Snagging the Impossible? Barbel on the Fly
When men are bored, we invent a new sport. When fishermen are bored, we invent new ways to catch familiar fish, or new fish to catch with familiar methods. And so began the quest to catch a barbel on the fly.I hate being told I can’t do something. And we all know I hate it more when Jon one ups me. So when, over a post-fluff flicking pint, he began to muse about whether it would be possible to get a barbel to take a fly, I knew my summer had just gotten interesting.
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One sunny evening Jon and I set out with his mate Tom to test the waters. The trout had been going mad all evening on a rise, so it stood to reason… Fishing heavy Czech nymphs with my Helios nine foot eight weight, I started wading below a promising shoal of barbel. The nymphs were necessitated by the barbel’s physiology as bottom feeders. The difficulty is that the nymph has to be presented so it comes down to them where they are sitting in deeper, fast-flowing water…and look natural. As Jon spectated from the bank, I worked my way upstream without success. Tom, sensibly forsaking barbel for pike, was into a fish on his second cast. Perhaps our approach needs a rethink…
This entry was written by
Howard, posted on
August 5, 2008 at 1:04 pm, filed under
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2 Comments
Fishing the yorkshire don at beeley wood my fishing partner was fishing with his #4 zero gravity using 14 ptn on 4lb tippet for grayling when he thought he had struck bottom, pulling for a break the bottom begain to move away, after a dogged fight and no net a barbel was beached. Not having scales with us we photographed the fish and measured it up against the wading staff, making a mark to read off at home. The barbel was 24 inches long, we estimated it at around 5 1/2lb but when looking at weight charts 7lb was probably more accurate. When telling other club members we were informed that others had also caught barbel whilst using heavy nymphs.
John
Thanks for your comments, I have to admit that since writing this piece I have actually managed to bag a few barbel but definitely none as good as friends!