Big Barbel – Bonded by the Challenge

Edited by Bob Church, with a foreword by Peter Wheat and contributions from Peter Reading, Guy Robb, Ray Walton and Brian Dowling.

Each contributor has written about his own experience of barbel fishing, providing a wealth of knowledge gained over the years on many different venues. The chapters cover rigs and baits, methods for different seasons of the year and different river conditions. There are tips on how to outwit barbel that have already been caught repeatedly and detailed accounts of the captures of some of the biggest barbel ever caught. And finally, a list of barbel records for each river in England and Wales.

Just as Peter Wheat says in his foreword, barbel fishing has changed out of all recognition compared with how it was forty years ago. Apart from the phenomenal growth of the fish, from scraper doubles at that time to over 20lb, barbel fishing itself has reached almost the cult status enjoyed by carp fishing.

This is a book that will be an education to most barbel anglers, whether they be just setting out on the barbel trail or have already reached a high level of competence. No one barbel angler knows it all, but when you bring together several expert barbel anglers there is bound to be a treasure trove of knowledge to dip into that has been gleaned from a very wide spectrum of experience.