Don't worry about feeling a stretch. I think to many people mis-use the barbell row. It's not meant to be a pumping out or "feel" exercise. It's meant for power. Don't worry as much about "feel" with these. Bend over at 70 degrees or so, grab it, ram it up hard into the belly button, lower and repeat. Pure strength, pure bread and butter.
Use stiff arm pullovers and machine pullovers + pulldowns and other cable or machine exercises to "feel" the lats contracting. When rowing with the barbell focus on everything involved. For years I only focused on trying to get the feeling in my lats and completely missed the purpose of the exercise. When I started focusing on feeling it in my lats, upper back, rear delts, traps, biceps, every where is when I started getting the most out of barbell rows. This is the bread and butter movement that is meant to build the back and all other supporting muscle groups around it.
Go heavy, exhaust EVERY muscle involved, no isolation of the back specifically. Save the other exercises for that purpose. But for rows in particular, focus on brutalizing everything. I know this goes against what most of us are taught, but then again look at who writes these muscle building articles and teaches this isolation and "feel" stuff. Most of these magazine and book authors have never experienced sore lats. This is what makes us question Ronnie and Branches form among other pro's, but yet it's obviously working. I'm not saying to use loose form like these guys do, but I can also see why it works as well.
For instance when I train chest, I now focus on building and contracting the pecs, front delts, and triceps. Not just contracting the pecs. I contract all of it. Do the same with the back and you won't go wrong.