Barbel in the Great Ouse

[David Chant]

In the 1960's I used to fish the Great Ouse above Bedford and was an avid reader of the Angling Times and don't recall any barbel being caught in that area. I believe that there were a small number of barbel at Hemigford which were possibly due to them being introduced. I remember Matt Hayes saying on one of his TV programmes that barbel were stocked into the Great Ouse in the area I am talking about, I believe he said in the late 60's or early 70's.

Does anyone have any definitive records, for instance being mentioned in the Angling Times, for that time-frame or before? If so, in what area were the barbel caught and what year?

 

[Alex Gowney]

Barbel are indigenous to the Great Ouse. They are indigenous to all rivers which flow eastwards as this goes back many thousands of years to when the Rhine was part of what is now the Thames. In other words, when we weren't an Island. Obviously the population may have been wiped out periodically in the time span since then.

 

[Ash Gould]

Alexander is spot on but many put the barbel boom above Bedford down to a stocking by Bob Church et al in the 70s.

There is a chapter in the barbel catchers book that would give you all the info you need.

 

[David Chant]

Thanks for the replies, if it is the book by Bob Singleton I have just ordered a copy.

I have heard that barbel were indigenous in all east flowing rivers but that doesn't tie in with my memory of the river I used to fish in the 1960's. I was hoping that someone on the site would have an angling paper or book that was published in the 1960's, or before, that would confirm the capture of barbel in the Great Ouse, preferably a record of a barbel caught up stream of Bedford.

 

[Howard Hutchins]

Richard walker (walkers pitch) claims to have caught 6 barbell to 9.5 lbs
from the Great Ouse in 1951.He also states that there has allways been barbel in the ouse.

M A Kausman,author of Fishing famous rivers "The Great Ouse" 1963 claims to have witnessed a 5lb barbel
from the Ouse at Godmanchester

 

[John Walker]

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\david my mate and his fiancees father had a caravan and a boat in buckden marina, we used to fish the river a bit further upstream , that river stretch had my barbel sensors going beserk but we never had barbel on and this was around 1955/6but what a fantastic stretch of river

 

[Stephen Bond]

I think stocking is mentioned in this book too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Barbel-Challenge-Peter-Wheat/dp/1861267258

Stephen

 

[David Chant]

Walkers barbel

Richard walker (walkers pitch) claims to have caught 6 barbell to 9.5 lbs
from the Great Ouse in 1951.He also states that there has allways been barbel in the ouse.

M A Kausman,author of Fishing famous rivers "The Great Ouse" 1963 claims to have witnessed a 5lb barbel
from the Ouse at Godmanchester

Hi Howard

Can't afford to buy Walkers Pitch at the moment. Do you know where he caught the barbel, where they also in the Godmanchester area?

 

[David Chant]

Hi all

Thanks for the replies.

From the anecdotal information I am gathering there seems to have been barbel in the Godmanchester area of the Great Ouse from the 1950's onwards, possibly from a stocking in the late 1940's?

There is also some good anecdotal information that "Bob Church et al" introduced barbel into the Great Ouse upstream of Bedford in the 1970's.

I would still be interested if anyone has a record of barbel in the Great Ouse before 1950 and above Bedford before the 1970's.

 

[Patrick Leigh]

I've got an old book somewhere which I'll try to dig out that from memory lists barbel being stocked into the Gt.Ouse in 1953 'above Bedford' and also lists a stocking of barbel in the lower river in 1950 at St.Neots (Eynesbury)....

 

[David Gauntlett]

They stocked otters on a number of rivers....doesn't mean that there were no naturally occurring ones there before that time, does it? They stock roach, in fact fish of all sorts, all over the country when natural stocks have had a hammering by pollution etc. Again, that in no way means or proves that there were none there before that time, if you see what I mean. If you do find evidence of stockings of barbel on the Ouse in the 40's or 50's or whenever, that will prove that there were stockings of barbel at that time...end of. It will NOT prove there were none present before that time.

I have no idea whether there were barbel in the Ouse system historically or not, although the fact (as mentioned) that east flowing rivers frequently did have them points to it being quite possible. Either way, proof of stocking/s at any time will not prove things one way or the other....you need to delve into historical facts about the system on the internet for that I would think. Interesting subject though.

Cheers, Dave.