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Fox Barbel recovery tunnel

Neil Blood said:
I've been Barbel fishing for 29 years and in all that time, fishing throughout the seasons and on small/big rivers alike, I've never felt the need to retain a barbel for recovery, other than a few minutes in a large landing net.
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It would depend on how long its out of the water or how long its taken to land surely ?
else how do you explain the many Barbel seen floating belly up down stream from where the Anglers released them ?
 
I've occasionally seen barbel float past me (and it's not been obvious that a match was being fished upstream of me). At those times I've actually wished that people would take more time to allow fish to recover properly. I'm not much of a fan of keepnets, but once in a while I rue the day that a properly used and chosen keepnet became so utterly vilified amongst specialist anglers.
 
Gerry, an old trick is to VERY GENTLY stroke the barbels belly from the tail end towards the head, this if done gently without pressure will get the barbel to burp the air trapped inside it most times if not all times but it must be held in your landing net (AGAIN THIS MUST BE DONE WITHOUT PRESSURE ON THE BARBELS BELLY) i repeat this to stress to other guys that haven,t done this before:)
 
John Walker said:
Gerry, an old trick is to VERY GENTLY stroke the barbels belly from the tail end towards the head, this if done gently without pressure will get the barbel to burp the air trapped inside it most times if not all times but it must be held in your landing net (AGAIN THIS MUST BE DONE WITHOUT PRESSURE ON THE BARBELS BELLY) i repeat this to stress to other guys that haven,t done this before:)
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Thanks John I didnt know that
I tend to have them out of the water for the very least possible time everything is prepared and close to hand scales etc
 
John Walker said:
Gerry, an old trick is to VERY GENTLY stroke the barbels belly from the tail end towards the head, this if done gently without pressure will get the barbel to burp the air trapped inside it most times if not all times but it must be held in your landing net (AGAIN THIS MUST BE DONE WITHOUT PRESSURE ON THE BARBELS BELLY) i repeat this to stress to other guys that haven,t done this before:)
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Hi John, i have not heard of this before and thanks for it. Just one question, is it obvious when this happens or do you have to look out for it if you know what i mean?

Stephen
 
John Walker said:
Gerry, an old trick is to VERY GENTLY stroke the barbels belly from the tail end towards the head, this if done gently without pressure will get the barbel to burp the air trapped inside it most times if not all times but it must be held in your landing net (AGAIN THIS MUST BE DONE WITHOUT PRESSURE ON THE BARBELS BELLY) i repeat this to stress to other guys that haven,t done this before:)
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Crock of ****e!!!!
 
Jeff, you obviously have not been shown this,John,you are right, they often burp up air bubbles and go back easier in the summer/low oxygen conditions, when massaged.I thought everyone knew that trick,Obviously not.A friend Paul spent 7 hours and a day off work trying to get a big gassed up Colthrop Kennet fish back about 10 years ago.After seeking advise from Ray Walton something drastic had to be done which was a first and worked.The air was expelled and the fish went back well and lived on. I suspect this fish would have been one of those floaters had Paul not cared for it so well.I think a lot of these fish that float off can be avoided if the angler realises straight away something is wrong.Most Barbel you catch in the summer if rested will feel strong in your hands if you catch enough you know how they should feel.If you feel something is wrong,its not pushing against your hold, not much movement,its scales are going red,etc forget about taking too many photos and weighing get that fish back in the water and burp it/care for it even if it takes an hour and do not let it go early.If you catch a fish its your responsibility to get it back healthy for someone else to catch
 
Gerry Giles said:
It would depend on how long its out of the water or how long its taken to land surely ?
else how do you explain the many Barbel seen floating belly up down stream from where the Anglers released them ?
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Personally I try to play fish hard and if it’s worthy of weighing and photographing, its left in the landing net a for a bit longer before being transferred to the unhooking mat. It’s then returned by hand or net and only let go when it’s kicking to be released.

Belly up Barbel are caused by inexperienced idiots, who show the fish no respect and keep it out of the water far too long, before chucking it straight back.

Zero need for a Barbel tube and sets a bad president, as anglers could retain fish throughout the night, just so they can get a better photo when the sun comes up.

All Barbel retention is banned in my main Angling club and long may it continue.
 
Neil Blood said:
Personally I try to play fish hard and if it’s worthy of weighing and photographing, its left in the landing net a for a bit longer before being transferred to the unhooking mat. It’s then returned by hand or net and only let go when it’s kicking to be released.

Belly up Barbel are caused by inexperienced idiots, who show the fish no respect and keep it out of the water far too long, before chucking it straight back.

Zero need for a Barbel tube and sets a bad president, as anglers could retain fish throughout the night, just so they can get a better photo when the sun comes up.

All Barbel retention is banned in my main Angling club and long may it continue.
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well apparently its not a barbel recovery sling its a pike recovery tube and as its not possible to see the fish in it I wont be using it
and I will continue resting the fish as I have been doing I want to be 100% certain its going swim away without problems
 
nets!

for the guys who are obviously seeking confrontation on this thread (only 2 so far thank god) as far as i am concerned NO NET IS SAFE FOR BARBEL,
this aso includes most landing nets but obviously its kinder to the fish to get them unhooked and rested if need be and the landing net is best option, as most who know me fairly well i dont even take a camera with me,yes i love seeing snaps of fish but alas i am useless with any camera including mobile phones lol, spent a fortune on the cameras over the years but to no avail and in fact i just pulled 2 or 3 out of a cupboard 1 camcorder ans one camera that was never used:eek: all that cash wasted but i still have great memories of captures and fights with the watery creatures over the 65 odd years i have fished for or watched them,
the burping bit i mentioned because of 3 reasons, 1, was to enlighten those that didnt realise this, 2, to make it VERY clear that you must be gentle while doing this and never put pressure on a barbels belly! 3, is that it may save a few going belly up and dying, all that said i think a great New Years Resolution is for every barbel fisherman who hasn,t already done so is to
learn as much about barbel care as possible, its not rocket science and most of it is simple passed down knowledge and experience but in this ever progressive time of our barbels demise its vital that all of them are cared for
to the best of our abiities to ensure our offspring can also enjoy the fishing pleasures we have or had.
Thats my preaching done for another year:D, have a great xmas one and all on BFW and long may it be so
 
To reiterate Neil's point, which for the vast majority on here will seem obvious but is often not done by the YouTube generation: rest the fish as soon as you have netted it. I think this initial lack of care probably leads to more belly-up fish than any other.

I watched a clip of a lad catching a 14+ barbel and his mate netted it for him. Five seconds later, the guy is carrying net and fish to his unhooking mat! Give the fish a chance to recover first before unhooking/weighing/photographing and if necessary several times during all of that (if indeed you have to do it).

Spread the word, particularly if you post videos on YouTube!
 
what some of you forget is that not all barbel are caught by anglers fishing for them with "barbel tackle"

if you are float fishing for roach and you catch a decent barbel and manage to squeeze it into the landing net after a prolonged fight the best thing for the fish may be to put it into a keepnet for 30mins or an hour before you return it.

modern keepnet's now are of good quality with tight meshes and a sack at the end for the fish to rest and recover in the dark.

the other week I caught a double on light float tackle using a small landing net that the fish could barely squeeze in, on a high concrete bank and the best thing for that fish was to go straight into the keepnet, half hour later I took it downstream 100yards and let it go in the knowledge the fish was fully recovered...I couldn't have been more careful?

so to say this is the way you "have" to do it is totally wrong in my eyes. the important thing is the fish is fully recovered before returning...how you do that is up to the angler with what he as available.
 
I have had summer fish that even after playing hard and resting for 20 minutes were still not right when picked up.It is a rare occasion but its one we all need to keep an eye on.Who knows what that fish went through the day/week before,is it exceptionally hot with low oxygen levels,is it an old fish or unwell,think more about that fish than your trophy shots.Winter fish never seem to have any problems
 
Jason Bean said:
what some of you forget is that not all barbel are caught by anglers fishing for them with "barbel tackle"

if you are float fishing for roach and you catch a decent barbel and manage to squeeze it into the landing net after a prolonged fight the best thing for the fish may be to put it into a keepnet for 30mins or an hour before you return it.

modern keepnet's now are of good quality with tight meshes and a sack at the end for the fish to rest and recover in the dark.

the other week I caught a double on light float tackle using a small landing net that the fish could barely squeeze in, on a high concrete bank and the best thing for that fish was to go straight into the keepnet, half hour later I took it downstream 100yards and let it go in the knowledge the fish was fully recovered...I couldn't have been more careful?

so to say this is the way you "have" to do it is totally wrong in my eyes. the important thing is the fish is fully recovered before returning...how you do that is up to the angler with what he as available.
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I would think the problem with putting any Barbel in any type of keep net is that you cannot observe the welfare of the fish. Trout and Salmon you cannot keep in such a manner, and neither should a Barbel, it has very similar requirements and cannot withstand low oxygen levels.
Too many belly up Barbel are witnessed around these parts, good quality breeding fish, if we as Barbel Anglers cannot set the highest standards then who will?
 
Gerry Giles said:
One thing I will say !!!

people that know me will know I have been Carp angling for the past 55 years

and only this season returned to Barbel fishing and at the very start of the season I was fortunate enough to be invited out by Jon for a trip and Boy o Boy did I learn a lot ! one of the biggest things Jon taught me was the importance of fish recovery and handling

Since that trip I have seen around a dozen decent size Barbel drifting by belly up ! on both the Tidal and middle stretches of the Trent
a site that sickens me
the largest number of fish belly up I have seen is when a friend got me a couple of day tickets on a stretch downstream of Collingham weir on the other bank about 3/4 a mile down stream in that 48 hour trip we saw 5
I now know the importance of keeping the fish out of water for the minimum amount of time and even more important knowing how long it takes to get all the air out of the fish before release just because it gives a kick does not mean it has fully recovered I have learnt
I have seen a bubble of air coming out 3 or 4 mins AFTER it was kicking ! Im more than happy to watch and hold a fish for 10 to 15 mins before releasing it
I dont think I will use the tube just because I cant see the fish I wont know if its upright
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It is sickening to see dead Barbel, it is I believe having a serious impact on Barbel stocks, as said these are mature breeding stock, a travesty. Since the desire to photograph weigh is so strong then Barbel will be killed, it is not rocket science to just follow the Barbel Societies Handling Code, if nothing else that is one thing they should be applauded for.
 
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