• 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...

Natural baits

Caught a couple of barbel on minnows - both fish early in the season and between 7 and 8 lb.
Watched a couple of barbel 'charging' through a dense shoal of minnows and one (6lb ish) turned around a took what seemed to be an injured one. This in a couple of feet of clear water and no more than 10 feet away.
Baits off the surface - frequently see barbel nudging cabbages dislodging freebies that were resting there.
 
I've used cooked mussels for tench and carp for many years. An excellent bait in the margins under a float. Not tried it on rivers, but will give it a go . In warmer months it definitely attracted eels on stillwaters and I would guess minnows would rip it apart on rivers.
 
I've not tried minnows yet but it would appeal to my favourite method of fishing : freelining (with maybe a lightly leaded hook).
I was once wading mid-river in the Teme, freelining into a deep channel on the far side. Casting upstream, a barbel rose from the depths, and took a matchbox sized lump of meat within 6" of the surface. The barbel didn't twist or roll ... one second the luncheon meat was on its nose, the next second it had vanished into the barbel's mouth, which was heading back down to the depths. Fish on!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top