Guide to barbel
Swim advice, rigs to try, and the best baits for a whacker
YOU only have to look at a barbel to realise that this muscular torpedo of a fish is a born fighter.
Not surprisingly, then, more and more anglers are taking to the rivers to do battle with this worthy adversary. The saying ‘barbel are the new carp’ has a ring of truth, too, because on big waterways like the Trent and Severn the tackle used to catch ‘old whiskers’ is very similar to that used for specimen mirrors and commons.
Baits follow the same trend – boilies and pellets have largely replaced traditional luncheon meat, worms and maggots, although these old favourites can still spring a surprise on waters where the barbel have seen it all.
You don’t have to visit rivers to catch barbel, though.
An ever-growing number of stillwaters are stocking these fish, and despite misgivings from some purists, barbel seem to be faring very well on our commercials.
HISTORY
There was a time when barbel, like carp, were a rarity, fished for on only a handful of rivers and often closely guarded by syndicates.
Their explosion in popularity since the early 1990s has seen more stretches become available and, as the fish spread through river systems, they’re growing big too. The advent of high-protein pellets, pastes and boilies gives the fish far more nutrition.
HABITAT
A classic running-water fish, the torpedo-shaped barbel is perfectly designed for living in fast-flowing rivers, scouring the bottom for its next meal.
Powerful rivers such as the Thames, Severn and Trent, plus northern rivers including the Swale, Nidd and Derwent, are famed barbel fisheries, but the River Great Ouse in Befordshire is the most famous of barbel rivers and once had a stranglehold on the UK record.
Provided a river has a good pace to it, with well-oxygenated water and weir pools to investigate, there will probably be a few barbel at home.
Good areas to fish include weirs, gravel runs with weedbeds, snags created by overhanging trees and bushes and deeper holes or depressions in the riverbed.
However, don’t turn your nose up at smaller rivers and backwaters, especially in times of coloured high water when the main rivers might be out of action.
THE RIGHT TIME
The best times to catch river barbel can depend on the size of the river!
Big venues like the Trent and Severn usually fish better early and late in the day through summer but, as we go into autumn, shorter days encourage them to feed for longer.
On narrow, shallow rivers, the roving angler who remains quiet and stealthy will find fish and should be able to get them feeding at any time of day but, again, early and late when the sun is weak gives you the maximum chance of catching.