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Pineapple - other fruit flavours for barbel

Fruit Flavours for barbel?

  • I use fruit flavours all the time and they work well for me

    Votes: 7 7.9%

  • I use fruit flavour occasionally and they do catch me barbel

    Votes: 22 24.7%

  • I have once caught a barbel on a fruity number

    Votes: 9 10.1%

  • I have tried them and did catch some but I dont rate them against meaty and fishy

    Votes: 8 9.0%

  • I am deeply unimaginative and have never considered using a fruit flavour

    Votes: 32 36.0%

  • This is heretical madness and just will not do and clearly does not work!!

    Votes: 11 12.4%
  • Total voters
    89
Guy Baxendale

Guy Baxendale

Senior Member
Was out last night on the Thames and not for the first time this season I caught a barbel (well two actually) whilst really setting my stall out for carp.

I tend to fish two rods in the swim - both baited with 'snowman rigs' which is typically a Monster Crab Waka bottom bait topped with a fruit pop-up of some kind - Typically either a Tutti-Frutti, a Pineapple or a Fruitella.

The chub and the carp seem to take any of them but when it comes to the barbel from the swim this season, every single one has taken a waka topped with a pineapple pop-up.

Is this coincidence or do barbel like pineapple? Or are they taking the fantastic Waka in spite of it having the pop-up attached?

I remember years ago watching Matt Hayes catching fish on the Ouse on Richworth Tutti's. Yet the barbel world seems fixed on the fishy/ meaty flavours.

Interested to hear your thoughts on this......
 
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Is the pineapple pop-up bright yellow? Do you think they are attracted by the visibility of the bait? Try a pineapple-only rig and see if it works....then let me know by pm;)
 
Yup neon yellow - but I am fishing in the dark and in the case of last night in very coloured water so I doubt the visibility factor came into play
 
ASAP are a great barbel bait and the base flavour is predominently peach...........I think, it certainly smells peachy!!
 
In a previous life i caught loads of barbel while using pineapple pop ups on the Severn while chasing carp.
 
Mistral baits Peach and Black pepper caught me a few last season may well have to give them a bash again.
 
John Baker "Plum" boilies caught me two 9-pounders from a stretch of river that I suspected held very few if any barbel several years ago. Used in high, coloured, "warm" water conditions after heavy February rain. Only two barbel in the stretch, I reckon - never had another on any bait.
 
In the early-mid 90's fishing the Red Lion water at Bredwardine my friend used to bait heavily with strawberry flavoured sweetcorn, it certainly caught a lot of barbel then.
 
Plum is very effective - especially with fishmeal base... Think essential do a plum-shellfish flavour? Had lots of summer fish on cranberry + squid (2 separate flavours from cc moores). Confectionary flavours all the way in winter though!
 
Guy, when I was fishing the Loddon hard through the winter a few years go with Hi-NuVal I nearly always flavoured with Cranberry. That caught a fair few Barbel, although the Chub loved it.
 
Paul Boote said:
John Baker "Plum" boilies caught me two 9-pounders from a stretch of river that I suspected held very few if any barbel several years ago. Used in high, coloured, "warm" water conditions after heavy February rain. Only two barbel in the stretch, I reckon - never had another on any bait.
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Hi Paul,

I used to use John's 'Bio Shelfish' base mix, with his 'Plum' and 'Butt-ringer' flavours combined....superb carp catching combination, but never thought of trying it for barbel.

Hmmmm...

Cheers, Dave.
 
Have caught fish in the summer and winter using esterberry flavour.

Andy
 
Yet another Thames fish that liked a fruit flavour for me last night - I really thought this one was a carp until it hit the net.

A 12.04 that took a 'greedy pig rig' consisting of two Richworth Tutti-Frutti bottom baits topped with a matching pop-up fished 15ft off the bank.

Might be worth a go folks!
 
Another fan of plum here, until i moved over to Hinders boilies i caught plenty of barbel on essential shellfish plum b5s; okay its not solely a fruit flavour boilie, but i always considered the plum an essential part of the attraction.

Paul
 
When fishing on the colne a few seasons ago an angler parked himself a couple of swims from me and caught 4 barbel bringing each one past me to release them out of his swim, as i was struggling he offered me some of his boilies, richworth shelf life pineapple hawaian..
 
John Cook said:
When fishing on the colne a few seasons ago an angler parked himself a couple of swims from me and caught 4 barbel bringing each one past me to release them out of his swim, as i was struggling he offered me some of his boilies, richworth shelf life pineapple hawaian..
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Interesting John as the Richworth Pineapple Hawaiian are my choice of pop-up for topping a 'snowman'. They have brought me quite a bit of success on the Thames.
 
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