Welcome to the Barbel Society Website. The national organisation for all barbel anglers.

Barbel fishing, Barbel angling and Barbel fisheries

Junior Fish in on the
River Teme

Welcome to the Barbel Society Junior section.

Do you enjoy fishing rivers and trying to catch Barbel in particular?

If the answer is yes, and you are under 18 years of age, then why not join the Barbel Society junior section?

Why? Well for less than the price of one visit to the cinema a year you get:

· two superb Barbel Fisher magazines packed full of interesting articles, and if you feel adventurous, you can have a go at writing your own piece for the magazine

· four informative newsletters, with our own junior section that often includes competitions with great prizes.

· access to a fantastic members only forum, where you can ask questions and read tips about fishing.

· the chance to attend FREE junior fishing days on great Barbel rivers, where you can receive instruction from some of the countries top Barbel anglers.

· you also get the chance to attend regular regional meetings and FREE entry into the Barbel Society annual conference, where no junior walks away empty handed.

· The junior section also allows you to meet and become friends with other juniors interested in fishing for Barbel.

Barbel Society membership runs June 16th - June 15th. To join, then print off the membership form, fill it in and then send it, along with a cheque or postal order for Ł10.00 annual membership fee made payable to 'The Barbel Society’ to the membership secretary; Dave and Marilyn Brown, 1 Larchwood ,Castlegate, Scotforth, Lancaster, LA1 4QG.

Please include your date of birth.

Junior Membership Application Form

Juniors - Tips of the month - JULY - (13/07/2007)

A big thank you must go to our secretary, Steve for this month’s tips page. I know he has been really busy just lately, so thanks for taking the time to provide some fantastic tips on fish welfare.

Barbel Welfare.

Barbel welfare……what exactly is the meaning of this ‘title’?

Well ‘barbel welfare’ is exactly what it says, the welfare of the barbel. However, some anglers seem to think it is only about looking after your barbel once you have caught it but that would be too simplistic and not the correct context of the title.

My considered opinion on barbel welfare starts well before you cast your bait into the river after that magnificent specie of fish, the barbel…..let me try to explain, in a simple step by step process, how you can ensure that every barbel you catch is submitted to the best barbel welfare procedures that you practically manage.

Tackle choice.
You don’t need fancy tackle and the latest carp end rigs for barbel fishing but you do need ‘sensible’ tackle. A rod with a test curve between 1˝lb and 1ľlb will cover all barbel fishing situations that you are likely to encounter. Couple this with any decent reel, there’s lots of reasonably priced ones on the market nowadays, with a good working clutch, and mainline of 8lb plus, preferably 10lb, use a simple running leger rig and you are away. (Landing net and unhooking mat…..job done.)

Swim choice.
Swim choice isn’t just about where you can catch barbel. It’s more than that. Next time you are out fishing, try to think like this when you choose a swim, ‘hook, play, net and release’…..can you do it?.....is it possible?

There are two serious points to consider when ‘barbel welfare’ is the subject matter and neither point is actually ‘hooking’ the barbel.
(a) Being able to safely, for you and the barbel, net your barbel.
(b) Being able to safely, for you and the barbel, return your barbel.
The reasons that both these issues are prime points to remember before starting fishing will become apparent in the following sections.

A couple of other thoughts regarding swim choice.
It’s not too sensible to choose a swim where the river is more than four feet lower than your fishing position, Landing your barbel will prove to be very difficult and also being able to allow it to recover after the fight, before unhooking it, might prove to be hard to do and unsafe for you.

Likewise, very fast shallow swims will cause you difficulty in being able to subdue your barbel quickly and be able to net it before it is tired out. The strong flow will allow the barbel to make long runs downriver, making it more difficult for you to be able to bring it back into netting range.

Landing your barbel.
So, you have selected your swim and have just hooked your first barbel of the session. The fight is a good one…as always…and finally you have your barbel safely in your landing net. Big tip here for you, DON’T lift the barbel out of the water straight away. Leave it to rest up in the confines of the landing net for a couple of minutes. Your barbel will be tired out, especially in the summer months, and you’ll be helping it to get some much needed oxygen into its gills by waiting a few minutes.
Imagine that you have just run a long way and you stop when you are tired out. At this point you will be gasping for air. If someone popped your head under the water at that time, you would not stay under very long before you needed to breath in air. If you were allowed to rest for a few minutes to get your breath back before popping your head under water, you would be able to stay under longer before you needed to come up for air.
The barbel is just like you but it needs water to breath, so leaving it in the water after the fight will help the barbel to recover and make returning it easier and quicker.
Always think about the fish first, no matter how excited you are at catching it.

Unhooking and weighing.
Now that you have allowed your barbel to recover some of its strength, you can lift it out and carefully place it on the unhooking mat, which hopefully you laid out before starting fishing. Quickly unhook the barbel, using either your fingers or by the use of some forceps. Now return the barbel, still in the landing net, back into the river to recover a little more.
Given that you have placed your weigh sling and scales alongside your unhooking mat before you started the session, weighing your barbel will be a quick affair. Remove the barbel from the river and place on the unhooking mat and then transfer it into the weigh sling. Weigh it and then put it back into the landing net and back into the river.
In the summer months, just a few minutes in the heat and out of water will cause your barbel to get tired and in need of oxygen. So speed with everything is an important thing to think about. So being organised with your weighing gear is a must.

Weighing barbel is nice but is really only necessary if it might be a new personal best or a special fish to you. The difference between saying that you caught a barbel and it weighed 6lb 5oz and saying that it was about 6lb’s is that the none weighing for the barbel was better for it’s welfare…..less time out of water.

Don’t fall into the trap that every barbel needs weighing, it doesn’t. Other anglers will respect you for saying that you had four barbel between 3lb and 6lbs, rather than bragging that you had four barbel of 4lb 3oz, 5lb 2oz, 5lb 1oz and 3lb 6oz.
Obviously, the more barbel that you catch as you go fishing, the less you will need to weigh them all. One day you’ll just unhook them and watch them swim away, just happy in the knowledge of catching them.

Remember, ‘all’ barbel are equal……big ones and small ones…….they give us ‘all’ great enjoyment.

Photographing. (if required.)
‘If required’…….that’s a good way to start this section off. Not all barbel will need a photograph but obviously when you first start fishing for barbel, it is nice to have a memory of the fish.
These days, with digital cameras and mobile phones that have cameras in them, photographing your fish is easier and less time out of the water for the fish.
Right then, let’s assume that you have followed each step so far since hooking your barbel and you now want a photograph of that fish.
If you are on your own, a good thing to do is put something into the photograph frame that will show off the fish’s proportions, like your scales or your rod and reel. Then lift the fish out of the water and place it on the unhooking mat, ensuring that the fins are all folded backwards to prevent damage, and alongside your other item and use your camera and take a couple of quick shots. Then return the barbel to the river to recover completely.
If you have someone with you to take the photograph, then lift the barbel from the river and place it carefully on the unhooking mat and then, whilst kneeling down alongside the mat, hold the barbel up, keep it close to your body and over the unhooking mat. (It’s easier to gain control if it wriggles about if you hold it close to you and it’s not so far to the ground if it does wriggle out of your hands and back onto the unhooking mat…..accidents do happen and keeping the dangers to a minimum is always the best policy…..think ahead, that’s the key.)

When the photographs are done, two is usually enough, then quickly put the barbel back into the landing net and then get it back into the river to fully recover before release.

Safely returning your barbel.
Okay, we have the barbel back in the landing net and safely resting in the river, facing up river if possible. Now all you need to do is allow your barbel the time to fully recover. Good signs of a recovered barbel are a nice steady gill movement, an upright barbel and its fins are erect and moving well….and it is usually trying to nuzzle its way out of the net.
If you have followed the stages that I have laid out, then it will not take long for your barbel to get to this stage.

Once it is there, you need to either dip your net and let the barbel swim out on it’s own accord or hold it’s tail to stablise it and then simply release your grip slowly and enjoy the sight of your barbel slowly swimming back into the watery depths to fight another day and give another angler the same enjoyment that you got from catching it.

With ‘barbel welfare’ comes ‘angler welfare’ as well.
First rule, no barbel is worth you risking your life for it…..no fish is.

Don’t decide to swim in the river if the fishing is slow and the day is hot…….rivers are dangerous and you need to respect them. They are cold below the first few inches of the surface and they are also powerful……and deep very quickly after a shallow run.

Don’t fish steep banks……they are more than likely undercut and could collapse with your weight. (I know someone who fished a bank like this and when he put his rod rest in the ground, the bank gave way and he fell into the river….I think he was very pleased that I was fishing with him at the time and able to help him out the river, as the river was deep, cold (it was winter) and very fast.)

Wet fishing clothes and Wellington boots soon become very heavy items of clothing if you fall in…be very careful whilst on the river bank.

I hope that the above tips help you to consider the welfare of your barbel. Barbel fight hard when hooked but are not strong fish after the fight.

The steps above will help towards your precious memory of catching your barbel to remain a good feeling…..there’s only one thing better than catching a fighting fit barbel and that is watching a fighting fit barbel swim off in the river after you have released it.

Good fishing to you all……..and here’s to many barbel of all sizes coming to your rods.

Steve ‘eelfisher’ Richardson.

Juniors - Tips of the month - JUNE - (12/06/2007)

Juniors - Tips of the month - MAY - (29/05/2007)

Juniors - Tips of the month - MARCH - (12/03/2007)

Christmas - Will Golightly - (22/12/2006)

Days Out With The Juniors - (27/07/2006)

Research & Conservation