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Hi, new to BFW

R

Roy Cutler

Member
Hi all, new to bfw and have never fished for barbel before so let my apologise in advance any daft questions I'm likely to ask:rolleyes: got back into angling a couple of years back and river fishing has really brought home to me the enjoyment I got as a young lad when i would wish the week away so I could get back on the bank.
Have had some really good chub and grayling fishing on my local rivers (Hampshire / Dorset) and have now joined a couple of clubs which have fishing on the stour and Hampshire Avon so I'm tempted to try my luck at catching my first barbel... Tbh I'm a bit :confused: by it all! Any how thought I would Have a look on here and see what help I could find... Probably end with information overload to start withy and end up more :confused: lol
 
Hello Roy, welcome aboard, I am sure some of your local BFW members will be glad to help, there is loads of information on the Barbel Basics page. I guess your best bet is to go to your club waters and seek to talk to members, most will be glad to help and will share ideas within the etiquette of the sport. Once you have walked your waters seek to find the fish, always the most important part. Once you have found likely areas identify the best feeding times, often at dusk but depends on pressure. As for tackle , balanced medium action rod, reel with at least 8-10 pound line, simple running feeder/ lead rig to a hook length of your choice. There is no secret bait, fish meal ground bait feeder with hemp /crushed pellets and pellets /bolie on a hair rig should work. Good luck
 
Greetings

Welcome to the forum Roy search through the FAQ as well. there is loads of information on there....:)

If you need counselling or any advice with any personal problems go straight to the ribble thread...... :D
 
Roy Cutler said:
Hi all, new to bfw and have never fished for barbel before so let my apologise in advance any daft questions I'm likely to ask:rolleyes: got back into angling a couple of years back and river fishing has really brought home to me the enjoyment I got as a young lad when i would wish the week away so I could get back on the bank.
Have had some really good chub and grayling fishing on my local rivers (Hampshire / Dorset) and have now joined a couple of clubs which have fishing on the stour and Hampshire Avon so I'm tempted to try my luck at catching my first barbel... Tbh I'm a bit :confused: by it all! Any how thought I would Have a look on here and see what help I could find... Probably end with information overload to start withy and end up more :confused: lol
Click to expand...

One thing that I would recommend is to acquire a half decent set up in the first place. Otherwise you will be discarding and buying kit and wasting money in the process. I'd recommend a 1.75TC 12' rod, a decent baitrunner reel, Shimano or Daiwa, 12 lb mono. I just happen to have two Shimano Hyperloop barbel rods that I could just be prepared to let go. Wonderful sensitive tips, some say one of the finest rods ever made. If on the off chance, you buy my Hyperloops and one of the rod gets pulled into the river, on no account go in after it.
Look up rig making - it's the same for carp and barbel and away you go.
 
Wise words Jim - buy cheap, buy twice. ;) That also applies to second hand tackle which lacks any after sales service! :p:D
 
welcome and heed Jims advice and you wont go far wrong,

Buy the best ONCE ;)
 
Andrew Boyne said:
Wise words Jim - buy cheap, buy twice. ;) That also applies to second hand tackle which lacks any after sales service! :p:D
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I think that I have been incredibly lucky and bought some great second hand stuff. The only item I purchased that was unsatisfactory was a Shimano baitrunner. As soon as I received it, I thought it best to give it a full service. Well, after the service, it didn't seem to work properly and it was virtually impossible to turn the handle without a pair of moles. Clearly the fault must have been present when I received it. I returned the reel for a full refund. Shortly afterwards, I saw the same reel advertised on EBay as not working and for spare parts only which confirmed that it was a dud.

If anyone would like me to service their reel, please get in touch, I can undercut Felindre. I have loads of spare bits left over from servicing reels.
 
Great offer Jim.
I wonder if you could do a post and ask a mod to make it a sticky for future reference
thanks :)
 
Thanks for the replys so far and yes I will have to think about suitable rods? I have some old sundridge cortina 1.75lb rods which I had thought about using but they are a bit soft now and I managed to bend one through to the butt the other day whilst tench fishing! So they may be a bit under gunned?
 
If you are looking for reels, have a look under the Classified Section. Matthew has a pair of Shimano 8010s. Excellent reels and will cope with just about every situation
 
You might find this thread useful, it was aimed at helping newcomers to barbel.

Ii's not that long ago that I was in your situation, but if I had to give one piece of advice from the experience that I have gained, it would be this: fish evenings, into dark if you can. You might fish all day without a bite, but as soon as the sun starts to go down, the bites start coming.

The only exception is if the river is up and coloured, then you can catch at any time of day.
 
As for buying rods/reels, I'd disagree with the others and suggest looking for something something cheap & cheerful to start with. You may be okay with your Sundridge rods, I started with an old Sundridge 1.5lb carp rod, it coped alright and I landed a 9lb 12oz floodwater barbel on it.

Otherwise you can sometimes pick something like a used Fox or Wychwood rod for about £25, and an Okuma baitrunner for not much more than a tenner. This will get you up and running, catching barbel and gaining experience.

Then you can upgrade when you have a better idea of what will suit you. It's no good buying expensive gear until you know what you want. 11' or 12'? 1.5lb, 1.75 or 2lb? Avon or quiver tip ... or twin-tip perhaps? Through action or progressive? Front drag or rear drag? There are many choices.

Then you can sell your cheap stuff on ebay and get most of your money back :)
 
Welcome Roy :)

Check out the BFW Articles section, there is loads of valuable reading in there...

Good luck in your quest, we look forward to reading how you get on.

Regards,

Andy F
 
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