With big barbel becoming fairly commonplace nowadays—thanks to rivers like the Trent, Thames, and Lea consistently producing fish over 20lbs—we, as anglers, are sometimes guilty of overlooking smaller barbel that are still incredible fish in their own right.
Ryan Lister recently landed a 12lb 2oz barbel from the River Wandle, one of London's last remaining chalkstreams. While this may not seem as significant as a record-breaker, considering that this tributary of the Thames was nearly lifeless a decade ago due to a pollution incident, a fish like this once seemed unlikely to return. Its presence highlights the success of the remarkable efforts to restore the river’s ecosystem. Barbel like Ryan’s prove that no matter how bleak things may seem, if we care for our waterways, life can flourish again in a relatively short time.
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"I recently decided to dust off the rods and get back out there after a number of years off, and today was the day I chanced my luck," Ryan told us.
"The River Wandle is my new local, so I did a bit of research on local Facebook groups and The Wandle Piscators to get a gauge on catch reports and what species inhabit the river."
After gathering some information, Ryan headed out around lunchtime, planning to fish until dusk. After trying a few spots with no luck, he moved to a new area where he had previously seen a large common carp feeding near a bank slack, in the hope it might still be there.
"I cast in along a slack near an overhanging bush that looked promising, but after 15 minutes with no action, I decided to put on a fresh piece of luncheon meat hoping I’d have better fortune."
"This time, I chose to cast further along the treeline, snug against the overhanging bush, and within minutes, the quiver tip wrapped around," he said.
"As soon as I set the hook, I knew it was big—at first, I thought it must be a large carp. However, it soon became clear that this was most certainly a barbel."
"It powered up and down the river, trying to find every snag and holding deep in the current. I’ve been told the depth on the stretch varies from a few feet to around five feet, and this fish was making full use of it," Ryan recalled.
"After an intense battle that felt like forever, the unit was finally in the net—and it looked massive. The scales confirmed it at 12lb 2oz, a new PB for me, and a great return to fishing!"
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