Barbel | Fish Species Guide | Angling Direct

Barbel

Barbel

aka Barbus Barbus

When very small, barbel can be confused with gudgeon fish, but can be distinguished by its four barbels around their mouth as gudgeon only have two. Native to various freshwaters in countries across Europe, barbel are primarily found in rivers and prefer streamy, fast paced, shallow water where they can sit between weed beds and gravel pits. Barbel are slim and are usually golden bronze in colour with a creamy white belly and reddish-brown fins with an orange tinge.

FactHaving lived in British rivers since the ice age, barbel have almost twice the lethal concentration of oxygen than tench meaning more consideration is required when returning them to the water.

Stats

Habitat

Habitat

Fast-flowing, clean river beds with hard bottoms and thick vegetation.

Bait

Bait

Oil based baits, luncheon meat, paste & oily pellets.

Fishing Tackle

Fishing Tackle

Native or Invasive

Native or Invasive

Native

Where

Where

Barbel are prominent in fast-flowing rivers throughout the UK, France, Holland and most Eastern European waters.

Catch Experience Catch Experience

Barbel are made to live in fast flowing waters, their powerful bodies enable them to master this difficult terrain with ease. They are thus regarded as the hardest to catch coarse fish in the river. This of course only makes them an even more desirable trophy fish. Once on the hook, these fish will put up a grim fight and if you are not carrying the right equipment you are very likely to loose this battle. Barbel will fight until they are spent, therefore you should try to land and unhook your fish quickly to not have them exhaust themselves to death. Once you have caught, landed and unhooked the Barbel, hold it into flowing water upstream until it has recovered and is ready to swim away. This recovery period can take up to fifteen minutes.

Video

Blog Highlight

Top Winter Barbel Fishing Tips

Barbel fishing can be a tough old game in the winter months but it's vital you head to the bank with a game plan and the right techniques to make every opportunity count. To help you on your way, we spoke to top barbel angler Ade Kiddell and...

Read More
To top