theartist
Well-known member
I was on the river yesterday started on maggot feeding well, the river was pretty clear despite the rains, so used a matchstick again. chub were on it but hard work but managed to get them feeding, a few nice roach to 1lb feeding too (the big roach may have dropped down as didn't see it at all). Thought the barbel had dropped down to the winter hotposts until I introduced 4mm with a few 6mm pellet, a couple came out from the overhang they were feeding but a bit slower than usual as it was pretty chilly. Kept introducing 4mm trying to get them up in the water and had one around 6lb so went back to maggot for fun with the chub and roach. In the meantime there was now around a dozen barbel feeding on the freebies on the bottom. I stopped feeding pellet when going back to maggot and they dissappeared again after clearing the bottom save for the odd one who went looking every now and the. I've had this scenario on other rivers often when after roach. Whilst chub don't go as mad for pellet, it sorts out the bigger roach but barbel go bonkers for it. I would go as far as saying it's a wonder bait for barbel in summer, it really blows other baits away, there is a reason after all for it's popularity, on a few rivers I've tried the little and often with hemp corn and meat cutting the latter into 4mm cubes and feeding with hemp, at the time I thought both worked until I tried pellet afterwards in the same spot. The results were remarkable, only on pellet rivers though, they need to know it to love it and fast rivers aslo seem best
Feeding too much pellet at one time will lead to them stirring up the bottom like carp do on pellets on commies, even on clean gravel barbel will twist and turn over each other and get right in there when in a frenzy, turnig stones, moving small rocks even, this will lead to liners and they seem to dislike hitting heavy line more than anything else, I see this when dad is on the lead. It takes a surprisingly long time for a barbel to hook it'self when there is a lot of bait down even when it's feeding well, things get messy when you add more barbel to the equation. The little and often approach sees them taking up in the water when its warm but they also really work the bottom dropping to the tail working up through the swim and before repeating time and time again. In shallow water you can see the eagerness and the barbules doing their thing feeling for the pellets and the fish sucking up them up. You can't overfeed them this way, no chance even half a dozen will feed all day if bait is going in steadily. When floatfishing on deeper rivers where you cant see them you can tell if they are on the bottom feeding well or taking midwater by the bites. Also if you bump any when they are on the bottom, many a time when after roach I've known the barbel are down there feeding, and stopping to take a break has seen them either take all the feed or move upstream as the anglers in the swims above have suddenly started catching as the shoal has moved up looking for food. I've let lead guys drop in my swim after been feeding pellet all day and they've had the best evening of their lives, this has happened too many times on The Severn and I really must take a 2nd rod and alternate a static bait one day. If lead anglers could find a way of dropping feed on a regular basis in a compact area they would smash it almost every time. It has to be compact though as if the feed is spread like in a catapult over distance it doesn't have the same effect, on larger rivers it works best when wading out for that reason as the feed can be compact, the fish don't care about you wading and often end up under the rod tip feeding which is magical. The fish will usually be in the bite 'zone' but you can catch them anywhere when they are working the swim yet if the feed is spread too much they don't seem to compete as much and feed less vigorously. Smaller pellets work best as feed and I wouldn't go larger than a 6mm hookbait maybe 8mm at a push, I find on pressured waters they are understandibly wary of donkey chokers after the first few weeks have passed, maybe they slipped up in the barbel anglers equivalent of duffers fortnight and don't see a huge pellet as natural, not that smaller ones are but when (if you are a fish) you are rooting around in gravel it would feel natural.
Nothing wrong with pellets or the quantities it's more a case of how they are fed and when. As a summer bait it is a revelation, a groundbreaker, more effective than hemp, who would have thought that could happen when hemp was the hypnotical wonder bait, it still is of course but we're living in a time when a bait has come along blown the doors off. There must be a reason why there are several aisles of it in each tackle shop across the land after all, It works like a dream.
Feeding too much pellet at one time will lead to them stirring up the bottom like carp do on pellets on commies, even on clean gravel barbel will twist and turn over each other and get right in there when in a frenzy, turnig stones, moving small rocks even, this will lead to liners and they seem to dislike hitting heavy line more than anything else, I see this when dad is on the lead. It takes a surprisingly long time for a barbel to hook it'self when there is a lot of bait down even when it's feeding well, things get messy when you add more barbel to the equation. The little and often approach sees them taking up in the water when its warm but they also really work the bottom dropping to the tail working up through the swim and before repeating time and time again. In shallow water you can see the eagerness and the barbules doing their thing feeling for the pellets and the fish sucking up them up. You can't overfeed them this way, no chance even half a dozen will feed all day if bait is going in steadily. When floatfishing on deeper rivers where you cant see them you can tell if they are on the bottom feeding well or taking midwater by the bites. Also if you bump any when they are on the bottom, many a time when after roach I've known the barbel are down there feeding, and stopping to take a break has seen them either take all the feed or move upstream as the anglers in the swims above have suddenly started catching as the shoal has moved up looking for food. I've let lead guys drop in my swim after been feeding pellet all day and they've had the best evening of their lives, this has happened too many times on The Severn and I really must take a 2nd rod and alternate a static bait one day. If lead anglers could find a way of dropping feed on a regular basis in a compact area they would smash it almost every time. It has to be compact though as if the feed is spread like in a catapult over distance it doesn't have the same effect, on larger rivers it works best when wading out for that reason as the feed can be compact, the fish don't care about you wading and often end up under the rod tip feeding which is magical. The fish will usually be in the bite 'zone' but you can catch them anywhere when they are working the swim yet if the feed is spread too much they don't seem to compete as much and feed less vigorously. Smaller pellets work best as feed and I wouldn't go larger than a 6mm hookbait maybe 8mm at a push, I find on pressured waters they are understandibly wary of donkey chokers after the first few weeks have passed, maybe they slipped up in the barbel anglers equivalent of duffers fortnight and don't see a huge pellet as natural, not that smaller ones are but when (if you are a fish) you are rooting around in gravel it would feel natural.
Nothing wrong with pellets or the quantities it's more a case of how they are fed and when. As a summer bait it is a revelation, a groundbreaker, more effective than hemp, who would have thought that could happen when hemp was the hypnotical wonder bait, it still is of course but we're living in a time when a bait has come along blown the doors off. There must be a reason why there are several aisles of it in each tackle shop across the land after all, It works like a dream.
