No more barbel no more carp

[Alex Constantinou]

I’d love one. Would tick a box for me as never caught a Zander before

They're good fun, personally I prefer them to pike when out on lures. The fact that there's numerous localish canals full of them also makes life easier if I've only got an hour or so spare.

 

[Lee White]

They're good fun, personally I prefer them to pike when out on lures. The fact that there's numerous localish canals full of them also makes life easier if I've only got an hour or so spare.

Zander that's one I also need to tick off the hit list never caught one but in fairness never fished for them don't even know the closest venue with them in to liverpool

 

[Terry Harman]

I’d love one. Would tick a box for me as never caught a Zander before

There’s loads of em on the tidal

 

[Richard Parsons]

I think I'd just fish for pleasure, for anything that takes the bait in the water I end up fishing. Having said that, I feel life would be meaningless without Big Barb and her brethren! Furthermore, what would become of this forum?

 

[Clive Kenyon]

What about Black Bass? There is an article in Creel written by an African angler who reckons that bass are the best game fish on that continent. I've had them in the Evretou Dam in Cyprus and a month or so ago found a forgotten farm pond of about 4 acres that has loads of them in it. They are like mullet in that they never give up. Unlike trout they run and run, the fight dirty and spends as much time in the air as a rainbow trout does.

The best thing about them, well the second best thing, is that when they take a surface lure they sound like ripping up lino'. Doesn't half get your attention. And they taste great! That is the best thing.

 

[Alex Constantinou]

What about Black Bass? There is an article in Creel written by an African angler who reckons that bass are the best game fish on that continent. I've had them in the Evretou Dam in Cyprus and a month or so ago found a forgotten farm pond of about 4 acres that has loads of them in it. They are like mullet in that they never give up. Unlike trout they run and run, the fight dirty and spends as much time in the air as a rainbow trout does.

The best thing about them, well the second best thing, is that when they take a surface lure they sound like ripping up lino'. Doesn't half get your attention. And they taste great! That is the best thing.

I wholeheartedly agree with this, I've not been back to Cyprus for what feels like a lifetime. I should probably rectify this, visit some family and get some fishing in.

There's some great Zander sport to be had in the Lefkara and a few other dam's around Larnaca.

 

[Richard Garbett]

I'm a trout fisherman in the main but for this question we'll discount those..
It'd have to be Pike or Chub for me.

 

[Lee White]

A lot still heading to the rivers and staying away from sea and lakes

 

[Stephen Crowhurst]

A lot still heading to the rivers and staying away from sea and lakes

Still waters don’t appeal to me much. It always feels a bit artificial, or bleak.
The sea, well boat fishing is fine and good but I don’t enjoy beach fishing anymore, dragging a pout in on a boom stick isn’t a joy to me.

 

[Richard Garbett]

Still waters don’t appeal to me much. It always feels a bit artificial, or bleak.
The sea, well boat fishing is fine and good but I don’t enjoy beach fishing anymore, dragging a pout in on a boom stick isn’t a joy to me.

I agree to a point, I can't stand commercial fisheries. But when you find the wild waters away from it all, it's a different ball game...

 

[Joe Winstanley]

I’ve enjoyed the fishing the odd mature gravel pit and some old Estate lakes full of Mr Crabtree swims, but I find some of glacial Meres across Cheshire, Staffs and north Shrops the most enjoyable stillwaters to fish. These are natural waters formed some 10,000 years ago when the glacial ice sheets departed, many have a rich and varied flora and fauna with a mosaic of fen, reedbed, wet carr-woodland. I really enjoy waking up to a tench fishers dawn in May and June on one of my favourite meres, savouring the first cuppa of the day whilst the midst rolls across the water, and hopefully the tench start rolling in my swim. Paradise.

 

[Josh Porteous-Webster]

As I much prefer river fishing regardless, I'd probably have to switch to targeting the larger roach/chub/dace. I spend a few weeks a year on the local park lakes targeting the Tench but any more than that and I'm gagging for running water.

 

[Joe Winstanley]

Posting a comment earlier about the meres in Cheshire, Staffs and north Shrops reminded me of a red letter day in June 2013. One dawn wading through a shallow weedy corner of a mere I noticed an odd shaped piece of timber lying submerged in the gin clear margins. I didn't think anything of it at first and returned to my swim and carried on fishing around late-morning once the main tench feeding spell had ended, I returned back to the odd shaped piece of timber and hauled it out on to the bank.

Instantly I knew this was something out of the ordinary and it looked to me like an old log boat - but it couldn't be.. could it? Anyway with the permission of the landowner that afternoon I sent some pics to the County Council Archaeology officer and within 15 mins I got an call from the County Archaeologist asking what I had done with it, and could they see it? I took them to the spot the next morning where I had re-submerged the log boat and they set about taking various measurements and samples. They thought it could be a log boat and sent their findings to an eminent Dutch professor of archaeology who was categoric that this was certainly a log boat - but was unsure of the likely date. Anyway, soon afterwards samples takes from the log boat were carbon dated Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre who reported the tree (oak) from which the log boat was made died between AD 1040–1220, so late Saxon - Norman period.

According to the archaeologists hunters would use these log boats for hunting wildfowl and fish...I would love to think it once belonged to a fisherman who would have been hunting for the same species I fish for some 800 years later.

Anyway, there was some talk of the log boat being removed and treated with a special preservation process which takes over 12-months in a special temperature/moisture controlled process, the cost of which would extend north of £25K!. So it's been put back into a slightly deeper part of the mere and covered over with silt to keep it preserved on the advice of the experts.

Anyway, excuse the long-winded post but thought it might of interest to some. It was a real privilege to have had the fortune to have stumbled upon it, and a reminder that here is always so much more to fishing than catching fish.

 

[Paul Matthews]

I have a thing for Dace, easy to catch in numbers, but finding and catching bigger ones is more of a challenge.

 

[Simon Youell]

Being a born and bred Fenlander it would have to be Tench, Zander, Pike on my local drains, with Chub and Roach from the River Nene.

 

[Jim Ufton]

Love to have a go at rod caught bluefin tuna, bet they pull back,,,,
Regards

 

[Ady Brayshaw]

They've started putting in an appearance again, in recent years apparently, off the Yorkshire coast. I've a couple of interesting books detailing their history since the heydays of the early 1900's caught offshore Scarborough. Couple of recent youtube videos as well from what I think seem to be in a similar area.

 

[Mark Walker]

Left the UK back in 2009. No barbel here in the US and carp considered as vermin until they recently became the latest fly fishing trend. Also a Lot of the techniques we use in the UK banned or frowned upon.

I found my favourite way to get a river fix has been with a fly rod for trout and steelhead. If I was restricted to one species and one method it would be Spey casting for steelhead in either British Colombia, Alaska or the Pacific Northwest. Year round opportunities and just a fun technique with so much involved in the casting methods and getting the right presentation. Highly mobile approach just like my summer barbel fishing on the kennet used to be.

 

[Paul Collins]

Left the UK back in 2009. No barbel here in the US and carp considered as vermin until they recently became the latest fly fishing trend. Also a Lot of the techniques we use in the UK banned or frowned upon.

I found my favourite way to get a river fix has been with a fly rod for trout and steelhead. If I was restricted to one species and one method it would be Spey casting for steelhead in either British Colombia, Alaska or the Pacific Northwest. Year round opportunities and just a fun technique with so much involved in the casting methods and getting the right presentation. Highly mobile approach just like my summer barbel fishing on the kennet used to be.

I'm also going down a similar path here, in pursuit of Sea Trout at night and Salmon in the day. On the Hants Avon, with difficulty, the Wear, Tees and hopefully soon the Tyne make a wonderful rugged contrast.

 

[Dave Marrs]

I like a trip or two Grayling fishing in the winter but Zander are my staple go-to fishing target, I caught my first nearly 30 years ago and never tire of catching this most enigmatic of fish. However, if I really had to choose another fish to target, I think it would be a decent winter Roach from a river.

PS Hello Yoggy, very long time no hear mate. Hope all is well with you!