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No more barbel no more carp

Lee White

Lee White

Senior Member
So there is no more barbel and no more carp what are we going fishing for and why ?
Well I would be fishing for perch they can be caught all year round in lakes river canalso and a 2 1/2lb fish is on this year's wish list light tacklenough they pull your string
 
I'm pretty much managing without barbel now. Tench from late April until the end of August (if I'm lucky). Dace, chublets, perch, roach on the rivers from the 16th of June through to October(ish). Grayling through the winter with the odd stab at the roach on a day ticket stillwater thrown in.

Apart from the odd longer distance foray to fish with friends, I've not set out to specifically target barbel for about five years.
 
There is something special about Barbel.

Carp, I dunno I just don’t feel enthused for them at either end, the pastie sized suicidal ones are fun for a bit and I can’t be doing with the whole thing around the big ones.

If there were no Barbel, I’d probably put most of my effort into Chub, a big Chub is a special thing. Then it’s Perch, a king of small fish from the colourful wasps to the humpback “biggies” they just have attitude and look stunning.
 
Funnily enough, I had this conversation with my six year old nephew a few days ago. Well, he asked me “What if the Barbel all disappeared? Would you fish for carp or something else?”

I answered no to the carp, I fish for them a few times a year - usually they’re either too easy or too difficult (depending on the time of year), they’re never the right amount of ‘challenge’. Paraphrasing Mr Crowhurst too, sod targeting the big ones!

So in answer to his and the OPs question, I’d probably answer:

Tench - April - June
Barb... Damn it.... 😂
Catfish - July - August (never caught one)
Perch/Pike/Chub - September - March

Here’s the nephew with his first ever Barbel on a family holiday to the Wye a few days ago. Let’s hope both his question and this thread remain hypothetical, because he’s definitely ‘one of us’ in the making!
 

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I remember Matt Hayes saying if he had to choose just one species to fish for it would be Chub...so many different types of venue and tactics to choose from, and just the right amount of frustration and challenge to keep it interesting. Think that would be my choice too
 
Alan Palmer said:
I remember Matt Hayes saying if he had to choose just one species to fish for it would be Chub...so many different types of venue and tactics to choose from, and just the right amount of frustration and challenge to keep it interesting. Think that would be my choice too
Click to expand...
They do say big Chub are the most cunning of fish. Sure the 4-5s and sometimes even 6s hang themselves but the 8+ fish... they are there, to be seen, to be caught... that’s different.
 
Lee White said:
So there is no more barbel and no more carp what are we going fishing for and why ?
Well I would be fishing for perch they can be caught all year round in lakes river canalso and a 2 1/2lb fish is on this year's wish list light tacklenough they pull your string
Click to expand...

And if you forget your leads they can be fished for just free-lining a worm.
 
Still waters don’t appeal to me in the slightest. If there was no more barbel then my fishing season would probably be cut in half starting from October. I’d target chub and Perch On my favorite method the stick float and in the colder months big pike.
im quite lucky to have the fenland drains on my doorstep and do plan to get stuck into some serious predator fishing this winter.
 
I would probably get around to fishing for all the species that I tell myself I am going to each year instead of getting stuck in the Carp and Barbel cycle. Although I already do lots of Grayling, Perch and Chub fishing through the winter, I would love to spend some more time trotting for big Roach and targeting some river Pike.
 
I fish for everything except those horrible snake like bait thieves. I'd probably spend my time after roach, chub, perch and tench. Throw some Zander in the mix now and again and it doesn't look so bleak.
 
Loads to go at:

Jan - early March: Pike / Chub
Mid-March - April: Perch and Bream
May - July: Tench/Crucians/Rudd
August: family time
Sept-Oct: Bream/Roach
Nov - Dec: Grayling / Chub
 
I find it difficult multi - tasking so tend to concentrate on one species at a time. Currently, I have my 'barbel head' on with tench from the beginning of April until early June. My work takes me away for weeks at a time, so I may not wet a line for 4 weeks or more. I can't see me moving on from barbel for quite some time as i'm really enjoying it. I would like a big shore caught bass, that can ambition can wait.
 
I've always liked an angling challenge and over the years I've spent more and more time fishing for our migratory species, Sea Trout and Salmon. Fantastic variety of locations from the Hampshire chalk streams to the South and the North East for the Wear, the Tees and soon the Tyne.
Off season will see me on the upper Lea, the Ivel and back down the Avon for the Roach. Generally trotting maggots for whatever comes along, with Roach in mind.
 
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