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BBBB -Big baits, big barbel?

Cliff Turner said:
Neil, do you still get a 3' twitch with such a large bait or do you have to let the fish run with it first ?
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Normally free line it on a pin, wait for a pull on the finger, let go of the line and wait for the pin to start spinning (with rachet off) then strike.

Alternatively fish it on a long drop lightweight bobbin. Normally fished in slacks, or along creases with a very slow flow (not your typical walking pace current).
 
Hi Neil, that is an identical setup to my Wye rigs, fished in slack water behind flow obstructions or under overhanging branches , I normally use a Bobbin indicator , which is far more sensitive than a straight line to tip setup, Although I do not use a long drop, just leave the “pin on freespool .
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I use “large” lumps of Spam or really any similar luncheon meat, brand immaterial as I always fry it up in Garam Masala , I hook the spam by fastening an elastic bait band to a hair, then pull the bait band through the spam with a needle, and slip a bit of bankside greenery under the band ( this sounds daft but I prefer a piece of nettle stalk , its a bit more robust than grass and there always seem to be too much of it wherever I make a swim ) it seems to work ok, it does not pull the hook through the meat, just usually pulls the bend of the hook into the surface of the bait.

I have had Barbel to about 12 lbs on the above rig, lost what I considered to be larger fish due to hook pulls.

The one thing I do notice though is that I will get the indicator diddling up and down due to the attentions af small fish, its a case of gritting my teeth and sitting on my hands until there is some proper interest.

The above is also a good system for sorting out the better chub, which have occasionally put in an appearance , my best on the above rig using what I considered to be a huge bait was 7lbs, quite how it managed to get it in its mouth is beyond me.

David
 
David Craine said:
Hi Neil, that is an identical setup to my Wye rigs, fished in slack water behind flow obstructions or under overhanging branches , I normally use a Bobbin indicator , which is far more sensitive than a straight line to tip setup, Although I do not use a long drop, just leave the “pin on freespool .
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I use “large” lumps of Spam or really any similar luncheon meat, brand immaterial as I always fry it up in Garam Masala , I hook the spam by fastening an elastic bait band to a hair, then pull the bait band through the spam with a needle, and slip a bit of bankside greenery under the band ( this sounds daft but I prefer a piece of nettle stalk , its a bit more robust than grass and there always seem to be too much of it wherever I make a swim ) it seems to work ok, it does not pull the hook through the meat, just usually pulls the bend of the hook into the surface of the bait.

I have had Barbel to about 12 lbs on the above rig, lost what I considered to be larger fish due to hook pulls.

The one thing I do notice though is that I will get the indicator diddling up and down due to the attentions af small fish, its a case of gritting my teeth and sitting on my hands until there is some proper interest.

The above is also a good system for sorting out the better chub, which have occasionally put in an appearance , my best on the above rig using what I considered to be a huge bait was 7lbs, quite how it managed to get it in its mouth is beyond me.

David
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Hi Dave,

I just find the method totally addictive, some Barbel are better suited than others at dealing with a large bait. Bobbin wise some takes can take 20 minutes to fully develop, with the bobbin up and down, whilst with other takes the bobbin rises in an instant and the pin is in free flow. I had one fish messing about with the bait for ages last autumn, so I detatched the bobbin, felt for bites and on the first pluck felt across my forefinger, I let go of the line, the slack was taken up and the pin starts to spin. Resistance felt by the fish can come into play and that fish went 12.1lb, which is a big barbel for where I fish.

Its not a new method, read the historic writings of BFW’s very own Lawrence Breakspear and I’ve just refined the method for myself. I guarantee people who read our posts, will think we are crazy and dismiss the method in favour of other smaller baits 🙃
 
Neil Blood said:
I ain’t using a feeder, they are so yesterday, as are pellets and boillies 😃

As said people will doubt it and think I’m talking @#&£, give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised 😉
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I think that if I tried that over here I would most certainly be unpleasantly surprised by a bloody great catfish making off with the meat and scorching my thumb in the process. 😫
 
Had exactly the same kind of tentative bites touch ledgering single small pellet on a size 12,,,,
 
I think if anything this post shows how big barbel can be caught on many methods, and not to read into it that any one way is the holy grail, and also that the more that you refine the method you favour, and with time spent on a favoured method ,the more you pick up the little things that get that extra fish or two,,,,
Regards
 
Jim Ufton said:
I think if anything this post shows how big barbel can be caught on many methods, and not to read into it that any one way is the holy grail, and also that the more that you refine the method you favour, and with time spent on a favoured method ,the more you pick up the little things that get that extra fish or two,,,,
Regards
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I seem to remember on that catching the impossible film, Martin was fishing the Ouse with small pellets. They set up an underwater camera and showed the 15 lb plus barbel mouthing the baits ejecting the baits etc with only the merest of rod top indications occurring. Ordinarily we'd say it was minnows nibbling the baits...
 
First lets say the Trent is unlike any other river these days with numbers and size . I suspect if your friend fished with a second snide rod and bigger bait left down the edge 25yds downstream he might well pick up the odd better fish avoiding all the competition. Back in the 90's early season I had to try and separate a very big great Ouse two tone Barbel from a big shoal. I used a whole can of meat ,the round type which was so big it had to be thrown in two swims upstream and then eased into position. I used a swing tip tensioned to the meat . A lot of regulars laughed but it worked and the two biggest fish in the section came my way that afternoon, the biggest, the two tone. The method was blown though with limited amounts of big fish in the stretch. On another more prolific stretch a couple of very good Barbel anglers were fishing. I was told they caught loads of Barbel on Maggot, both over 100 for the season but the biggest was 11lb 12oz. I fished just upstream above a road bridge fishing for the same fish. My results using small boilies 15mm, cut in half and back to back with a back lead and pva bag staying mobile were never prolific but the fish I caught were nearly always doubles to just under 14lb. I suspected if you have loads of Barbel of all sizes competing it can sometimes work against catching the biggest fish especially on smaller rivers. The bait and wait with maggot/casters /hemp can work to pick out the bigger fish but how many anglers want to feed for 5 hours before casting out, or are accurate on big rivers
 
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Cliff Turner said:
thanks Neil, what's the smallest barbel you've had on a bait that size ?
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You’d be surprised. I use similar size chunks and if a small fish bites the part of the meat where the hook is you can hook it. A few times Iv had fish of a couple of pound and 3/4 of the meat is still on the hooklink when you land it. It’s all good though cause you can sometimes just slide the meat back down and recast
 
All good stuff, i am honoured and humbled to be mentioned in such positive ways on such a prestigious platform , i dont want stifle this thread, but i will say that using extra large meat baits i.e a quarter of tin, isnt just about casting out a large bait, its a strategy, its a mindset, its a thought process, its almost a philosophy.
In simple terms it discourages smaller barbel from atempting to take the bait, it means a bait can be cast out and left for a couple of hours or more allowing a bigger fish to find the bait, I rarely catch barbel, if ever, under 8 pound on big baits. The method can be devastating in sorting out the biggest barbel on the stretch. Me and 3 mates fished a stretch on the middle Severn a couple of years ago, a stretch that rarely produced doubles, over a 3 month period, using one rod, extra large spam baits on short 5 hour sessions, we took 17 double figure barbel that included 8x 11lb, 4 x 12lb and a 13lb plus barbel, with a superb tally of back up 8 and 9 pound barbel. The big barbel on the stretch had developed an ability to avoid capture on predictable, common methods, the big bait approach is great when you cant spot and stalk your barbel, the irony is that harder big barbel become to catch, because of angling pressure and mass baits the easier they fall to one large bait...simples!
 
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