Finless Barbel

[MattS]

Hi,

 

This is my first post - so please be gentle with me!

 

I finally caught my first barbel last night - in fact I caught 3 and lost one(obviously a monster ) in a 90 minute session. Apart from the one I lost, each of the others between 4-8lbs gave the classic 4ft tweak on the rod tip and first steamed off as to be expected but then came in rather meekly and at first I thought they were chub because of this.

 

After each one was landed however I could see why - each of them had virtually no tail and the pectorals were little stubs - otherwise the fish looked fat and healthy. If any of you have been trout fishing at those awful holes in the ground to catch fed-on 'stockies' you'll know exactly what I mean.

 

Apart from my disappointment, I am rather concerned about this. I could understand one fish like this - but 3 is more than a coincidence. Has anyone else experienced this or shed any light on it? Crayfish perhaps (the river is heaving with them)?

 

Thanks

 

Matt

[Steve Burke]

I can't help with your questions, but welcome to the Forum, Matt!

[MattS]

Thanks Steve!

Its a really interesting resource and I have picked up a lot from it. Having just come back to coarse fishing after a lapse of 30 years fluff chucking, a lot has moved on in terms of baits, techniques and tackle, but nothing has really changed at the basic level of finding the fish in the first place and good quiet presentation.

 

 

M

[Chris Plumb]

Which river? Wouldn't have thought it was crayfish - barbel eat them so they wouldn't hang around long enough to nibble their tales!!! Sounds like some kind of fin rot though I can't say I've ever seen it in barbel.....

 

 

C.

[DavyR]

MattS:

but nothing has really changed at the basic level of ...  good quiet presentation. M

Apart from this "ringlng the dinner bell" mullarkey on the commercials which seems to involve making as much splash as possible as the carp have come to associate noise with the arrival of food!

[Tim Kelly]

Maybe you caught some that had been recently stocked? I suppose barbel reared in tanks for stocking places would suffer the same way as trout?

[MattS]

It did look like some sort of fin rot to me and I am pretty sure that the river hasn't been stocked for a long time. Even so, the reason that trout lose their fins is that not only are they severely overcrowded in the tanks/ponds, they are also quite aggressive towards each other in such a confined space. This is especially so when they are adult and in spawning condition. They chase and attack/nip each other - hence the stunted fins which erode due to bits being eaten and the ensuing secondary bacterial infection. I wasn't aware that barbel were as aggressive or territorial as salmonids and cannot see how they would nip each other - they don't have teeth.

 

Matt

[Dave Lumb]

MattS:

 

After each one was landed however I could see why - each of them had virtually no tail and the pectorals were little stubs - otherwise the fish looked fat and  healthy.

The pike on my local canal frequently have 'worn' pectoral and pelvic fins but are in otherwise good nick. I have no idea why, though.

[Newt]

Hi MattS and welcome.

 

If there is any way you could get a picture of one of the fish and post it, I suspect you'd get a good answer since we have lots of knowledgeable folks on the forum.

[MattS]

Hi Newt,

 

Thanks - a photo might be possible - I'll give it a go. As you know, getting the fish to 'come on' is hard enough - the fruitful evening was the last of ten hard fished sessions since June at the right time of day the same swims and the same bait. I had blanked until the 10th session!

 

Keep you posted.

 

Matt