barbel

Barbel

Barbel are a freshwater fish which usually inhabit gravel and rocky bottomed fast flowing waters with high dissolved oxygen content. Thus barbel tend to occupy rivers in comparison to Carp whom thrive in mud bottomed ponds and still waters. However Llyn Y Gors has had great success with Barbel in the still water lakes which seems to break the traditional mould for Barbel environments. The Barbel have grown enormously from 1lb averages to species offering 4lb 8oz and above in lakes such as The Pleasure Lake. The Barbel have also breeded extremely well resulting in an entire new generation of Barbel who will continue to grow on in Llyn Y Gors.

A typical adult barbel will range from 25 to 100 cm in length and weigh anywhere between 200 g and 10 kg, although weights of 1-2kg are more common. Not surprisingly, the size of barbels in large continental rivers typically exceeds that of barbels in smaller rivers.

Barbel can be identified by possessing two pairs of barbs, a longer pair pointing forwards and slightly down positioned on the side of the mouth and a pair of smaller barbels under the chin.

Barbels are found mainly in rivers of Europe and Central Asia but have also been stocked in commercial fishery lakes such as that of Llyn Y Gors in North Wales.. They are also found in Africa. The name barbel derived from the Latin "barba" meaning beard, a reference to the hair-like feelers (also known as barbels) growing around the mouth.