looking at Barbel setup what is your setup

[Iain Tutt]

You leave my coc alone

 

[Jon Frisby]

I have;

2 x 13ft Ballista 2.75
2 x Torrix 2.5
2 x Daiwa Infinity 1.75
1 x daiwa tournament 15ft long distance
1 x shimano aerocast specimen 15ft
1 x daiwa connoisseur 14ft xp

They are all used throughout the season in different conditions and differing methods.
Tempted to move on the aerocast as the tournament is the Rolls Royce of 15 footers.

 

[Joe Winstanley]

2 x Harrison Chimera 3's (12ft 2.25lb) & Shimmy 3500B's
1 x Harrison Chimera 2 (12ft 1.75lb) & Shimmy 4000D
1 x Harrison GTI (11ft 1.75lb) & Shimmy 4000OC or Swallow MK2
1 x Harrison Interceptor float 12'9 & Shimmy Aero 2500FA or Fred Crouch Aerial Replica

All bases covered - can't see me changing anything for many years to come.

 

[Steve Lewis]

Not many big girls and no big rocky rivers with tremendous flow round my way, so my summer gear is:
11ft Medium to heavy feeder rod;
A small (2500 or 4000) baitrunner;
6lb mainline with 8lb braid hooklength

Autumn/winter gear is:
1lb or 1.25lb Avon rod (I use a custom 10.5ft 1lb or an adaptable 11-13ft 1.25lb as location dictates);
Same small baitrunner;
8lb mainline with 10lb braid hooklength

I also have a stepped up 13ft float rod specifically for trotting for barbel and big chub, but I've not used it yet.

 

[Iain Tutt]

Not many big girls and no big rocky rivers with tremendous flow round my way, so my summer gear is:
11ft Medium to heavy feeder rod;
A small (2500 or 4000) baitrunner;
6lb mainline with 8lb braid hooklength

Autumn/winter gear is:
1lb or 1.25lb Avon rod (I use a custom 10.5ft 1lb or an adaptable 11-13ft 1.25lb as location dictates);
Same small baitrunner;
8lb mainline with 10lb braid hooklength

Thank you Steve. Shows others that heavy lines and rods are not always needed. When i said i used 6 and 8lb line with 1lb/1.25lb Avon rods i was told i was cruel to the fish and i should use heavier gear.

 

[Neil Smart]

Thank you Steve. Shows others that heavy lines and rods are not always needed. When i said i used 6 and 8lb line with 1lb/1.25lb Avon rods i was told i was cruel to the fish and i should use heavier gear.

I am 'blessed' with the Lower Severn and as you can imagine heavy gear is called for, 12lb main line is the norm in flood conditions, especially using heavy leads and feeders.

But I love using light gear in the summer on the Avon. However the Teme is a small river, but hooking the now elusive Barbel you need to step the gear up a bit, they know all about those far bank snags.

8lb line or less is fine with an Avon type rod, all about horses for courses.

 

[Steve Lewis]

Thank you Steve. Shows others that heavy lines and rods are not always needed. When i said i used 6 and 8lb line with 1lb/1.25lb Avon rods i was told i was cruel to the fish and i should use heavier gear.

It's less to do with having fun with lighter gear and more to do with not spooking the not-huge barbel that are there. The average on the Bristol Avon seems to be hovering around 4-5lbs. I only managed one getting on for specimen size last year at 7lb 6oz, and high singles into doubles are a real rarity. That being the case, and with so many chub in there as well, anything more than an Avon rod and 8lb line really is overkill in my opinion. It's also relatively snag free, at least when compared with most barbel rivers, so there simply isn't the call for beefy gear. And I wouldn't say it takes me any longer to get a barbel to the net with my lighter summer set up than it does with the heavier winter gear. It's all about balanced tackle and sensible playing.

I spoke to a few guys on the banks last year and nearly all of them said they'd not had a barbel for, literally, years. I clocked that they were all using heavier gear, and since then I've wondered if my lighter approach led to me banking tens of fish in the year (my first year back fishing for about 20 years, I might add) without too much effort. Granted, they were mostly only between 2 and 4lbs, but that's still me back in the game after a long lay-off landing (relatively) loads of barbel, compared to seasoned guys with 2lb rods and 12lb line landing nothing at all except for the odd ravenous chub.


But you need to apply common sense - if I was fishing the Wye or the Severn, then I'd obviously step everything up to take into account those rivers and the larger fish they hold.

 

[Colin Bridger]

Iain Tutt
What makes you think I like older gear? I have no split cane rods and have never expressed an interest in old tackle so I don't understand the point you are trying to make. Read the top of page 13 in the club handbook on minimum line for Barbel. Nelson did not write it but is on the same committee that approved it, and there are not many people who have caught as many double figure Barbel as him.
I am not saying that your light approach will not catch Barbel, but you will be playing them much longer than necessary.

 

[Iain Tutt]

Colin, I do not wish to start an argument or fall out over a small disagreement at all. Also as we live very close to each other and possible you are a little bigger than me, i don't fancy a tap on the shoulder down at East Beach shops one day. If i have offended you i genuinely apologise.
I know the section regarding the recommendation of a min of 10 lb line but as i don't fish Coultersham but saying that if i did i would up the ante. I think this is where we got our thoughts mixed up. Another reason i don't fish there is that Nelson shows me up on his catch rates. The previous comment about Nelson was meant to be a joke.
I fish mostly Fittleworth, Shopham areas on the the Arun where the current is slower and very rarely that you hook into a double. I've only heard of one in the last 3 years. It's mostly Chub, Dace and so on where the need for any heavy kit isn't required if your sensible and treat the fish with respect no harm comes to it.

 

[Neil Smart]

Iain Tutt
What makes you think I like older gear? I have no split cane rods and have never expressed an interest in old tackle so I don't understand the point you are trying to make. Read the top of page 13 in the club handbook on minimum line for Barbel. Nelson did not write it but is on the same committee that approved it, and there are not many people who have caught as many double figure Barbel as him.
I am not saying that your light approach will not catch Barbel, but you will be playing them much longer than necessary.

Now I know Angling committee's are a rather dyed in the wool lot, but to actually rule a particular line strength for Barbel, flippin 'eck.

 

[Dave Taylor]

Now I know Angling committee's are a rather dyed in the wool lot, but to actually rule a particular line strength for Barbel, flippin 'eck.

Would some of those on committees like to recommend a few chub baits that barbel will ignore so I can fish for chub with a clear conscience on gear less than 10lb class please? ( no struggling barbel angler comedians please!)
No one can really dictate what species of fish will take a certain bait so most of these common club bye laws and recommendations can become farcical.
All done with good intentions without doubt , often by people who probably don't trot for barbel that much?
I personally like to get fish to net as quickly as possible and tend to use 12lb,....sometimes 15lb bs depending on conditions and swim, but know that I can use 8lb trotting gear with confidence without prolonging the fight in many situations on the rivers I fish.
Surely most sensible anglers will choose their gear accordingly.
There is always a danger of being a tad heavy handed with the bye laws I think.
One of my clubs has a minimum line rule of 15lb test on one of its pits,... end of.
This is done purely for the welfare of the huge carp inhabitants .
Unfortunately, the pit is also home to some of the club's biggest roach, bream and tench.
Now I'm not the worlds best roach angler,... but still have just about enough savvy to reckon that a float fished tare on 15lb line is not going to do the business.
Winners and losers in those situations.

Many clubs seem to adopt recommended gear for species from dedicated specialist societies cut and pasted into the rule book I find.

 

[Steve Lewis]

Good points you make there, Dave.

One of the clubs I've always belonged to (Bridgwater AC in Somerset) used to have a 10lb minimum line and 36" minimum landing net rule on its lakes that hold "big" (in quotes because these days they aren't considered by the bivvy brigade as very big - low 30s tops) carp (unless it was a match, in which case that rule was suspended), which was ridiculous because, again, these lakes hold plenty of other fish besides carp. But I note, since joining back last year after nearly 20 years off, that rule has been changed to 10lb minimum line and 36" minimum landing net if you are specifically fishing for carp, which is much more sensible.

But yeah, as you say (and as I said earlier) you choose your gear accordingly, whether it be for the likely size of fish, the particular location, or the rules of the club.

To put it in perspective, me going down to the BA with 2lb rods and 12lb+ line for barbel would be just like using 3lb+ rods and 25lb+ braid (which, not so long ago, would generally be thought of as catfish gear) for carp in the abovementioned lakes on the Bridgwater ticket. It just isn't necessary in that situation, despite the fact that that seems to be the minimum most carp anglers use these days. I can certainly understand that sort of set up for very large waters which contain a high average size mixed in with fish of 40/50lbs+, but the waters most of us proles have access to/can afford will NEVER hold carp of that size, so when I see someone carp fishing with that gear on one of those Somerset lakes, it just seems crazy to me.


...apologies for straying off topic a tad and bringing carp into it...

 

[Iain Tutt]

I must say the club myself and Colin belong to is very well run. The club is genuinely run by anglers for anglers and not for profit. Apart from the recommendation of the line for one part of the river system that they run, I must say on their side of the rec is that Barbel of 15lb to 18lb have been landed there. Also, the water does have a strong current.
All the other rule are sensible unlike others i have heard off. One club i was going to join had rules that were so long winded and conflicting that i worked out i could just about put a chair on the peg, let alone wet a Maggot. I didn't join.

 

[Graham Shaw]

I must say the club myself and Colin belong to is very well run.

The website is brilliant, and does give an indication of a really well run club. I'm always interested in the fishing down there as my elderly parents live in Findon valley near Worthing, and who knows when I might need to join if I ever have to stay down in those parts for a while.

 

[Iain Tutt]

Am sure you will be most welcomed, Graham. One plus point to the Stillwater's is they are not dominated by Carp but a good mixture of fish. So there's something for everyone

 

[Steve Walker]

I'm mainly fishing the rocky Trent so it's heavy tackle for me.In normal conditions a Daiwa infinity 1.75 TC rod matched to a shimano baitrunner 5000 loaded with 15lbs line is my choice.Hooklengths are either combi rigs or coated braid with the last couple of inches stripped and the hook I mostly use is a Korda wide gape X in a size 8.With smaller baits I like to use an Owner C5X in a 10 or 12.
In flood conditions or a hit and hold situation I step the rod up to a Greys Prodigy 2.25 TC,same reel and line but also step up to the incredibly strong carp r us centurion hooks.