Ben Jennings
Senior Member
Having always changed to either chub or pike at this time of year I fancy a winter barbel. In the cold do you change tactics, baits etc? I've always moved every 20 mins or so would you spend longer in swims?
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Tips for the cold
- Thread starter Ben Jennings
- Start date
John Walker
Senior Member
Ben,when things get very cold the barbels feeding windows shorten dramatically mate, i would sit it out with smaller baits and dont feed apart from a few freebies, once they are in the water dont give em any more until you get fish enquiries, spicy bait with lots of smell/taste or my preference is a nice smelly paste slightly over flavoured on the hook and a few chops
Howard Cooke
Senior Member
As John says, but if the water is cold and clear I will give maggots a good go. I have caught barbel when it's been -2 using a small maggot feeder. This has generally worked where we have been in a settled period of cold weather. My reasoning is that the fish will feed at some point but as John says I think it's in short spells and they may not eat that much.
Mark Swaby
Senior Member
If its really cold, trot maggots or casters over a little bait droppered hemp in a reliable barbel swim.You will catch barbel,chub and anything else that wants to feed.
Last edited:
Hi men,
If not a maggot approach . Small barrel boillie / pellet . Dip in glug and wrap in a piece of paste , re -dip in glug and drop into a bag of ground pellet/ boillie crumb/ base mix / krill powder squeezing outside of bag forcing into the paste . Another re-dip and ready to go !. I like this to get as much liquid attractor in the swim . You can do do different layers of liquid / powder as it washes off , gives lots of attraction with min feed . Also done well with scaled down method type of tactics , with layering of the lead system as above .
Hatter
If not a maggot approach . Small barrel boillie / pellet . Dip in glug and wrap in a piece of paste , re -dip in glug and drop into a bag of ground pellet/ boillie crumb/ base mix / krill powder squeezing outside of bag forcing into the paste . Another re-dip and ready to go !. I like this to get as much liquid attractor in the swim . You can do do different layers of liquid / powder as it washes off , gives lots of attraction with min feed . Also done well with scaled down method type of tactics , with layering of the lead system as above .
Hatter