Barbel are incredibly special fish and as such need a handling and care policy that is way in excess of what others species need. Right? Well, if you read certain Internet forum threads then you could well end up with that opinion. To some anglers the barbel has been deified and anything less than the angling equivalent of the Savoy treatment is almost blasphemy.

And whilst I am not advocating that we shouldn’t care for our catch in the appropriate way, I am just attempting to bring some balance into the argument. After all, it could be argued (and with quite a level of justification too) that if we valued fish that much we wouldn’t put a hook in their mouths in the first place. So what practical things can we do without going over the top?

Well, first of all, as with all fish, try to keep the barbel out of the water for as short a time as possible. If you are intending to weigh and photograph barbel, it helps to have scales, weigh slings and camera in a handy place. The last thing you want to do is to have a fish flapping around on the unhooking mat (I always take one barbel fishing) while you are rummaging around in your bag.

With experience you will be able to net a fish, put it on the mat, weigh it and photograph it in a time that will have no detrimental effect upon the fish at all. But whatever you do, don’t copy what I have seen on a number of occasions where an angler has a barbel in a landing net and then walks fifty metres down the bank to show his friends what he has caught. Now that is something that understandably gets experienced barbel anglers annoyed.

Concerning the unhooking mat, I don’t want to be judgmental (so please don’t misunderstand me) but no responsible barbel angler that is going to remove his fish from the water should venture out without one. Actually a growing number of angling clubs are now introducing rules stating that all members fishing for barbel must have mats, so before you are legislated against anyway, why not come on board voluntarily.

Another issue is that of keep nets. Personally I don’t use one for barbel and would certainly discourage their use. However, each angler must weigh up both sides of the argument and reach their own conclusion. Mine, based on evidence of how barbel respond to prolonged periods in a net, fin damage and so on, is that it’s best to catch and release rather than to keep the fish until the end of the session.

Finally (and I have been very brief in this article, there is certainly a lot more that could be said in detail) we have to refer to the returning of the fish to the water. More so than any other fish, barbel will often have to be nursed so that they are able to swim back safely. A fish returned too soon will ‘belly-up’ and will float downstream and die. I have only had one instance of a fish not going back properly and believe me it is not a nice sight to see a fish suddenly appear on the surface.

On that occasion though I was able to retrieve the barbel and do the job properly. But I have never made that mistake again (it was some years ago, and we often learn lessons the hard way) and would impress upon all novices to stay with your fish until you are absolutely sure it is ready to return. All you need to do is hold the fish in the river and you will know when it is back to full strength. Although I would add that sometimes a barbel may appear to want to swim away but it’s not quite at the stage where you can safely let go. It’s better to be safe than sorry so don’t worry about spending an extra minute or two with the fish.

This is the final article in the series and although each article has been brief I hope that you have learnt something that will help you in pursuit of barbel. And if I have stimulated you into thinking about your angling or perhaps further research then I consider that a job well done!