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Is Barbel fishing on the decline?

Craig Wood

Craig Wood

Senior Member
Hello to everyone,
Well im sure everyone on here has seen and experienced the wettest winter on record and more worryingly ,I think the true damage to the River eco system is not as yet known and may well not be known for some years..
The floods of 2007 were as devastating as this years floods and many say this is when Barbel started to disappear from known haunts on many rivers, never to return again..
Many also blame predation, pollution etc, which may well be true, who knows..

What I would like to ask everyone on here are the following questions:

Does anyone think Barbel fishing is slowly declining?

Do people think that Barbel fishing will still be viable for many in as little as 10years time?

Sorry if these seem like pointless questions but I am curious as to what people are really starting to think about the future of Barbel fishing..

Regards

Craig
 
I think all forms of coarse fishing are on the decline, anecdotally. I think people have been struggling financially and have been battening down the hatches. Additionally, I think many people would rather play on the x-box.
 
Declining or changing? Declining in some rivers, improving or even thriving in others? Are we just experiencing a cycle of change which means we have to adapt and perhaps shift our expectations ?

I fished the Kennet quite regularly for a 5 year period up to around 2000 and then had a 10 year break. In the period to 2000 I caught quite easily and I remember fishing the Old Mill at Aldermaston and catching 10 modest sized barbel on the maggot feeder in about 6 hours. I also recall packing up early one winters day to sit and watch a chap catch 8 chub over 6lb. When I returned it was a bit of a shock and it took me months to catch a barbel. Now one, possibly two fish a session feels like a great result and sometimes the fish can be 9lb plus. And I still love it because very often it's just about being there.

But I have also looked elsewhere and expanded my fishing horizons. Fishing the Wye, the Test for Roach and Grayling. I know that's not easy for everyone and there is a cost involved. Personally I just love fishing but especially for barbel and if I am to continue enjoying my fishing I will need to adapt more and be prepared to travel perhaps and think differently, adapt my fishing style.

I have no idea what the next 10 years holds for fishing but I am going to make sure I take every opportunity I can to enjoy the fishing I do and be open minded about fishing experiences. I will also respect the river, the wildlife, other anglers and do what ever I can to ensure the rivers remain a special place to be. If I can't give time I will donate what I can. I am not blind to the pressures angling faces or the politics that so often infects the joy of it. That said, I don't diminish it's importance.

Just get out and fish and make the most of every minute you can rather than agonising too much about the future.
 
Yes, a thoughtful post Howard. I think that many have had to adjust their priorities in the last couple of years. Maybe they're having to work longer hours, doing different shifts, or they're looking for work. Anyway, angling isn't cheap for many and times are tough.
I think there might be a 'recruitment problem' coming up, as angling vies for the attention of young people against more sedentary digital delights.

cheers
 
Mike Webb said:
I think all forms of coarse fishing are on the decline, anecdotally. I think people have been struggling financially and have been battening down the hatches. Additionally, I think many people would rather play on the x-box.
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Absolutely spot on!!!! I work in the trade and very very rare do i see any youngsters in the shop, and on the occasion i do, its mainly for carp tackle. Its a shame to say but the days of the youngsters going out building dens etc have gone. Computer games and leniant parenting are to blame for that IMO!!
 
Is Barbel fishing on the decline? Quite the opposite I would say. You only need to look in the tackle shops to see an ever increasing array of tackle and bait designed for Barbel anglers. To me that suggests Barbel fishing is more popular than ever.
Are Barbel numbers on the decline? That's an entirely different question, and as Howard has suggested, can only be answered in reference to specific river systems. In some they may be in decline, on others thriving.
The big floods on many rivers will have shifted a few few features around that's for sure! Banker pegs will become blankers pegs, some new gems created elsewhere. It'll be 'start again time' with regards to location for many but take the positive - fresh challenge and all that!
 
Barbel numbers are certainly on the decline in most rivers and there's nothing slow about it where rivers like the Cherwell and Windrush are concerned. The floods of 2007 didn't do a lot of good but nobody seems to know why. A very feasible explanation was put to me by a well known angler that industry use these extreme floods to illegally dump waste in the system. Due to the size of the floods it is completely untraceable and saves many thousands of pounds getting rid of it properly.
 
Alex Gowney said:
Barbel numbers are certainly on the decline in most rivers and there's nothing slow about it where rivers like the Cherwell and Windrush are concerned. The floods of 2007 didn't do a lot of good but nobody seems to know why. A very feasible explanation was put to me by a well known angler that industry use these extreme floods to illegally dump waste in the system. Due to the size of the floods it is completely untraceable and saves many thousands of pounds getting rid of it properly.
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I have seen the Derbyshire Derwent turn some very strange colours during periods of high water.
 
IMO Barbel fishing is most definately in decline..You only have to read the comments about Somerly estate and the lack of Anglers that fish it despite it being a beautiful scenic venue but without many Barbel left along its stretch, simular story for alot of Rivers..
Weather patterns, pollution, predation etc etc, have all played a part in the decline of Barbel on many rivers..
Sorry for saying this but i dought very much this website or any other dedicated Barbel group will actually exsist within 10years..Year after year more and more venues will either become private or devoid of any Barbel which on a personal note deeply saddens me..
The future for many Angling clubs will be lakes and those that dont move with times will simply go bust and disappear for good, which is actually happening right now as a i type..
I have not fished for Barbel for a couple of years now due to weather, floods, droughts etc and dare i say it have gone back to Carp fishing simply because i can fish ALL YEAR round in most weather and get better value for my licence fee..I think this is also a factor as to why youngsters coming into the sport pretty much go straight for Carp fishing..
 
Hard to say, but my catches on the Severn have certainly decreased over the last 5 seasons, and I think a lot of others have also struggled from what I've been told.
2009/10 season 147 barbel
2010/11 season 186 barbel
2011/12 season 110 barbel
2012/13 season 37 barbel
2013/14 to date 41 barbel

The last three seasons have been badly hit through the winter, two of them due to long cold periods, and we all know what's happened this winter with the floods.
 
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me personally would love to see a decline in barbel fishing, selfish yes but theres more and more seeking what they see as being a bit prestige at catching em,
the barbel is with no doubt a prestigeous fighting fish but theres probably
3 times the number fishing for em than there was 12 years ago, hence more pressure and more wary fish leaving us with lower catches and thats without otters, cormorants and the peculiar fish eating odduns that haunt our bankside.
 
Howard Cooke said:
Declining or changing? Declining in some rivers, improving or even thriving in others? Are we just experiencing a cycle of change which means we have to adapt and perhaps shift our expectations ?

I fished the Kennet quite regularly for a 5 year period up to around 2000 and then had a 10 year break. In the period to 2000 I caught quite easily and I remember fishing the Old Mill at Aldermaston and catching 10 modest sized barbel on the maggot feeder in about 6 hours. I also recall packing up early one winters day to sit and watch a chap catch 8 chub over 6lb. When I returned it was a bit of a shock and it took me months to catch a barbel. Now one, possibly two fish a session feels like a great result and sometimes the fish can be 9lb plus. And I still love it because very often it's just about being there.

But I have also looked elsewhere and expanded my fishing horizons. Fishing the Wye, the Test for Roach and Grayling. I know that's not easy for everyone and there is a cost involved. Personally I just love fishing but especially for barbel and if I am to continue enjoying my fishing I will need to adapt more and be prepared to travel perhaps and think differently, adapt my fishing style.

I have no idea what the next 10 years holds for fishing but I am going to make sure I take every opportunity I can to enjoy the fishing I do and be open minded about fishing experiences. I will also respect the river, the wildlife, other anglers and do what ever I can to ensure the rivers remain a special place to be. If I can't give time I will donate what I can. I am not blind to the pressures angling faces or the politics that so often infects the joy of it. That said, I don't diminish it's importance.

Just get out and fish and make the most of every minute you can rather than agonising too much about the future.
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yep ! wise words .

maybe the barbel themselves are on the decline , in as much as they are getting pressured more and harder to catch . ?thus the easy appeal of the species is being altered somewhat ! an ever changing environment with floods etc , surely they can only take so much then they may seek quieter areas, or have been moved on by the floods to areas out of reach by anglers ? , nothing is set in stone and we can only guess what goes on under the surface , keeps it interesting ,challenging and oh so sweeter when your rod tip finally slams over ! :)
 
The middle reaches of my local wharfe around Boston spa used to be prolific for barbel. Whilst they are still present it seems to be more of a game river now. Grayling are thriving and as far as I'm aware there hasn't been a roach caught for years!
The lower tidal reaches however are a different story with plenty of barbel and other course fish. The tidal water is heavily coloured providing some safety from predators and also seems to support much more natural food. It's a bit messy to fish wich puts a lot of people off but the rewards are there.
 
I’d love to add some deep and meaningful comments to this debate, but after spending most of my life on a riverbank somewhere, I personally find it very difficult to paint a rosy picture about the long-term ability of our running waters to provide good consistent sport. There’s not much chance nowadays of catching that Holy Grail – a 2lb roach from a river, unless of course you have access to certain ‘managed’ rivers where unwelcome predators are actively dissuaded.

The recent big floods will no doubt have an effect on some waterways, as did the floods of 2007. Without doubt, our river fish are struggling to survive and their numbers in a lot of rivers are in decline for various reasons – all of which have been debated on this site.

The lack of younger anglers has been a concern for many years and if I were in my twenties now I wonder whether fishing would be at the top of my leisure activities. Times change and people’s perception of life change accordingly.

Like many other angling aficionados, I’ve got a disease called ‘river water in my veins’ and there’s little chance that I’ll ever desert our rivers. I reckon that there are enough fish to keep me going but I do fear for the generations that are following me.

Anyway, it’s just over a fortnight until the season’s end and without doubt I’ll spend most of that time sitting by a river somewhere and I’d like to wish all other ‘dyed-in-the-wool’ river anglers the best of luck over the next two weeks!
 
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