook - it may look like a bite, but if you strike, all you're doing is pulling the bait from the chub's lips.

Sounds to me like OP's 'muppet' actually knows what he's doing.

If you let a barbel take too much line on the initial take it might find a snag before you can pick the rod up. The best plan is to grab the rod as soon as it hoops over and stop the fucker going anywhere. Sit back from your rods and you're a muppet.

Agreed , when I fish in the boat with you know who(who genuinely has caught masses of barbel)if you weren’t on the rods in a couple of seconds they have you in the boulders and snags more times that not

[Aethelbald]

Whatever. You guys obviously know your barbel fishing.

[Daniel]

It's when you see a report on Facebook where the angler says I had 19 bites and landed 11 of them, the rest were lost in snags.

Well that's an absolutely s**t success rate imo.
I've had 103 barbel this season and lost two, a little 2lb fish that got nailed at the net by a pike, and a low double broke me when the line touched a mussel covered branch in the water that I didn't know was there until I lost the fish.
Annoyingly, the branch was within landing net range and easily removed.

[suffolk si]

A lot of it obviously depends on the swim you’re in, rarely that I fish on the tidal Terrance but last time out I had a low double on maggot feeder whilst trying to catch lives for zander bait, it ran off several yards and was on light gear, landed it without too much trouble, but some snaggy swims and especially weirpools ive fished if you weren’t in the fish within a second or two you were in trouble, even in 20lb mono or 50lb braid , I’ve only fished wye and Terrance so am no means a barbel expert though