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whats your pb barbel???

Richard Barnatt said:
Only had 3 Barbel, 1st one was back in 1981 on The Royalty,that was 10lb 6oz,had to wait 25 years for my 2nd, a 6lb fish from the Mole,then last season had my PB 15lb10oz,also from the Mole.Next goal is a Barbel of any size from the much abused Wandle.
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That's quite some batting average, I don't know whether to envy you or feel sorry for you.
I have been reading about fish in the mid teens for twenty years or more but never thought I'd catch one. Then last summer I was fortunate enough to catch a 16. Tbh it's spoilt my fishing completely, I used to fish at least once and sometimes three or four times a week and was happy with any fish regardless of size. But since catching that fish I can probably count the times I've been out on two hands........I just can't work the enthusiasm for it.
 
Hi Adrian,
it not only comes from the size of the fish you caught but also from where you are in your life. I used to love the escape from the normal worries of life like paying the mortgage.
I hated getting back in the van heading home to reality.
Now, with a decent job, wife and life is pretty good, its ruined my fishing a little...there are times I would rather be at home....thats when I gave carping up!
A little deep but I have had a beer, :D
cheers Jy
 
had a dodgy time quite a few years back now, it was always my ambition then to catch 100lbs of bream in ireland, reading the books, watching video tapes thought it would be a piece of cake, on my seventh year of going, sometimes twice a year i finally done it from loch scur with 115lbs, it had proved far from easy and almost had become an obsession.. was over the moon when i done it, many pints of the black stuff that evening, got up next day and couldn't find the motivation to go out fishing again, i'd sort of achieved my fishing goal, had a miserable time the rest of the holiday and i've never been back to ireland since..
got home and never went fishing for months, nearly sold all my gear, but held onto it after a lot of strong words from my mates, then one day my grandson wanted to go fishing, i finally managed to force myself out on a local park lake, just set up a small whip for him but thought i'd better have a go first, had a few small roach and rudd and the size or weight didn't matter, i was enjoying myself.. "grandad can i have a go " NO!!!!...
oh all right then.. and that was that got the fishing bug back again.. nowadays weights, numbers, i'm not bothered, i just enjoy myself without any pressure to "perform".. i'm enjoying it as much as ever if not more..
 
Adrian suck it up and go out there and catch a 16lb plusser, you had one once, its only going to have grown since then ;)
 
I sympathise with the latter posts. Ten years ago, I couldn't wait to get on to the river barbel fishing - after work, weekends literally whenever I could. But something happened, the buzz went. Now, I find variety is the answer. Pike on the fly has taken over. You just don't know what will be on the end a 4lb pike or a 30lb fish. The fight will be absolutely exhilarating and the fishing is active and there is no dragging wheelbarrow loads of kit about. I don't think that I can sit by the bankside anymore watching motionless rods or silent alarms. I am ashamed to say that I used to rubbish pike on the fly, but now I'm a convert. I've got that buzz back that I had ten years ago but now for pike on the fly. What might be worth considering is taking the pike fly rod along with the barbel kit. If things get a little slow on the barbel front, there's an alternative.
 
I think it's a stage most angler's , specimen hunters go through, I used to barbel fish at least twice a week after work and sat + sun chasing the magic double, took me 30+ years to catch a double of any fish , and after my first double barbel reported on Bfw a few years ago of 13.2 then 2 other good fish from different rivers countless 9s and to be honest it did slow me down , I lost the enthusiasm I once had, too many blanks probably , so i went back to float fishing I find it's more pleasure , I still love my barbel fishing but I mix it up more now

Same with Ireland as in previous post , twice a year chasing ton up catches Of bream and fishing for Roach on the River inny , finally did it lived the dream the good old days, I will return

I lost my way , I realised I just enjoy catching fish, and find variety is the spice of life

Future ambitions in no particular order , at some point in time I'd like to catch

Chub over 5lb
Carp 15lb+
Grass carp any size
Bream 10lb+ 70lb bag British water
Perch 4lb +
Daddy ruff this season
A day gudgeon fishing on canal this season
big eel 5lb+
Bag of tench
Mixed bag of silvers from my local pool where it all began 35 years ago and may be a big carp if I'm lucky
2lb + Roach or Rudd
A Zander
Double pike, in fact more pike
Catch more carp off the top ,
Big dace
Master the stick float
Master rolling meat
Learn fly casting
Ebro
Sturgeon
Salmon
Shark
States
Masheer
 
Jeff Edisbury said:
All valid points Alex.

I'm not for one minute saying that weighing fish is a no go area< each to their own. It's just that for me, i have questioned why i was doing it and decided that it was because i'd always done it and after seeing the Matt Hayes video, I found that I was in almost total agreement with his views.

As for the "why do we go fishing", did i say that? Apologies if i did, I'm getting old and my mind is going!

Ken, have you been smoking those reed stems again? But yes, I agree............i think?!

Best regards,

Jeff
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My error Jeff, you did not ask "why we go fishing" it was in another post I think.

A few posts on here of people losing motivation once a target had been hit. It reminds me of a carp angler a good few years back, not sure who, but he'd set his stall out for the season to catch one of the monsters in Wraysbury. Everything was planned and organised for a lengthy campaign. Then he caught his target fish first day! I always remember his comment; "what am I going to do for the rest of the season?"
 
My motivation level has dropped a bit too I am afraid, watching a motionless tip as Jim says is not much fun, although I have had a pretty good start to this season, the spark is not as bright, but still enough to go.

So perhaps my new purchase of a Drennan Tench rod (thanks Shippo) will give me another option of Barbel on the float, I hope, as I really do prefer trotting a float over anything else. Guess we all need to change things a little at times.

Apologies if I have wondered off the thread title a bit :)
 
I could be going barbel fishing today, but i'm going after roach. Friday I may go barbel fishing. But I might go after perch, or tench, or do some fly fishing for trout.

I'm not sure yet.

Graham
 
Kevin,

You've got to try tarpon fishing, it's unbelievable.

Graham,

I know exactly what you mean.

I had barbel over 15lb last season but i think my favourite catch was a 3.8 perch and yes, I did weigh both!

Still looking for that elusive 2lb river roach though, now where's me trotting gear?

Best regards,

Jeff
 
Jeff Edisbury said:
Kevin,

You've got to try tarpon fishing, it's unbelievable.

Graham,

I know exactly what you mean.

I had barbel over 15lb last season but i think my favourite catch was a 3.8 perch and yes, I did weigh both!

Still looking for that elusive 2lb river roach though, now where's me trotting gear?

Best regards,

Jeff
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That's the spirit, not yet had a 15lb Barbel but I have had a 2.12 lb river roach, really is a thing of immense beauty a big roach. So until I get a 15lb barbel I guess I will have to soldier on :mad:
 
Any chance we can swap Neil?

I've had a few 15's!

A big roach is truly a thing of beauty.

A big carp on the other hand is rather grotesque!

Best regards,

Jeff
 
I do believe that once fishing is in your blood that you have it for life. Those of us who have lost the buzz to fish for barbel have probably just over done it. Year after year regularly fishing for the same species has to become less exciting, well it has for me. I think that it might be the style of fishing that's at fault, that's why carp fishing does little for me anymore. I can see the attraction of float fishing for tench and other species.

Fly fishing is completely different. People who see it as fluff-chucking should give it a go. Anyone can cast a fly to a reasonable standard. Fishing for trout in still waters is fun just as long as you appreciate that it is artificial in that largely, you are catching stocked fish. Once you have the hang of casting a fly for trout, move on to pike and I'll guarantee it'll blow your mind away. Forget the lures and deadbaits. Generally, lures catch jacks and deadbaits grannies. The fly catches the lot.

As you can probably gather my enthusiasm for fishing is back. So for those who have become a tad jaded, the fishing bug will still be there, just lying dormant, believe me. It's a question of firing it up again with something different on the menu. Whether the excitement of barbel fishing will return for me, I don't know. But flogging away at something that you are not particularly enjoying won't rekindle the spirit. Time for a change.

If anyone is interested in pike on the fly, have a look at the Piketrek website. Greg Strelley runs it and I have him to thank for saving me!!
 
Jim Foxall said:
I do believe that once fishing is in your blood that you have it for life. Those of us who have lost the buzz to fish for barbel have probably just over done it. Year after year regularly fishing for the same species has to become less exciting, well it has for me. I think that it might be the style of fishing that's at fault, that's why carp fishing does little for me anymore. I can see the attraction of float fishing for tench and other species.
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Completely agree with that statement.

As for PB's - i grew up with the old school specimen figures - 10lb Barbel, 10lb Bream, 5lb Chub, 2lb Roach or Rudd, 20lb Carp or Pike etc etc and in the northern waters i fish they can still be considered a good specimen today. The national Barbel record stood at 14lb 6oz for many years and i never once thought i would one day catch one that big. My PB stands at 15lb 12oz from the Ribble back in 2009 and i can remember ever single moment from the strange little tap of a bite, the adrenaline that kicked in when it surfaced for the first time and i realised what i had hooked to the amazement staring at it in the bottom of my net. That, for me, was the fish of a life time Barbel wise.
 
My best barbel is a small localish river record (unclaimed). More and more i find myself out with the lure rod in search of perch and chub.....time seems more limited now so it suits. Never fish after dark now, always home at a sensible time, catches don't seem to be affected.
Last few years, i've been yearning for cold, bright winter days to fish the rivers with the float. Chub, roach, grayling....whatever really.
In days gone by i would have stuck it out for the barbel in far from ideal conditions.......now i just change species to suit.
Loving it.
 
A BIG Dace ! Now there is a real thing of beauty ! Oh and Big Gudgeon too ! Gorgeous fish !
A 3lbs Roach would totally eclipse most Barbel I would ever catch !
Barbel wise I consider my 1st double at 11-1 from The Marden to be my 'Best Fish'...........
 
Paul Matthews said:
A BIG Dace ! Now there is a real thing of beauty ! Oh and Big Gudgeon too ! Gorgeous fish !
A 3lbs Roach would totally eclipse most Barbel I would ever catch !
Barbel wise I consider my 1st double at 11-1 from The Marden to be my 'Best Fish'...........
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Oh! yes a 11.1 Marden fish is a real stunner especially from such a small River, years ago when I worked for the Min of Ag at Harris's bacon factory in Calne, (now of course demolished, due to the Danes:() we used to feed the Chub bacon bits and bits of pork pie from the balcony that was alongide the Marden, don't think there was any barbel then, but just in case I will claim an assist :)
Is it a Marden record Paul?
 
Jeff Edisbury said:
Any chance we can swap Neil?

I've had a few 15's!

A big roach is truly a thing of beauty.

A big carp on the other hand is rather grotesque!

Best regards,

Jeff
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A few 15'S :eek: that is a bit special.

Will always refer to Bob James haul of big roach in Passion to remind me how wonderful the Roach is, to me that is the most inspirational angling I have witnessed, albeit on film. I don't think to this day that catch has been bettered, probably never will.
 
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