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When did Barbel fishing change?

An excellent read Keith, the last three sentences in particular sum up the reasons I go fishing!
 
Hi men,

Agreed , nice read Keith .

I don't think barbel angling has changed in relationship greatly in comparison to other species . In the 70,s the big change was to enormous 2 1/4 Tc carp rod ( k maddocks ) , 8 lb mainline ( maxima ) for general carping, with a couple of spools of 11lb sylcast for snag fishing !. Seems silly now eh ?. We used to step up to 2oz leads for long range fishing , and my 1.5 oz mould was always in use . To ignore advances in any component of the stuff we use is purely silly. I have always tried to keep at the front of angling products, having made / designed the stainless for Leslies of Luton way before other companies joined the scene .

Last week I had a days trotting with a cane rod, centerpin , Chris Lythe grayling float etc, and it was fantastic , FOR a day !. But give my a wafer light , ultra thin rod any day :D.

It was funny to see it's not only the barbel world that looks back sometime. In last weeks angling weeklies there is a club doing a match , banning poles ????. Where as years ago there was a push for our top matchmen to master the pole to take on the foreign anglers in the world matches :D, shows nothing new in angling , just evolution .

Hatter
 
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Hello Mark,
Where as years ago there was a push for our top matchmen to master the pole to take on the foreign anglers in the world matches , shows nothing new in angling , just evolution .

Going back to my match fishing days, late 60's early 70's, I think it was the prophet Ray Mumford, who at the time was often ridiculed for promoting the pole and continental styles. In those days a pole was a rare sight in this country, and any that were around were only 7mt, made of fibre glass and heavy. I still have the but end of mine as it makes an ideal tube for my 8.5 ft wt 5 fly rod.

ATB
Colin
 
I do hope that Keiths evocative, enjoyable and thoroughly thought provoking post has the desired effect and stimulates at least a little understanding amongst those who are...perhaps a little rigid in their views?

There is surely room in our hobby to accommodate whatever method or branch or style of angling was imprinted onto the psyche of each and every one of us during our young and formative years. 'Carbeling', and the light float fishing style that Keith enjoys so much, have both come in for some heavey criticism recently. However, the fact is they are merely ways of reaching the same end, as is whatever style each one of us prefers.

I don't believe our hobby has changed...there are merely fluctuations in the popularity of methods or styles, over the passage of time. Sadly, the inflexible 'There is ony one true way...my way' attitude of many anglers has not changed either....but there is always hope :D

Here's hoping for a happy, healthy and landing net filled new year for us all :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
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" 'Carbeling', and the light float fishing style that Keith enjoys so much, have both come in for some heavey criticism recently. However, the fact is they are merely ways of reaching the same end, as is whatever style each one of us prefers. "

Very a true word Dave. For my camping styled fishing on the Trent I am definitely of this 'Carbeling' (not keen on this cliché but its literal meaning is apt) fraternity. It works for me. Other approaches for other waters. Been fishing for barbel now for 10 years & like the sport, but am proud to bring my very relevant experience, use it to good effect & share my experience regardless.

Thanks again to all,

Jon

PS For me feeding barbel is the same as carp - the differences being they inhabit slightly different patrol routes & areas in rivers to carp
 
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When did barbel fishing change.

Has it?

This passage from a book published in 1814;

"The Barbel is prized for being a game fish, afford-
ing excellent sport to the angler, mixed with
some labour and anxiety. When of a large
size, they are exceeding crafty, sulky, and
strong, struggling a long time after they are
hooked, often lying motionless at the bottom
many minutes, then running under banks, or
into large beds of weeds, in fact, trying every
possible way to get off the hook, or break
your line, which they certainly will effect if
you are deficient in skill, or your tackle is in
any way faulty.

They are generally angled
for on the river Thames in boats, with a stout rod, running tackle, gut line,
cork float, and No. 6 or 7 hook ; likewise
with the ledger line, which is fitted in the
following manner : a short solid rod, running
tackle without a float, with hook No. 4 or 5
tied on twisted gut, baited with two marsh
worms, or with graves. About ten inchea
above the hook is placed a piece of flat lead,
perforated, (sold at the shops) below which is
fixed a large shot to prevent the lead slipping
down : the bait is then cast in, and lies clear on
the ground ; hold the top of your rod over
the side of the boat, nearly touching the water,
you will feel a bite, and at the second tug
strike hard.

In the river Lea, you fish with much finer
tackle : your rod either of bamboo or cane,
with a stiff" top, running tackle, fine gut line,
quill float, and No . 8 or 9 hook ; baits, red
worms, gentles, and graves. (Note, the bait
must always touch the ground.) Graves are
certainly the most killing bait ; but when I
fish for Barbel, I always take the three baits
with me, alternately putting worms and gen-
tles, or graves and a worm, on the hook to-
gether, as they sometimes want much entice-
ment. — Never omit trying a worm in the
evening.


The Barbel bites very sharp and sudden,
you must strike the instant and smartly, im-
mediately raise the top of your rod, let him
run some considerable distance before you
attempt to turn him, then endeavour to keep
your fish away from the shelves and beds of
weeds, take him from the current into deep and
still water as soon as possible, and play him
till he has quite lost his strength before you
attempt to land him.

Before you begin to angle for Barbel, throw
in plenty of ground bait (you can hardly give
them too much), and continue to do so fre-
quently while fishing for them : the best
ground bait is made with soaked graves and
clay, mixed together, in balls the size of au
egg, also clay and gentles : indent a piece o f
clay, in which put some gentles, close it
lightly, and the gentles will work out gradu-
ally, when at the bottom of the river. — Use
this ground bait only in still holes. A quan-
tity of worms, if they can be procured, chop-
ped into small pieces, are likewise a good
ground bait"
 
Nice!!!!!



I must have a look on the Dynamite Baits website and see if they do it in tins?
 
H T Sheringham, 'Coarse Fishing' 1912 states .....
" You get greaves from the tallow-chandler, and I believe it is a residuum from tallow-chandling".
J W Martin [The Trent Otter] in 'My Fishing Days and Fishing Ways' 1906 ".....A baiting of well-boiled greaves or scratchings, mixed with boiled potatoes, bran and middlings, is adopted by some experts....."

I've also read [but not found just now] the ground baiting of bullocks brains and pith [taken from the spinal cord]. Not something one could easily procure from your local tackle shop.

Mike
 
just read Keith's post back on page 8, great read and if it had been played back to me on a tape i could have closed my eyes and been on the bank watching your exploits while feeling a little sad that my own father, although starting my interest in fishing by giving me a 6' Woolworths starter kit and later the tackle he had as a boy, an Intrepid black prince and a 9' three piece tank aerial witch had no lined eyes, a plastic pipe handle and crude screw down reel seat that needed adjusting constantly, never really taught me a thing about fishing apart from 'if you want to do something right, you need to use the right tools, the right way and in the right place'. this holds true for most things in life where i am concerned, whether plumbing, engineering, repairing the car or fishing. He taught me how to learn for myself, and that has held me in good stead all my life in all aspects.

angling times had a large part to play, usually the previous weeks edition passed down to me from a guy up the road that only got it for the tide tables and to find out when the cod were in:rolleyes: and the cartoon strip with 'Bob Mussett' was taught by the Crabtree'esque guy the art of watercraft and tackle choice. think it went down hill for me when he started match fishing though;).

cycling miles to waters that were free, or the odd poaching session here and there:eek: lead to joining a local club with river stretches and many gravel pits where roach and bream were abundant to add to the minnows, roach and perch normally caught near my home water. a few sessions with my cousin and his grandfather for roach were a great learning opportunity as the grandfather was the most old school of old school anglers and where we, cousin and me, had been given shiny new shakespear strike rods that Christmas past, he had mitchell 300a and a darkbrown fibertube avon type rod that looked so drab that many a bird thought it to be a branch and disturbed his concentration on the float by landing on it. he too dressed in drab cloths and sat much further back from the water, keeping low and off the horizon and where we plucked 2oz roach every third or fourth cast, which involved sending the float to as far away as we could cast then frantically winding back with the tip almost embedded in the lake silt to sink the line until it bobbed back up usually less than five feet past our rod tips, he sat motionless for the most part, just feeding a few grains of hemp or some casters now and then, until the float would slide lazily away until the line almost pulled on the rod tip. the first sight of a tench, clinched it for me, learn from old methods and the people that use them. i learned to, crudely, trot a river for roach and later chub, to use swing tips, spring and quiver tips and later new style feeder rods. A sundridge ledger and my first shimano reel made landing bigger fish less hit and miss and then the decline...the river had no power over me now i could cast to vast shoals of bream, tench over distant gravel bars and so the ever present but as yet unattainable barbel stayed a thing to fish for another day, that day took over twenty years to get to and the equipment that the old guys used from the 60's and 70's bore little resemblance to the stuff available with four easy check payments via mail order in the late 80's. carp gear:eek::eek::eek:

has barbel fishing and the tackle used changed, from a point of view of someone relatively new to barbus but always interested in the stealth and watercraft used in their pursuit, yes, but mainly due to technology. we are the same and the fish, though bigger are still barbel, the rivers are still rivers and the developments in other branches of fishing have filtered through to many other branches. the newest development that has come in to not only barbel fishing is the use of the very same methods that the old guys used back in the 60's and even the old tackle or new versions made with the technology at our disposal now. the avon/barbel rod with it's through action and the centrepin have never been so popular as now. passion for angling must have been the catalyst for many people as i know there are only a few that have managed to keep all the old ways alive throughout the technological advances, unchanged and unaffected, and, there's now a budding 'Chris Yates' under many a floppy hat seen wandering the banks nearly out of sight from the fishes point of view and a constant source of amusement to many a carper sat by his array of baitrunners, buzzers and bivvies, I know, i now wear that floppy hat:D
 
The Chairman on Monday

Subject: Floppy hats


Never wear one mesself (interferes with me peripheral vision and can make a chap look like some beardy-weirdy, muesli-hugging tree-munching saddo likely to stick a finger in his ear and go into an impromptu rendering of "Summer is a cummin in"), but our Lady Guides do, and extremely fetching they look in them, too. Buy them by the half-gross from some Froggie firm, Dior, that runs them up for us for a suitably extortionate price.

As ever,

B.B.
 
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