How To Catch BARBEL - A Simple Guide To Barbel Fishing

Barbel are a great species to fish for on rivers, in this video we run through how you can catch more barbel. We cover feeder fishing, ledgering and rolling meat, what tackle to use and also the baits which work best for barbel fishing.
I created Fishing Tutorials to help people learn about fishing and catch more fish!
Watch big films on my main channel: @fishwithcarl
Level up your angling with my Fishing Guidebook: www.fishwithcarl.co.uk
Follow me on Instagram: / fishwithcarl

[@fishingtutorials]

Hi! To improve your fishing and catch more fish, check out my Simple Fishing Guidebook! With 100 pages of tips, rigs, knots, bait + lure advice and 21 in-depth species guides, you’ll definitely improve your knowledge and skills. Get yours here: fishwithcarl.co.uk/products/the-simple-fishing-guidebook

[@RicTic66]

I caught my first two Barbel age 14 at the confluence of The Thames, River Wey and The Desborough Cut. In the huge weir pool that forms there. Action had been slow and I took a piece of cold sausage out of the sandwiches my Mum had made me for the long night. On a size 10 hook and a running bullet lead, 5lb line straight through, I cast my 13ft Daiwa match rod far out into the middle of the pool. 20 minutes later the rod bent round and the clutch went screaming off. Shortly after, I was landing the first of two 7lb+ Thames Barbel, something I nor any of my friends had ever seen. The event was so memorable that 48 years later I still remember every moment. Great video as always lads. Take care. 😊🐟

[@RicTic66]

@Prince William of Satsuma Maybe, but you bothered to read the story and even felt the need to comment. One day, you may have a tale to tell. 😊 Instead of just posting nasty replies.

[@pauledmonds3249]

Probably the best Barbel tutorial on the net at present. Keeping things simple is the key. Loads of valuable information for the novice and experienced angler alike. 41 years i've been fishing and you still teach me valuable lessons. Good on you guys, you need 1Million subs.

[@carlos777uk]

Your tip about the grass is something I think you can propagate more, especially instead of using plastic bait stops, which is just such a bad practice all around. I've never used bait stops, always a bit of firm grass stalk found at the bank side.

[@225kk]

Same here 😅

[@steveosborne9000]

Caught my first barbel the other day, thanks guys!!!

[@tomcarpenter7970]

I hate to rain on your parade, but river season doesn't open till Tuesday, I'd watch out for angry people in the comments😂

[@steveosborne9000]

It was at a pond pal, I don’t really know how it works to be honest.

[@fleosflanacek]

@@steveosborne9000 You don't want to get into the river close season arguments! I've seen fist fights about it!

[@steveosborne9000]

David Harris hahha I’ve never fished on a river before. Might give it a go sometime.

[@mattmatt4847]

Gold standard for fishing videos anywhere online. Well done again chaps!👍

[@MrTim207]

Great work Carl, I really enjoyed this video. I used to watch your videos with Alex from your younger days. I’ve taken a break from fishing for 5-6 years so to come back and see you’re still making quality videos, is pleasing to see. Keep up the good work lads.

[@willsansome1733]

This is just the video I needed, never caught a barbel and are going to try and target some this year, as well as zander, thanks guys

[@peymanlashgari9446]

Purely educational, no redundant stuff. Appreciate.

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad to hear you appreciated it, thank you.

[@wonkylommiter6364]

Some absolutely golden information here, watch and re watch if you really want to catch Barbel. there is a lot of rubbish advice on this subject, but this is really in tune with info that trusted friends have told me and has led to catches of Barbel, such awesome fish when you get the basics of targetting them right.

[@chrisbray9938]

Your channel is brilliant especially this one, great information covers everything

[@tomcarpenter7970]

I really love this long tutorial format!

[@DUanglingsociety]

Great video lads, I spent years trying to catch these on my old local club river (admittedly half-heartedly) but never succeeded. I’ve joined a new club with more river access, so making it my goal to get one this season, and this video was extremely helpful. Many thanks, keep it up!

[@orangepeelbeef4324]

I have recently started Barbel fishing and I'm really enjoying it. My main aim is to keep things as simple as possible and eventually get a double. Great video this has helped me a lot. Subscribed 👍🏻

[@cliffdixon6422]

Thanks guys, really useful. Just got back in to fishing after 5 years off and Barbel are my favourite river fish. Used to catch loads on the float on the Kennett back in the 90's, 5lb double strength line and a size 14 double caster over a bed of hemp, best day saw 10 fish with a pb just under 9lb and only one under 6. Unfortunately, a combination of otters, cormorants and red signal crayfish have put paid to that so this was a really timely find to get me up to speed as I go after them on my local River Colne which is not so conducive to the float but has double figure torpedoes in it.

[@robunited848]

Brilliant video. Me and my dad are going fishing for barbel for the first time June 16th on his friends stretch off river, this video really helped.

[@markdavis6078]

Well done lads, another no nonsense video with clear practical advise. I have used the rolling meat method for years, on the Severn, Hampshire Avon and Dorset Stour with great success... you can cover loads of swims in an evening. I love to touch leger when using this method, great for bite indication and a really exciting way to fish. Keep up the good work👍

[@clickonthewildside]

Superb instruction, expertly made and delivered - thank you!

[@qjarman7753]

Great! This is the video I needed to set me straight on a few of the finer points... thanks so much for this

[@smartiesubunk2thnubuts397]

Yes lads, got to take my hat off to you for the detail of your tutorial video's. Keep up the first class work, looking forward to more great tutorial video's. Respect from Manchester.

[@k7ls221]

Excellent video i always fished my local river which is filled with chub using quite a big hair rig and always got pick ups but never actually hooked into a chub, last week changed from that to straight on the hook now have had two 7lb plus chub in one week! Had afew barbel too with your tips Thanks alot Carl!

[@kauvran]

Nice video guy's big fan from Slovenia! i cought the biggest barbel at night in the river mura they were around 7-8 kg..

[@alex-_-ltfc9074]

Cheers lads, always helpful

[@fleosflanacek]

Imo, barbel are the best fish in inland uk. How hard they fight, how difficult they are to catch (most of the time) and the fact that they send so many fisherman mad. Really informative and helpful video. 🙌🎣🎣

[@RiceEater-xt9uy]

I’ve always wanted to catch barbel. This was such a great vid.

[@doriansmith499]

Great video Carl. Thanks for the advice 👍🏻

[@wills1004]

Great video guys, keep it going🎣👍

[@jakemcgauley8600]

great video. keep up the amazing work

[@leeiley5683]

Spot on video again from you guys. What you are doing is great keep it up. Roll on the 16th. Cant wait.

[@fizbuk]

Great video fells! Everything someone wanting to try and catch Barbel for the first time needs to know. Like all fishing location is the key and I cant agree more with the advice of baiting a few swims (1/2 dozen) and then going back to the start and fishing them. Half hour and move on, if they are there then they will take your bait - good luck!

[@MrLeesv650]

Nice 1 lads, good tips tricks and handy hints!!!!!!! 👍👍

[@leeprice7810]

Really good video . thanks for sharing some of your knowledge

[@gbadge9275]

You guys could do a tutorial on paint drying and it would still be great to watch. Your building such good lives for yourselves doing what you love and I wish you both all the best. 👍👍👍

[@stuartsharp1641]

Great video fella lots of good tips. Thanks 👍👏

[@cousinvinny7990]

How can anyone dislike these videos? good clear advice from two younger lads who have a passion and a vast knowledge for fishing! what is the problem? jealousy by any chance? by the way i love barbel have caught quite a few lately they are stocked in some of our local still waters ps anytime you guys are cambridgeshire way i'll come fish with you ;)

[@wulfiesmodels6763]

Interesting video, hard to catch barbel at my local when river is a little higher than normal, thought I would brush up on my knowledge :) You could tie a link swivel using a low lb line to your ledger/feeder and shield with a bit of silicone tubing. This would make a running ring setup a quick change system, also if you snag the feeder/ledger the hope is it will break that line rather than the mainline allowing you to retrieve the swivel link and the hook length.

[@test8959]

top advice carl.i'm on the swale in mid august and will put these methods into practice.

[@UncalBertExcretes]

Great guide thanks alot!

[@johnsmith-rs2vk]

Very informative , many thanks .

[@4192362]

Cracking video, very clear and informative 👍

[@Bulldog2108]

very comprehensive, great vid

[@michaelcole6527]

I took up barbel fishing last season after watching some of your vids. Had some good success landing a nice one at 13lb on the dot. Had my season cut short tho after losing a lot of my tackle when my shed went up in flames. Hoping to get back out there again this season tho once I have enough tackle to do so

[@benfish5856]

Oh yeah !!!! Roll on Friday !! Night session just got better .Cheers lads on 🔥

[@MrAnderson321]

Nice vid! 👌

[@markmatthews8429]

great vid and nice to see you fishing in my home town.

[@danieltimmins2995]

I have no Rivers with barbel near me so rip but still fun to watch

[@harryjohnson5115]

Love this video

[@cheza7061]

I have to say, you guys are the ones to watch. You are the modern day John Wilson x 2 but alot younger lol. You do these videos so well, and explain in great depth so credit to you both.🎣😎

[@Wonmanbanned]

I’m not joking here - this is by FAR the best set of fishing series on YT. I am a rank amateur and have some limitations with a spine issue, so everything takes me a lot longer to do, so getting the technical aspect right in my head is vital before I go so I know what I’m doing. These vids are simple to understand and I can get everything understood property before going…. I just need to start catching some fish now!

[@fishingtutorials]

Thank you so much! Glad the videos have entertained you. :)

[@MrJackTricks]

Got a decent stretch for barbel on my new club ticket... Will watch this tonight ready for season to start next week 🤙🏼 wish me luck 🍀

[@moraxella.catarrhalis]

Thank you guys!

[@paulk3098]

Very good instructional video- roll on the 16th! Nice one

[@dannyw7479]

Great video

[@Blindbat1337]

Thanks for this video! I just moved to South Korea and there are tons of Barbel here. I was unsure of how to target them, as I am used to bass/catfish/carp. Thanks for the extra information!

[@barbelover]

Very good summary about barbel fishing...well done mate !

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@dexperelaxify4510]

Cool video, very impressed👍

[@enzolomongiello4497]

I live in France, I fish for barbel in the little river in my town. It's filled with barbels, there is at least 1 barbel every 10 meters in the river. It's a very fun and rewarding fishing, I feel bad for all you guys in UK that struggle to find some, i just wish that everyone had the population that's in my river.

[@piotrgolczyk727]

Extra film :) !!! Mnustwo przydatnych porad :) !!! Fajnie że zdradzasz swoje sekrety ;) ! Zazdroszczę tych pięknych , malowniczych rzek pełnych ryb !!! Pozdrowienia z Polski ;)

[@kbfishing504]

Nice video 👌🎣👍

[@joebutler3118]

Very useful information thanks

[@Perez_Pesca_pfc]

Thank you men for sharing your tips

[@fishingtutorials]

No worries!

[@georgemarch6752]

Great video lads, I sometimes fish the river wensum but unfortunately the barbel are near enough non existent in there now.

[@terryblush]

Very informative 👍. Scottish barbel in our rivers? I only know of the Clyde and they are very rare coming out. Apparently some match anglers illegally put some barbel from down south into the river back in the 70’s. It’s taken so long for them to start showing

[@kevinbrindle4191]

Plenty of good info there,very helpful

[@fishingtutorials]

Glad it was helpful!

[@willsowray4989]

Really find these videos helpful, could you possibly do a beginners guide to river fishing, I’ve only ever fished on lakes and live on a river at my farm and really want to be able to fish it

[@lordamercy5609]

quite a nice Guru advert that. i actually learnt something about barble!

[@darksyndrome9812]

thanks this video was very helpful i have always wanted to catch a fair size barbel but it seems i was doing it wrong. ill try these methods in a couple weeks with my mates.

[@pescarlo6716]

Excellent video! 🎣

[@fishingtutorials]

Thanks! 👍

[@baggers-]

Looks like a common Barbel I used to love catching them when I fished ditches they only like fresh well aireated water and very clean water

[@jofish1967]

Amazing video i like barbel thwy look really cool and are very interesting thanks for the tips great video keep up the god work👍👍😁😁

[@milansindler334]

You can put a carabiner instead of a lead for a quick change. Great vid thanks for the tips , just realized that i didn’t try spam yet in my local river. Lets hope i catch some barbel 💪💪

[@eduardoturc9629]

I also use chese and it works really good

[@fleosflanacek]

Ive always caught many more chub on cheese/cheese paste than barbel. What method are you using?

[@eduardoturc9629]

David Harris I use smoked cheese and y hook it and that ‘s it

[@rumenstoynev3888]

A tip here , that particular knot that you are using when using bigger or braided line tends to undo itself rather then breaking ( the line ) when using heaver line especially. I avoid said knot like the plague ! :) I've tested this for myself with one knot and a 2 pairs of players

[@Divingbigpete]

Got a few large barbel in my pond fascinating to watch as supposed to be a bottom feeder

[@adijemilijanovas3946]

I know u wont see this but i tkink u guys are underated a i love ur videos thxs for every thing

[@basskillergaminghuntingand1181]

Man if I ever find myself in the uk someday this will be the first fish I’ll go after absolutely stunning fish

[@fishingtutorials]

Beautiful fish :) I love barbel. Hope you get a chance one day! If you want, look up Smallmouth Yellowfish (one of their African cousins) on google 😊

[@matgfunk]

Great Video guys, did you ever try a method feeder for Barbel?

[@maxw.1107]

nice video👍🏻👍🏻👌

[@flynnperkins6836]

There are loads of barbel in the river Trent next to me, big ones aswell. I live in Nottingham.

[@Pescapesca8]

Great video,in Italy x chub and barbel we use a chicken liver

[@walkingwithgiants1]

Keep up the brilliant work lads!....younger people relate to younger peeps, how can this not work magic with them? :-) from an older peep! :-)

[@liontibbs5441]

Perfection

[@josephscott4997]

I hope to catch my first barbel this year, so thanks for the video it really helped

[@fishingtutorials]

Happy to hear that mate, have fun!!

[@andrewfarquharson1529]

And I was off to fish the River Severn this Wednesday coming trying to catch my first barbel. Perfect timing. Cheers gents.

[@andrewfarquharson1529]

Last cast of the day, Luncheon meat with the hemp and sweetcorn in the feeder, bagged a beauty. First Barbel atleast 8lbs. So wish I had scales. CANNOT BELIEVE how powerful they are. I'm hooked. They may be my new favourite speices.

[@danielthomas749]

Another great video wanna see more Carl vs Alex also would love 2 see Alex vs Tom Dove 1 golden boy v another

[@rhyspercey3880]

Great video 👌, could you do a video on how to catch pike plz I'm looking to get into pike fishing but I'm not sure how to start

[@northshoreproductions3787]

Another awesome video lads. Wish there were Barbel venues near me! Wouldn't it be possible to combine the 2 rigs displayed with a snap swivel slider bead? That way you could still use the Guru speed bead to swap out your hooklinks quickly and also swap between weights and feeders.

[@fishingtutorials]

Yeah man for sure that would work definitely! :)

[@flapjackboy22]

It would be great to see you two in a collab with Ace Videos

[@CarpioTheOnlyOne]

Carl well presented now I need to wait for the 16th to try it out

[@titchworld8082]

Hey Carl awesome video lots of info and easy to take it all in :) I was just wondering weather id get away with using my carp rod pod on the river (I will be fishing the Trent) or would I need to buy a river pod? Thanks Titch

[@l1ght_p1nk]

you two should try fishing for barbel at hazelford lock on the trent. I’ve fished it many times the same as i would for carp and i’ve caught up to 17lbs and i think it would make a good video for you two you need boilies, size 6 hooks and a decent net and i can guarantee you will catch if you cast just off of the foam from the weir all through the night. (me my sad and brother had almost 20 fish in one night combined)

[@CustomFishing_EU]

Barbel is excellent sportfish for spinning, or fly fishing as well (of course with appropriate lures and techniques).

[@henrybetts530]

What size, and colour spinners would you recommend for barbel?

[@CustomFishing_EU]

@@henrybetts530 I recommend to you mainly soft lures. Imitations of bugs, larvas, maggots, pupas in some cases imitations of baitfishes.

[@Divingbigpete]

Got a few large barbel in my pond Fascinating to watch as supposed to be a bottom feeder

[@SlishNetwork]

Nice Video as always - i have a very clear and small river (7m wide) and there is place with 5-30 barbel at the same spot (10cm-2m deep) the whole day. One time i managed to catch one with 31inch after trying for 6h many different baits and techniques - Any idea how to catch them? Best greetings from Germany

[@brynandzacfishinguk9402]

Really great video💙 A video about carp Baits and how to use them would be cool

[@mihai8080]

How To Fish The Method Feeder For Big Carp This is the title from Carl & Alex Fishing Tutorials ,search on KZbin

[@brynandzacfishinguk9402]

Mihai Petru Baciu I don’t really do method feeder fishing tbh

[@piotrgolczyk727]

Hey guys ! I really like your movies , especially those about fishing in rivers! I used to watch avideo of you guys catching lots of Barbel , and now I can't find it on YOU- TUBE !!! You wer efishing with a bearded fellow , you can see him on the video (5,42). It was probably fishing under afull moon. Can I get a link to that video please :) ???

[@strickostricko]

New subscriber. Interesting and informative. 👍

[@fishingtutorials]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for watching!

[@BlackCountryPiker]

Nice informative video, I bet your both itching to get on the river 👍

[@thediligentdungbeetle8116]

I sure as hell am

[@roblodge3818]

Great video guys, I'm off for my first ever Barbel session later this week as I embark on my learning journey that is river fishing!

[@liamroyale9661]

Same, started again a couple of weeks back. Brings back some amazing childhood memories with my Dad. Now I know why he used to love fishing so much

[@davehynes4504]

Any advice to target barbel specifically in a stocked pond mixed with carp?

[@colinrobertson4065]

Here in switzerland cheese is one of the prime barbel baits. Have you ever tried that? If not i would strongly suggest to. Awesome Video!

[@skillzadri5925]

What type