Silver Bream and Barbel

I had been searching for a venue where I could catch Ide or Golden Orfe and stillwater Barbel when I came across a venue with both. The only problem was that it would be about 2 hours on the train and not a very regular service. At least it was quite close to the station, so I didn't have to do too much of a hike.

So I set up with my usually two rod setup. A ledger with corn or halibut pellets and a wagler setup. First cast... landed the first of my target species albeit about a tenth of the expected size. It was a 2oz fully formed little Barbel [#140] Barbel - Barbus barbus #140

I then proceeded to catch a whole lot of F1's on both rods, then a nice little Crucian. F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius Crucian Carp - Carassius carassius

Then several fish which I though were just Roach/Bream hybrids which really big eyes but in fact where a species I had never caught before, the Silver bream[#141]. The best way to identify these is the large eyes and the red coloured fins. To be sure, you will need to count scales and fins which are always hard to do without photos. Silver Bream - Blicca bjoerkna #141 Silver Bream - Blicca bjoerkna Silver Bream - Blicca bjoerkna

Into the day, I continued catch a few more species, perch, roach, bronze bream and a really nice sized gudgeon, but didnt get any Ide or Orfe. European Perch - Perca fluviatilis Roach - Rutilus rutilus Bream - Abramis brama Gudgeon - Gobio gobio