For many river anglers, the 2025/26 season will be remembered as one largely scuppered by the adverse weather conditions, but if big barbel are your thing, it was one for the history books!
Not only was the British Record broken twice, but a stack of other colossal barbel were reported, including river records on the Severn and Trent. We now live in an age where there are more barbel over the 20lb mark swimming in our waterways than ever, and more individual rivers holding fish over that remarkable benchmark.
This week, we spoke to a number of experts on the reasons for this meteoric rise, as well as hearing their views on whether it’s necessarily a good thing for the species.
A 'perfect storm'
Richard Pitman, Farm Manager at the EA’s National Coarse Fish Rearing Unit in Calverton, believes there are a number of factors influencing barbel growth.
“In general, water quality in rivers is better than it was 30 years ago,” he said.
“Look at the Trent – it was a great roach river decades ago when it was artificially warmer due to power stations, and far dirtier than the conditions we see today. The return to a cleaner, more natural river will have aided fish growth. We’re also not experiencing the seasons we once did,” he added.
“Over recent years, the climate has been warmer and wetter. Take the winter that’s just passed – there was never really a prolonged cold spell. As a result, barbel are feeding for longer into winter, and they start feeding earlier afterwards, which again contributes to growth.”
Alongside these changes to the barbel’s environment, Richard believes that the actions of anglers are also impacting overall fish sizes.
“More people are trying to catch these fish – in the Trent, they are the most sought-after species,” he said.
“Anglers are feeding high-protein baits, and while not a ‘natural’ diet, it’s a good food source for growth, with the fish also having to use less effort to find it. All these factors: water quality, changing weather patterns, and more high-protein baits, have to be having an impact.”
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How big could they get?
Late last season, Nathan Buckingham landed a barbel of 23lb exactly from the River Lea – the biggest ever landed on British shores. That specimen is the biggest example of Barbus barbus ever reported, anywhere, so unlike species such as perch and carp, which reach their biggest recorded weights on the continent, we have no benchmark for the weights barbel could reach in Britain.
Richard added: “You don’t have to go back many years to find anglers who wouldn’t believe that we were catching upper-doubles, never mind twenty-pounders, on so many rivers. If the factors mentioned above remain the same, with our winters staying mild and bait being continually introduced, fish will utilise them to simply keep on growing.
“I don’t believe they will get to 30lb and would expect today’s twenty-pounders to be near the upper limit. But, it’s crazy to think how far barbel have come over recent years. How big will they get? In truth, only time will tell.”
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Unhealthy obsession?
Meanwhile, Steve Pope, Chairman of the Barbel Society, has concerns around the long-term implications of the big-barbel boom.
“In small rivers where these exceptionally sized fish live there are often not many younger, back-up fish to replace them,” he said.
“This is what has happened on the Kennet and at Adams Mill on the Ouse, where the barbel fishing today is a shadow of its former self.”
While Steve acknowledges that larger rivers, such as the Severn and Trent, contain fish of varying year classes, he worries that the ‘soul’ of barbel fishing is being lost.
“When I started in the 1960s, the very best anglers caught one or two double-figure barbel a season,” he said.
“Those fish are still huge today, in my mind, and are incredibly special, but I fear that in some places, they don’t get the respect they deserve.
“Fishing is an art form in some ways, built around knowledge of our quarry, yet today, it’s becoming mechanical,” he added. “It’s got to be the only hobby where we celebrate obesity, as these heavy fish being caught today are just getting fatter.”
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Skewed perception
Steve urges anyone who is new to barbel fishing to try not to be blinded by the pursuit of solely giants.
“If you go to the Trent and catch a 16lb fish on your first cast, where do you go next?” he said.
“I’d encourage anyone getting into barbel fishing to go somewhere and enjoy catching smaller fish.
“Granted, there aren’t as many places where you can do that today as there once were, but on the Wye and parts of the Severn, you can learn to approach the fish with stealth, how to prepare a swim and get the fish feeding, and enjoy catching what comes along. If you do get a ‘double’, treat it with the respect it deserves – they are amazing creatures.
“Barbel fishing has taken me on a lifetime’s journey, and I hope it’s one that can be enjoyed by generations of anglers to come.”
