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Bait dropping and roving

Gary Manders

Gary Manders

Senior Member
Having seen a guy recently down my local river using a baitdropper and roving approach with some success thinking of trying it but just wondered how much bait to drop in on an average dropper , and how long would you rest the swim before returning and dropping a bait in without spooking the shoal . ? regards GARY.......
 
Gary,

I use a similar approach regularly on the Teme....I will bait up to 6 swims with a dropper or two of hemp/maggots and if I can wait, re-bait all 6 again before I set up a rod before I then literally drop into each swim in turn until I catch. If swim 1 fails to turn up a fish within 10 minutes or so, I drop another dropper or 2 in and move onto swim 2 and repeat the dose....

....I have been through the 6 swim cycle completely before catching on the 2nd lap.

The secret of the approach to me is if no fish are forthcoming in a swim it makes sense that no feeding fish are present and therefore they should be feeding in one of the other baited spots. For me the lack of bites equals anticipation and confidence that I'm getting closer to a take each time I move into a fresh swim....be advised though, if you can leave the spots for sometime, re-baiting regularly before actually fishing, the action can be instant!!

Difficult though it seems, I will re-bait and leave a swim after catching from it to try to minimise the disturbance....I feel that this gives me a chance of further success later in the cycle in that same swim.


Cheers


Paul
 
The Barbel Days And Ways DVD's show this style of fishing well. They do similar to Paul's idea but I believe they cycled 3 swims. They were using the Thamesley bait dropper (now Dinsmore) and filling it with either hemp and pellets (with 3 different sizes) or hemp and caster. I think the usual amount was about 10 small bait dropper loads and then rest the swim for 30 mins minimum. I've heard that when the water decreases in temperature this resting period could go up to an hour.
However Steve Pope was putting 20 bait dropper loads in on the Kennet so it can be very dependant on the river and how many barbel are present.
This is a style of fishing I am choosing to adopt when I have the money to sort out a cheap rod for the bait dropping. I have seen much success with it, so I would say go ahead and try it. :)
 
cheers guys , will be fishing the Dove not to unlike the Teme in size i have done a little bait and roving with some success but not tried with the dropper always think the amount of disterbance would spook the fish but would be confident enough if i left the swim long enough .Think as the guy was saying once one fish has been caught its best to move on to the next swim interesting on water temps too .
 
To negate the need for a separate "dropper" rod I often attach a length of braid to my landing net handle, provided the depth is OK, and use that to drop the feed in;)

Paul
 
I just use my 2lb TC rod. Fill the dropper, swing it out gently from hand to river. No need for an additional rod surely shirely?
 
;)Gary, you are an optimist talking about spooking the shoal. Always be half full it is the only way to succeed.
With a medium size dropper, fishing 3 or 4 swims, I would normally put in 4 to 5 of hemp and corn and one of mixed pellets. Repeate this three times with a hour between each. Rest it for another hour before fishing. This would be my standard procedure, however you may need to change this depending on other anglers, whether the fish are visible, weed density etc.
Don't bother with a dropper rod, any modern barbel rod is well capable of swinging out your average dropper. Don't worrry too much about the dropper spooking the fish, if they are hungry they will soon be back, and sometimes treat the splash like a dinner gong.
ATB
Colin
 
I think the first River they fish on the dvd's is the Dove. Sorry I know I'm almost trying to sell it. I just believe that they have given me a great insite into barbel fishing and I feel understand it more. Still blanking though ;p
As for the seperate rod I like the idea of the Landing net handle unless I was fishing further out. I am probably going to look for a second hand carp rod in my local and a second hand reel. I'm one of those people that likes to go to the river with my rods set up and ready to go so I don't think I would want to use 1 rod. I have a Greys prodigy barbel rod 1.75 so a bit soft for bait dropping.
As with spooking I have no experience with barbel but a couple of days before this open season I was feeding a couple 4lb chub in the margins and they would spook when I introduced more pellets but they were back within 5 mins. The second time I topped up the swim they came back within 2 minutes. So confidence can be built just got to remember not to fill them up. Loved feeding them though. I had 2 other swims to prebait but I decided to sit on my bait bucket and just keep feeding them. Lovely stuff :)
 
Got a wychwood 2lb big river test curve rod which il dont use now so will be ideal for the dropper ,stick on my old carp reel and away we go most of the swims are a far bank cast with deeper water and cover so hope to winkle a few out .:)
 
In Lidl you used to be able (may still do) to buy a beach caster and reel for £16! The height of crudity and a bit heavy but on stretches where you can park near the river it would be ideal for bait dropping. Especially if a mega bait dropper was used
 
I have used the bait dropper on the river Dane for a couple of years now with great results.

I only use one rod for both baiting and fishing usually a 1.5lb TC rod, (on bigger rivers like the Dove a 1.75lb TC rod is fine), when I arrive at the first swim I take off the hooklink from the quick change swivel and the swimfeeder from the running link swivel and attach the baitdropper. I usually feed 3 swims with 4-6 small droppers of bait then I return to swim 1 and swap the dropper for a feeder put the hooklink back on and your away...simples!!

This morning however I got to my first swim and put in 6 droppers of bait just as it started to rain, I didnt want to get wet so I stayed put instead of baiting any other swims and cast out my feeder less than 5 mins after using the bait dropper and had my first fish inside 10 mins - a nice 5lber. I then added a further 3 droppers of bait into the swim and recast out and had a second fish of 7lb again within 10 mins. The bait dropper certainly did not spook these fish, in fact quite the opposite!!
 
Ok for the time being I may just try with one rod and use a small light bait dropper. I think it probably is the key to a better catch rate. Hopefully get out on Sunday to give it a go if I can sort myself out with a couple of bait droppers. :S
 
The first and last time I used a dropper, I fished the swim immediately afterwards and had 2 very nice barbel within 15 minutes !!

Needless to say I will be repeating this method again when I can get on the banks.
 
I know it works and have used it in the past, always carry a 'dropper' with me but don't use it, I will now,if I can afford the hemp:)
 
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