Angling Times 'Better Barbel Fishing' Video
Introduction
Those of you that have come across this video might immediately be asking
why I decided to review it for BFW as it is not a new production (Copyright
1999). My reasons are twofold: firstly despite being a few years old it is
still a good watch, particularly for the less experienced and novice barbelers.
Secondly its real interest is in how it illustrates quite how fast barbel
fishing has moved in the last few years.
The video opens in summer right in the centre of 'barbel alley' on the middle
Severn with Matt Hayes and Dave Harrell discussing matchman style feeder tactics.
The full range of rods, rigs and baits for this style of fishing are all covered
in detail with Dave catching a few fish to illustrate the technique.
Matt Hayes then continues the video showing his 'big fish' approach on the
Lower Severn bellow Worcester. He details his way of locating the fish by
pre-baiting a number of swims and fishing them in rotation. Touch ledgering
and the resting of barbel after capture are also covered.
The third part sees Matt join Trefor West on the banks of the Teme and the
Bristol Avon in summer and autumn. This part of the video will be by far the
most interesting for those with more experience. Trefor covers mobile fishing,
trundling, upstream ledgering, feeding, and the 'bait-and-wait' approach in
some detail, finishing with a discussion on bait. It is during this discussion
that the video looks rather out of date although prophetically Matt does say,
"it's changing all the time" during the talk about modern barbel baits.
Rating
9/10 for novices and beginners
7/10 for the more experienced
Availability £14.99 from Beckmann Visual Publishing www.beckmanndirect.com
or 01624 816 777 or quite regularly on eBay for about £6.99
Guy Baxendale
November 2004
