Hooked on Barbel - update
by Alistair Hopkins
Some of you may have read my article that I wrote in March 09 following my first year back to fishing after a 25-year break - Hooked on Barbel.
I ended it by describing my first ever Barbel, caught in February '09 on the River Kennet near Newbury........
It was a really cold afternoon and I almost didn't venture away from the fire at home, but the lure of a
Barbel was so strong that I arrived at my swim with air temperature not much above freezing and water
temperature not much higher! I set up with a quiver and alternated between lobworms (can't believe you can
buy these on the internet now!) and halibut pellets, hair rigged with a hemp/hali crush mix in a small feeder.
For the next 3 hours of daylight and the first of darkness - nothing, not a twitch. Then just as my hopes
were fading a small knock had me on the edge of my seat. Seconds later the tip rammed around and I was up
with the rod bending round and a fish on. The water was pushing through quite fast so even though the fish
felt like a good 'un I wasn't sure. Inch by inch it came closer and then, in the darkness I caught a glimpse
and, YES, it was a Barbel and it looked like a nice fish! I was very wary of the last few inches of the fight
and when the final lunge came I was ready for it and a few seconds later it was mine - my first Barbel.
8lb 7oz Kennet Barbel, my first. |
What a fish! Caught on lobworm and weighing in at 8lb 7oz Barbel fishing had me hooked!
And so ended my first year back to fishing. I'd fished many different venues with a wide variety of
methods, catching several different species and right at the end I caught my first Barbel - and now I
wanted more!
During the recent Closed Season I spent much of the time researching Barbel, their habits and habitats,
methods of locating them, rigs & tackle and baiting strategies amongst other things! As I said in the original
article - there's more than enough info out there, the difficulty is in working out which advice you want to
take (or believe!).
I read hundreds of articles in magazines and on the web, several books and bought a few DVD's.
I found the following particularly useful :
Armed with this newfound knowledge and brimming with confidence the season approached!
Opening Day and I managed to get the day off. I'd selected a stretch that I'd only fished once before and
had blanked but was confident that I would catch this time. I arrived at 8ish and was surprised to find that
no-one else was on the River at all so I was able to follow my plan meticulously, baiting, fishing, moving,
baiting, fishing, moving. It was a hot, sunny day and by early afternoon I had fished at least 6 swims and I
was hot, tired and fishless. Biteless even. Newfound confidence gone! I decided to cut my losses and move
to the stretch where I'd caught my first (and only!) Barbel.
Arriving mid p.m I expected to find others already there and the good swims gone but, again, there was
no-one around - where was everyone? I saw only 3 other anglers all day on both stretches, which I found
surprising for Opening day.
Again, I baited 2 swims and fished the first. After 30 minutes or so nothing, so I moved to the second swim
and put my bait right under the overhanging branches and on top of the hemp that I'd put in a little earlier.
5 minutes later - WHAM, the rod tip wrenched round and I was into a Barbel. That heartstopping moment
reminded me what this was all about and the adrenalin was coursing through me. I had to make sure that it
didn't get snagged in the roots that were undoubtedly down there, and as I had reasonably strong tackle
(8lb) on I gave it some welly and had it in the landing net a few short minutes later. It looked a good fish!
After resting it for a while I unhooked and weighed it - the scales zoomed round to........8lb 11oz! I'd caught
a new PB on opening day! RESULT!
8lb 11oz - an opening day PB! |
I had nothing more that day but a week later I managed a short evening session at the same venue and tried
3 different swims using the same tactics but to no avail this time - apart from this clonker of a Chub! At 6lb
4 oz another PB!!
6lb 4oz Chub, complete with weird unplanned lighting effect! |
So that was week one of the season gone, 2 sessions and 2 PB's - chuffed or what!
Over the next 3 weeks I managed 3 more sessions at the same venue and as I refined my tactics my "luck"
improved. I caught another 8lb'er in the first, then 3 between 4.1/2 and 5.1/2lb, then 4 in the last session, all
around the 5lb mark.
The refinements I made included switching between braid and fluorocarbon hooklengths, adjusting the
length to a variety between 12 and 48 inches, using a bomb leger vs cage feeder and others.
During one of these sessions I caught........a bat!
I'd been pestered by bats flying into the line for an hour or so but they almost stopped as it got darker.
Then, I had what I thought was a sudden bite, struck hard and felt something. As I reeled in I decided it
wasn't a fish and then, suddenly, the line jammed on the top of the rod. I switched my headtorch on and
discovered this poor little chap! I'd lasso'd it as I struck and unfortunately it was now a very ex-bat.
A million to one chance? |
Back to the Barbel. So far I'd caught some fish, learnt a lot and achieved a PB - two with the Chub! So I
was feeling quite good.
A few days later I planned a session on a stretch I'd never fished before. I spent an hour or so
reconnoitering the evening before and so arrived with a plan in mind. I got to the river at 3ish and baited
what I thought looked like the best swim with my (by now usual) 5 baitdroppers of hemp. It had a fairly
steady glide which, just downstream, all but disappeared under the branches of a couple of trees which
extended almost to the far side of the river. There had to be Barbel under there!
Then I moved upstream, baiting one or two others before finally fishing at the top end of the stretch. After
20 biteless minutes I found myself impatient to get back to what I thought was the best swim, the first. I
was worried someone was going to take it and reap the rewards of my baiting strategy! I spent another 20
minutes in a second swim and then "heeded the call of the first". As I settled down in my chosen spot a
couple of guys arrived and I discovered that a) this swim had a good reputation and b) they'd been hoping to
fish it! Perhaps I'd timed my return well?
I cast in and just as I was tightening the line the tip wrenched around and I was in! A few minutes later I
had a fish of around 6lb on the bank and was a very happy bunny! Little did I know what would follow........
In the next 6 hours I had 11 fish; 3 Chub and 8 Barbel, the best at 9lb 10oz - a new PB!
A lovely 9lb 10oz Kennet summer Barbel |
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Alistair ( ahop0911) Hopkins
Jul 2009