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What makes barbel so special???

Chris Summersell said:
Barbel are special fish, but so are all fish in their own ways.

The nod on the rod top which makes you sit up in anticipation of what you know is coming next, then the rod takes off heading towards whichever estuary lies at the end of your river, line trickling off a stiffly set clutch, the lightning fast 6-8lb barbel dashes, to the slow but infeasibly powerful double figure barbel lunges, the upstream run, the flash of gold when you know you might have them beaten, only to see them disappear back into the depths with a vicious flick of the tail. Then eventually, you part your net and see it sitting there quietly, beaten, and realising you are probably more knackered than the barbel itself. Magic.

Still prefer chub though!
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Yes I enjoy fishing for most species and indeed am concentrating on catching a giant gudgeon, only two whiskers, and also on perch, there is something about a barbel. I expect it is because I have fished for them, like Paul Boote, from a tender age.


Regards


Hugo



 
Ian Hugo Arnott said:
Yes I enjoy fishing for most species and indeed am concentrating on catching a giant gudgeon, only two whiskers, and also on perch, there is something about a barbel. I expect it is because I have fished for them, like Paul Boote, from a tender age.


Regards


Talkin of gudgeon I had a real specimen four year ago at just over 4oz I thought it was a record but unfortuanitly it wasn't still a very memorable fish and an adrenaline pumping moment I was in.
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The scenery (Wye), the bite especially the screaming bait runner when having a brew, holding the rod and feeling the majic vibration then solid pull, the fight. Seeing them swim off again!
 
When you can sneak up behind one and stroke it as it is resting in 4" of water (not a caught and released fish). I have not been able to do that with other species of fish in english rivers.
 
Not everybody's cup of tea, but for me it's the floodwater fishing that lifts the barbel to another level. Everytime I turn up to the River Severn on one of those rare days when it's 10 foot up and a mighty swirling torrent of power and rage, I gaze at it and think surely it must be impossible to catch a fish in those conditions. But I do, and it never ceases to amaze me. No other fish offers that (that i've fished for anyway). And of course the fight in a flooded river is something else. Extreme fishing indeed :cool:
 
Good thread with some interesting replies.

They are a wonderful fish and a respected adversary that fight all the way to the net.It is always a challenge when you hook into a good barbel,in my opinion an eight pound torpedo in it's river environment is more difficult to land than much bigger carp in still waters.

Then there is the environment and wildlife to admire,I am totally relaxed when on the river bank-until the rod is nearly pulled in and tests the old ticker out.:eek:
 
Steve Walker said:
It is always a challenge when you hook into a good barbel,in my opinion an eight pound torpedo in it's river environment is more difficult to land than much bigger carp in still waters.
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That depends on which stillwaters you fish, Steve. ;)

They're quite pleasing to catch in their own way, but generally don't put forward the sort of challenge that a big chub, rarely caught carp (river or lake), big bream, zander, big roach or eels do.
 
Simon King said:
That depends on which stillwaters you fish, Steve. ;)

They're quite pleasing to catch in their own way, but generally don't put forward the sort of challenge that a big chub, rarely caught carp (river or lake), big bream, zander, big roach or eels do.
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They do if you fish the Thames around here!
 
What makes barbel so special?
I believe that it's their connection with their environment. They are a classic story of evolution at work and are adapted specifically for the environment in which they live, namely, riverine. It's those adaptations that give the barbel it's fighting characteristics too, which we all know we enjoy.
To me, though I should add I don't treat any fish differently from another, the barbel is the epitome of the wonderment present in nature, demanding of adaptation rather than rigidity.

Damian
 
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