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Combi rig components

Richard Isaacs said:
there’s nothing wrong with being quite new to barbel fishing but the last part of your quote...
That’s total b........ks
Sorry but it really is. They drop straight out of their mouths nearly every time. I reckon I’ve only had to unhook about 3 this year myself. If your not a fan of barbless hooks that’s great. Lots of people are with you on that for reasons that have been discussed over and over but to claim the hard mouth of a barbel keeps them lodged in as well as a barbed hook is nothing less than a mile from the truth.
you like to try things so I suggest you try it. Let the line go slack for a couple of seconds then tighten back up and see if she’s still there.
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Maybe you've lobbed a grenade (lol) . . but who said I was 'new' to barbel fishing . . .? Without being condescending (which others on here find less difficult) looking at your photo Richard I'm guessing I'm older than you . . . which means I've been fishing a lot longer than you . . . FYI I caught my first barbel on the Kennet when I was about 12yrs old using a stickfloat and match tackle . . . .that was 1983 . . if I wasn't fishing on river, lakes or canals I was watching Saturday swop shop or playing football - Paul Mariner was the top striker of the time . . . .(sound like Des Taylor myself now lol)

. . . .I've been fishing for ALL species for over 40 years - the last 20+ have been biased towards carp admittedly because they are more of a CHALLENGE . . .this has provided a very technical, broad knowledge chasing a significantly larger & heavier, faster, more powerful creature with a whole spectrum of tackle & techniques that is arguably more pressured (due to the popularity of the species) and therefore more difficult to catch. Fast forward this post and modern day barbel techniques - from my standpoint they ALL seem to lifted from carp fishing . . .you need to start asking yourself why . . . .?

What I'm finding outstanding is that rather than understanding or even considering a simple viewpoint (the algebra was a pseudo sarcastic piece of communication that I thought some might find amusing - I'm no mathematician and maybe my humour is warped!) there seems to be a blanket denial and ridicule in responses based on a what is quite clearly either a LACK of ACTUAL FISHING knowledge or indeed a very narrow one. If I am as assumed 'older' than you then that's surely a bit worrying . . .its supposed to be the old farts that are stuck in their ways . . .

A lot of the time it seems answers are being swerved and by simply reinforcing your own mantra (that to be fair is your prerogative) in reality this feels a little cliquey, lacklustre and not really in the spirit of open discussion . . .by stating something is total 'b*llocks' on open forum with very little other than a vague opinion to back it up is quite frankly embarrassing. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to throwing a few grenades of my own (for fun) . . however as I said eons ago - 'its only fishing ffs'.

Peace out . . .(for the time being . . :cool:)
 
Think theres a few on here on the wrong forum , perhaps The Traditional Anglers forum would suit them better, less technical more inward looking , no mention of carbon , combi rigs , hnv baits, flouro , perfect for them , they can discuss leger stops to a more appreciative audience
 
You know, I’ve obviously been following this thread and as I’m just starting my third lockdown fishing book, something caught my attention. Whilst the Carp fishing components and rigs are regularly pushed out, rightly or wrongly, in books, magazines, even TV programs, Barbel fishing seem is somewhat of yesterday. There’s no new books, no dedicated magazines. I can see the argument that that side of carp fishing isn’t admirable but it’s a testament to its progression and popularity, for good or ill.

The books I’ve been reading, there was such passion and thirst for knowledge at that time but the world and the barbel scene has changed so much since the 80/90s.

I can’t help but feel that, maybe driven by the changes we’ve seen, the barbel community has become too insular, too closed and factions of it simply resistant to the idea of attempting to move forward.

Just a thought.
 
Too many closed minds i'm afraid , granted on some rivers fairly simple rigs/baits will work quite well but as some on here fail to recognise there are waters/stretches that contain pressured cagey fish that require a different mindset and approach to be successful and consistent and look to the advances in the carp world for ideas and inspiration to capitalise on which may help outwit these cagey beasts.
 
Stephen Crowhurst said:
You know, I’ve obviously been following this thread and as I’m just starting my third lockdown fishing book, something caught my attention. Whilst the Carp fishing components and rigs are regularly pushed out, rightly or wrongly, in books, magazines, even TV programs, Barbel fishing seem is somewhat of yesterday. There’s no new books, no dedicated magazines. I can see the argument that that side of carp fishing isn’t admirable but it’s a testament to its progression and popularity, for good or ill.

The books I’ve been reading, there was such passion and thirst for knowledge at that time but the world and the barbel scene has changed so much since the 80/90s.

I can’t help but feel that, maybe driven by the changes we’ve seen, the barbel community has become too insular, too closed and factions of it simply resistant to the idea of attempting to move forward.

Just a thought.
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A balanced response Stephen - and my sentiment exactly. This isn't about right or wrong / experienced or novice / new or old tackle . . .its about ideas and progression!

Of bigger concern (IMHO) is that if we genuinely want to attract new or like myself 'old' anglers back to rivers then something needs to possibly change. People may slate younger wannabe 'instant' carpers - but at least the industry recognise this (whether its a commercial advantage or not) by making positive steps in getting kids onto the bank . . .technology plays a large part in this (think deepers / gps on bait boats / fandango rigs)

Post covid this is even MORE important . . . . all the evidence and insight points to the new demographic 'needing' experiences over material goods or lifestyle based frippery - on this basis ALL angling needs to provide an outlet and be at the forefront of this if possible . . . .including barbel, river angling . . .🤞
 
You know Chris, my Barbel journey started in around 2009/10, and I don’t mind admitting it’s been a hard slog. Most of the information that’s come my way has been 20 years out of date, some of it was well intentioned but nonetheless probably less than helpful. It’s probably only the last five years, a chunk of which is via BFW that I’ve begun to progress and even that progress is marginal. I must admit though I’ve progressed as an all rounder due to the way that Barbelling has demanded it from me.
 
Chris Belcher said:
Just to annoy everyone (as this is now the rig of controversy) I've done a picture . . .(too much time on my hands today) . . ! This evening I'll be using up the spool of braid and tying rig end sections in readiness for June 16th . . .lol

View attachment 14525)
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I got as far as this on page three of this thread and couldn't help noticing the similarity to the Four Yorkshiremen sketch by Monty Python 😀

Right! My rig is made from a 20cm strand of gut taken from an adult male Siberian Tiger. It is joined with a double Bimini knot (Hemmingway variant) to a 4cm length of Mulberry Silk sourced from a tiny remote area of Manchuria. The hook is a size 12 crafted by Inuits from a billet of Swedish stainless steel that was used to fashion Cnut's war axe.

Of course if I told that to young anglers of today nobody would believe me.
 
Carp fishing has been made exciting by clever media and the likes of danny fairbrass and his Korda machine and a whole host of individuals that use facebook instagram and their own blogs and websites that makes carp fishing appealing which is why you see so many youngsters on the lakes , were so far behind them which in some ways is ok but as stated most innovations in barbel angling primarily have been plundered from the carp world
 
Chris Thomson said:
Carp fishing has been made exciting by clever media and the likes of danny fairbrass and his Korda machine and a whole host of individuals that use facebook instagram and their own blogs and websites that makes carp fishing appealing which is why you see so many youngsters on the lakes , were so far behind them which in some ways is ok but as stated most innovations in barbel angling primarily have been plundered from the carp world
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Great example of what this thread has unfortunately unearthed . . and Korda (love them or loathe them - and to be fair they have been loathed by a lot of the carp fraternity in the past, including myself) have been incredibly astute in recognising this and pushing a love for the sport forward . .whilst benefitting their business, their commercial success has benefitted the sport as a whole and with the owner himself investing his deserved Ferrari fund in Embryo to 'keep Britain fishing' deserves greater recognition - the barbel world needs to wake up . .!

Joke is I'm willing to bet my house on the fact that 90% of the cat gut users on here have at least one item of Korda tackle in their creels . . . .
 
Chris Thomson said:
Think theres a few on here on the wrong forum , perhaps The Traditional Anglers forum would suit them better, less technical more inward looking , no mention of carbon , combi rigs , hnv baits, flouro , perfect for them , they can discuss leger stops to a more appreciative audience
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Joe Winstanley said:
Maybe we should start a thread about fruit cake...and loose leaf tea 😂
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Chris Belcher said:
. . .or maybe simply 'What Kelly Kettle / Tilley Lamp / Whicker Creel' . . .or perhaps 'Hair rigging using silkworm gut & gentles'
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It may be that some of us are already there ? I do draw the line at loose leaf tea and tilley lamps though, I am informed that tea bags and electricity are quite the fashion these days .

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

David.
 
Re. cut gut, wicker baskets, horse hair etc. Is that it? Is all your cliquey back-patting, aren't we so cleverly techno-modern snobbery now over?

My position is : What is the problem? How can I fix it? Has that change/addition worked? Do I need this added bit of gizmo?
Would I use a combi rig .... absolutely. Do I, at the present moment, think I need to ... no. Do I have a problem with anyone else using one ... absolutely not. Why should I, I don't know the (perceived) problem they have.
If you really feel the need to criticise then be self-critical. That's the 'adult' thing to do (IMHO).
 
Terry Simner said:
Re. cut gut, wicker baskets, horse hair etc. Is that it? Is all your cliquey back-patting, aren't we so cleverly techno-modern snobbery now over?

My position is : What is the problem? How can I fix it? Has that change/addition worked? Do I need this added bit of gizmo?
Would I use a combi rig .... absolutely. Do I, at the present moment, think I need to ... no. Do I have a problem with anyone else using one ... absolutely not. Why should I, I don't know the (perceived) problem they have.
If you really feel the need to criticise then be self-critical. That's the 'adult' thing to do (IMHO).
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Terry - you know perfectly well the techno snobs just fought back to an initial overwhelming cliquey force of back-patting Des Taylor-ights . .your war correspondence is as one sided as the BBCs take on the pandemic.

Methinks the first grenades were thrown by the tweed mob, not the goretex. Only thing I would say is us open minded types were also never averse to using simple solutions either, it was the inference that we where perhaps complicating things 'for the sake of it' together with the 'we cant answer specifically other than we know better' that got the tilley lamps exploding . . .unlike the cat gut posse we weren't criticising either - we were taking the p*ss . . .

Think many need to re-read some of the posts for context & tone of voice - its all in the detail if you actually read it . . .
 
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