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Small leads and short hooklinks

Barry Peck said:
In my experience a chub pull is slow and steady . A barbel line bite is fast and aggressive . Almost like you are getting a 3 foot twitch but the rod does not continue in to an ark with a fish connected ...
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Interesting
My experience is different
What we call a chub ‘ thwack’ tend to leave the rod end rattling and my assumption is the chub attacking the bait , smash and grab style , feels resistance and releases the bait
If I get tremors or gentle pulls I assume the position and assume it will develop into a barbel bite
Not always but develops more times than it doesn’t
Re OP - absolutely no hard and fast rules
Some days a super short hooklink works if fishing with a big PVA bag
Other times if I’m into a shoal of fish and the bites dry up I always lengthen the hookink especially if maggot / caster fishing
Often the fish will move up in the water and intercept the feed - a longer hooklength allows the bait to cover more of the water it drops through the column and I have lots of barbel take on the drop albeit more a summer occurrence
Also better fish often hang back off the main shoal although that can be countered by just dropping downstream a few feet but if they are wary a decent distance between feeder , mainline and bait never does any harm with wiser fish
Completely agree re too many anglers default to heavy leads
Again when I fish ‘ barbel alley’ on our fishery and have been hemmed in a peg I’ve lost count of the sessions where a delicate little 30g feeder completely outfishes the lads pounding their swims with 3 & 4 oz leads/ feeders often replicating a great naval battle 🙄
Assumption is they prefer the ‘ sanctuary’ of my peg and a little occasional plop along with a small amount of freebies is quite natural and had some brilliant days whilst the guys either side of me are blaming otters, poachers, cormorants etc…for their lack of fish
 
Barry Peck said:
In my experience a chub pull is slow and steady . A barbel line bite is fast and aggressive . Almost like you are getting a 3 foot twitch but the rod does not continue in to an ark with a fish connected ...
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Agreed. I also think it depends on the type of rig you’re using too.

In my experience:
Running rig = Chub does what you say above (slow and steady). I use a long hair so think they are just “plucking” the bait in their beak-like lips and then let go when they feel the resistance of the rod top.

Fixed safety rig = Chub “plucks” the bait again in their lips but feels the lead much sooner and the rod tip springs back very quickly and rattles.

Barbel = Either a 3ft slam over or a slow positive take to put a solid bend in the rod.
 
Easy solution to this plucks and pulls debate , just sit on your hands and wait for the rod to go round and stay round , most barbel either hook themselves on the weight of the lead or the resistance from the rod tip , Barbel are usually not the most delicate of feeders although they can be a bit cautious especially in very low /clear water , at times they will spook on taught lines .The sharp twangs on your rod tip show that the Barbel are in your swim and you are in with a chance of getting a ' proper ' bite sooner rather than later .I have watched Barbel near my bait in ultra clear conditions , the liners are usually caused by your line catching on the Barbels fins / body , chub will sometimes pick up your bait and let go when they feel resistance , they are certainly a lot cannier than Barbel when sussing out whether a bait is safe to eat , that said they can throw caution to the wind if competing with other fish for food .
 
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Stephen Goderski said:
I really can’t be arsed getting into an argument about this but can you just tell me how you can tell the difference between a chub pull and a line bite caused by a barbel. To avoid any doubt, I would be amazed if anyone could tell the difference so this is not something aimed just at you.

Steve
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I do know that sometimes little plucks can indicate barbel activity, and they might be just ignoring the hookbait, and a change to meat had in the past resulted in a fish. My sentiment was they wanted the main course not the starter.
So yes very much so, those little plucks can be barbel.
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
Easy solution to this plucks and pulls debate , just sit on your hands and wait for the rod to go round and stay round , most barbel either hook themselves on the weight of the lead or the resistance from the rod tip , Barbel are usually not the most delicate of feeders although they can be a bit cautious especially in very low /clear water , at times they will spook on taught lines .The sharp twangs on your rod tip show that the Barbel are in your swim and you are in with a chance of getting a ' proper ' bite sooner rather than later .I have watched Barbel near my bait in ultra clear conditions , the liners are usually caused by your line catching on the Barbels fins / body , chub will sometimes pick up your bait and let go when they feel resistance , they are certainly a lot cannier than Barbel when sussing out whether a bait is safe to eat , that said they can throw caution to the wind if competing with other fish for food .
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Yes very much a WA thing too.
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
Easy solution to this plucks and pulls debate , just sit on your hands and wait for the rod to go round and stay round , most barbel either hook themselves on the weight of the lead or the resistance from the rod tip , Barbel are usually not the most delicate of feeders although they can be a bit cautious especially in very low /clear water , at times they will spook on taught lines .The sharp twangs on your rod tip show that the Barbel are in your swim and you are in with a chance of getting a ' proper ' bite sooner rather than later .I have watched Barbel near my bait in ultra clear conditions , the liners are usually caused by your line catching on the Barbels fins / body , chub will sometimes pick up your bait and let go when they feel resistance , they are certainly a lot cannier than Barbel when sussing out whether a bait is safe to eat , that said they can throw caution to the wind if competing with other fish for food .
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Great answer 👍
 
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