Advice On Barbel In Lake

[random 659]

hi all i have recently been going to a syndicate lake as a guest with a friend which is stocked with barbel along with all the usual stuff and we have an interest in catching the barbel,i tried with a light feeder and pellets as hookbait but still seem to attract other species is there a way i could target them specifically or am i just got to accept the roach,rudd and carp etc picking up the bait? thanks....

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

Bigger bait ,luncheon meat, peperami or a big bunch of lob worms

[threelander 81]

hi random i think you just have to be patient mate but once the barbel show you will get plenty.personally i would not fish the feeder for them.if you have a pole try that or go on the waggler.never had much success on a still water on the feeder myself and as big says try the meat or cockles allways seem to work for me lol

[random 659]

i'll give the bigger bait a go i like luncheon meat as a bait so will try this,i was told peparami attracts carp but will pick one up and see how it goes,my mate has a pole so will get him to try this set up and try a mix of feeder with these new baits and float with a big lump of something,thanks for the advice...

[lewi 7]

Never fished for them on a lake but have done a lot on the river for them. It tends to quieten down a bit at this time of year for them. I'd be inclined to try smaller baits like hair rigged dead maggots. And a fine fishmeal groundbait. As a rule they are a greedy fish and will let there defence down when they get there heads down to feed. That's just my experience of them on a river. Although They could behave totally different in a un natural habitat like a lake

[bobby blackheart 1,209]

when you catch a few-make sure you put them back in the river thats where they should be-same as the chub- wasted in a puddle imho-atb

[lewi 7]

when you catch a few-make sure you put them back in the river thats where they should be-same as the chub- wasted in a puddle imho-atb

Couldn't agree more lol

[transit poacher 0]

as above a pond barble cud never ever match a river barble

[threelander 81]

totally agree to the three posts above.theres only one barbel and thats a river barbel.barbel don,t belong in ponds

[blackworm 58]

This time of year there not feeding as active,so look for the deeper parts of the lake in the daytime,keep feeding a close in peg in the margins,look for atleast 2ft next to weeds/cover,just feed 20 maggots every half hour,fish treble on the hook to avoid the small stuff.Maggot is the best bait for them at this time of year,

[Flipper_Al 1,012]

You will catch them on standard carp baits, but why anyone would want to put them in a lake is beyond me.....

[Ossie n Arch 1,682]

Iv'e always found pond Barbel to be really pale, not the nice bright coloured fish of the river. Iv'e never really understood why they've been stocked in ponds TBH. They need to swim against a current IMO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

............And this isn't aimed at anyone on this topic. But if you want to catch Barbel, go a fish a river. You never know, you might like it.

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

I have caught big pond chub and these take off like river chub but sadly that's all,they can't use the current or often dive into tree roots

[random 659]

i understand the feeling when it comes to keeping them in their natural environment,they evolved to swim in flowing water and don't get that in a lake but it's the owner's decision i suppose,also the lake is stocked with chub which is the same argument but i just fish there occasionally and would like to catch a few good barbel if i can...

thanks for the help though i'll bare it mind when i get out next.

[stevethefish 80]

Fish at the aereator or near by, the barbel like a firm bottom with little silt they will live around these spinners and on all lakes these are barbel hotspots. Use bigger baits if you want to target just the barbel, ie luncheon meat. The reason the barbel are lighter in colour in lakes is that the water is far more coloured due to mainly the carp feeding in the silt. This stops the light penetrating the water and thus the pigment in the skin gets lighter, thats all it is. Barbel are quite happy to live in stillwaters and also breed in stillwaters like chub do, its just myth that they dont. If the fish are happy to live in stillwaters then why should we complain, at the end of the day we all catch these fish in rivers or lakes so its just the tradditionalists that don't like to see them in stillwaters.