Big baits 2022, so efficacious in many, many ways….
The efficacy of big baits is there for all to see, from the early 1990’s to the 2020's, from my own personal point of view and from barbel fishing in general.
I still use the method, without exclusivity though, boilies are a great barbel bait, but I do enjoy sitting behind one rod, low to the water, in a quiet spot waiting for the centre pin to cry its signal to strike, the anticipation for me is excitingly profound and a bit primitive!
The main reason I first started to use extra large meat baits (a quarter of a 300g tin ) is well documented, it was a way of discriminating against the smaller average shoal barbel from taking your bait, especially when you knew bigger barbel were present and there to be caught. I also believed that bigger barbel developed an ability to avoid capture by feeding selectively and singularly, away from the frenzy and risky shoal approach and a large piece of meat, on a size 2 hook, was about as simple as it could get, I love simplicity, I learnt that from Fred Crouch, 12lb main line, a 15lb 24” braided hook length, finished off a 11 or 12ft 1.5tc rod and a centre pin reel.
In the early days, I felt it was imperative that a barbel must not feel any resistance whilst negotiating the large piece of meat, so I chose lightly set centre pins, I used to say: Adrian Dolman and myself had centre pins with such light ratchets, any big old barbel would only have to swim past our baits and our reels would give “a free click”. But big barbel fishing has always been a continuous learning process for me, so things evolve, improve and the barbel got bigger.
Lets get something straight though, barbel do feed confidently on all manner of micro food items in their wild state, such as shrimps, bloodworms, nymphs, snails, silk weed and all manner of miniscule invertebrates and the thing that links all these is that we as barbel anglers do not use these on the hook as bait, for obvious reasons, though as we know natural particles such as maggots and casters are a good emulation of these food stuffs and are well proven and have taken all sizes of barbel for me and others.
So the question has to be, are big baits as relevant today as they were in being selective by dissuading the smaller barbel or other species from taking the bait, well the answer to that is a resounding yes.
One thing we must all accept however is that the big bait approach is no silver bullet, big barbel i.e., 10lb plus, have to be there in the first place, as we always say you can only catch what is in front of you or could be in front of you.
Without a doubt big baits still work, it would take 10,000 years for barbel to change their subconscious motivation is to eat and breed, this instinct secures the future of the species, whereas we anglers’ flit and change with the wind. The big lump of meat is undoubtedly still a superb method for getting better barbel into your net.
Only last year, I had a very despondent angler contact me who was fishing the middle Severn below Bewdley, he could not catch a barbel over 5lb, though he was convinced big barbel were present, due to story’s and anecdotal accounts of big fish caught and lost, he wanted some tips on the big chunk of meat approach, would it work he asked. The first thing I told him was that he had to get his head right, big barbel would not crawl up the rod, he needed patience, his approach needed to change, no more skyward pointing rods, no more self-hooking rigs and shock horror, he may have to strike the hook home.
Well, once he had changed his presentation and mid set he was ready to go, I wished him luck, I reiterated my instruction no more feeders, no more freebies, no more continual casting, sit and wait and above all be quiet. The first night he took a 9.14 barbel, the second night he took a 10.06, both new PBs, he has now gone on to greater success, one rod, one bait, it doesn’t get any simpler.
But the whole methodology of the big bait phenomenon (and to me and some friends that’s how it seems, it was and is a phenomenon) has moved on, we now see the approach morphing into huge double boilie rigs, donkey choker Halibut pellets often with a corresponding big wrap’s of paste around them.
Its becoming the accepted rule that if you want to avoid bream, small barbel on the tidal Trent you bait big and fish it big.
Whilst the evidence is there regarding the success of the big bait approach, there is still a lack of faith or belief that its more than a just a last resort approach.
I spoke earlier how the method of the big meat approach requires the angler to strike, especially when using a centre pin, rather than the bait runner clicking away on the run of a self-hooked barbel via the ubiquitous hair rigged boilie or feedered pellet, well this is where I have changed my outlook somewhat, you can use a quality bait runner, it isn’t just a centrepin method. I found, especially in high water conditions where a centre pin can become problematic, a large piece of meat with a size 2 or 4 hook buried inside, encourages the bites to be very violent and decisive and become a self-hooking presentation within themselves, bites manifest themselves with the rod arching over, and a critically set bait runner will see the big barbel hooked.
The advantage of the soft meat is that the hook pulls through and if the bait is in the barbels mouth so is the hook.
But I like to think of the process of big baits is a mindful approach to the capture of a large barbel that has learned to avoid capture, maybe a barbel that has learned and survived that taking multiple free offerings can lead to capture, whereas taking a single food item here and a single food item there, is the safe option based on the barbels instinct after multiple captures, you are creating the impression that your bait is a piece of food that has been missed by other barbel, its not surrounded by a feeding frenzy or the splash of a hooked fish.
This isn’t just a meat solution; the thought process does also mean a single large boilie or pellet could be used also in a similar vein.
The whole approach will encourage the angler to think about how a single, large barbel would conduct its life to survive and avoid capture, maybe feeding in narrow time bands, before dark, after dark or before daybreak, the permutations are vast, close in, further out, under the tree, between the trees. Think about baiting up, with just a few single baits at a particular time in a particular swim.
There is a whole generation of new anglers who have adopted this approach on their stretch of river, be it meat or the commercially available baits that are used, but its amazing how luncheon meat still holds its own as the top bait for this method and approach, its high in protein, salt, fat, it has its own flavour, it’s a good colour or it can be changed in an instant by applying a flavour like garlic or curry paste on the bank or the night before you go, it can be toughened up by frying, the list is eclectic.
So the method leaps and bounds on into 2022/23
View attachment 20893View attachment 20894 and beyond and will still be used long after I’m gone to the swim in the sky.
Nothing pleases me more though than when I get a call, email or text from a frustrated angler, who is looking for inspiration and the ultimate plan to catch one of the biggest barbel on his hard fished stretch, we talk of big meat and the big bait philosophy, tackle, rigs and a few days later he contacts me to share his great news that he has just caught their first 10 pounder or a new PB on a stretch he struggled to catch barbel above 8lbs.
So, is a big piece of luncheon meat still as effective as it was in 1993 when I first started to use it?
You bet it is, because the barbel are bigger and they have become more understandable as they endeavour to avoid capture by selective feeding, which is perfect for the big bait approach...
