The incredible Vienne , deserted for miles .
Hatter
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Barbel fishing in France / Belgium /Holland
- Thread starter Lee Williams
- Start date
The incredible Vienne , deserted for miles .
Hatter
Chris Bracey
Senior Member
I realise it’s on old thread but thought it easier than starting a new one.
looking to book a week away next autumn and have been advised to look at the River Mueuse near Montherme for the barbel.
not bothered about any PB just lookimg for average barbel (perhaps with the chance of the odd big one but not essential) - would rather keep busy than sit and wait for a PB.
Can Anybody offer advice on the river/area/stretches?
Travelling from Manchester so would prefer to fly if poss So any organised trips, tackle hire or places to stay in that area.
cheers
chris
looking to book a week away next autumn and have been advised to look at the River Mueuse near Montherme for the barbel.
not bothered about any PB just lookimg for average barbel (perhaps with the chance of the odd big one but not essential) - would rather keep busy than sit and wait for a PB.
Can Anybody offer advice on the river/area/stretches?
Travelling from Manchester so would prefer to fly if poss So any organised trips, tackle hire or places to stay in that area.
cheers
chris
Graham Elliott
Senior Member & Supporter
Chris.
2 pals on the Meuse at the moment. Lot of water on and bit slow but I reckon good choice.
Sent me a msg with your email and I will put you in contact.
G
2 pals on the Meuse at the moment. Lot of water on and bit slow but I reckon good choice.
Sent me a msg with your email and I will put you in contact.
G
David Desmitt
Member
I’m at this place if you need help. Anyone who is respectful of fish is welcome.
Chris Bracey
Senior Member
Hi David/Guys
Mid May will soon be here for our first ever trip to France for Barbel. we ll be on the Meuse between Chooz and Fumay?
any tips on baits/methods etc. Is it the same as here so groundbait and pellet feeder with halibut pellets etc on a hair rig? Line straight through or braided bottom etc?
any pointers is much appreciated thanks.
Mid May will soon be here for our first ever trip to France for Barbel. we ll be on the Meuse between Chooz and Fumay?
any tips on baits/methods etc. Is it the same as here so groundbait and pellet feeder with halibut pellets etc on a hair rig? Line straight through or braided bottom etc?
any pointers is much appreciated thanks.
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
I don't know the area, but I think Ade Kiddel is somewhere thereabouts. Try emailing him.
Graham Elliott
Senior Member & Supporter
Ade left there at least 6 months ago.
Now around Netherlands.
But he will know it well.
Two pals have fished it a fair bit. Paul Hayes who is on here a bit
Chris Bracey
Senior Member
Yeah I m in touch with Paul via your good self Graham but he is sunning it up in Cornwall at present so was looking for other views/comments. Will be catch8ng up with Paul when he is back
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
Check out "BarbelLover" on Youtube. I think he usually fishes the river Ourthe in Belgium but he shows his methods and they are similar to how I fish the river Lot.
He catches a lot more barbel than me!
He catches a lot more barbel than me!
Chris Bracey
Senior Member
Thanks Steve - much appreciated
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
This seems to be a perenial subject so I will add my two cents.
First; barbel are not widespread in France and other than the Seine system and the rivers in the north-east, mainly the Rhone system, they are a lot smaller than in the UK. The Loire system has a few rivers where they could reach close to or just over 10lb, but in the main the shoals of 2lb to 3lb fish ars what you will encounter if you fish in the south-west. The Loire is snided with small barbel. I have spoken to French anglers who have never seen a 4lb barbel in fifty years of fishing. These are around the size you can expect.
Barbel are very much a fringe species and as such there is little angling pressure on the areas where they will be found. That means they aren't bait savvy or so no need for expensive boilies, glugs and the like. Naive fish will take luncheon meat, pellets and boilies, but they will also take maize and sweetcorn as well as the Frolic dog biscuits which are universally used for carp. Two of my three largest French barbel came to maize grains and the other to Frolic. Maggots are prohibitivly expensive.
Fish the deeper channels on the outside of bends where the flow is at least walking pace. If you fish the seam be prepared for hooking a carp. They are everywhere and average mid-teens in my area as accidental captures. Carp tend to hug the banks especially in slower water, behind islands, in the lee of a jetty or fallen tree or the inside of bends. If there are surface weeds in the margins they can often be seen pushing through them. They can go to 50lb or more on many rivers and they aren't the pot bellied pigs of the commercials.
In my area and in many of the places I have fished while on holidays in our camping-car the single most useful piece of equipment is a 3 metre landing net pole and latex mesh net. The banks are often a metre or more above the water, there are the brambles and nettles associated with unfished swims and the banks can be undercut by coypu. Finding a good place at river level is a rare luxury in my part of the world. Once the fish is in the net it requires a vertical lift so make sure the net and handle are up to it. Also, shorter rods can be useful in areas where the tree canopies are low. There are no club waters and no club members keeping the swims clear.
A Carte de Peche is €100 for the year and around a third of that for a week. If you put carte de peche and the number of the department where you will be based into Google you can follow the link to buy it online. Or buy one from a Tourist Information Office. They usually speak English. Check the regulations regards night fishing and seasons. The CdP covers you fishing in other areas and they might have different regulations. In practise the CdP is all you need to fish rivers and public lakes if there are no Privee or Peche Interdite signs. You can acces rivers alongside farm land without having to ask permission. But don't fish close to locks, weirs or dams as in many cases that is prohibited.
Just keep it simple and enjoy the sport. The fish aren't tackle shy but you need an element of water craft to locate them. In many cases they won't associate the splash of groundbait or a feeder with food like your local fish do. They might not have seen a bait before. But if you stick to the basics and don't spook them they will soon find your bait.
First; barbel are not widespread in France and other than the Seine system and the rivers in the north-east, mainly the Rhone system, they are a lot smaller than in the UK. The Loire system has a few rivers where they could reach close to or just over 10lb, but in the main the shoals of 2lb to 3lb fish ars what you will encounter if you fish in the south-west. The Loire is snided with small barbel. I have spoken to French anglers who have never seen a 4lb barbel in fifty years of fishing. These are around the size you can expect.
Barbel are very much a fringe species and as such there is little angling pressure on the areas where they will be found. That means they aren't bait savvy or so no need for expensive boilies, glugs and the like. Naive fish will take luncheon meat, pellets and boilies, but they will also take maize and sweetcorn as well as the Frolic dog biscuits which are universally used for carp. Two of my three largest French barbel came to maize grains and the other to Frolic. Maggots are prohibitivly expensive.
Fish the deeper channels on the outside of bends where the flow is at least walking pace. If you fish the seam be prepared for hooking a carp. They are everywhere and average mid-teens in my area as accidental captures. Carp tend to hug the banks especially in slower water, behind islands, in the lee of a jetty or fallen tree or the inside of bends. If there are surface weeds in the margins they can often be seen pushing through them. They can go to 50lb or more on many rivers and they aren't the pot bellied pigs of the commercials.
In my area and in many of the places I have fished while on holidays in our camping-car the single most useful piece of equipment is a 3 metre landing net pole and latex mesh net. The banks are often a metre or more above the water, there are the brambles and nettles associated with unfished swims and the banks can be undercut by coypu. Finding a good place at river level is a rare luxury in my part of the world. Once the fish is in the net it requires a vertical lift so make sure the net and handle are up to it. Also, shorter rods can be useful in areas where the tree canopies are low. There are no club waters and no club members keeping the swims clear.
A Carte de Peche is €100 for the year and around a third of that for a week. If you put carte de peche and the number of the department where you will be based into Google you can follow the link to buy it online. Or buy one from a Tourist Information Office. They usually speak English. Check the regulations regards night fishing and seasons. The CdP covers you fishing in other areas and they might have different regulations. In practise the CdP is all you need to fish rivers and public lakes if there are no Privee or Peche Interdite signs. You can acces rivers alongside farm land without having to ask permission. But don't fish close to locks, weirs or dams as in many cases that is prohibited.
Just keep it simple and enjoy the sport. The fish aren't tackle shy but you need an element of water craft to locate them. In many cases they won't associate the splash of groundbait or a feeder with food like your local fish do. They might not have seen a bait before. But if you stick to the basics and don't spook them they will soon find your bait.
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
I will certainly agree with Clive in his experiences of barbel fishing in France. Before "discovering" boilies (never used them before, 40 years a sea angler) about a year after moving to France I had caught barbel on prawns, sweetcorn and worms. Then an old mate in Scotland sent me some of his Slayer Triple S 20mm boilies and my fishing really took off!
Chub to over 5lb straight away and plenty of barbel in the 4lb-6lb range, plus a couple around 8lb.
Since then I have found almost any boilie with some fish base or flavouring will do the job. Cheapest have been Decathlon Monster Crab 20mm boilies, my friend had a carp of 34lb on these, first cast! Plenty of barbel, chub and bream as well.
I have used Source boilie baits for carp and Dynamite Spicy Squid catches barbel and bream regularly. Vivaldi Garlic Krill has taken plenty of fish over the winter.
Now I rarely use other baits on the river Lot, bit lazy really - but boilies are so convenient and do work!
I have never seen the local anglers catching anything worthwhile, they do not seem to recognise the existence of barbel. A few visiting carp anglers seem to know what they are doing but the end rigs they use are really hefty (for good reason!) and even barbel can be a bit shy of 25mm boilies, size 2 hooks and 40lb hook lengths!
So I, and a few friends, seem to have these fish to ourselves, Wonderful!!!!
Chub to over 5lb straight away and plenty of barbel in the 4lb-6lb range, plus a couple around 8lb.
Since then I have found almost any boilie with some fish base or flavouring will do the job. Cheapest have been Decathlon Monster Crab 20mm boilies, my friend had a carp of 34lb on these, first cast! Plenty of barbel, chub and bream as well.
I have used Source boilie baits for carp and Dynamite Spicy Squid catches barbel and bream regularly. Vivaldi Garlic Krill has taken plenty of fish over the winter.
Now I rarely use other baits on the river Lot, bit lazy really - but boilies are so convenient and do work!
I have never seen the local anglers catching anything worthwhile, they do not seem to recognise the existence of barbel. A few visiting carp anglers seem to know what they are doing but the end rigs they use are really hefty (for good reason!) and even barbel can be a bit shy of 25mm boilies, size 2 hooks and 40lb hook lengths!
So I, and a few friends, seem to have these fish to ourselves, Wonderful!!!!
Joe Winstanley
Senior Member & Supporter
I'm off to France next week for some carp fishing, the lake I'll be fishing is only a field or two away from the Loir (not Loire), above Montval-Sur-Loir. On google earth it looks a bit barbely in places with what looks like some ranunculus beds. When the suns up during the day I might take myself down to the river for a hour or two, is the Loir a known barbel river?
Joe Winstanley
Senior Member & Supporter
Is that a bait for all seasons Steve?
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
I only bought that bait last November, so no idea if it will work in the warmer months.
After reading much about smelly baits better in winter and also oily baits not releasing their oils in low temperatures I thought the Garlic Krill worth a try. It has worked!
But you can never be sure, sometimes that element of luck just lands you on a shoal of feeding barbel.....
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
Made a mistake, Vivaldi probably had something to do with making music - not baits!!!!
Try Vivani Krilly Garlic.......https://www.vivani-baits.nl/33053409.html
They are a little softer than many boilies, but that suits me for barbel fishing.
Fairly sure my first came from a UK advert, though now it's Pechpromo.fr
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
I agree with Steve. If you feel the need to use boilies then krill or crab is the way to go. But don't discount Frolics dog biscuits. They will catch barbel and carp and are available from supermarkets in two sizes.
Hi men,
I'm off down country over Easter for 8 days , fishing a lovely lake , but driving up the river Vienne to visit a mate who has started a b+b in a big old ex police house in a typical French town , lovely. So it would be rude not to have a day around L'Isie - Jourdain if time permits , as it hold barbel and carp in the same bit
.Hatter
Clive Kenyon
Senior Member
Gerroff of my land!Hi men,
I'm off down country over Easter for 8 days , fishing a lovely lake , but driving up the river Vienne to visit a mate who has started a b+b in a big old ex police house in a typical French town , lovely. So it would be rude not to have a day around L'Isie - Jourdain if time permits , as it hold barbel and carp in the same bit
Hatter
We'll hopefully be in Spain then. But I'll be monitoring my security cameras.
D
Deleted member 2708
Guest
That mistake brought back memories!
Between lock-downs we had a touring group of members from the Toulouse Ochestre Nationale visiting our Salle de Fete (village hall).
Only in France would this type of small-town event happen, I am pretty sure!
Absolutely Amazing! It was The Four Seasons and, in quite a small auditorium, very "up-close-and -personal". Something I will never forget!
