Barbel after two season wait
Drew Lawrence had failed to catch a barbel for over two seasons from a low populated southern river he was targeting – but his persistence was finally rewarded with this new personal best of 13lb 15oz.
The West Sussex-based rod’s luck finally changed when he made the switch from boilies to pellets. The long awaited take came within 20 minutes of him casting out a Three Foot Twitch pellet in conjunction with a small PVA bag of freebies.
He said: “The fish managed to get in to a snag but I let my line go slack and a few seconds later she came back out again. After another 15 minutes I finally slid her into the net and on the scales she smashed my old best of 10lb 1oz. It would have been easy to give up on the stretch after two seasons without a fish, but I’m so glad I didn’t.”
Drew used a 15lb G-Force Blackout hooklink and a size 10 G-Force Wide Gape hook.
Thames barbel is new record
Carl Welch battled through the pain of a broken wrist and cracked ribs to bank the biggest barbel of the season and set a new River Thames record in the process with this 18lb 6oz specimen.
It was the first time that the Felton, Middlesex-based all-rounder had been able to get out on the bank since getting knocked off his bike while on his way to the waterway with all of his tackle earlier this year.
His efforts were rewarded, however, when he smashed his personal best after arriving at the venue at first light. And it only took 20 minutes for his tip to pull round after flicking out a 16mm Aqua Dynamix boilie in conjunction with a PVA bag filled with whole and crushed baits.
Due to his injury and the sheer power of the fish - that beats the previous venue record set by Guy Robb in 2005 with a barbel of 18lb 2oz - it took Carl over 40 minutes to land the historic specimen.
“The doctors told me to stay at home and rest, but it was like torture sitting there reading the Angling Times and looking at all of the big fish that were being caught,” said Carl. “So I just had to take some pain killers and get out there. I would have gone mad without being able to cast a line.
“When I finally got the fish into the net it was like someone was rewarding me for putting up with the pain and getting down to the river for first light.
“I didn’t know that I’d broken the river record until a few days after and that really got my head spinning. I’ve been fishing the River Thames for so long and it means a lot because it’s a venue that’s very special to me,” added Carl, who used a 15lb braided hooklink attached to a size 8 hook.
Bait tester banks new personal-best barbel
Barbel angler Adrian Needham enjoyed a productive session on a tough stretch of the Middle Trent when he banked a number of double figure fish including a new personal best of 14lb 14oz.
The Three Foot Twitch baits tester decided to put the company’s Rubby Dubby boilies through their paces and was pleased with the response when a 10lb specimen was quickly followed by another double of 10lb 13oz.
But the best was yet to come and half an hour before he was about to pack up, his new pb picked up the bait and ‘shot off like a train’.
He said: “In the last four sessions I have landed eight doubles from this stretch and this was the icing on the cake.”
Season's best barbel
The biggest barbel of the season has been landed by Ian Hartley in the shape of this 17lb 10oz fish from the Derbyshire Derwent.
After electing to fish a renowned spot on a stretch controlled by The Earl of Harrington’s AC, the venue regular fed a bed of pellets and presented a large halibut pellet over the top.
His tip was dragged round as the impressive specimen tried to reach the sanctuary of a set of nearby snags, but Ian piled on the pressure and steered his prize to safety.
Once in the net he noticed it was the same specimen which he had banked in July at a weight of 16lb 12oz.
14lb 7oz specimen barbel from the River Lea
After catching a string of chub from the River Lea, Joe Royffe decided to turn his attention’s to venue’s barbel and went on to land this 14lb 7oz specimen.
The fish came within 20 minutes of the 23-year-old warehouse employee casting out his 12mm Sonubaits Elips pellet which had been wrapped in halibut paste.
He said: “When I saw how much the river had risen and the change in colour of the water I knew that the chub would be unlikely to show so decided to fish it for the barbel instead. It proved to be a wise decision,” added Joe, who used a combi-rig tied with Riverge Grand Max fluorocarbon and 12lb Drennan Sink Braid.
Another Nene double for Chris Mutton
Chris Mutton caught his seventeenth double figure barbel of the season in the form of this 15lb 3oz specimen from the River Nene.
After enjoying a series of good result from his local Warwickshire Avon, the product quality technician decided to turn his attentions to the Northamptonshire waterway.
Due to the amount of snags in the swim he used a running groundbait feeder approach with 16lb mainline and a short 10ins 12lb Korum Mono hooklink attached to a size 10 Drennan Barbel hook. On to this he mounted a 3 Foot Twitch 14mm Flaming Further boilie which was cast to a nearside twitch.
“I received a vicious take and as soon as I hit it I knew it was a decent fish,” he said. “After a few hairy moments when she headed for the snags she was in the net.”
Change in tactics lands 14lb 2oz barbel
A change in tactics resulted in Stef Horak landing his first ever float caught barbel – this 14lb 2oz fish from the River Trent.
The Leicester-based 59-year-old decided to make the switch from his usual feeder approach and offered two hair-rigged casters on a size 14 hook under a 4-5AAA chubber float, and primed his swim with the 1.5 pints of hemp and caster.
He said: “I fished 5ft overdepth to slow the bait down, with a few number 10 shots down the line dragging the bottom. When you get a bite it’s like a pike float moving along before zooming under! This is the fifteenth barbel over 11lb 6oz I’ve had from the Trent this season but most have been on 4oz feeders.”
Stef runs guided sessions on the river, for more information call: 01455 615551.
11lb 13oz barbel from Devon river
Devon rivers aren’t known for their big barbel so Chris Lambert was understandably thrilled to catch this 11lb 13oz specimen from a south west waterway.
The 30-year-old Exeter-based plaster was targeting a spot which he had been prebaiting for carp when he hooked in to the surprise fish on his first cast of the session.
He said: “It was hugging the bottom and felt different to most of the carp which I’d previously caught. I eventually got its head up and was stunned to see a huge barbel.
“I’ve only ever heard of one double figure barbel getting caught from the river in the past.”
Chris mounted two trimmed Mainline Aromatic Fish boilies on a size 6 Fox Arma Point SSBP hook and a 15lb Coretex hooklink.
River Avon produces surprise 14lb 6oz barbel
A previously unproductive stretch of the Warwickshire Avon produced this 14lb 6oz barbel for Adam Davies.
The Gloucestershire rod tackled an area that had failed to yield a result in recent times, but was rewarded within a couple of hours of setting up.
The 35-year-old service controller said: “We set up in the late afternoon and I got the bite at 6pm. Once I saw the fish I thought it was a good double, maybe around 12lb, but when we got it on the mate we knew it was much bigger.
“It was a surprise because that stretch has been so quiet lately.”
Adam used a Korum open-ended feeder filled with pellets and a lump of luncheon meat hair-rigged on a fluorocarbon hooklink.
Single bait lands 16lb 8oz barbel
Match angler Allan Oram often takes a break from the commercial carp scene to pursue barbel - and with fish like this 16lb 8oz specimen it’s not hard to see why.
A stealthy approach scored for the 58-year-old Bristol-based rod who positioned a 15mm Dynamite Baits Robin Red pellet without any loose feed under an overhanging tree on the River Kennet.
The bite came within five minutes and a frantic fight followed: ““I really enjoy having a chill out session barbel fishing,” he said. “The fish put up a really good scrap but it was a bit hairy as I couldn’t get my rod up due to the trees. It would have made quite good entertainment if somebody was stood behind filming me!”
After 1,200 miles, it's 15 doubles from nine rivers
A challenge to try and catch 14 double figure barbel from 14 different rivers in a fortnight has raised £2,500 for the Army Benevolent Fund.
In the end, Barbel Society members Jerry Gleeson and Paul Floyd managed 15 doubles to 12lb 10oz from nine different waterways after travelling the length and breadth of the country.
The biggest two fish fell to Jerry, who took 12lb-plus barbel from both the Soar and the Trent, with the highlight of Paul’s catches a new personal best of 11lb 9oz.
“We didn’t think we had a chance of catching as many as we did but to get 10 doubles from the first six rivers was incredible. Barbel were landed on every venue apart from the lower Severn. The best result was probably on the Arun when Dave Chambers, who had joined us for that particular leg, caught a double within an hour of starting. We covered over 1,200 miles and we didn’t get much sleep, the adrenalin kept us going!” he said.
Barbel record will fall in weeks
Experts have predicted that 2013 could be the best year ever for big barbel.
An unprecedented number of specimen sized fish have already been taken from waterways all over the country, and sport is expected to improve even further over the coming months as the fish reach their peak weights.
Back in March Dave Currell came within 10oz of breaking Grahame King’s 2006 British record of 21lb 1oz with a 20lb 7oz specimen from an undisclosed river. It was the first barbel over the 20lb-barrier to be banked from a UK river since the capture of a 20lb 12oz fish from the River Wensum by Mark Rylands in 2008.
At the time Dave told Angling Times that he wouldn’t be surprised if the fish topped the British record weight by the end of the year, a view shared by some of the sports leading names.
Phil Smith - who has caught double figure barbel from 23 different rivers and 15lb-plus fish from five of these – expects even bigger fish to be landed in the coming weeks. “At the moment we’re seeing big fish getting caught in conditions that aren’t really conductive to producing large fish. If we get some rain and a bit of water pushing through then it stands to reason that these fish could easily gain a couple of pounds in weight and it wouldn’t surprise me if the record was broken.”
In recent years many people have expressed fears for the future of specimen barbel fishing in the UK with factors such as otter predation leading to the demise of some of the county’s biggest fish – including the record fish The Traveller from Adams Mill on the Great Ouse and The Beast from the Wensum. Despite this, there are now more rivers than ever before capable of producing 16lb-plus barbel with the River Nene and Derbyshire Derwent being two of the most prolific in recent months.
A river record of 17lb 4oz was recently caught from The Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club controlled stretch of the Derwent and club treasurer Teresa Parr said: “I have no doubt that the barbel have always been in the river but we’ve done a lot of work over the last year to build and improve pegs on our stretch. This season, our members have been able to fish from pegs which didn’t even exist last year which gives them a much better chance of catching.”
Barbel Society chairman Steve Pope believes there has never been a better time to target the species: “There’s too much doom and gloom from a lot of people. Yes otters eat some barbel and certain rivers have suffered more than others. But they can’t eat all the barbel and you only need to look at the fish that are being reported to see this. You can fish some parts of the Trent, for example, and catch over 20 barbel in day now which is something you simply couldn’t do years ago.
“I’ve also been around long enough to realise that a lot of rivers are cyclical. There are waterways that are in the doldrums at the moment but in the future will no doubt be producing big fish again. And vice versa.”
**2013’s Biggest Barbel**
- Chad Critchley: 16lb 15oz Derbyshire Derwent
- Steve Russell: 16lb 6oz and 15lb 1oz River Nene brace
- Paul Garner: 16lb 8oz River Dove
- Steve Russell: 15lb 5oz, River Nene
- Tommy Rowe: 15lb 9oz, River Nene
- Barry Jarvis: 16lb 4oz, River Ivel
- Justin Beale: 15lb 9oz, River Thames
- Wayne Tooth: 17lb 4oz, River Derwent (record)
- Ian Hartley: 16lb 12oz, River Derwent
- Duncan Kay: 16lb 8oz, River Nene
- Michael Sables: 16lb, River Dove
- Andy Cartlidge: 15lb 14oz, River Dove
- Ivan Tee: 15lb 1oz, River Nene
- Trevor Pole: 16lb 2oz, River Great Ouse
- Dave Currell: 20lb 7oz, undisclosed river
- Alan Cornwell: 17lb 1oz, River Dove
- Christophe Pelhate: 15lb 6oz, River Arun
- Dean Derbyshire – 15lb 6oz Dorset Stour
- Ashley Burton: 14lb 3oz, Warwickshire Avon
- James Crameri: 17lb 7oz and 16lb 10oz, midlands river
**Rivers to try**
- River Trent – Collingham Angling Association, 01636 892573
- River Dove – Stoke-on-Trent Angling Society, www.sotangling.co.uk
- Derbyshire Derwent – The Earl of Harrington’s Angling Club, www.theearlofharringtonsac.co.uk
- River Nene – Peterborough and District Angling Association, 01733 380768
- River Ouse – Milton Keynes Angling Association, www.mkaa.co.uk
- Hampshire Avon – Davis Tackle, 01202 485169
- River Stour – Ringwood and District Anglers Association, www.ringwoodfishing.co.uk
- River Ivel – Ivel Protection Association, 01992 558902
- River Lea – The Fishers Green Consortium, www.fishersgreencon.co.uk
30lb barbel brace for father and son
Father and son duo Steve and Will Freeman both got in on the action landing a brace of barbel for over 30lb from the Hampshire Avon.
After baiting a gravel patch with a generous helping of halibut pellets Steve’s rod was pulled round on his first cast of the day.
Heavy pressure was applied to keep the fish away from snags and shortly afterwards a new personal best of 15lb 12oz was sat in the net.
As he was unhooking the specimen, Will received a bite which resulted in a 14lb 8oz barbel.
Both anglers used an identical rig made up of 12lb mainline, a 2oz lead and a size 8 hook baited with a large pellet.
Barbel to 12lb-plus on River Wey
A brace of short sessions on the River Wey ended with Jack Pells taking a series of barbel to 12lb 11oz.
The local rod decided to embark on a debut session on a club controlled stretch of the Dorset waterway and introduced several bait-droppers full of pellets.
It didn’t take long for him to receive his first bite, with a fish of 6lb falling for his boilie hookbait.
As the light began to fade the tip bent round again and after an energetic battle he netted a 12lb 11oz specimen.
A couple of days later he used the same tactics and was rewarded with a duo of 8lb specimens before the memorable week was capped off with a fin-perfect 12lb 10oz barbel.
His rig was made up of 10lb mainline, a 15lb Drennan Sink Braid hooklink and a size 10 hook.
25lb barbel brace ends run of blanks
A run of blank sessions on the River Loddon came to a welcome end for Mark Erdwin with the capture of two barbel for a combined weight of over 25lb.
The biggest of his brace topped the scales at 14lb and came an hour in to a short evening trip on the Reading waterway after picking up his trimmed down 18mm boilie hookbait which had been glugged and wrapped in paste.
“It was a typical barbel bite that really pulled the rod tip round,” said Mark. “It hugged the bottom and powered off downstream before I eventually coaxed it back to the net. At 14lb it is a new venue best for me.”
He then rounded of the session with the capture of an 11lb barbel. Both fish were beaten with rigs tied with 18ins of 12lb Drennan Sink Braid and size 8 Ashima hooks.
Second barbel ever - 16lb 15oz
Novice barbel angler Chad Critchley brushed aside his lack of experience when his second ever example of the species turned out to be this 16lb 15oz specimen from the Derbyshire Derwent.
The Nottingham-based rod only began targeting barbel three months ago but became the envy of many seasoned big fish hunters when the impressive fish fell for a halibut pellet hookbait during a short evening session.
Having banked just one smaller barbel of 9lb during his short obsession with the waterway, he was determined to land his first double and headed to a likely looking hotspot just before dark.
A small crease was baited before a running leger rig - made up of 15lb mainline, a coated braid hooklink of the same strength and a size 10 hook - was placed over the top.
His rig had only been in position for less than an hour when he was called into action.
“The fish tore off and it was instantly clear that I was into one of the venue’s big barbel. Once near the net, I got a glimpse of it and it looked huge – I was just praying that the hook would hold in place,” said Chad, who fell just 3oz short of breaking the river record.
“I’m a keen fly angler and I’ve also caught carp to over 40lb but this is by far my greatest angling accomplishment to date.”
Despite having achieved what many experienced specimen anglers could only dream of, he is already planning on increasing his personal best again.
“I have fished a lot of sections on the Derwent and seen some fish that could well have been bigger than this one. I’m gaining more knowledge as I go along and I certainly wouldn’t rule out beating my pb again this season,” he added.
Dave Harrell's biggest float-caught barbel
Perfecting a different way of trotting helped Angling Times columnist Dave Harrell catch his biggest ever float-caught barbel.
Tipping the scales 12lb 2oz, the huge fish fell during a session on the River Wye in Herefordshire, where Dave used an 8g alloy Avon float with a banded 8mm Bait-Tech fishmeal pellet hookbait.
“Instead of trotting with the reel’s bail arm open and letting line be pulled from the spool by the current, I kept the bail arm closed and backwound,” explained Dave, from Rugby, Warwickshire. “This allowed me to really slow the rig down and the difference was amazing. It won’t always work but when the fish are sluggish and don’t want to chase a bait too much, it can make a massive difference.”
In addition to the 12 pounder, the same set-up also tempted one of 8lb and two six pounder to round off a remarkable day on gin-clear river.
Nene barbel pair go 31lb
One of the UK’s fastest up-and-coming big barbel rivers has produced a brace of specimens with a combined weight of 31lb 7oz.
Steve Russell smashed his personal best for the species when he slipped the net under this fin-perfect 16lb 6oz specimen during a session on the River Nene.
This year the venue has produced its best ever form for the species and certainly proved that it’s big barbel credentials compare with the likes of the Rivers Avon, Kennet, Derwent and Trent when the Oxfordshire specialist backed up his new ‘pb’ with a fish weighing 15lb 1oz.
In order to ensure that his rig was presented perfectly among the weed on the river bed Steve threaded his 15lb Drennan braided hooklink through the middle of a PVA bag and both fish were fooled with two CC Moore 10 mm Meteor boilies.
It’s a catch that comes just a few weeks after he banked a 15lb 5oz barbel from the same venue.
“This river has been in such great form this year and I can’t wait until winter to see how much these fish put on when they reach their optimum weights,” Steve told Angling Times.
“I arrived early in the morning and only had one small barbel to show for my efforts, but as soon as the light began to fade my rod was literally ripped off the rest by this huge fish that put up such an epic fight.”
“The advantage of threading your hooklink into the bag as opposed to just nicking the hook through it is that ensures nothing gets caught up especially when you casting into weedy areas.
“It’s a 160-mile round trip to get to this river, but it’s worth every bit of effort because there are so many big fish to target.”
Nine double figure barbel in one trip
A carefully planned pre-baiting campaign has helped top specimen angler Lee Burden take one of the greatest ever catches of barbel from the River Trent.
The CC Moore and Ace Tackle angler put hours of homework in shortly before the overnight session and reaped the rewards as he banked nine double figure specimens to 13lb along with a huge 7lb 2oz chub.
Having spent several years getting to grips with the iconic waterway, he was convinced that priming a hotspot on the upper reaches the evening before with a series of freebies would help increase his chances of putting together a memorable catch.
Rather than pile the bait in randomly, he selected an area of the chosen swim that he was confident the fish would inhabit and he told Angling Times: “I baited an area of around 40 yards long in a straight line in the crease between the slow and fast water. I've found these spots to be a very productive as the biggest barbel use these for resting up in.”
“I introduced a couple of bags of Odessey XXX boilies, a blend of halibut and Ultramix pellets and a few tigernuts in case there was a bonus carp in the zone,” he added.
The swim was left to settle before he returned a day later, walking almost two miles with a barrow-load of equipment to get to his chosen hotspot.
Low pressure and reasonably high temperatures left Lee in a confident mood and he kick-started the outing by topping up the area with a bed of pellets that had been soaked in CC Moore Minamino before being dusted with rock salt.
“I have found that this combination works wonders as the fish can smell the scent from a long way off and will work hard to try and find the food source. The pre-baiting had already brought the fish into the area but I wanted to concentrate them even more,” explained Lee.
“My boilie hookbait was saturated in the same concoction and also had the hard outer skin removed so that it soaked the flavour up and stood out instantly to the barbel.”
It was a tactical ploy that proved its worth almost instantly, with a 10lb 4oz specimen coming to the net within 10-minutes of first wetting a line.
From then on the action never stalled, with the alarms being called into action at regular intervals throughout the night.
“At one point I just couldn't keep my rods in the water without bending into a double figure barbel. My arms, back and tackle were put through how I can only describe as serious punishment!”
His successful rig was made up of a short leadcore leader and a 25lb Ace Camocore Silt hooklink to a size 8 hook.
“Pre-baiting for barbel has had a big impact on my results and it’s something that when done properly will boost your results on any river,” concluded Lee.
Lee’s top five pre-baiting tips
1. Look to pre-bait in an area where the feed will hold up and not get washed away. Creases where there is a steady flow will be well oxygenated and will attract barbel.
2. Be selective with what you feed when pre-baiting. Small items such as hemp and micro pellets will soon be pushed out of the area and heavier offerings such as halibut pellets and boilies are much better.
3. Try spreading the bait around the swim a little to keep the fish moving in between each mouthful. This will not only preoccupy them but also see them drop their guard which will make them easier to catch.
4. Have a little plumb around in the swim before you start to pre-bait a new area. I use a 5oz lead and 25lb braid on a light marker rod and look for smooth areas of gravel.
5. Once it comes to the fishing, make sure you beef up your gear. I usually go with 12lb mainline but I have gone up to 18lb in the past – there is no point hooking them if you can’t land them!
13lb barbel on hemp from River Derwent
River angling fanatic Colin Young celebrated joining a new club by banking this 13lb 9oz barbel from the Derbyshire Derwent.
The Nuneaton-based rod has spent several seasons targeting venues such as the Trent but made the decision to start a new campaign on an Earl of Harrington’s AC stretch.
Rather than using a more common pellet attack, he put his faith in hemp – for both his hookbait and loosefeed - and hooked into the fish while targeting a snaggy swim.
“I am convinced the barbel see too many halibuts and I’ve lost count of the amount of fish that I’ve caught on small baits. I superglue six grains of hemp to the hair and fish it over a small bed of feed - and it rarely fails,” said Colin, who used 10lb mainline and a 4ft hooklink of the same strength to a size 14 hook.
