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Interesting read

Its a good if for some uncomfortable read, its not a place I would choose to fish, indeed I did belong to a club that had the opposite bank, I fished it for 2 hours before leaving because of the antics such as kicking a football about on the opposite bank started.

No matter what some anglers say the fish do not matter its the look at me that matters to them, I don't like it but I don't think it will change.
 
It doesn't make for good reading. However, playing Devil's Advocate, it can also read as being quite bitter that the word ever got out. The irony to me is that the Trent is past its peak as far as the numbers of barbel are concerned. There may be a valid argument that the average size has and will increase with that decline, at least for a time. Such is the cyclical nature of river stocks. Bob was once a pretty regular visitor to the Swale, despite it hardly being his local river, now it's less so. I wonder why that might be the case?

The bottom line is that good fishing attracts anglers, always has, always will. The Great Ouse had it, the Hampshire Avon had it and the Wye has it. People travelled from all over the country to fish those waters. Even the likes of the Swale has it, admittedly on a smaller scale. Give it time and the dynamics will change and somewhere else will bear the brunt of such angling tourism.
 
Sensible post by Chris.

The environment is more important to me to be honest. Lucky to live next to the Wye.
However 2Bobs always manages to get a dollop of bitterness in his blogs for things that mean HIS fishing has been affected.
As a sponsored angler, if you promote your catches and where you catch, intentionaly or otherwise by photos you reap the rewards.
 
I used to think the same about the Trent until I fished it this year and yes I did fish Cromwell weir ..I’ll start by saying I saw nothing of camp fires football or music just well behaved competent anglers going about their fishing... I have read bobs article and it comes across a bit elitist .. why do other anglers have an opinion on the way other anglers fish bob goes on about using carp rods on lightweight scaffolding using 6oz feeders... well I for one would like to see bob fish it with avon rods and centrepins with 2oz leads ... isn’t that what fishing is about using the correct tackle for the conditions in front of you... and anyway what makes Bob Roberts so special that he tells you what tackle you are supposed to use to go barbel fishing.. each to their own ..personally I’m quite happy using light rods and pins as I am using 2.25 rods on a tripod with baitrunners... ok I totally get the bit about anglers bragging how many fish / doubles they have had but don’t knock it till you try it. But treat it for what it is easy bet very enjoyable.. I done one night on there and it was one of the best 24 hrs fishing I have had but I won’t be ringing the angling times about it.....if you live in the south east you are bit starved of prolific barbel fishing I fished the Lea last season 2-3 times a week for 4 barbel so its little wonder people will venture up to the Trent .... even if it’s to remember what a barbel looks like !!..... just a footnote not one barbel I caught from there had any mouth damage whatsoever
 
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I can remember reading a article by Bob in which he stated that his barbel rods were the daiwa infinity but the reels were whatever daiwa sent him. Kind of makes his point about tackle choice irrelevant when his is governed by the marketing department.
 
Also bob goes on about bad handling practices and fish being out of the water for long periods...... does bob really think that this is unique to the Trent !!
 
Did you have the place to your self Terry?! :D
I think that puts me off more than anything, I never want to be fighting for a swim, there's no fun in that regardless of how good the fishing is.
 
You have to book it Rhys...4 of us paid £100 between us for 24hrs we had 10 swims to choose from we fished the first 4 ... I was very sceptical before I went but wanted to see what all the fuss was about... like I said before accept it for what it is and you will enjoy it... the fishing is insane
4 of us had 32 barbel with 15 of those being doubles... all the other fish were nine’s ..as long as you don’t think your some sort of barbel fishing god afterwards you will be fine
 
Whatever your view of the author, there are some salient points in amongst his polemic. The idea of zoning-off some areas of the river (any river) and restricting fishing, whether it weir pools, spawning areas, snaggy areas etc and designated them as fish refuges is a sound one, imo.

He’s also spot-on about population cycles and the boom and bust nature of fish species populations, many rivers and stillwaters are subject to these cyclical changes. Enjoy the barbel fishing on the Trent whist it’s so good. Just don’t throw away your match gear as it might come in handy in another decades time.

Not sure about the ‘pidgeon’ English though Bob..
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Whatever your view of the author, there are some salient points in amongst his polemic. The idea of zoning-off some areas of the river (any river) and restricting fishing, whether it weir pools, spawning areas, snaggy areas etc and designated them as fish refuges is a sound one, imo.

I have been arguing for some time that hard pressed rivers need to have 'fallow' stretches for fish to gain refuge and perhaps even spawn. I reckon if that was done with the Teme we would not have had such a sharp decline in stock. But probably other factors are to blame not least predation.

Caught up recently of a old video of Bob fishing the feeder on the Trent as a young angler, he certainly knows his stuff, I like the bloke, not frightened to utter the unpalatable truth.
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Justin Cubberley said:
There is a certain irony when someone employed in a industry to promote products for retail and as a writer, craves an ever expanding audience to deliver their opinions to...
Then complains about the popularity of it and how it impacts on their own enjoyment.
Click to expand...

I think in all fairness that was done tongue in cheek, besides does anyone actually earn any decent money from Angling? Can't blame him for a few headlines that get folk musing.
 
Done tongue in cheek Neil.?

You"re AAL. Justin is spot on.

Once a/n angler/s stop cramming fish into keepnets for photo shoots, laying them out to shoot and also promote the 300lb of carp matches in an even worse environment, they can preach to me
 
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Graham Elliott said:
Done tongue in cheek Neil.?

You"re AAL. Justin is spot on.

Once a/n angler/s stop cramming fish into keepnets for photo shoots, laying them out to shoot and also promote the 300lb of carp matches in an even worse environment, they can preach to me
Click to expand...
Didnt you have a run in with him Graham? He can be a worthy adversery, and very short tempered.
 
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