Six huge barbel abused for publicity pictures and a video. The Thames Six
- Thread starter Hallbo1
- Start date
The Sogster
Well-known member
Hallbo1, next time stand on a chair. That way you can talk down to me from a higher position.
Tellboy63, I asked Hallbo1 specific questions. I see he hasn't answered them.
By the way please explain what my assumptions are. My comments are based on what I was told by anglers I spoke to on the bank.
Tellboy63, I asked Hallbo1 specific questions. I see he hasn't answered them.
By the way please explain what my assumptions are. My comments are based on what I was told by anglers I spoke to on the bank.
Oh dear Sogster
You have reverted back to deliberately misunderstanding the point and tried to cause conflict which is a shame.
My concerns were about fish welfare and you have still not said if what occurred was acceptable.
Its like trying to get a straight answer out of a politician.
I will ask again
Do you think that what happened was okay?
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’
You have reverted back to deliberately misunderstanding the point and tried to cause conflict which is a shame.
My concerns were about fish welfare and you have still not said if what occurred was acceptable.
Its like trying to get a straight answer out of a politician.
I will ask again
Do you think that what happened was okay?
‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing’
So you was told you didn’t actually see it for yourself ..was it a my brothers girlfriend’s dad heard from his uncles grandad sort of thing?
@Clive
Well-known member
Personally I don't give a flying duck about the video. If anyone is concerned by it then deal with it personally, not on here. Voice your outtrage on your usual forum if you need an audience.
As Peter, Philip, John and Sogster have said; treat barbel like pet poodles and you will reap what you sow.
As Peter, Philip, John and Sogster have said; treat barbel like pet poodles and you will reap what you sow.
Keith M
Well-known member
I don’t do it now; however; back in the early to mid 70s it was common practice for us ‘after recovering them’ to put Barbel into loose weave sacks (one per sack) at night and peg them in the water facing upstream so that the oxygenated water would flow into their mouths and out of their gills; until it was light enough to photograph them without spooking any other fish in front of you with your camera flashing in the dark.
Every fish that I sacked (in loose weave sacks) was fully recovered in the early morning and after quickly positioning them and taking a photo they were returned carefully and full of life. However we wouldn’t even think about sacking them nowerdays.
Here’s a photo of some Barbel that I caught one night from the river Kennet back in 1976 when sacking was usual practice.
We’ve moved on a lot now, and now we wouldn’t dream of sacking them like this anymore. or photographing several Barbel (or Carp or Pike or Grayling) together out of water. But we shouldn’t be having a witch hunt; we should be showing them the errors of their ways and trying to educate them; not persecuting and vilifying them like you seem to be doing.
Maybe I’m wrong (I usually am) but that’s my view anyway.
And in my view it’s the water authorities and their bad polices and the resulting bad water quality and state of the environment that is the main reason why our Barbel seem to be declining in a lot of our Barbel rivers today; and if anyone should be vilified surely it should be them as well as the relevant government depts; with their misguided policies.; rather than a very occasional misguided angler.
Keith
Every fish that I sacked (in loose weave sacks) was fully recovered in the early morning and after quickly positioning them and taking a photo they were returned carefully and full of life. However we wouldn’t even think about sacking them nowerdays.
Here’s a photo of some Barbel that I caught one night from the river Kennet back in 1976 when sacking was usual practice.
We’ve moved on a lot now, and now we wouldn’t dream of sacking them like this anymore. or photographing several Barbel (or Carp or Pike or Grayling) together out of water. But we shouldn’t be having a witch hunt; we should be showing them the errors of their ways and trying to educate them; not persecuting and vilifying them like you seem to be doing.
Maybe I’m wrong (I usually am) but that’s my view anyway.
And in my view it’s the water authorities and their bad polices and the resulting bad water quality and state of the environment that is the main reason why our Barbel seem to be declining in a lot of our Barbel rivers today; and if anyone should be vilified surely it should be them as well as the relevant government depts; with their misguided policies.; rather than a very occasional misguided angler.
Keith
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The Sogster
Well-known member
Hallbo1 reread my initially post on this thread and digest.
I have clearly stated my thoughts on fish welfare.
Tellboy63. When a person fishing tells me that they had several bream on in the night but shook them off this is not chinese whispers.
Sadly more than one barbel angler I talked to told the same story.
I have clearly stated my thoughts on fish welfare.
Tellboy63. When a person fishing tells me that they had several bream on in the night but shook them off this is not chinese whispers.
Sadly more than one barbel angler I talked to told the same story.
I've just come in from fishing and the phrase that comes to mind on a quick scan through this thread is ' losing the plot'. Yes, we all stick hooks in fish, and yes, some make a fetish of performative fish care. But that doesn't vitiate the need to do as little harm as necessary. And I see the OP's point. Barbel fight to exhaustion, don't do well when retained, and deserve to be rested and put back asap with care, as described by Alan. If I saw a pic like that taken on the rivers I fish, I'd be concerned about what the angler is up to, and I'd hope other anglers would confirm the concern is justified rather than attack me. Barbel wars, barbel police? No. Just common sense. Treat barbel with more respect than the angler with a clutch of big barbel retained who knows how and lined up for the kind of pic we stopped taking decades ago.
@Clive
Well-known member
Oh, but they are only bream! What's the difference?
@Clive
Well-known member
You need to keep your head down. Once they find out that you fish for stillwater barbel they will have your name in the book
I don't see your point. Your bream/barbel equivalence ignores that one seems to do ok in nets, one doesn't. Your river/stillwater point is neither here not here. as I don't retain them on either. Invoking the Barbel Police just dodges the issue of treating different species according to their needs by implying it's all some angling pc. You said the OP had an agenda? Fancy that.
@Clive
Well-known member
It seems to be accepted that bream, roach, chub, etc can be crammed into keepnets for hours and then tipped into a heap for weighing or photography. But barbel are somehow different. Barbel cannot be retained in any way. If enough people believe in the barbel's vulnerability then don't be surprised if it becomes a protected species. Is that what they want?
Oh clive still upset about being kicked off another forum…why shouldn’t I deal with it on here it’s a fishing forum isn’t it ?I’ll voice my outrage on any forum I wish …
So all this concern about bream but not barbel personally I don’t think keepnets should be allowed either …
@Clive
Well-known member
What forum is that? It is news to me Mr Harman. You need to get your facts straight.
You think barbel "vulnerability" is a matter of belief, Clive? Not a matter of fact? I've caught 200lb of bream in a five hour match in NI. They filled two keepnets and all swam off. I've put a couple of barbel in keepnets on Severn matches, fussed over them, put giant leaves over the net to keep the sun off, asked for them to be weighed early .... and still. to my dismay. had barbel expire. You seem to struggle with the idea that different species need different handling, which seems obvious to me. Your latest post shares with another the twisted logic that recognising some species are more easily harmed plays into anti hands. Just do the right thing, which is not to accumulate 6 big barbel and line them up for a pic.
Sogster
I have asked you several times if you think what happened was right but you still refuse to answer.
if you cannot understand the question leave the talk to the big boys.
There is little point in posting comments about ‘twen I woz a kid’, unsuitable tackle and what other anglers do. If you cannot respond to a question that is posed in a debate stay out of it.
I have read other posts and they may not agree with me but they do comprehend what I am saying and if they can convince me that what happened was acceptable I will concede. It is called a conversation.
From the outset I laid out my concerns and have asked for others views on what happened.
there have been positive contributions and a few who prefer to muddy the waters but that is what the forum is about I hope.
A frank exchange of views is good but refusing to answer a simple question is a poor show and probably quite embarrassing in front of your peers because they all wonder why you cannot answer.
To the moderators I apologise if this post has caused waves.
All I did was highlight something that I considered to be of sufficient importance that it required a response.
If the members of the forum could convince that what occurred was acceptable then I would accept their position but that has not happened so far.
I have asked you several times if you think what happened was right but you still refuse to answer.
if you cannot understand the question leave the talk to the big boys.
There is little point in posting comments about ‘twen I woz a kid’, unsuitable tackle and what other anglers do. If you cannot respond to a question that is posed in a debate stay out of it.
I have read other posts and they may not agree with me but they do comprehend what I am saying and if they can convince me that what happened was acceptable I will concede. It is called a conversation.
From the outset I laid out my concerns and have asked for others views on what happened.
there have been positive contributions and a few who prefer to muddy the waters but that is what the forum is about I hope.
A frank exchange of views is good but refusing to answer a simple question is a poor show and probably quite embarrassing in front of your peers because they all wonder why you cannot answer.
To the moderators I apologise if this post has caused waves.
All I did was highlight something that I considered to be of sufficient importance that it required a response.
If the members of the forum could convince that what occurred was acceptable then I would accept their position but that has not happened so far.
@Clive
Well-known member
And you could argue that weighing a fish or retaining it so you can set up a photo is unnecessary. Plenty do, including barbel anglers.
Next time there is a match on your local river have a walk along the bank after the fish have been put back. They don't all happily swim away. I used to do that and took a pike rod. There were plenty of baits available. And plenty of pike too. They knew.
The Sogster
Well-known member
Hallbo1, I see you now revert to insults again.
My position is clear. Maybe you should heed your own advice and leave it to the mesters.
By the way have you addressed my questions yet or will you continue to ignore them?
My position is clear. Maybe you should heed your own advice and leave it to the mesters.
By the way have you addressed my questions yet or will you continue to ignore them?