No matter what reel you choose for barbel fishing it should be sturdy and reliable. For close range fishing some barbel fishers prefer the simplicity and direct feel of the fish that a centrepin offers - the ratchet being a bonus. Being of simple design there is little to go wrong with a centrepin, but learning to cast with them takes a fair bit of practice. Centrepins are no longer expensive reels, unless you choose to support British craftsmanship, as imported reels of good quality are available at reasonable prices allowing most anglers to experience their use.

One way to over come the casting difficulties for the cack-handed, and to achieve greater casting distances, is to invest in a side-casting centrepin like the Ray Walton Rolling Pin. The whole reel swivels around so that the line comes off the spool as it does on a fixed spool reel, being returned to the normal centrepin configuration for actually fishing. These reels do not come cheap, but are engineered to last a lifetime or two.

For most barbel anglers the choice of reel is between a fixed spool with or without a 'baitrunner' feature. If you fish with two rods then a 'baitrunner' is pretty much essential to prevent a rod being inadvertently dragged in should you get a second fish take the remaining bait while you are rebaiting the other rod, or even playing a fish on it.

If you only ever fish one rod, and hold it all the time, then a standard fixed spool reel will suffice, although some anglers like the benefits of a 'Fighting Drag' which can be used rather like a manually operated baitrunner.

Spool capacity will depend on the thickness of line you intend using. For most purposes a spool holding something in the region of 200m of 0.30mm mono will be about right. If you hold the rod the reel's weight may be a consideration and it is worth noting that some reel manufacturers produce reels with the same body size, and hence similar weight, but different spool sizes - the smaller spooled ones offering no practical advantage over the larger spooled models.