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Maggot Swim Feeder rigs

Pete Dalton

Pete Dalton

Senior Member
Hello, I fancy trying the old fashioned but (apparently) effective Maggot feeder rig. Does any one have any simple rigs? I am thinking of scaling down slightly to 6 pound with 4.4. pound double strength hook length, possible hair rig with maggot clip to size 14 and a black cap feeder?
 
Pete Dalton said:
Hello, I fancy trying the old fashioned but (apparently) effective Maggot feeder rig. Does any one have any simple rigs? I am thinking of scaling down slightly to 6 pound with 4.4. pound double strength hook length, possible hair rig with maggot clip to size 14 and a black cap feeder?
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Old fashioned? Never been out of fashion I think. I fish it on a running set up with a hooklength of about 12''. Forget al that Carp maggot clip stuff, no need for hair rig either, just impale on a size 14, simple.
Just don't expect to catch Barbel:)
 
what sort of river are you fishing ? black cap might be a bit small, if i was going to use maggot feeder on a stretch like the middle severn for example i'd go for the bigger drennan blockend feeders. as neil says no need to use a maggot clip and just a simple running rig would be fine
 
simple running rig ,is all you want, if your fishing say 3/4 rod lenghts out, anything after that can cause problems, you start going into hook lenghs tied to swivels with a sleeve to stop hook wrapping around the feeder,
as above with, neil and sam, it depens on what river ure fishing ?????
 
Neil Smart said:
Just don't expect to catch Barbel:)
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And why not expect to catch barbel on said set up??? All looks fine to me, though personally I wouldn't bother with hair rigging maggots and I detest Drennan Double Strength line, that said many love it.
(though these mild amendments are a personal thing and not a necessity)


Sam Lloyd said:
what sort of river are you fishing ? black cap might be a bit small, if i was going to use maggot feeder on a stretch like the middle severn for example i'd go for the bigger drennan blockend feeders. as neil says no need to use a maggot clip and just a simple running rig would be fine
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Black cap feeders are perfect for bouncing under nearside cover, and of course you can strap on more weight if desired. It also sometimes pays to block off some of the holes with tape to reduce the speed of bait discharge.
(trickle your bait in, not dump it!)

Certainly worked for me this winter on the middle Severn.:)
 
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Colin Gordon said:
And why not expect to catch barbel on said set up??? All looks fine to me, though personally I wouldn't bother with hair rigging maggots and I detest Drennan Double Strength line, that said many love it.
(though these mild amendments are a personal thing and not a necessity)




Black cap feeders are perfect for bouncing under nearside cover, and of course you can strap on more weight if desired. It also sometimes pays to block off some of the holes with tape to reduce the speed of bait discharge.
(trickle your bait in, not dump it!)

Certainly worked for me this winter on the middle Severn.:)
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Expect to catch barbel, there I have highlighted it, most Rivers I bet you would catch more of other species with a small maggot feeder set up, but of course does not exclude Barbel ...(sigh):eek:
 
To avoid the inevitable problem of nuisance fish , try artificial maggots on the hook or a mixture of real and artificial . Re hook size, it is possible with care to get big bunch of maggots on a size 8 hook without popping them or needing a hair rig . I have even managed to get them on a size 6 drennan continental boily hook , bit fiddly but can be done
 
I believe Phil Smith has had many a big barbel with hair-rigged artificial casters. I haven't tried it, but I see no reason why it wouldn't work just as well with artificial maggots instead, just 2 or 3 threaded onto the hair with a hair-stop on the end. If the barbel are grubbing around for maggots, I don't suppose they care whether the maggots are wriggling or not, and with the hair you'd be even less likely to hook nuisance fish. Just a thought.
 
If fishing them on the hair, I just super glue the artificial maggots or casters onto it, the fact they're not moving makes no difference in my mind. I did try making a 'medussa' rig by super glueing live maggots onto a cork ball on the hair...never again:eek:

Cheers
Mark
 
Neil Smart said:
Expect to catch barbel, there I have highlighted it, most Rivers I bet you would catch more of other species with a small maggot feeder set up, but of course does not exclude Barbel ...(sigh):eek:
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I agree that maggots can draw no end of unwanted attention from nuisance species but if this is the case on your chosen river, there are measures that can be taken to lessen the problems; big bunches of maggots, hair-rigged maggots and fake maggots, to name a few.

Neil, try to detach yourself from the fact it was me that commented on your first post (HUGE sigh:)), I know it'll be hard... but.....

You wrote: "Just don't expect to catch Barbel"
This isn't an English lesson but if you'd written it as: Don't expect to catch just barbel.
Then it would've been more accurate, coz I for one, am always expectant of barbel activity when fishing on prolific rivers like the Severn, Teme and Wye.
If I wasn't, I'd not bother travelling 60+miles to fish then.:rolleyes:
 
Colin Gordon said:
I agree that maggots can draw no end of unwanted attention from nuisance species but if this is the case on your chosen river, there are measures that can be taken to lessen the problems; big bunches of maggots, hair-rigged maggots and fake maggots, to name a few.

Neil, try to detach yourself from the fact it was me that commented on your first post (HUGE sigh:)), I know it'll be hard... but.....

You wrote: "Just don't expect to catch Barbel"
This isn't an English lesson but if you'd written it as: Don't expect to catch just barbel.
Then it would've been more accurate, coz I for one, am always expectant of barbel activity when fishing on prolific rivers like the Severn, Teme and Wye.
If I wasn't, I'd not bother travelling 60+miles to fish then.:rolleyes:
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60 milles:eek: do you have deep pockets or summat? Is it any wonder that our barbel are pressured to the point that they are as scarce as a good Midlands Football Team, I wonder just how many great barbel waters you passed in getting here? :)
 
Neil Smart said:
60 milles:eek: do you have deep pockets or summat? Is it any wonder that our barbel are pressured to the point that they are as scarce as a good Midlands Football Team, I wonder just how many great barbel waters you passed in getting here? :)
Click to expand...

I do have deep pockets, sadly though they're becoming increasingly empty.

Neil you wrote: "our barbel" I hope you're not implying that the barbel swimming in rivers Severn, Teme and Wye are more yours because they're more local to you, a very parochial viewpoint that'd be...:eek:

Regards great barbel waters I pass heading west from Oxon. If I head out on the A40, then really the Windrush is the only barbel river between Oxford and the Severn and I fish on there plenty.
If I use the A44, then I pass the Warks Avon and one of its tributaries; the Stour... Or are there some secret rivers I don't know of??:confused::D

Regards the 'perceived' scarcity of barbel on 'your' rivers, sorry, but tough, you'll have to learn to accept catching less, learn to angle better or take up commercial-puddle-pig-fishing.:p
 
Hi Pete,
This is a method i used to use a lot for Barbel, using old film canisters for the feeder, ( Scottish blood in me ! :p )
I always hair rigged using a size 14 crammed with up to 25 maggots which will prevent the 14 hooking the Barbel to a size 6 drennan specialist or ESP Raptor G4, naturally the size 14 must be barbed or you'll lose quite a few maggots.
The 'nuisance' fish in my opinion aren't a nuisance at all, any Barbel in the vicinity wont ignore the frenzy, and in my opinion is what draws them to your bait, the huge ball of maggots will prevent anything small getting it in their mouths except probably larger roach, dace or bream, and the first two i wouldn't mind catching anyway, though i never have on the method.
Likewise Chub, with the exception of one 5lber, i have never had another on this method, they seem not to like large bunches of maggots, and i've no idea why. Also Perch though i've caught on the float with large bunches of maggots, never with the hair rigged bunch on a feeder, but it's probably more the time of day with perch.
1/2 a Doz maggots is no good at all you should be looking to get at least 20 better 25 on the 14 if you've got the patience !!
Your rod tip will bang, and twitch away, but believe me as long as you have a large enough bunch of maggots on the little stuff wont be able to suck them, eventually barbel in the vicinity just can't help themselves seeing the frenzy.
I've also used this hair rig method static with a lead instead of feeder, but you must be able to accuratly feed your spot making sure the maggots hit the bottom in the immediate vicinity of your hook bait.

Feeder or lead there must be no let up in the intoduction of maggots, heavy to start with, then slow it up, but no more than a few minutes before the spot sees more maggots, and idealy so you don't have to keep recasting, as with the lead it's better if you can accuratly feed by hand or catty, and with that in mind i always take about 3 pints with me.

The only down side is - for a productive days Barbel fishing you pretty much have to know that barbel are present, i don't think it's that good for pulling barbel from very far, the maggots just wont get that far, if you think that would be the case soak them in a fish oil, before putting them in the feeder.

It can be fantastic sport though if they are close by, and the bites seem that much more Savage ! so stay close to your rod.

Good luck Pete.

Ian.
 
Colin Gordon said:
I do have deep pockets, sadly though they're becoming increasingly empty.

Neil you wrote: "our barbel" I hope you're not implying that the barbel swimming in rivers Severn, Teme and Wye are more yours because they're more local to you, a very parochial viewpoint that'd be...:eek:

Regards great barbel waters I pass heading west from Oxon. If I head out on the A40, then really the Windrush is the only barbel river between Oxford and the Severn and I fish on there plenty.
If I use the A44, then I pass the Warks Avon and one of its tributaries; the Stour... Or are there some secret rivers I don't know of??:confused::D

Regards the 'perceived' scarcity of barbel on 'your' rivers, sorry, but tough, you'll have to learn to accept catching less, learn to angle better or take up commercial-puddle-pig-fishing.:p
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''Our'' Barbel yep ''Our'' Land too that parochial enough? And I bet the majority of anglers would see it that way if they were perfectly honest NIMBYism is a very strong motivation. Never fished in commercials(well hardly) and don't really go for the easy pickings of the Wye and Middle Severn either, but each to their own ...enjoy:)
 
If anyone of the brotherhood wants to come down to "our" rivers and catch fish on the Maggot feeder of course they are welcome.

Incidently the "Our" bit earlier explains a lot....

As a stop, the easiest (less expensive) way to use as a feeder stop is a simple Tulip bead over the swivel link. The ones with the extended tube front. see here

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20-TULIP-BEAD...tingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&hash=item45f9494738

They have the big advantage that if the feeder link is also slid over the top on casting it gives an anti tangle kick out effect.

Having tried many of the suggestions for attaching maggots / casters. I find the most effective, and versatile presentation way is to tie in a previously straightened fine wire size 16 or 18 barbed hook onto any hair being tied, below the main hook and thread the bait up it - the hair length also determining if you want a few or lots of maggots etc. basically as a bayonet. I also tend to put a rubber artificial one on last to ensure all held well.

This will also work well for very small bits of meat, boilies etc as a bait change.

Enjoy the last few days Guys, I'm visiting others waters.:):D
 
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Maggot feeder, back in the day (before the pellet revolution) there were three main methods of targeting barbel, they were meat over hemp, hemp and caster and the all out maggot attack, I was a maggot man, mainly because I got them direct from the farm by the bucket full and cleaned them myself.

I fished the middle Severn and the main rig was a free running blockend feeder running on 8 lb mainline and two maggots on a 16 0r 18 Drennan specialist hook.
To make the rig a snap link swivel was threaded up the line followed by three or four inches of biro tube (later replaced with hard sillicone rubber) and followed by another swivel, the hooklength was tied to the other end of this swivel.
The rod needs to be capable of casting a 2 or three oz feeder easily and have a nice soft tip to show the bites, I used a 1.5lb rod by giant which had a built in fiberglass quiver.
The idea is to find a swim in easy casting distance and cast to it every few minutes, the feeder splash was said to be like a dinner gong to the Severn barbel and catches of 20 or more in a day was not unusual.
There is loads of information about this method out there, look for videos by Dave Harrel, Des Taylor or even early ones by Bob Roberts for further ideas.
This is not a method for sitting behind two rods, to do it properly you will be casting every couple of minutes and on your feet most of the day. In the summer months you can also expect to go through between 6 and 8 pints of maggots in a session.
Do a bit of research, buy a couple of old videos off ebay and give it a go this summer.
 
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