And yet, how does the barbell catch the wobble? The M(a)ren's Pit, Savage Gear Crucian Crank 3D, Chapter 2

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Andy Arif
16 October 2023
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14 minutes read

I know I've been driving you crazy lately with the barbell wobbler, I promise I'll stop after this article. At least until we get to edit new episodes that we consumed and filmed this year. And you were? Yes. And I'm going again. If you missed the article Some people like the barbell, I say read it before scrolling on. Or a troll.

How did I catch my first barbell on wobble?

I'm by no means an expert in this style of jigging, I haven't caught many barbel in my life and the ones I've caught have been by accident when fishing clean. I started fishing for clean, let's say barbel, around the beginning of the 2000s, when Florin Ghimișliu introduced me to the Argeș River and trolling. Default and with Daddy Draghicescu, from whom I bought my first micro wobblers for clean. Default also for barbell. In an evening of mIRC, that there was the online community of fishermen, Florin tells me to go to Argeș at kilometer 47, that bream and barbel are caught there. I had no idea what either the clean or the barbell looked like, because, well, ex-bambinar quickly metamorphosed into a spinning fisherman, I had barely ticked bream, bream and perch. Said and done, I head to kilometer 47 on the place indicated by Florin, I catch two fish, hmmm, which is one, which is the other? I call Florin to thank him: Thanks a lot for everything, trolling on the river is much cooler than I imagined. Yes, yes, I caught two, a bream and a barbel.

The years have passed, the wobble barbell has remained

The call of the river was clear. So clear that the next few years I dedicated to fishing on running water, to clean fishing, both wobble and on the fly. I didn't miss out on the lakes either, it's certain that in a few years I collected several hundred micro wobblers and active clen. But also a few barbels, not big, not many. Caught by accident or not, fighting a barbel is something hard to describe in words, especially when fishing with ultralight, light, even medium light gear. On current, on big rivers, on big barbels, without equipment to match the power of this phenomenal fish you have relatively little chance of presenting anything Instagrammable in front of the camera lens or video, newer. It is certain that I have always wanted to fish dedicated to barbel on wobbler, but I did not get to do it until last year, probably due to time considerations or I always had other fish to catch. Or that we don't really have fish with teeth in Romania anymore and we're giving up on cyprinids (avat, clean, barbel). No, I'm lying, I tried it once before, in Spain, on Lake Garcia Sola, with some super barbels seen on the sonar, with big deep diver wobblers, gherla. Giant barbell, I swear. I promised to come back, but that's another story, I hope so. On second thought, yes, it will be. I also put on Tik Tok.

And yet what did I catch the barbell with?

When Mălin proposed to me that we go fishing on the Garam River, the barbells were targeted under the sign of fishing at Cheburashka, offset hooks and soft gums, fishes and creatures, as he had caught a year ago under his wand, sorry, his magic wand Peter Sztahovits. And what else is caught there? Come on, big guys. Aha. Clean, plus barbell, plus wobbling, equal strike. After the first few days when the fish were not active and after the kayak fishing episode with Zoltan Szabo, honestly, I kind of gave up on Cheburashka and focused exclusively on trolling. Despite the fact that I have several hundred wobblers, as I said above, my kit contained only a few models that over time have always confirmed the clen passed from the first youth, both on rivers and lakes: Jackall Chubby and Strike Pro Cranky, SR, MR, DR, developments from the water surface to the stony bottom of the river. I still had a few wobblers in my kit Savage Gear Crucian Crank 3D, newly purchased, untested, but I liked the colors and shape. Coincidence or not, these were the undisputed stars of the outing.

How and with what did I catch the barbell for wobble? Because many of you asked me...

You've probably seen more than I could write here, in the videos I've posted on YouTube, or in the 6 episodes of King Garam that's still running on Fishing And Hunting Channel. Some of you have asked me more about the gear you have been using in trolling. Regarding the rod, also in tests, like the Criscian Crank 3D wobblers, so I liked it and took it, I fished with a Arrow Air Pro rod 2.4m, 3-15gr, which proved to be just what I needed to cast further micro wobbles and spin the rods in the strong current of the river. I wrote about the Daiwa Emeraldas reels that I spun here. What threads did I use? monofilament yarn, Stroft, GTM and dye, it is no longer a surprise that I personally use them whenever I have the opportunity to the detriment of multifilament threads. Why Color? Because that's how I caught the first barbell on the wobbler and if that's how it went, why change. I used the same color to trout, no fluorocarbon precursor and never seemed to dislike them in super clear water. Neither barbels, nor trouts, nor chubs. Because you've seen me in the water and I like to walk around in jeans, I used wadersi Denim and sneakers. Casually smart, right?

When will I fish for barbel on the wobble again?

From now on, whenever time permits and wherever a barbel swims. Big. For next year, because this year I promised to leave you alone, I plan new episodes on the river King Garam (Hron in Slovakia), to attack the territories of UK doldora of fish where they herd Alexandru Stoica, Bogdan Florea and Calin Lucian, to return to Spain on Garcia Sola to those giant barbells he showed me Jose or that I saw on Tomi's Youtube channel. And in the country? I probably won't have time for all of this, but if you know a place in Romania where mustaches make their mark, I'm waiting for a private sign. Sounds Leo Christian? Oh, I forgot, I intend to grab his barbells as well Benzar, from Mureș, with Andrei Sava and Bogdan Puscas. No cheese. All. We have wobble.

PS1. Did you really think I was letting you down this year? I won't let you, because I haven't finished telling about barbel fishing with soft lures and Cheburashka. Read here a new article Peter Sztahovits about this impressively effective technique in catching barbels and more. Come on, the toothless raptors are now in power! My name is Andy Arif and I'm obsessed with the barbell.