Livebaiting for Barbel

[Paul Cahill]

I was re-reading Peter Wheat's "The Fighting Barbel" last night and it was very interesting how much emphasis the book placed on livebaiting. A whole chapter, if I remember, mainly focused on using minnows with a float, and emphasising early season as the best time.

Some have ethical objections and I guess to float fish a minnow in many of today's rivers is risking hooking and losing a pike. But with the current facimile tactics taking place all over the country for barbel, has anyone given it a go?

I must say, seeing the water thick with minnows in the Ribble every year has made me consider liphooking one more than once, but I've never got round to it.

 

[Russell Shevlane]

On my "secret Bedfordshire river" you will more than likely catch a fat chub or a 4lb perch than a barbel using a minnow, but... I have had barbel on lamprey sections before, if they are hungry and in the area they will take anything more so soon after spawning as they will be actively seeking protein

 

[Gavin Hoe-Richardson]

Tried it but usually get perch and sometimes a jack, never a barbel.

 

[Steve Roffey]

Had a barbel of about 5lbs on minnow once from the Mole back in the 60's, it was deliberately fished for them in a known barbel swim. Had far more success in those days on worm, sausage meat and also cheese when float fishing for the roach!

 

[Roger Carswell]

As a kid I regularly caught minnows using a modified wine bottle - the kind with the dimpled base. Ledgered minnows used to produce lots of big chub from the Severn and of course they were free - which was a big plus. I'm sure barbel will scavenge on the bottom, overturning stones and eating loach and bullheads etc. In fact a friend of my who's an avid salmon angler, caught a double figure barbel on a rapala a couple of years ago.

I remember fishing a match at Hereford many moons ago - the river was in flood and bleak were a viable target for a winning weight. Anyway, I was thrashing away catching loads of the little varmints when there was a huge swirl just under the surface and a big chub had taken a bleak that I'd just hooked - I swung in the front end of the bleak as the chub had chewed off the back end with its pharyngeal teeth. I think most fish will take live baits if the opportunity arises.

 

[Stephen Bond]

Someone on the TAC caught a large Thames barbel back the season before last which regurgitated a perch!

Don't forget dead baits either! A barbel was caught fair and square on a lamprey section on the Trent, with trace and double treble hooks

Stephen

 

[Mark Swaby]

Peter stone used to tell how as a boy he would catch barbel trotting minnows in the early part of the season in Thames weirpool's around the Oxford area.About 5 years ago a 14lb barbel came off of the Stour on a lamprey section.And i seem to remember Neville fickling catching on lamprey on the Trent