• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Are we totally on the wrong bait?

Mark Gaskell

Mark Gaskell

Senior Member
Was watching a wildlife documentory on Kenya yesterday and it got onto a peice on feeding Barbel in these pools that were left when the dry season had started,the fish which there was hundreds of them fed mainly on ticks of the Hippos skin or Hippo dung ,all you could see was Barbel swimming behind the Hippos waiting for them to drop the Hippo paste the water then erupted with feeding fish.Do you think were using the wrong types of ingrediants in our pastes?:eek:And how could you hair rig it?:eek:
 
Mark Gaskell said:
Was watching a wildlife documentory on Kenya yesterday and it got onto a peice on feeding Barbel in these pools that were left when the dry season had started,the fish which there was hundreds of them fed mainly on ticks of the Hippos skin or Hippo dung ,all you could see was Barbel swimming behind the Hippos waiting for them to drop the Hippo paste the water then erupted with feeding fish.Do you think were using the wrong types of ingrediants in our pastes?:eek:And how could you hair rig it?:eek:
Click to expand...

Iv always believed you can catch fish on almost anything if they are hungry they will eat, just going on past experiance with catching a carp on a Mayfair fag end in my early days of fishing lol
 
Well Mark - if you do decide to start producing your own baits the fish should be well on to it with the amount of pre-baiting you've been doing over the last few seasons on certain stretches! :eek: If it's a bit soft for hooking stay off the kebabs and eat more fibre! Should stiffen the mix up a bit! :D
 
Not too many hippos to be found in the fields around Reading, however i am sure i read, somewhere on this site that a match was won on the Thames in days of yore using horse manure as groundbait. If you use that in conjuntion with Isaac Waltons "black beetles" (cockroaches) then you ought to bag up.
Certainly i doubt many people are currently using such baits.
 
Plenty of free bait lying around where I've been fishing this season, will throw you some over to the posh side if you want Mark;):D
 
Paul Hamer said:
Plenty of free bait lying around where I've been fishing this season, will throw you some over to the posh side if you want Mark;):D
Click to expand...

012.jpg

his still there on the poor side plenty free bait there:D his just a bit wet .this is the size of bait we use on the ribble
 
Anthony Pearson said:
No problem. Microwave it for twentyseven seconds and it'll firm up nicely.

P.S. Dust with garam masala powder prior to heating for that extra 'zing!'
Click to expand...

Microwaves are handy when it comes to fishing baits lol, when I was fishing for carp I used to microwave boilies for 30-40 seconds and that makes them float hey presto pop-up boilies
 
maggots

There will be gallons coming of that bullock in the next few weeks i think the stench will be lovely ,just like little dave on a warm day:eek:
 
Mark Gaskell said:
Was watching a wildlife documentory on Kenya yesterday and it got onto a peice on feeding Barbel in these pools that were left when the dry season had started,the fish which there was hundreds of them fed mainly on ticks of the Hippos skin or Hippo dung ,all you could see was Barbel swimming behind the Hippos waiting for them to drop the Hippo paste the water then erupted with feeding fish.Do you think were using the wrong types of ingrediants in our pastes?:eek:And how could you hair rig it?:eek:
Click to expand...

The must have bait at this moment is Heston Blumenthal's Hidden Orange Xmas Pudding. This bait has been so devastating that barbel anglers have cleared the shelves at Waitrose supermarkets. Supplies can be obtained via EBay, but at a price. Don't be tempted with an Aldi/Lidl Xmas pudding, although these are cheap and have had good reviews, they are not a great hook bait but can be used as loose feed. In my experience, soak the cheap pudding for a short period of time in river water, then throw these puddings, whole, into the river and allow the current to break down the pudding over a period of time. The cost of a session is not that great when compared to a tin of garlic spam etc. At the end of the day you can always give the mother-in-law any left overs, or a charity which feeds people this time of year.
 
Last edited:
Jim Foxall said:
The must have bait at this moment is Heston Blumenthal's Hidden Orange Xmas Pudding. This bait has been so devastating that barbel anglers have cleared the shelves at Waitrose supermarkets. Supplies can be obtained via EBay, but at a price. Don't be tempted with an Aldi/Lidl Xmas pudding, although these are cheap and have had good reviews, they are not a great hook bait but can be used as loose feed. In my experience, soak the cheap pudding for a short period of time in river water, then throw these puddings, whole, into the river and allow the current to break down the pudding over a period of time. The cost of a session is not that great when compared to a tin if garlic spam etc. At the end of the day you can always give the mother-in-law any left overs, or a charity which feeds people this time of year.
Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

I assume the clue to the secret of the success of the Blumenthal bait is in the name....'Hidden Orange'. It is probably a far more subtle flavour than the bog standard 'Chocolate orange' baits previously available. There is of course a second advantage to this bait....the huge amount of currants present in the make up. It will probably have been noted by the more astute among you that many of the experts out there....especially in the drought hit south....have listed lack of current as one of the major reasons for not catching this season, so it stands to reason that adding more can only help. I have no wish to go raisin peoples hopes, sending them on fruitless trips by brandying about false rumours, but it does sound good. We shall see....the 'proof of the pudding' and all that (preferably 100% proof)

Actually, I did have a salmon fishing friend who subscribed more to the 'Clockwork Orange' theory. He was often to be found standing by waterfalls/high weirs on salmon rivers with a baseball bat and a landing net....so the orange thread can be found running through fishing in several areas.

So, try pudding on your hair this new years day....beats the hell out of those red antlers and flashing lights :D

Incidentally, I think Jims post ended up with a typo....surely it should have read 'Give the mother in law to one of those charities that feeds people this Christmas'?.....I could be wrong though :p

Cheers, Dave.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top