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Barbel beginnings?

Found Barbel fishing rather later in life, fished since I was a young lad on the Bristol Avon, cycling 7 miles or so with rod strapped to the crossbar and old army rucksack on the back to the river at Keynsham and Saltford. Back in the 60's and even up to the 80's I was unaware of Barbel as a species I could catch, in fact I wasn't even aware of them.
It was only when we moved to Tetbury that the talk that Barbel were being caught in the Chippenham area that inspired me. So with me and my two eldest sons in tow we headed to the Avon at Langley Burrell nr Chippenham more with hope than confidence we would catch. But catch we did and not one but two fish fell to my 9 foot North Western ledger rod, the bait was german sausage and the fight was unforgettable, that was me hooked line and sinker, as was Anthony my eldest, a good 20 years later we still as keen as ever, and regulary fish to-gether.
Mind you I do not consider me a barbel angler at all more of a angler that catches barbel occasionally, I actually prefer trotting a light rod for Roach, but Anthony I am afraid is a lost soul:cool:
 
As other's have already said, I don't consider myself to be a barbel angler, just an angler who tries to catch barbel.

My first experience of barbel was in 1967 or 68, I think I was 12 or 13.

I'd gone with my taid (grandad) to fish Sydney Avenue in Shrewsbury. We'd set up below the weir and my taid had set up and cast in and then turned to give me a hand.

As I was putting on the big worm bait, I saw the butt of my taid's rod disappear into the Severn. My taid never swore, but came near it that day.

Luckily, he had another rod and reel so retackled and cast out. What seems like minutes later, he had to dive to cath his rod as it almost followed the first one.

Ages later as he slipped a barbel of about 5lb over the net, I got my first ever glimpse of this species.

My taid never got his rod back but went on to catch a couple more fish around the same stamp and went home a happy man.

I've angled for just about all fresh water fish in the 40 odd years since then but this little episode always sticks in my mind especially when I'm out around Shrewsbury. I guess I'll be reminded of it even more come Thursday as I intend to fish Sydney Avenue again, for the first time since that day
 
barbel

My first barbel captures were on the trent at fiskerton weir,on the concrete blocks ,dont no if there still there ?
 
Fed up with the Carp Circus and all the rubbish that follows it nowadays, I am now learning, with some help from friends and this site, how to catch these wonderful Barbel!
 
Mine has got to be the bites they give as you just cannot seem to get anything else similar, even the days of cod fishing of the holderness beaches and the rod tip bouncing with a cod on dont even come close!

Sean
 
living within cycling distance of the thames and the lea got me interested after avidly reading books and hearing about them from a couple of junior angling mates who were in the LAA, started off at a ripe old age of 11 trying to catch carp at hampstead heath, after seeing these MONSTER shapes
moving around i just wanted to catch big fish, once i convinced me mum i was safe fishing the thames and its weirs there is where i would be or down the lea trying to catch barbel, bream were occasionally as were chub but i wanted the fish that made the corks bend and creak in my hand, not what i would consider to be a real succesful angler but enough to keep me trying for more after 50 odd years still:)
 
It was a natural progression for me as a young very keen specimen hunter in the late sixties, in those days it was good to have a list, Biggest Carp, Biggest Chub, Biggest Pike etc. Specimen Hunters targeted all fish, there were few specialist's in those days and your fishing was done on a seasonal basis, Tench at the start of the season, then Carp, then Bream and Barbel and Pike in the winter, I had seen a small Barbel being caught at Bewdley in about 1966 and I was fascinated by the look of the fish, it looked like a massive gudgeon to me, then the writings of Peter Wheat, Fred J Taylor, Peter Stone, Tag Barnes and Frank Guttfield inspired me to fish for Barbel......a lot of water has since flowed under Bewdley bridge since then, sometimes Barbel are the easiest of fishes to catch, sometimes they are woefully difficult, but when that Double is in the net, whether, now or then, the passion for the species is momentarily all consuming and the fire is reignited in me. :)
 
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