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Carp gear for Barbel

T

Trevor Summerfield

Senior Member & Supporter
When asking friends to come along Barbel fishing they often say, I will use my Carp rods and 30LB braid, I say no you cant do that, its not illegal, but i believe in using the right tools for the job so Carp gear for Barbs is an anathma to me. What is the consensus among other Barbel fishers?
 
Depends on conditions for me, If it's a big flood water in the Themes I use my 2.75 Century CQs which are very soft in the tip for a rod of the test curve this is due to it being designed for under arm flicks on canals there for makes it responsive to bites and lighter feeders and heaver. And will use my 15lb ESP on them as I need to hoop out a big leads or feeders. I use carp lead clips running with the swivle crushed so in the event of a loss it will pull straight out. I will always step down my hook length so its the first to go though.

There is a time and a place, ultimately though a lot of carp gear has similarities and I do use carp brands hook links and hooks for example.

That said when there is little need for such strength in gear everything gets shrunk down in breaking strains and test curves :) This year I have basically copied my carp set up shaped the heli lead for a feeder dropped the breaking strains and test curves and done really well for tench.

Its all about balancing the gear for the job weather that it carp style tackle or Speci.

Breaking strains and test curve need to blend to not damage fish. But ensure you catch them safely.
 
I've never felt the need to go heavier than my 2lb greys prodigies.

So I'd probably try and convince a carper to go for that or 1.75lb.
 
What is the definition of ‘carp gear’ ?

And what IF you fish a stretch that holds serious carp - you might hook one accidentally (on purpose) whilst targeting a barbel. Note use of the term ‘a barbel’ -they are not common where I fish.

On some stretches of the middle Thames I now fish 2.5 chimeras and plenty of 15-18 lb line (On 6000 inc reels). I only barbel fish in decent conditions - so that means when it has water on. I tend to stop when a 6oz lead won’t hold; my mate happily stays till 8 oz moves.

That gear gives me a good chance of landing any barbel or carp I might hook. I would describe that approach as ‘pragmatic’ rather than ‘over the top’.
 
Well in some cases you make do with what you have got.
That would qualify as one of those cases in my opinion.

You’ve invited them to have a go at it, which probably suggests they are going to do it once or twice. A 3lb carp rod might make it harder work but it will do the job
 
I think using Carp rods is unsporting,, crude and just plain brutal and bone idle on the part of that angler by not doing his research and finding out just how things are done. Has any body actually used chod rigs for Barbel.
 
Trevor Summerfield said:
I think using Carp rods is unsporting,, crude and just plain brutal and bone idle on the part of that angler by not doing his research and finding out just how things are done. Has any body actually used chod rigs for Barbel.
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Much ‘worse’ than chods; and don’t mention my chub rigs !
 
Most areas of the Trent are best fished with rods 2.25 or more .To hold bottom 3oz is the lowest I can go,unless I fish
1 rod length out,4 oz is normal.This requires rods that can cast that weight .less powerful rods can result in playing the fish for to long and causing unnecessary stress to the fish .where I fish ,catching a double figure Barbel is not unusual.
right tools for the job !! 2.25 up to 2.75 specialist or carp rods are fine .
 
Trevor Summerfield said:
I think using Carp rods is unsporting,, crude and just plain brutal and bone idle on the part of that angler by not doing his research and finding out just how things are done. Has any body actually used chod rigs for Barbel.
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As Tim says, it depends what you mean by carp gear/rods?

I have 2.5lb TC 'specialist' rods that I've used for both carp fishing and barbel fishing. Also long range bream and tench.

I wouldn't be averse to using my Torrix 3.25's for barbel in extreme conditions.

30lb braid - many very good anglers use it for barbel fishing.

Chods - not for barbel. Although I don't see why it would be a big issue? And why so different from a bottom bait?
 
Adam Wylie said:
Most areas of the Trent are best fished with rods 2.25 or more .To hold bottom 3oz is the lowest I can go,unless I fish
1 rod length out,4 oz is normal.This requires rods that can cast that weight .less powerful rods can result in playing the fish for to long and causing unnecessary stress to the fish .where I fish ,catching a double figure Barbel is not unusual.
right tools for the job !! 2.25 up to 2.75 specialist or carp rods are fine .
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I'm totally with you on this... I have tried 1.75s and caught some amazing fish, but on the odd occasion I have been found out, by not having the power to steer away a fish from a snag or stopping one of those powerful runs etc. I think the I deal rod also is 2.25 to 2.75. If your tempted to use carp rods, then a players rod with a good through action will suffice. Like a Harrison Ballista etc. I have some 2.75 Basias and they don't feel like a 2.75 in the tip, more 2lb plus, but they have the grunt in the butt to more than put you in charge..
 
I don’t see anything wrong with it. Arguably better for the barbel if your pals are inexperienced and the gear is robust but balanced. Only possible concern is brutish big hooks and tether rigs but presumably you will see them right on that front ?
Most of use ‘ carp’ gear at some time be it big rivers, big chucks or big leads
Think it’s a lot better then going undergunned and using 6 or 8lb line on ledger set ups
 
I once took a pal to the Severn when it was well up, he had never fished a river before, i set him up with a 2.5lb carp rod, ( i only had one barbel rod at the time, i was in transition myself. ) matched with a shimmy 5000RE, he caught the only fish of the day, and played it extremely well. If he,d of been on something lighter, he may well have lost it.
 
You can't invite someone along for a barbel session and then call them 'bone idle' for not researching properly and bringing carp gear! 🤣
I hope you still get the odd Christmas card.

Quite a lot of the tackle/tactics people use for barbel has evolved from the carp angling community. Now, if you substitute carp for roach, in your initial post, I'd definitely say it's a bad idea. But you're talking etiquette, right? Well, you know, some people just want to catch a fish; others place more emphasis on the tools , and though they still want to catch a fish, it's how it's done that matters. It's a pretty broad spectrum from one extreme to the other. My view is that any criticism of style is unjustified.

By the way, the Xmas card comment was firmly tongue in cheek - no offence meant.
 
I had a mate who started off carp fishing with cheap gear. I got him into fishing for barbel and he used to use his carp rod as that was all he had. He was the luckiest fisherman alive though so normally outfished everyone else no matter what he was fishing for even though he didn’t really know what he was doing
 
I would far rather someone fish with heavy gear

than these total muppets that THINK its clever to play a Barbel on light gear we all know Barbel will fight to exhaustion and often go belly up shortly after release if not given the time needed to recover
 
Trevor Summerfield said:
Points of view, using carp gear for Barbel is like using sea tackle for the job,its just plain crude. Maybe I am Purist.,
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Interesting. What tackle do you consider to be purist for Barbel? We have been told that a low t.c rod is not so efficient as a stronger rod due the rule of levers and length. In fact it could be argued that a stronger outfit is much kinder to barbel ensuring a shorter fight.
For me the overarching consideration to newbies is handling and recovery.
 
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