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Heat!

Connor Smith said:
Too hot for me, did want to go this evening but il give it a miss with this heat. I don't really agree with fishing for them in this weather but each to there own as long as the angler who's fishing for them knows what there doing then that's up to them 👍
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I’m not really convinced competency in the angler makes the situation any better.
If you have to stand in the middle of the river for 20 minutes keeping it upright and taking excessive steps to recover it enough to leave the anglers care on its own accord, then that’s just red flags as far as I’m concerned and that fish was in no condition to be caught.

Personally if I’m not completely comfortable I can release a barbel after 5-10 minutes maximum recovery time then I don’t believe they are in the right condition for capture.
 
Any right minded Barbel angler should abstain in these Acute conditions... they will still be there when the weather breaks and the O2 levels rise....I have seen it for myself, people literally killing a fish, just for the glory of a Facebook like or weighing a fish to log it, with total disregard for its welfare...
On the Trent now some are still spawing FFS..... 🙏
 
Richard Isaacs said:
I’m not really convinced competency in the angler makes the situation any better.
If you have to stand in the middle of the river for 20 minutes keeping it upright and taking excessive steps to recover it enough to leave the anglers care on its own accord, then that’s just red flags as far as I’m concerned and that fish was in no condition to be caught.

Personally if I’m not completely comfortable I can release a barbel after 5-10 minutes maximum recovery time then I don’t believe they are in the right condition for capture.
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Oh 100% I agree with you Richard. That's why I said if the angler knows what they're doing then it's up to them. And if they know what they're doing then really they should stay well away from barbel fishing at the moment. Any fishing in my opinion. But try telling someone who thinks they're 100 per cent right that they're wrong( about any subject) then most of the time it falls on death ears anyway. I myself won't be fishing until we've had a lot more rain and it cools down.
What doesn't help is high profile anglers saying barbel like hot weather and it's ok to go fishing in this heat, just to keep themselves in the spotlight or to make a few quid from fishing.
 
Connor Smith said:
But try telling someone who thinks they're 100 per cent right
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Yeah your dead on there, drives me mad when I hear “swam off strong no problem” because this usually only tells you part of the story.
The other part of the story where the guy was practically carrying out cpr for half an hour just to keep it up right often doesn’t get mentioned
 
I'm guessing DO levels of less than 4mg/l is the critical mark. That is my understanding for stillwaters but is this the same for rivers and in particular do barbel need a higher minimum DO level. Bit of a specialised question but would be interested and sure someone on here will know.
 
I went fishing last night and had a nice barbel about 9 o clock after a few blanks. The fish was rested for a couple of minutes and was gone, I’m sure that fish went back fine. It was only out of the water for a minute or two while I weighed it, most of the time I try to unhook them in the net if they’re smaller.
I’ve only been fishing 7 or so til dusk while it’s been warm, but is it not more dependant on the stretch you’re fishing, your own personal experience of releasing fish etc that dictates if you should go or not?
 
Waiting for air bubbles to be expelled from the gills is a good sign of being near ready for release and this can take a good long while even in ideal conditions. I've always assumed this was excess air being taken on from being out of the water, some form of buoyancy adjustment. I never really hear of anyone talk about this when it come to releasing fish but I'm sure others must have noticed the phenomenon.
 
I am calling it a day until conditions improve.

All my fishing so far has been done standing in fast flowing well oxygenated water in waders, late in the day and float fishing. Only one of my fish this season has left the water and been put on an unhooking mat with all the others netted and released without leaving the water. For some reason I find float caught barbel don't seem as stressed as fish caught by legering methods which usually involve a more powerful rod.

Sadly I have seen a dead barbel floating down the far bank on one occasion.
 
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Stuart Linton said:
Waiting for air bubbles to be expelled from the gills is a good sign of being near ready for release and this can take a good long while even in ideal conditions. I've always assumed this was excess air being taken on from being out of the water, some form of buoyancy adjustment. I never really hear of anyone talk about this when it come to releasing fish but I'm sure others must have noticed the phenomenon.
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I also have noticed the phenomenon of captured fish releasing air bubbles in the water. Part of the problem is how long do you wait until the fish is finally released because just like us drinking cider there is often a longish gap between bubbles and them coming to the surface! This phenomenon is well known in pike where it was presumed it was due to the depth of water in which they were caught and the change in pressure when they were landed but I do not think this is the whole story. Pike have an open swim bladder in that it is connected to the oesophagus and so in theory can expel/burp unwanted air out and I think Barbel are similar. The recommendation is to gently caress the belly until all gases are released. In such cases it can make sense to use Barbel Tunnels or leave the barbel in the Landing Net for a reasonable time.
 
I've been out a couple of evenings on the float, at the tail of a weir pool. Some small chub and decent roach. 3lb line so I don't think I'd have to worry about realising a barbel.
 
Stuart Linton said:
Waiting for air bubbles to be expelled from the gills is a good sign of being near ready for release and this can take a good long while even in ideal conditions. I've always assumed this was excess air being taken on from being out of the water, some form of buoyancy adjustment. I never really hear of anyone talk about this when it come to releasing fish but I'm sure others must have noticed the phenomenon.
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I wrote about this in detail on here some time ago. Especially important if the fish goes belly up or distressed

With the fish in the water, caress firmly with finger/s from the vent upwards towards under the gill area. Do this a few times

Wait until air bubbles are expelled and the fish is comfortably in the water.
 
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I love the sun, I can happily spend all day in it feeling my bones warm up and banishing the depressing memories of the six months of cold, wet, dark weather. 30°c is lovely, but it’s not so good for fishing. I won’t fish for barbel in this heat, it’s asking for trouble in my opinion. Go enjoy the garden, fire up the BBQ and have a cold beer. The barbel can wait 😊
 
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