Joe Fletcher
No Longer a Member
The use of smaller hooks equates to smaller fish is not always the case is it Joe?
If you take the Wye then as you know the bigger fish will indeed snaffle up a 8mm pellet, as is the case this season when bites dried up with 12mm a switch to smaller hook and pellet brought two bonus fish over 9lbs and closer to 10.
But I appreciate in the case of the Wye barbel dictate, but to use smaller baits elsewhere can attract other species, as was the case on the WA recently when skimmers took a liking to small pellet.
In the case of large chub also, very often small 16 hooks will out-fish anything else, probably best to have no fixes ideas about anything, and be willing to try everything to get a bite.
Stop Press
Heavy rain forecast for tonight
Neil if as you say if you have no fixed ideas about trying any thing to get a bite and you are happy to catch any Barbel that might pick up your bait regardless of size and for usuing smaller hooks with smaller baits , Then I suspect you will catch smaller fish especially on a river like the Wye .
I think its fair to say and no coincidence that some anglers catch more of the larger fish than the rest of us and I suppose it depends on your out look as to the size of fish you are targeting and the methods to catch and depending on the methods you use will determine what the out come will be .