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Barbel migration

Great report. There are one of two points though that need explaining further. Is the high amount of pellets in captured fish purely down to what their last meal is? If they have been troughing loose feed before capture doesn't mean they will have the same amount next week.

These travelling barbel are what I mentioned a few months ago. I have seen single barbel on many occassions and formed the theory that they were the last survivors of their year from the shoal they lived in. There is a small river near to me where in summer babel of gudgeon size can be seen every day in the same stretch of shallow water. A hundred or some metres downstream a shoal of the previous year's spawning occupy another small area. One deformed fish was upstream one year and then amongst the downstream population the following summer. The fish are bigger, but the numbers are less. Then they drop down even further into the confluence of the Vienne the following year. In the Vienne you can catch barbel of 2lb to 3lb in numbers, but the 5lb and higher fish are rarely caught in the same hour, or session, until you get into the lower reaches.

As for spawning migration; in June 2008 I came across a shoal of minnows leaping a small weir on the Dearne. I have photos somewhere. If they can do it, barbel certainly can.
 
An interesting piece, seeing how far Pike travel is not as much of a suprise to me, a couple of years ago, I was crossing a bridge over the River Calder, and saw 2 pike of about 7 or 8 pounds actually managing to swim up to and cross a wier going upstream, I tried to get photos but they were not hanging around.

So far as Barbel are concerned, I wonder how long “resident “ fish stay in a known area, and how large that area is ?

I have noticed both on the Ribble, the Wye , and the Wharfe that when I have landed a double figure Barbel, so long as I cast to the same place again I can almost guarantee that the next fish will also be a double or big single figure fish, making me think that fish of a similar size do stay together , being double figure fish maybe it gives weight to the theory that the larger females have known groups of maybe a couple or more that basically live together and travel together as well. I do not know how this weighs up against a large river like the Trent, when quite a lot of double figure fish are taken over a season, over quite big distances apart.

David
 
Probably nothing new to be learnt from this for many of us. The bare facts that the least the big girls travel the more they get caught is pretty much a given on the stretches I fish. And weirs are a barrier for many species.....in fact they imo are the main problem, as much as some will argue that is not the case. Pellets high in oil really are a problem in tthat they can feed off fish, thus spoiling after filling in.
It is an effort that is much appreciated in conducting this study, but there needs to be a sea change in attitudes by clubs and of course the EA to effect any change.
 
The results from this and other studies seems to show that the barbel with the greatest ranges were the ones that didn't get caught. Whether weirs are good or bad can be debateable. A weir can create a micro river system that gives barbel spawning beds and deeper water within a few miles, or in some cases over here a few hundred metres.

One of the things that I find interesting are the studies on diet. It seems that in many cases pellets replace the barbel's intake of small fish and crayfish. In rivers where coarse angling is restricted the resident barbel ate far more fish and crays.
 
They did a survey similar to this on the Gt Ouse some years ago. They tagged fish and followed their movement. Similar results. One problem was that they found very few barbel in this river. I wonder why. 🤔
 
Many years a go a study was done on barbel spawning migration from the Yorkshire Ouse , up the tributary river Nidd . As I recall it was determined that a weir on the Nidd was hampering Barbel spawning migration so the weir was altered to allow them an easier passage . In terms of Barbel moving around , when I used to fish the Yorkshire Ouse intensively for Barbel , there were known , easily identifiable specimens that appeared to stay roughly in the same place and others that would travel several miles in a relatively short space of time .
 
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