The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Pafpuff wrote:Ian, that looks a lovely piece of water, I would be happy on it's bank

Minted river mate and there's big barbus barbus in there

Anyone up for a trip to Scotland?

Sorry to come to this a bit late Ian. The barbel in the Clyde are a peculiarly nomadic strain that are able to swim up trunk roads. They left the Severn in the early 70s and swam up the M6 to Preston. From there, as George says, they swam up the A74 where they set up home near Strathclyde Country Park.

A fellow Barbel Catchers Club member was seconded to a Scottish branch of his company and had several sessions after Clyde barbel without success. You'll probably know better than me, but he found that there were many strange rules about what he could and couldn't do. He told me that he was allowed to ledger but that he had to use a main line with a breaking strain of 6lb or less so that he couldn't be suspected of salmon fishing. Certain baits were also forbidden, but I can't remember what he said he could use (I think he used trout pellets). He couldn't find a lot of information about where to fish so he just had to choose a likely looking spot and give it a go - with predictable results (or lack of them!).

The best way to locate barbel will be to walk the banks (difficult I know) in late May and early June and look for barbel on the shallows. From memory there are few of these below Lanark so every shallow area may well have some barbel on it. Once spawning is over the barbel will tend to stay on the shallows until late Summer so if you see them you stand a chance of catching them. They will move very quickly on to pellets and they should have been fished for enough to recognise them as food, although they will very quickly switch on to them with a bit of prebaiting.

I hope that helps, but feel free to drop me a PM if you want to discuss anything.

I'd forgotten you were a Larkhall lad George. Did I tell you that I used to visit Larkhall foundry regularly in the 1980s? I used to stay in the Popinjay at Rosebank. Very good steaks if I remember correctly!

Am I right in thinking the record for the Clyde is just over 8lb?

SeanM wrote:
I'd forgotten you were a Larkhall lad George. Did I tell you that I used to visit Larkhall foundry regularly in the 1980s? I used to stay in the Popinjay at Rosebank. Very good steaks if I remember correctly!

You must have been a posh visitor staying in the popinjay.... One of the best watering holes around on the clyde side
Yes mate you mentioned you used to visit the foundry one of my play areas as a kid in the 70s....go where we arent allowed, mainly for the sandstone by product to carve things from

Paul D wrote:Am I right in thinking the record for the Clyde is just over 8lb?

all info is on page 1 of this topic

George387 wrote:

Paul D wrote:Am I right in thinking the record for the Clyde is just over 8lb?

all info is on page 1 of this topic

Not sure that counts?