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Porpoising Barbel

Steve Kenchington

Steve Kenchington

Senior Member & Supporter
I have caught barbel on a lot of rivers in the UK including the Thames, Wey, Colne and Mole in London, the Thames and Cherwell in Oxford, the Stour and Avon in Wessex, the Teme and Severn in the Midlands and the Ribble in the North. During this time I have occasionally seen barbel porpoise or even leap clear of the water on occasions but it seems to me to be much more prevalent on the Severn than on any of the others. Has any one got a theory as to why ? My views are that it may be something to do with learned behaviour maybe because of fly hatches but if this is the case why not on the others ? I admit it has been twenty years plus since I last visited the Severn so maybe predation has changed things. I also wondered, because I have not fished them yet, whether the Wye and Trent barbel exhibit any similar activities ? I am interested as to any theories you may have. Tight lines everyone. Steve.
 
Good question, I have seen fish porpoising load of times on Yorks Ouse but never on any of the other Yorkshire rivers . Can be fustrating when you blank despite barbel showing themselves right in front of you.
 
Seen loads porpoising on the Trent, one spot i know, is known for it.
 
Steve Kenchington said:
I have caught barbel on a lot of rivers in the UK including the Thames, Wey, Colne and Mole in London, the Thames and Cherwell in Oxford, the Stour and Avon in Wessex, the Teme and Severn in the Midlands and the Ribble in the North. During this time I have occasionally seen barbel porpoise or even leap clear of the water on occasions but it seems to me to be much more prevalent on the Severn than on any of the others. Has any one got a theory as to why ? My views are that it may be something to do with learned behaviour maybe because of fly hatches but if this is the case why not on the others ? I admit it has been twenty years plus since I last visited the Severn so maybe predation has changed things. I also wondered, because I have not fished them yet, whether the Wye and Trent barbel exhibit any similar activities ? I am interested as to any theories you may have. Tight lines everyone. Steve.
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Regularly saw this on the BA and HA, never on the Great Ouse. Strange.
 
Are we talking about rolling or leaping out of the water like carp are quite prone to do? I've never seen barbel do the latter.
 
I've seen barbel porpoising on the Swale, Tees and Trent. I've only seen full breaches by barbel on the Trent.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Are we talking about rolling or leaping out of the water like carp are quite prone to do? I've never seen barbel do the latter.
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Iv seen some very big barbel jump 6 foot clear straight up on the Severn. Like Terry said though I recon they just do it to wave at you. If one jumps near your bait in shallow water then there’s a good chance you’ll get a bite straight after. In deep water you’ve got no chance lol
 
Years ago someone suggested that porpoising Barbel were usually moving from deep water into shallows. Is it possible the fish are adjusting their swim bladders whilst on the move. Some of the larger rivers will have areas that drop from a couple of feet down to 20ft or more. Maybe coming up such a big drop off means they make a miss judgement and break the surface. Leaping could also possibly due to them cleaning themselves of possible parasites. I have seen them flash their sides along the gravel bottom then carry on up to the surface and then back to the gravel to flash again.
 
Joe Winstanley said:
Are we talking about rolling or leaping out of the water like carp are quite prone to do? I've never seen barbel do the latter.
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Porpoising is just like a dolphin or whale taking a breath whereby they breach the surface of the water head first and then dive down again. I have seen this on a few of the rivers but not often. The full breach where they completely leave the water and crash back in I have only seen on the Severn and a few times on the Thames early in the morning. The Severn seems to me to see most action by my observations but as I say I have not fished it for a long time. These days I only fish the H Avon and D Stour so things may be different. Great when it happens though because my confidence usually soars as they are active and doing something which hopefully is linked to feeding.
 
Jon Young said:
Iv seen some very big barbel jump 6 foot clear straight up on the Severn. Like Terry said though I recon they just do it to wave at you. If one jumps near your bait in shallow water then there’s a good chance you’ll get a bite straight after. In deep water you’ve got no chance lol
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I once cast to the spot where I saw one roll on the BA. I caught it within three minutes
 
I was fishing at Severn Stoke a few years back, and this venue is a place where a lot of Salmon leap, it was quiet at dusk, and then a huge crash in the water like I have never heard before, it was so loud nearby anglers came to my 'rescue' thinking I had fallen in. 😮 I have seen a rather big catfish porpoise at Birds Meadow on the Severn, right under my feet on a rickety wooden platform, that was interesting.!
 
I described on here some years ago regards adjusting swim bladders. Probably some truth.

Various reasons I do believe, from parasites to simply enjoyment and burst of excess energy after coming out of semi dormant stage

As Jon mentioned, there often seems to be certain areas /swims that it is more common.

The Loddon was one river that it was very frequent at dusk. And many times a cast into where seen would give a bite. Kennet also as well as the Trent IME.

On the Severn at Pixham I saw four barbel leap many feet into the air.... mind you they were followed by 2 Otters!!!!
 
We see it quite a lot on the Swale, more prevalent when the river is peaty coloured. General theory , although unsubstantiated is they are trying to clean the sediment out their gills??
Generally when it's happening we ain't catching
 
Hi men

Seen the odd one on the many rivers me and Sue fished , but nothing touched the amount we used to see on the middle Severn 😲. If I was to wind in and cast to them I'd never have a rod in the water very long , but lovely to watch .

Hatter
 
Paul Richardson said:
We see it quite a lot on the Swale, more prevalent when the river is peaty coloured. General theory , although unsubstantiated is they are trying to clean the sediment out their gills??
Generally when it's happening we ain't catching
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You see, different for me, I've had evenings on the Yorks Ouse where fish after fish has been rolling and I've frankly had a beano with some good fish caught. In fact, last year in particular I had multiple great sessions and they were almost always when a lot of fish were showing. I concur with the idea of them clearing out their gills, but to advance your suggestion, I'm convinced they are down on the bottom sifting & feeding through anything and everything and thus getting cack stuck in their gills which they then come up to the surface to clear out.

If I see fish rolling in the area i'm fishing, i'm rubbing my hands together and sat on top of the rods expectantly!! :D🤣
 
Some other unusual behaviour I witnessed on the BA back in the late 70's, early 80's, was on the inside one area of river, which was almost still, with cabbages and lilies. On balmy nights some barbel would come to the surface and lay belly up, and feed on the snails from the underside of the lilies.
 
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