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Specimen barbel size

Ady Brayshaw

Senior Member & Supporter
Hello all. My name is Ady and this is my first post on the forum. I've been visiting the site on and off for some time and there are some interesting posts and topics up for discussion.

Here we go. Over the last few decades, barbel, along with other species of UK freshwater fish are growing in size. The specimen benchmark for barbel used to be 10 pounds. Does the forum consider this still the case? If not, what does the forum consider specimen size? Does it consider specimen size venue dependent? If so, what does it consider specimen size for say the Wye, Severn, Trent and Thames? Please discuss.
 
I would still class a 10lb barbel as a specimen fish but like you say it does come down to the river. On some rivers a 10lber would be a fish of a lifetime where as on the Trent say they seem to be 10 a penny in some spots
 
Ady a specimen barbel is solely dependent on the river and stretch of that river you fish. While nobody is going to grumble at a 10lb fish, on some rivers this is quite average nowadays and on others it’s a very special fish. Take for example my local river the Nene. It’s relatively low in Barbel population compared to a lot of British rivers, however when you get one 12-13lb is quite normal and some would say expected. However a 12-13lb fish on say the Wye is a fish of a lifetime with average sizes being more around the 5-7lb mark in plentiful numbers.
 
Ade - I recognize your name from my piking days on the River Hull. Welcome.
Would it be fair to say that on Northern rivers ( north of the trent) a10lb fish is still regarded as a specimen?
Certainly bigger fish do come out but are often hard earned - in my circle a 12lb Swale fish would cause a bit of a stir.
 
We are all obsessed with weight and possibly we need to bring length into the equation, like most European anglers. What is the difference with a summer 8lb and the same fish over 10lb a couple of months later. Same fish, same length, another double to your list but just eaten more bait. I have witnessed a known Barbel put on over 5lb from June to October. Last month a lure only angler caught a very fat chub on the stretch of river i try to manage. He did not weigh it but it was lying on a metric scaled unhooking mat so its length was easily known. When checked on the chub study groups weight to length graph it was anything from 6lb 15 oz to 9lb 2 oz, he won our club specimen of the month award
 
At a national level, a 10lb fish is little to get especially excited about, not that they aren't welcome. In some rivers it's still a fish of a lifetime and a significant proportion of that river's record. I doubt I'd bother weighing a fish of around 10lb on the Trent, but fishing the Tees, or Swale, I definitely would. In nearly forty years of fishing the Swale, I've had three double figure barbel. I've had more doubles than that in one float fishing session on the Trent.
 
Hi Ady
I’m also i new comer to the forum IMO it’s river dependent, in 5 years fishing the wharfe I’ve had 4 doubles biggest of 11.4 which on there id class as a specimen.
I’ve now moved onto the Trent back end of last season and since I’ve had probably 10-12 doubles to 13.15 which I class as a specimen 😉 not sure on other people’s take
 
Fishing the Kennet at night at least 3 times a week in the 70's for say 5 years my biggest fish was 7lb 12oz.
Returned in the 90s and the average was closer to 10lb, more than likely due to the crayfish invasion and the canalisation of the river.
We even had Bream to contend with? FFS.
It got to the situation whereby 15lb fish were targeted and thought of as something near normal.
Thankfully the return to normality hasn't resulted in a return to the 90s insanity.
I'm still unlikely to return to several 70 mile trips a week to fish for diminishing fish populations.
Otters,
Crayfish,
Canalisation,
Abstraction,
The river's fuck*d.
 
Paul ,
I think you need to include the run-off of insecticides in your list mate. My best guess is that has been the main culprit in the demise of the Teme....
Regards,
G.T.
 
Ade - I recognize your name from my piking days on the River Hull. Welcome.
Would it be fair to say that on Northern rivers ( north of the trent) a10lb fish is still regarded as a specimen?
Certainly bigger fish do come out but are often hard earned - in my circle a 12lb Swale fish would cause a bit of a stir.
Hi Paul. Thanks for the reply. Yes the days on the river Hull were great. Hopefully one day it will make a comeback. Agreed a 12 lb Swale barbel is a worthy target.
 
Hi Ady
I’m also i new comer to the forum IMO it’s river dependent, in 5 years fishing the wharfe I’ve had 4 doubles biggest of 11.4 which on there id class as a specimen.
I’ve now moved onto the Trent back end of last season and since I’ve had probably 10-12 doubles to 13.15 which I class as a specimen 😉 not sure on other people’s take
Hi Sean. Yes the Trent seems to skew barbel fishers expectations these days. I fish it myself, and have many happy experiences on there in the last three years. It's certainly changed somewhat from when I last fished it regularly over 20 years ago. Nice 13.15 lb er by the way.
 
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Hi Paul. Thanks for the reply. Yes the days on the river Hull were great. Hopefully one day it will make a comeback. Agreed a 12 lb Swale barbel is a worthy target.
I walked Tophill Low circular a few weeks ago - quite depressing - river very low and weedy. Hardly any fish below Hempholme weir which back in the day was like an aquarium. At the end of the walk I saw a cabin cruiser with what looked like a large trawl net on the back of it !!
People simply don't believe me when I tell them just how good the pike fishing was there in the 90s. You and I both know;)
 
I walked Tophill Low circular a few weeks ago - quite depressing - river very low and weedy. Hardly any fish below Hempholme weir which back in the day was like an aquarium. At the end of the walk I saw a cabin cruiser with what looked like a large trawl net on the back of it !!
People simply don't believe me when I tell them just how good the pike fishing was there in the 90s. You and I both know;)
Yes it was good fishing. Possibly the best river in the North of England for pike. The cormorants, seals, two legged netters, and now otters has not helped. I can't see it coming back to what it was in my lifetime. It was also throwing up decent barbel in one or two spots as well. The seals were the finishing touch.
 
It’s crazy now looking back at it
I lived in Beverley and 5 minutes from my door I had the river, the beck and the drain
Good 20 pounders of all of them and known me park at beck end , fish all three and catch good fish
Just glad I was in the right place at the right time
Came close but never had a Hull 30 though Ade
Respect due
 
It’s crazy now looking back at it
I lived in Beverley and 5 minutes from my door I had the river, the beck and the drain
Good 20 pounders of all of them and known me park at beck end , fish all three and catch good fish
Just glad I was in the right place at the right time
Came close but never had a Hull 30 though Ade
Respect due
Have you moved away from Beverley Paul?
 
Have you moved away from Beverley Paul?

Yes mate -still in Yorkshire but came back North 10 years ago, hence my love with the Swale. The Tees is my closest river but beset with all the problems on the Hull. So a big change from 100% piking for 15 years in the East Riding but got to say i really love chub & barbel fishing but right now I'm busting to get the pike rods out but we struggle like mad up here. There are fish but very hard earned. My first trips on the Swale I went piking and couldn't get past the chub when dead-baiting. However a 6 and 6-12 in a day sort of changed my perspective.
The first day I set out for barbel, I had a 24-4 pike on a rubber maggot, re-caught it on a dropshot rod when perching and not had anything like since when deadbaiting - that was quite a few years ago. Confused.com.
 
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