How to feel like a fish in water while fishing? About the barbel

- the fish is quite large in size, it can grow up to 1 meter and gain a weight of 12 kg. In fact, many people dream of catching her. She is of serious sporting interest, as she has a strong body. It should be noted that all barbels are dexterous and smart. They won’t just get hooked, even if the bait is one of their favorite delicacies. The entire genus of fish of the Karpov family differs from the barbel. It is often confused with a gudgeon, but upon closer examination it can still be identified. All thanks to the antennae that are located on the cheeks of this representative. Obviously, it was thanks to them that it got its name.

Appearance

The barbel can be easily recognized by its torpedo-shaped body and unusual pink fins. The only fish that is similar to the barbel is the gudgeon, but it is significantly inferior to the barbel in weight and size. A distinctive feature of the barbel is two pairs of whiskers at the corners of the mouth and head. The gudgeon has whiskers located only in the corners of the mouth, and the gudgeon also has a duller speckled color. The color of the back varies from dark to olive green, the belly is whitish. The lateral line is well defined. The peculiar mustache of this fish serves to search for food at the bottom of the river, which the barbel then sucks into its mouth using a special device. The thick lips of the barbel serve as protection against damage from sharp gravel and snags on the river bottom. The eyes of the barbel are unusually small, although this is not typical for fish that are accustomed to finding food at the bottom in low light. But this suggests that the longhorned beetle relies more on its sensitive whiskers than on its eyesight when searching for food. It reaches a weight of more than 10 kg and a length of over 80 cm, but rarely, mainly fishermen come across specimens of much smaller sizes. Lives up to 20 years.

What does it look like

The fish with a mustache looks like a large gudgeon, and its coloring resembles a carp: the green back with an olive tint reaches dark shades in some varieties. The fish's belly is light, its dorsal and caudal fins are green, and the remaining fins are pink. Longhorned beetles are also distinguished by a well-defined lateral line.

This fish got its name from a pair of whiskers at the corners of its mouth, with which it searches for food on the river bottom, and its thick lips protect its mouth from scratches on stones and snags.

The wide and developed mouth performs the function of strong suction when feeding. The eyes of barbels are small, like those of other bottom-dwelling fish.

Longhorned beetles have a large elongated body, similar to a torpedo. They live up to 15-20 years, grow up to a meter in length and reach a weight of more than 10-12 kg. But in most cases, fishermen catch specimens weighing about 6 kg.

Varieties

There are many varieties of longhorned beetles that differ in appearance from their relatives depending on their habitat. Characteristics of subspecies of longhorned beetles:

1. Common - grows quickly, reaching up to 10 kg, has a bronze tint of color, is distinguished by thick lips and a fleshy snout.
2. Cherry barb - lives in the shallow waters of Ceylon and Sri Lanka; in other countries of the world it is bred by aquarists as an ornamental mustachioed fish.
3. Kuban longhorned barbel is distinguished by a powerful upper dorsal fin, small scales and several rows of small teeth.
4. Sevan is a miniature barbel (length - up to 30 cm, weight - up to 300 g), lives in the coastal areas of Lake Sevan and its nearby rivers, feeds on insects and the eggs of other fish.
5. The Aral is the largest of the madders, differs from other barbels in its migratory lifestyle, is widespread in the Amu Darya and Syr Darya basins, becomes mature by 5 years, spawns rarely (once every 2 years).
6. Crimean - common on the coasts of the rivers of Bulgaria, Turkey and Crimea, it is small in size (its length is about 50 cm), and is distinguished by a dark bronze color with brown spots.
7. Chanari is a giant beauty that grows up to 120 cm in length, weighs up to 12 kg, has large golden scales, and lives in the Caspian Sea basin.
8. Kurinsky is a small-sized motley barbel with black-brown spots all over the body and fins, common in the Kura and Araks rivers.
9. Caucasian is a small Dagestan species, up to 40 cm long, with reddish gray scales covered with dark spots.

Types of barbel

Common barbel

This fish has many names, the main one being myron. In Belarus it is known as marona, on the Dnieper - miron and madder, on the Neman - kelb, etc.; small males are sometimes called tap dancers. The barbel is a large and fast-growing fish that prefers solitude. It gathers in large or small schools during spawning and in winter stops. It reaches a weight of more than 10 kg and a length of over 80 cm, but rarely, mainly fishermen come across specimens of much smaller sizes. Lives up to 20 years. The color of the back varies from dark to olive green, the belly is whitish. The lateral line is well defined. Sexual maturity occurs in the 3-5th year of life. Females are usually larger than males, but mature later than them. The barbel spawns in May - June, laying eggs in portions on sandy and pebble soil. Fertility is from 15 to 45 thousand eggs. Longhorn caviar is considered poisonous to humans. The barbel feeds mainly at dawn and at night on worms, mollusks, and insect larvae. A special delicacy for barbels is fish roe, which they eat in large quantities, thereby harming other species. Prefers rivers with fast currents and a sandy-pebble-rocky bottom. During the winter it lies in holes and holes under steep river banks and hardly feeds.

Aral barbel

This species is distinguished by the largest specimens, if we talk about all types of longhorned beetles found in the CIS. It leads an anadromous lifestyle, but also forms residential forms, in particular, it is found in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers. Reaches a length of 1 meter and a weight of 20 kg. Compared to other species, the Aral barbel has denticles along the posterior edge of the thickened ray of the dorsal fin that are poorly visible. Having reached sexual maturity (5-6 years), it begins to move from feeding areas (from the open parts of the Aral Sea) along the western and eastern shores against streams of fresh water flowing in from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya. Individuals migrate that have reached high fatness and fat content, but with still immature reproductive products. The movement at sea towards the mouths reaches its maximum in June - July; Fish enter the rivers from June to August, rising many hundreds of kilometers.

During migration in the river, the Aral barbel almost does not feed and quickly begins to lose weight. Having entered the river for spawning, it prefers to spend the winter in holes with a medium current; in the spring, after the ice melts, it again rises slightly higher upstream to the spawning grounds. Before spawning, it feeds on scraps of plants and aquatic invertebrates, but sometimes does not disdain mice and lizards that have fallen from the shore into the water. Spawning areas extend almost throughout the flat course of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya. Spawning time is very extended - from the beginning of May to the end of July. Fertility is 190-560 thousand eggs. The eggs are spawned on rocky soil, and then rise into the water column and develop there.

After spawning, emaciated individuals roll downstream, go out to sea and begin to feed intensively. The main food in the sea is bivalves. It does not spawn every year, but, apparently, every year or two. After hatching, the juveniles stay in the river bed and actively feed on small bottom and benthic invertebrates. Most of the fry migrate to the sea in the autumn of the first year, but some individuals remain in the river for a much longer period and, apparently, some males reach sexual maturity in the river.

The barbel-chanari differs from the Aral barbel in having larger scales and a golden color. Very beautiful fish. Lives in the southern and western parts of the Caspian Sea. This species is larger than the Aral one and reaches up to 120 cm and weighs up to 9 kg.

Sevan longhorned beetle

A relatively short form, its representatives reach only 30 cm and 300 g. It also forms a residential form. It spawns both in the lake and in the rivers flowing into it. In Sevan it adheres to coastal zones. It feeds on mosquito larvae, amphipods, and fish eggs. The Crimean barbel is common in the rivers of the Western Caucasus and Crimea, the Dagestan barbel is common in the rivers of Dagestan, Kuma and Terek, and the Kura barbel is common in the Kura. These are all just subspecies of longhorned beetles that entered these reservoirs a long time ago.

Description of the fish

The common barbel is a river fish distributed throughout almost the entire territory of Eurasia. Its other names are myron, moraine, bruzhanka. The barbel belongs to the Karpov family. It has several subspecies.

A characteristic feature of the fish are two pairs of whiskers located at the corners of the mouth and head, which are used to search for food at the bottom of the reservoir.

Unlike most Carp, which live in almost any conditions, the barbel is very sensitive to the quality of water and the degree of its enrichment with oxygen. Perhaps only trout lives in cleaner waters than the moraine.

The body length of the barbel can reach up to 85 cm, but most fish rarely reach 40 cm. The average weight is 4-6 kg. The largest specimens were caught in Europe (up to 16 kg). The largest representatives from Asia rarely exceed 8-10 kg.

Important! In the Volga basin, the barbel is practically not found.

The body is relatively long, almost cylindrical in shape. In addition to the mustache, the fish is distinguished by a characteristic trunk-shaped mouth, even more pronounced than that of ordinary carp. The eyes are small, most often light brown.

The fish has a high dorsal fin located in the middle of the body. The color of the barbel is silvery and uniform. The top of the back has an olive tint, the belly is white. Some varieties have brownish spots located on the upper part of the body, above the lateral line.

The pelvic and pectoral fins are approximately the same size, the anal fin is slightly larger. The number of large rays in them does not exceed a dozen. The color of all fins is the same, but each subspecies has its own.

The fish feed on the bottom - every day the barbel goes hunting, moving, like carps, along a more or less constant route in search of food. The basis of the moraine's diet consists of mollusks, various worms, crustaceans, etc. They do not disdain plant foods.

Despite the increased caution and even timidity of the fish, barbels often behave very noisily: splashing in the water, jumping out of it, tearing the bottom, etc. This behavior is observed almost throughout the warm season, and not only during spawning.

Bream fish: photo and description

Sexual maturity occurs at 3-4 years in males and 4-5 years in females. By this time, the fish reach a length of 15-25 cm. At the same time, the behavior of the animal changes. If young animals prefer to stay in small areas with weak currents, occasionally on rifts, swimming with minnows and other small fish, then mature individuals prefer areas with fast currents, fresh and clean water. We can say that the behavior of young barbels resembles the behavior of carp, and adults - carp. The latter love rocky and deep places in rivers, occasionally appearing in shallow water.

Spawning occurs at the end of spring (May-June), when the water temperature becomes about +15°C. Females are capable of releasing from 15 to 100 thousand eggs. The fry appear after 1-2 weeks depending on the temperature. Their growth is relatively fast: in 4 months the size of young longhorned beetles reaches 10-12 cm.

Fish do not like large temperature fluctuations. They feel most comfortable at 15-25°C. Within the reservoirs in which they live, local migrations of the barbel to zones of more acceptable temperatures are observed. The lifespan of fish is about 25 years.

Since longhorned beetles need fresh running water, due to human activity, many of their varieties have become very rare over the last hundred years. The construction of dams, as well as the use of rivers for industrial wastewater, has significantly reduced both the habitat of the moraine and its abundance. Currently, there are bans on catching some species of these fish, even by amateur means.

Distribution area

Barbel fish is very common in Russia; photos of fishing enthusiasts with the long-awaited trophy often decorate thematic websites. But the habitat is not oriented to the entire country. In cold regions, the longhorned beetle is extremely rare, if not completely absent. This is due to the fact that at sub-zero water temperatures it simply will not be able to feed. It is difficult for him to get food where its availability is minimal.

Also, the fish in question can be found virtually throughout Europe. The exceptions are England and northern Scandinavia. Also, the longhorned beetle is not found in southern Italy. This is again due to cold climatic conditions or the lack of suitable bodies of water.

Habitat

The common barbel is common in the basins of the Caspian, Black, Atlantic and Baltic seas and in many rivers in Europe. The border of the longhorned beetle's habitat in Europe in the south reaches Spain and Italy, and in the north it stops at the Scandinavian countries.

In southern Russia, this species has been bred in many parts of the Caspian Sea, Dagestan and Kuban. The barbel is widespread in Belarus, Ukraine and Crimea.

The barbel is a river resident; its favorite place in the river is a sandy, pebble or rocky bottom. It prefers areas of reservoirs with fast currents.

Overfishing and unfavorable environmental conditions lead to a decline in the longhorned beetle population. In many countries this species is listed in the Red Book.

Habitats

Barbel fish
Many fish that are part of the Carp family live mostly in rivers. But sometimes they can be found in lakes or creeks. Such conditions allow only a few representatives to feed. Therefore, if a fisherman is lucky enough to catch a barbel in the lake, it will be incredibly large. For a short period of time, the population of this fish decreased noticeably. The reason for this was too polluted rivers and the pursuit of trophies. But now the population is gradually recovering. Today you can catch such fish in narrow rivers with an uneven bottom.

If you can find a barbel in a body of water other than a river, it is only because he was too carried away by the journey while searching for food. If there is no current, then the fish will not be able to reproduce, since there are no conditions for this. However, in quiet creeks and reservoirs there is a lot of food, so the largest trophies are found there. Needless to say, it will be easier to catch barbel in the river? The favorite place for fish is the bottom of the reservoir at a depth of 5-6 meters, which is necessarily covered with pebbles or coarse sand. In this case, the barbel will feed easily and have all the conditions for spawning.

Barbel is a fish whose menu is very diverse. But this is not at all the result of an abundance of favorite delicacies. Since longhorned beetles feed on whatever they find on the river bottom, a large menu is driven by the diversity of organic life. Most often, this fish, part of the Karpov family, eats the eggs of other river inhabitants, as well as larvae. But sometimes she comes across small mollusks, which also make up her diet. Longhorned beetles will refuse food only if it does not fit into their mouth.

This fish does not disdain various waste. If the remains of animals after a slaughterhouse are thrown into the river, then the longhorned beetles will live happily in it. Often fish eat crustaceans or algae, but not all of them, but only those that suit their taste. Smaller river inhabitants can also become prey for barbel. In short, he will eat whatever he finds at the bottom, even if it is small fish or waste from a slaughterhouse.

Ways to catch barbel

In terms of sport, the barbel will undoubtedly be of interest to any angler, as it is strong, active and agile, cunning and careful. A characteristic feature of the behavior of the barbel is noisy jumping out of the water and making fairly high jumps. Where fishing is permitted, you can use a float rod and bottom tackle - ordinary and with a sliding sinker.

When fishing with a fishing rod, choose places with holes, as well as deepened river beds behind the rifts, where whirlpools and reverse currents form. Gear for catching barbel must be durable: an elastic rod no shorter than 5 m, the diameter of the main line is from 0.3 mm, the leash is from 0.2 mm, hooks No. 6-7.

The best time to catch barbel with a donkey and a sliding sinker is at night and at dawn. Tackle option: on the main line there is a sinker that easily moves between two stopper knots. Two leashes are tied at the end - 40 and 50 cm long. The knots are knitted in opposite directions so that the leashes do not get confused with each other.

The barbel is a nocturnal fish and at this time it comes close to the shore. Therefore, for night fishing, 15 m of fishing line is quite enough, and for daytime fishing, you can make it longer. All bottoms for night fishing are usually equipped with a main line with a diameter of 0.6 mm, leashes with a diameter of 0.4 mm, and hooks with a medium-sized shank, forged No. 8-10. In any case, and for any gear, worms - dung worms, subleaf worms or crawling worms - are quite suitable as bait. Large ones are baited one at a time, leaving a small tip, and small ones in a bunch.

The barbel is good at catching crayfish meat, pearl barley shells, and insect larvae. In summer, it is good to catch on cubes of soft cheese. If the pieces are hard, then it is advisable to keep them in milk.

The barbel menu also includes steamed cereal grains and boiled potatoes. Another good bait is the blood of animals (sheep, for example), kept in a cellar for a day or two. Once hardened, it can be cut into cubes to fit the size of the hook.

And large barbel takes well on fry, sometimes even better than on other baits. It bites sharply, and often gets caught on the hook itself.

Barbel meat is delicious, especially fried, even better smoked, and barbel balyk is deservedly considered a delicacy.

Lifestyle

The barbel is a fish that only occasionally prefers company. She usually leads a solitary life. But she has to step over her principles during the winter stay and spawning period. Then the barbels gather in schools. The fish feed is focused on late at night. Sometimes she continues to swim in search of food in the early morning. In addition, the barbel may go out hunting during the day in the fall or spring, when the temperature at night is too low.

For the winter, all the fish in question hide in burrows or depressions, since the water in them is warmer. At this time they have almost nothing to eat, so they do not waste energy on this process and actually do not come out of hiding. There is no predisposition to migration in fish. She will only swim across in search of a new home if her river is too polluted. During the daytime, barbels descend to the bottom. In addition, the larger the fish, the greater the depth it will need in order to feel normal. It reaches its greatest activity in the pre-dawn hours, and then you need to catch it.

Reproduction

Females are usually larger than males, but mature later than them. The barbel spawns in May - June, laying eggs in portions on sandy and pebble soil. Fertility is from 15 to 45 thousand eggs. Longhorn caviar is considered poisonous to humans. Males mature at 2-3 years with a length of 15-16 cm, females at 3-4 years with a length of no more than 22 cm. Spawning occurs at a water temperature of 11 -15 ° on rocky or pebble soil in late May - June in the southern regions and in June - early July - in the northern ones. Spawning is gregarious. Life expectancy is up to 12-13 years.

Common barbel

This fish has many names, the second most popular after the barbel is myron. A variation of the same name - marona - is found in Belarus, madder - on the Dnieper. Neman fishermen call this fish kelb, and small males are called tap dancers here.

Common barbel (Barbus barbus).

Barbel is a freshwater fish. It is found in the basins of the Black, Baltic, Atlantic and Caspian seas. Prefers to stay close to the bottom in fast-flowing rivers. It overwinters in holes and holes near steep banks and hardly feeds.

This fish is similar in appearance to a gudgeon, but at the same time much larger. It reaches a weight of more than 10 kilograms, while the length from head to tail can exceed 80 centimeters. The shape of the barbel's body is similar in outline to a torpedo. The back is dark green to olive green, the belly is light, the lateral lines are clearly defined. The fins are unusually pink.

Aral barbel.

A distinctive feature of barbels is two pairs of mustaches located at the corners of the mouth and nose. The eyes are small, which is quite unusual for bottom-dwelling fish. But this suggests that the mustache helps myron in searching for food. The longhorned beetle has thick lips, which is a kind of protection against damage from snags and gravel. Females, although larger than males, usually mature much more slowly. Myron's lifespan is up to 20 years.

Males reach sexual maturity in the second or third year of life with a body length of 15 centimeters, females - a year later, when the body length is at least 22 centimeters. Myron spawns in May–June. It lays from 15 to 45 thousand eggs on sandy and pebble soil at a temperature of 11.15 degrees. Spawning occurs in batches. By the way, there is an opinion that barbel caviar is poisonous to humans, but recently ichthyologists have rejected this hypothesis.

This fish feeds mainly at night and early mornings. Its diet includes mollusks, worms, and insect larvae. The caviar of other fish species also often becomes the prey of myron - he prefers it to all other delicacies.

Barbel-chanari.

Miron is a sedentary fish, but sometimes it migrates short distances, apparently in search of clean water.

Fishing Features

Fishing begins with the complete fall of flowers in the gardens.
They fish with a reel, a bottom line, a bottom fishing rod, and occasionally with a spinning rod and a float rod. The most successful fishing is with bottom wiring and wiring. Bottom fishing is classic in its techniques and does not require a description. It is better to fish in a retrieve with a long release of the float, for which you need to equip a powerful and rigid fishing rod with guide rings and a reel. A small spinning reel with an easy stroke is more suitable, so that the current freely carries the float, winding the line from the reel with slack between the float and the tip of the rod. Lines with a diameter of 0.45 mm with a leash of 0.3–0.35 mm. The line should not be painted, but the leash can be painted light blue. The float is spindle-shaped, somewhat larger than usual for sinkers made of small buckshot or three pellets. For better visibility, it is surrounded only by 2/3 of the length. Straight hooks No. 8–12, which depends on the size of the bait and the weight of the fish expected in the catches. Catching barbel
The best baits are a spindle and a crawler. Earthworms, omentum, bivalve shells, crayfish and its neck, maggot and soft unsalted cheese are also used. To swim the bait in places with different depths and uneven bottoms, you have to control the gear, which is sometimes tiring and makes it difficult to distinguish bites. Shallow places pass, holding the float and causing the bait with sinkers to rise. At the beginning of the retrieve, sometimes you have to feed the line from the reel by hand until the float pulls it on its own. Bait is rarely used; it usually has no effect, often attracting other fish. The barbel hook, even at a long distance to the float, should be sweeping, but not sharp. The hook fits easily into its fleshy mouth.

After hooking, the barbel often rushes against the current, pulls very stubbornly and strongly, pressing against the bottom, often stops, stands up straight, with its head in the bottom. Both of these techniques can result in dead holds. You need to have time to wind the line onto the reel without allowing it to loosen. Sometimes, with a strong pull, you have to follow the barbel along the shore. Having overcome the first jerk, you must always be ready for a new throw in order to give up the line in time or run after it along the shore. The barbel does not allow itself to be taken out immediately; its resistance is stubborn and long-lasting. In the event of a snag, there is no need to despair; often the barbel frees itself from it; the line should be kept taut and, as soon as it sets off, continue fishing.

Barbel is caught with bottom fishing rods on an uncluttered, clean bottom, usually in the furrows of the fairway, which are quite close to the banks, on a pebble and coarse sand bottom. Lines with a diameter of 0.6 mm with a leash of 0.5 mm, painted sandy color. The leash is connected via a carabiner. The sinker is heavy, weighing up to 150 g, often sliding, but sometimes also an end one, connected to the line through a carabiner. Hook No. 9–12 with a long shank and a bent sting. Animal baits firmly attached to hooks are used as bait. The best one is the spindle. In very fast currents, the line is replaced with steel wire with a diameter of 0.2 mm, which makes it easier for the sinker to stay on the bottom and significantly reduces the number of snags on rocks. The wire is handled carefully, avoiding kinks and “wings”. The bottom line is attached to the tip of a rigid fishing rod and the alarm is closely monitored. When casting long distances, it is necessary to hook the fish; in these cases, self-hooking is a rare occurrence. With a float rod, barbel is caught in the same way as carp and carp - from the bottom and plumb.

Fishing for barbel

To catch madder, you need to use small baits. What is included in the fish’s diet attracts it most. Barbel is caught well on:

• crustaceans;
• leeches, snails, worms, maggots;
• soft cheese;
• cake, boilies;
• small fish feeding on the bottom;
• boiled potatoes;
• thickened blood.

You can use dung and earthworms. Steamed grains of cereal plants mixed with blood or milk are also used as bait. This fish loves bait, but in order not to make a mistake with the choice of bait, it is advisable to study the area and the inhabitants of the reservoir in advance.

For spinning

Fishing this way can be quite successful, considering the agility and agility of the fish. You need to choose a strong rod. It is better to use spinners that are small and spinning. They should imitate the small fish that live in the chosen location. It is advisable to equip the fishing rod with an inertia-free reel, and select a stationary sinker. There are several hooks on the leashes - 2-3 are enough.

Wiring is carried out above the bottom. The barbel is active at the moment of biting, and catching it the first time with a fishing rod is not easy if you have no experience. When biting there is a sharp jerk. At the moment of fishing, you must not allow any slack, otherwise the fish will fall off or go behind a snag or stone. It’s good to fish places with a spinning rod, and then use casts.

With snacks

Miron is excellently caught by baitfish, especially in the area of ​​large concentrations. Donka fishing is the most common type of barbel fishing. In this case, the same equipment is used as for spinning, but the reel is replaced by a die (wooden or made of another material). The main tackle is thrown into the water, and the die is attached to the shore. Any type of donk can be used. Fishing is possible with a sliding load, with a stationary bait, and when moving along the bottom. The main secret of success is the perfect balance between the load and the rod.

To learn more:

Silver carp: description, habits, fishing and benefits of fish

In places with strong currents, where heavy sinkers are used, high sensitivity of the gear assembly is important, otherwise you may miss the moment of biting. It is best to fish with zakidushki at night, when the largest specimens are caught. While waiting for the main trophy, you can fish close distances with a picker and diversify your fishing.

Traps

Where it is easy to catch barbel due to its abundance, traps can be used. This is a fairly easy, but difficult method. To catch fish with this tackle, you need to select or make it correctly. Standard traps are like a mesh barrel with a hole in the middle. There is bait inside, its smell attracts prey. Having fallen into a trap, she cannot get out of it.

You can build the tackle yourself. You need to take several metal rings of small diameter and cover them with mesh or rods. The result is a pipe, from one or both ends of which funnels made of the same material are inserted as on the sides. A window is installed in the middle of the trap for removing trophies. The bait is placed inside, wrapped in a fine mesh. The ideal place for such fishing is a hole or cliff near the shore. The barrel is tied to a stake fixed on land and thrown into the water.