I’d?

[Chris Hammond]

What is it anyone?

[Cyprio]

Possibly a Barbel going by the fins. With the orange tinged edge to the pelvic fin.

[Chris Hammond]

Possibly a Barbel going by the fins. With the orange tinged edge to the pelvic fin.

My initial thought too Andy, but another pal has just said bream, and I think he’s right.

[Mike J]

Sturgeon


(maybe)

.

[davelumb]

Possibly a Barbel going by the fins. With the orange tinged edge to the pelvic fin.

My initial thought too Andy, but another pal has just said bream, and I think he’s right.

a**l fin looks a bit short for a bream and overall more like a barbel. But it's an odd angle for judging.

[Cyprio]

Looks like whiskers on the nose and must be in river as bubbles on surface. Bit of pre-bait an hour after dark.
If your rod flys of you know we were right

[delboy]

RUN

[Bob Watson]

A s**t photo!



I'd have thought barbel but it could be a bream on an angle so you can't comprehend the depth of body

[delboy]

Its at least 10ft long

[Bob Watson]

After another look, Barbel!

I should know what they look like, I caught one last night, the smallest I've ever caught at about 2.5-3lb

[Chris Hammond]

My pal is 99.9% sure it’s a bream and I trust his judgement. Additionally it is in a river where there are no barbel, hence my initial excitement.

Either way when time permits I will have a crack at it.

[Chris Hammond]

Looks like whiskers on the nose and must be in river as bubbles on surface. Bit of pre-bait an hour after dark.
If your rod flys of you know we were right

That’s what caught my attention initially. It looks for all the world that it has whiskers.

[Chris Hammond]

BTW this fish and some lovely chub are sharing the river with a family of otters. I don’t want to drop too many clues but you would fully expect the stretch to be devoid of big fish as there is very little opportunity for them to hide from the otters.

Very curious.

[Cyprio]

its that orange in the fin that sells BARBEL not Bream to me.
I'm guessing its a steam you wouldn't expect to see one

[Chris Hammond]

Sturgeon


(maybe)

.

I thought a bit smoothound looking too Mike, but this river would have had a sturgeon run 100 years ago.

[Chris Hammond]

its that orange in the fin that sells BARBEL not Bream to me.
I'm guessing its a steam you wouldn't expect to see one

I can dream then?

Tbh if it was a barbel it would be as likely there as a wrasse in Redmire!

[Cyprio]

If you've found a Barbel in our part of Suffolk I'm on my way





More chance of giving a discount

[cookiesdaughtersdad]

I though bream straight away and over the last few years, I have seen a few

Cheers, Alan

[suffolk si]

If you've found a Barbel in our part of Suffolk I'm on my way





More chance of giving a discount

I’ve seen pics of some good ones from Suffolk Andy, few years ago though rumours the odd come out still but needles and haystacks spring to mind

[Cyprio]

If you've found a Barbel in our part of Suffolk I'm on my way



More chance of giving a discount

I’ve seen pics of some good ones from Suffolk Andy, few years ago though rumours the odd come out still but needles and haystacks spring to mind

Definitely a lot of Haystacks with few needles Si.
Coming from the Lea Valley I didn’t know how lucky I was to have an abundance of species of specimen size.

Our local (main) river here used to get its reeds cut Barbel were added many times and started to thrive. Then the Signals appeared close to source, the reed cutting stopped and the signals worked their way down.
We even had Zander in the river and lakes but sadly gone. The otters have moved on and only hang around town now.

[Chris Hammond]

I believe there was a stocking in the river whose name is also a village in Suffolk many years back. I’ve been waiting patiently for them to venture down a couple of other rivers to my favourite one. Even heard tell of them at double figures not too far from the release spot, but as of yet nothing concrete.

We live in hope.

[suffolk si]

If you've found a Barbel in our part of Suffolk I'm on my way



More chance of giving a discount

I’ve seen pics of some good ones from Suffolk Andy, few years ago though rumours the odd come out still but needles and haystacks spring to mind

Definitely a lot of Haystacks with few needles Si.
Coming from the Lea Valley I didn’t know how lucky I was to have an abundance of species of specimen size.

Our local (main) river here used to get its reeds cut Barbel were added many times and started to thrive. Then the Signals appeared close to source, the reed cutting stopped and the signals worked their way down.
We even had Zander in the river and lakes but sadly gone. The otters have moved on and only hang around town now.

Yep that’s the one seen pics of fish to mid doubles from there in the past but as you say chances of getting one now slim to none, I’ve seen them on upper bure about ten years ago too but they’ve disappeared, hence the loooong trips to the Terrance nowadays

[Cyprio]

If you've found a Barbel in our part of Suffolk I'm on my way



More chance of giving a discount

I’ve seen pics of some good ones from Suffolk Andy, few years ago though rumours the odd come out still but needles and haystacks spring to mind

Definitely a lot of Haystacks with few needles Si.
Coming from the Lea Valley I didn’t know how lucky I was to have an abundance of species of specimen size.

Our local (main) river here used to get its reeds cut Barbel were added many times and started to thrive. Then the Signals appeared close to source, the reed cutting stopped and the signals worked their way down.
We even had Zander in the river and lakes but sadly gone. The otters have moved on and only hang around town now.

Yep that’s the one seen pics of fish to mid doubles from there in the past but as you say chances of getting one now slim to none, I’ve seen them on upper bure about ten years ago too but they’ve disappeared, hence the loooong trips to the Terrance nowadays

This was the propaganda from 2003

“ Within a decade they could reach up to 17lbs, making the river the finest barbel fishery in the Essex and Suffolk division of the Environment Agency.

The new arrivals, placed in five sections of the river, were all anaesthetised before being individually injected with different coloured elastomer dyes in their fins, in order that they can be monitored.”

Might be fun drafting a letter to see how Great it turned out 20 years later

[suffolk si]

If you've found a Barbel in our part of Suffolk I'm on my way



More chance of giving a discount

I’ve seen pics of some good ones from Suffolk Andy, few years ago though rumours the odd come out still but needles and haystacks spring to mind

Definitely a lot of Haystacks with few needles Si.
Coming from the Lea Valley I didn’t know how lucky I was to have an abundance of species of specimen size.

Our local (main) river here used to get its reeds cut Barbel were added many times and started to thrive. Then the Signals appeared close to source, the reed cutting stopped and the signals worked their way down.
We even had Zander in the river and lakes but sadly gone. The otters have moved on and only hang around town now.

Yep that’s the one seen pics of fish to mid doubles from there in the past but as you say chances of getting one now slim to none, I’ve seen them on upper bure about ten years ago too but they’ve disappeared, hence the loooong trips to the Terrance nowadays

This was the propaganda from 2003

“ Within a decade they could reach up to 17lbs, making the river the finest barbel fishery in the Essex and Suffolk division of the Environment Agency.

The new arrivals, placed in five sections of the river, were all anaesthetised before being individually injected with different coloured elastomer dyes in their fins, in order that they can be monitored.”

Might be fun drafting a letter to see how Great it turned out 20 years later

Seen pic of a fish I think was 14 something. Doubt there 14 barbel in whole river now

[Cyprio]

Every cloud and all that our are doing GREAT

4F488D4E-9B03-47E7-9169-5F23D3CCB3C4.jpeg

[Mike J]

BTW this fish and some lovely chub are sharing the river with a family of otters. I don’t want to drop too many clues but you would fully expect the stretch to be devoid of big fish as there is very little opportunity for them to hide from the otters.

Very curious.

Odd as it may seem Otters and big chub seem to go together exceptionally well. Just take a look at Avon Diary, https://www.avondiary.net/ it written by the River Keeper of the Somerley Estate where we have a resident pair of breeding otters and chub of a size and number that many anglers can only dream of, also carp, barbel and bream all exceedingly fit and healthy.


For the pikers scroll down to earlier in the year and there is a shot of a mid sized jack going sideways.

PS dont discount a sturgeon, they can turn up anywhere, a while back one was even found in a small pond behind a car wash.

.

[Alex Fox]

My immediate thought was a barbel and still is, but as Mike says possibly a sturgeon, which could easily have been chucked into the river by someone when smaller, but would be paler in appearance ?

[Chris Hammond]

My immediate thought was a barbel and still is, but as Mike says possibly a sturgeon, which could easily have been chucked into the river by someone when smaller, but would be paler in appearance ?

Honestly Alex, it would be almost impossible for it to be a barbel where the picture was taken.

And I was joking with Mike’s ‘sturgeon’ shout.
With all due respect, that ain’t remotely what a sturgeon looks like!

[Alex Fox]

My immediate thought was a barbel and still is, but as Mike says possibly a sturgeon, which could easily have been chucked into the river by someone when smaller, but would be paler in appearance ?

Honestly Alex, it would be almost impossible for it to be a barbel where the picture was taken.

And I was joking with Mike’s ‘sturgeon’ shout.
With all due respect, that ain’t remotely what a sturgeon looks like!

Now you post that picture

You will have to catch it now and let us all know

[suffolk si]

Fairly confident it’s a barbel tbh