Dave Lumb interviews Steve Stayner

How did you come to concentrate on fishing for barbel?

I assure you that for me, the seeds of what turned out to be something of an obsession with this particular species were sown a good few years before I actually captured my first one.

As you're probably well aware Dave, in terms of sheer fighting and awe-inspiring qualities, the reputation of barbel so often precedes them. I'm not and never have been into narcotics, but, convert that reputation to experience by catching a few, and I fail to imagine that the likes of heroin and cocaine could be potentially more habit-forming. On that note, should we class barbel fishing as addictive? I don't know, maybe it's time the hobby carried some government health warning, eh?

Well, as a recovering barbel addict, it's great to know I no longer have to catch them to satiate any angling need. These days, if one reveres barbel to the lengths that I do, simply being in the presence of such truly magnificent creatures - or around the many wonderful environments in which they live - is a more than adequate fix.

As for where my obsession with barbel began. Well, as a teenager in the mid to late 70s, I used to buy the Angling Times fairly regularly (unlike nowadays). Reading the reports on the River Severn, which was stocked with barbel by AT around 1968/69, was more than enough to whet the old appetite. Those days, 50lb to 80lb match weights of medium sized but 'extremely powerful, mystical and whiskered fish' were firmly imprinted in my imagination.

Seeing an old school friend catch the very first barbel I'd ever laid eyes on in the flesh didn't help matters, either. That happened to be a Trent fish, caught around 1974.

You might think that I soon went on to catch my first barbel a relatively short time afterwards. However, for various reasons (and mainly because I was more obsessed with chasing pretty girls at the time) it didn't work out that way. It wasn't until 1984 - yes a whopping 10-years later - that I managed the feat, again with a fish from the Trent (miles upstream from where my mate caught his) of approximately 1.5lbs.

Anyway, from observing my mate's experience with his barbel 10-years earlier (and reading of those reported in AT during the 70s), from the moment I hooked it, there was no doubt in my mind that I was attached to a whiskered wonder - the very first of thousands I've since caught by design. Crikey, that was 22 years ago. Doesn't time fly when we're obsessed with barbel?

Although I caught my first barbel in 1991, it wasn't until my second in 2004 that I started fishing for them with any degree of seriousness. In those intervening years, the general approach to barbel fishing seems to have changed a great deal. On many rivers, the average size of barbel does seem to have increased. What's the biggest change, for better or worse, that you have seen in your barbel fishing career?

There are so many examples of change and influence, particularly over the last decade, on which I could draw to answer your question. Tackle improvements, and the fact that the important messages regarding sensible choice of rods, line strength, etc., are being heeded by more and more anglers who turn to the species is well worth a mention.

Let's face it, Dave, more big barbel are now being landed and consequently returned hook-free to the water than ever before, which is testament that the message is being received. This is not only great news for those of us who love hooking and banking barbel. More importantly, it's a sign of respect to the fish that one actually adopts a policy towards their welfare. Fish safety (the emphasis on safely playing, landing and returning them to their domain as quickly as possible) is, in my opinion, of paramount importance. It is a principle that should be adopted by every barbel angler long before they consider placing a hookbait in the water.

Given that you appear to have asked what I regard as possibly the most influential, singular aspect of the modern approach to barbel fishing, I'd say that simply has to be the emergence and subsequently increased use of fishmeal pellets - primarily those which contain higher levels of oil.

Just a few short years ago, only a minority of barbel anglers were very successfully using these baits in secret. Now - because of their sheer effectiveness, increased levels of manufacture, variety, marketing and good press - we have a nation of barbel anglers who appear almost as addicted to using pellets as the fish are to feasting on them. In some cases, because they are so downright appealing to the fish, I'd even go so far as to say that pellets could soon make a relative barbel novice appear as though he has years of experience under his belt. Indeed, in specific areas, pellets are so appealing to barbel that they could be presented in the crudest of manners and still score on the day.

Therefore the plusses for choosing to fish with pellets are pretty obvious from an angler's perspective. As mentioned above, they can prove to be a well-chosen bait that cancels out those moments when we may otherwise have gotten it wrong regarding presentation. All in all then, it would appear that in some cases, pellets prove to be a positive substitute for otherwise bad angling.

Equally, pellets can also dramatically increase our chances of success on those days that we marry them to the rig that most suits the session. In other words, though it may sound obvious, get everything right (including choice and size of pellet), and these baits often prove to be head and shoulders above any other we could possibly choose. Compared to more expensive HNV baits, such as ready-made boilies, pellets undeniably come cheap. Compared to the time-factor and mediocre levels of difficulty - not to mention potential ear-bashings - associated with making DIY boilies/pastes, pellets are also a very convenient choice with an extended shelflife.

Admittedly we might rightly see them as a catalyst for previously unimagined and disproportionate weight gains in fish - particularly in areas where they are overly used. But, relating to the last decade, I reckon anyone would be hard pressed to name anything else that's had quite the same influence on modern barbel fishing and, quite possibly, the shape and size of the fish themselves.

As you rightly pointed out in the build-up to your question Dave, 'on many rivers, the average size of barbel does seem to have increased over the last decade'. From that rather coincidental perspective, I guess it remains truly debatable whether pellets that are particularly high in oil (which often prove to be the most effective fish takers) can be deemed a good or a bad thing. Best get back on the fence for now, eh?

Pellets have undoubtedly had a huge impact on barbel fishing, and probably the barbel too. But I know from reading your articles and books that you have experimented a lot with other baits. So am I to take it that pellets are not always the best choice of bait?

Without a shadow of doubt in my mind, for much of the season and when used in areas where they are recognised by the barbel and thus treated as a natural food source, pellets are second to no other bait. Largely, they've even surpassed hemp when it comes to laying down a carpet attractant and fishing over the top of it. In some cases, I believe, say, only a-dozen pellets carefully placed in a swim can have the equivalent pulling power of a whole pint of hemp.

However, pellets don't have it all their own way throughout a whole season. Indeed, there are periods between June 16th and March 15th where other, more traditional baits will score at least in equal measure on the day.

The period from opening day to approximately two-weeks into the season allows for a prime example of non-pellet domination in areas where they haven't been pre-baited in the run-up to the off. Not without good reason, it is widely accepted that barbel are notoriously slow starters. In those areas where they have neglected to coax the fish onto non-naturals during the close season, anglers who choose natural baits such as lobworms are more inclined to score during the first few days.

Casters also remain phenomenally successful from opening day until well into the autumn. Tipped with redworm or quartered lob/dendrobaena (earthworm), two to four casters on a size 8 hook almost always scores on opening day where any wormless offering is inclined to fail miserably. (It never ceases to amaze me just how many anglers continue to blank for the first week or two using pellet and wonder why the wonder bait isn't tempting the fish to anywhere near the levels it is certain to do later on. If you're one of those who spends early season sessions scratching their heads and blaming any dismal beginnings on hot weather and low water levels, here's a clue: The fish, in all probability, haven't seen a pellet or any other non-natural food for three whole months. The likes of worms and slugs, on the other hand, are intermittently available to the barbel throughout the season. Nature, therefore, does the job of pre-baiting for you. Utilise this process on the glorious 16th and you might just be glad that you did.)

Maggots, of course, need no introduction at all. But, overall, neither they nor casters are as cheap as the likes of pellets, which lend themselves to a much more sparing usage. You've probably noticed maggots don't keep particularly well, either. However, given that my wallet extended as far as some ardent maggot users, they would certainly be counting me amongst their ranks. Oh how I'd love to be a six to eight pint per day and unmissable bite man for most of the season. That, as we know, is how effective a gallon per session can be. Alas, if only more of us poor guys could afford the option, eh?

Even since the emergence of HNV baits, I've caught barbel on elderberries (particularly good when they are in season and naturally hanging over the swim), slugs, minnows, prawns, cockles, bread flake, bread paste, sweetcorn and meats of many a kind. Notably, variations of the latter were always my first choice in floodwater and during winter evenings. Mealworms can be effective too, especially as they resemble a larger variety of caddis grub, which, during summer, the barbel absolutely adore and will eagerly seek out.

Obviously not all of the above can be classed as natural baits, but rather un-naturals that, since the epidemical rise in popularity of the pellet, have become somewhat forgotten. Oh yeah, I've just reminded myself of how truly effective but so little used cheese is these days, too - especially the superb hot and spicy Mexicana, which you can readily buy from Morrison's Supermarket. Though I may be wrong Dave, it could be reason one hundred and ninety nine. You can be sure of one thing though; the likes of Mexicana and other similar cheeses are most definitely well worth a try. So, in sum up to your question, who still thinks barbel are only inclined to eat pellets nowadays, eh?

A few words of advice to those who are becoming stuck in that particular mindset: periodically throughout the course of the season, be prepared to return to more traditional baits every now and again.

Particularly from autumn onwards, while many anglers are struggling, there's every possibility that you'll be the only one still banking a few. Pellets may well be the bait of the century but, on occasions, they can still limit one's catch rate.

This interview continues here.

The full text of this article was originally published in Coarse Angling Today