Barbel

[BobH]

I started fishing for Barbel on the Old Lea in the 1950s on the LAA and Waverley stretches.

I have fished for them since then, so 60 odd years, but like Carp they seem to have attracted an almost cult status and I was wondering why this might be ?

I mean, they are lovely fish and they pull back, but they are hardly hard to catch and a good angler on the Lea before the fish kill would hopefully catch a 1000 in one season ?



Bob

[Davyr]

but like Carp they seem to have attracted an almost cult status and I was wondering why this might be ?

I expect Chris Yates switching his affections from carp to barbel might be at least partly to blame.

[Mark]

A lovely fish Bob. :thumb:

[Trevor]

I think perhaps some carp anglers began to tire of the rapidly expanding popularity of their 'genre', and so looked around for the another specimen species to fish for and settled on the barbel.
Gradually, barbel fishing has become increasingly similar to carp fishing with the use of tackle, tactics and bait moving from the latter to the former, and some are perhaps beginning to tire of the rapidly expanding...etc etc.
Just my opinion, mind you. I have no evidence to back this up!

[Ian.R.McDonald]

the sad thing is that now Barbel are being given names just like Carp from the 80s

at least Chris Yates name are imaginative!

[BobH]

I rarely fish for Barbel now, prefering Chub, Perch and Pike and the quiteness of the Lea Navigation too the crowded stretches of the popular Barbel rivers.

I can think of a Chub that was Named ( Dobbie ) caught from the Dobbs Weir section of the Lea Navigation at a record weight, but I can't think of a named Perch or Pike ( I could be wrong ).

But surely the naming of fish ( and swims ) started with Walker ?

It's sad to see cult status forced on a species of fish that needs no introduction or fanfares to enhance it hard fighting qualities.

I wonder which species will be next !!

Could it be Grayling :o



Bob

[Santiago]

Barbel having cult status is nothing new, I think it happened around the time overly large barbel were being caught around Adams Mill. And nowadays those carp anglers that are bored with muddy pools but have the same mindset, are looking for alternatives. Perhaps barbel anglers that write about their quarry should blame themselves for making barbel angling sound so good and challenging; which it is not, given the correct tackle, venue and bait, are they not the easiest fish to catch?

[Fred Bonney]

Where's my like button??

:thumb: that'll do!