Barbel (barbus barbus) are one of the most beautiful and powerful fish that live in the British Isles. They thrive in clean, fast flowing, well oxygenated rivers that have gravel bottoms. Barbel are not well suited to still waters (although controversially, some fisheries do choose to stock them in lakes and ponds).

The barbels underslung mouth has four ‘barbules’ around it. The barbel uses these to search for food. The barbels torpedo shaped body helps it hold its position in fast flowing water.

Weir pools are regarded as good places to find barbel due to the well oxygenated water. Barbel also like stretches of river that have good overhead cover (trees and bushes), and stretches that have lots of weed growth.

The current British rod caught barbel record is 21lb 2oz caught from a Sussex river in 2019. Sadly, barbel populations in many of the UK’s smaller rivers have declined. Many attribute this to predation from otters, which have thrived after being reintroduced over the past 10 years. Over abstraction and  poor water quality are also causes of declining barbel numbers on some rivers. Bigger rivers such as the Wye, Trent and Severn continue to hold large populations of barbel.

Alan Oliver with the new Worcestershire Stour river record at 9lb 8oz.

See all the latest Barbel River Records here

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