A Reel For Barbel Fishing

[Dan Dan]

Ok so now the rivers are back on the agenda, I thought I'd try my hand at some summer barbel. I've never caught one before, but know how they go and really want to catch one! I've got the Thames, Wey and Bourne all available to me and I know all 3 contain barbel, but I really need the kit first before trying!

 

Rod -> an 11 foot carp feeder rod about 1 3/4 TC I think.

 

Line -> I've looked around at what sort of terminal tackle I need and decided to go with 20lb (0.28mm) PowerPro braid for mainline to 15lb Suffix Stealthlink hooklength. Is this any good lol? I've not used braid before but after reading some barbel forums it seems these are the most popular.

 

Hooks -> Apply to bait so not really an issue.

 

Rigs -> Probably running leger or running patenoster with easy clip to change from bomb > feeder quickly.

 

 

Reel -> Ah now we have a problem. I only have small spooled match reels! My deepest one can only take about 100metres of 5lb and all my reels are getting on (all over 10 years old) so I think I need to dig into my back pocket for a decent deeper spooled reel that I can confidently tackle larger fish and distance fishing with. I've had a look around, and two names that pop up are the Shimano 3500b and Daiwa SS 2600.

 

Shimano 3500b

 

Daiwa SS 2600

 

Again, not really sure what I should be looking for...but they all seem bloody expensive.

 

Any sort of help with choosing a suitable reel would be great

[Peter M]

i think it depends on how you plan to fish for barble. I am not that experienced but have caught some nice barble in the river lee and i found the shimano stradic with its fighting drag very useful and would reccomend that. However, some barble anglers like to roll meat and there is a reel that is a centrepin but you can turn the drum to face outwards for casting that i have seen ray walton use on TV. Maybe more experienced barbel anglers will post soon.

[Dan Dan]

I'd like to try both methods, fixed baits on a leger as well as running baits along the bottom so a reel that can deal with both situations would be good. As I said, the closest Ive gotten to fishing for barbel was watching people on discovery real time >_<

[Kappa]

I'd like to try both methods, fixed baits on a leger as well as running baits along the bottom so a reel that can deal with both situations would be good. As I said, the closest Ive gotten to fishing for barbel was watching people on discovery real time >_<

 

It all depends on how much you want to spend! Barbel fight very hard and you want a stong reel! Personally I don't like modern reels all that much, I'd recommend an original Mitchell 300, they are very stong and simple (less to go wrong) and you can pick them up very cheaply, my last one cost 15 quid! The drag is rubbish though so you might want to use backwind to play fish instead!

 

Mitchell 300

 

You might also want to try out a centrepin, they are great fun but they aren't all that cheap! You could always try an AnglersNet pin which are very reasonably priced!

 

Rich

Edited June 19, 2008 by Richard Capper

[Dan Dan]

It all depends on how much you want to spend! Barbel fight very hard and you want a stong reel! Personally I don't like modern reels all that much, I'd recommend an original Mitchell 300, they are very stong and simple (less to go wrong) and you can pick them up very cheaply, my last one cost 15 quid! The drag is rubbish though so you might want to use backwind to play fish instead!

 

Mitchell 300

 

You might also want to try out a centrepin, they are great fun but they aren't all that cheap! You could always try an AnglersNet pin which are very reasonably priced!

 

Rich

 

I've never had a centrepin to call my own...I must enquire! How do I go about getting one? I actually own a Mitchell 300, but the bail arm has snapped off =[ Didn't get to use it much before that happened, so can't really say how I felt using it! Thanks for the idea though, I guess all these new fangled reels with a gazillion ball bearings don't really have a lot on the older ones?

[Anderoo]

If you can stretch to it I'd have a look at the 5000 size shimano baitrunners. Even if you don't use the baitrunner very often, they're really excellent reels, and will balance a barbel rod very well. Plus you can use them for other things like carp/tench/bream/etc. fishing.

[Dan Dan]

Had a look on ebay, there are a couple going for around £30 but likely to shoot up in the last hour or so... I'll try my local tackle shops and check the prices but that shimano 5000 looks beefy enough for me ;D

[tincatinca]

As Anderoo has said, the Shimano 5000 Baitrunner is ideal but also if you are not looking to cast long distances the original Shimano 3500 seaspin baitrunners are more than up to the job and excellent examples can be found on e-bay from time to time for around £35.00. The clutches are superb and the reels if looked after are virtually indestructable. I have and use both but for close to medium range I prefer the 3500s. It must be said though that the line lay on the 5000s is much superior to the 3500s but if you are not casting distance it does not matter.

[ayjay]

I'd recommend an original Mitchell 300, .................................................... The drag is rubbish though so you might want to use backwind to play fish instead!

 

 

Stick in a couple of teflon washers and some silicone grease and they're fine.

[Ducktape Corkfeet]

Shimano Super Baitrunner 5000 XTE-A

 

http://fish.shimano-eu.com/catalog/fish/pr...D=1213898909591

 

The perfect reel for the job.