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frustrating big barbel

Craig Wood

Craig Wood

Senior Member
Hi everyone
Im hoping for some ideas for catching a very big barbel ive seen..First let me say ive tried all the normal big barbel tactics such as matching bottom with rig materials,smaller hooks,back leading etc..This fish feeds with gutso everything i throw in except that is my hookbait!!..several other anglers who have fished the river for alot longer than me have also tried and have the same thing happen..Ive watched this barbel and his mate feed directly over my hookbait without a single twitch on the rod!!!..The bottom is gravel with some small stones which im beginning to think may be the problem due to line not sitting properly even with back lead on and ive also tried a small length of leadcore...Any other ideas will be gratefully recieved before i completely lose my sanity!!!:eek:
 
To counteract the effect of the stones, perhaps a small blob of putty an inch or two from the hook. Good luck with it though, whatever method you use.....
 
hi richard
thanks for reply but alas ive been doing that mate..i just cant figure out what to do next..when i put my rig in the water i cant make out anything obvious..quite a few very good barbel fisherman have tried for this particular very very big barbel and no one has ever caught him...:cool:
 
I'd try hemp. You can make some crafty hair rigs that use multiple grains of real or fake hemp, or use that Kryston Bogey stuff to do something clever with seed baits. The fish may find it much harder to distinguish between the freebies and the hookbait.
 
Possibly the hookbait is not behaving like the freebies. There are a few possibilities like counterbalancing the hook weight, direct hooking and fishing in an upstream direction. A last resort could also to be twitch and move the bait.
If possible you could trot a float through, imparting movement to the bait.
Also try using the minimum of weight to hold and then fish a slack line. Try minimising any 'ironmongery'.
There's a few more possibles..........

Don't blame me if these don't work......

Cheers
Bob
 
Been in this situation a few times with cute wily carp and nearly everytime the answer to catching them has been natural baits which they couldn't seem to resist. Try worms, slugs, minnows etc
 
Also picking up on David's post - try the rig as suggested but with a small blackened cork ball and maybe a grain or two of hemp on the hook as well as the mono hair rig.
 
Yep, naturals are a good idea, lobs over feed or no feed have worked for me several times.
 
Read the title of the thread and thought you were frustrating the barbel and not the barbel frustrating you! :)

Trevor
 
Graig, in a situation like this, it may not be your rig that is the issue, it may be your timing. In my experience barbel are often quick to home in on our offerings but do not always settle in the swim long enough to pick up the hookbait before getting cagey. You do not say anything about your baiting approach, or if this fish feeds on your baits for long periods or if it usually leaves the swim for ages.

If the later is the case, I'd say that regular pre-baiting with a high quality boilie would probably be the solution, without actually fishing for her until she is taking every bait you offer her, time after time. You'll know when this is happening when after you have thrown in a few crumbs and broken boilies, the fish keeps fussing over the area long after it has cleaned it all up. At this point you should be in control or the situation, not the fish.

Once this is occurring this is the time start thinking about introducing a baited rig into the situation. Firstly though I'd start the session by throwing in a few whole and broken baits to get her feeding, then whenever she drops out of the baited area I'd drop in a few more and let her come back and mop them up too. Now after repeating this process several times you should eventually have her feeding with abandon, with her greed having overcome her cation. At this point she should be as good as in the net, so I'd wait until she drops out of the bated area again before dropping in your baited rig. If this doesn't work first time, don't pressure her relentlessly. Just top up the bait and leave. Sooner or later I'm sure she will fall for it.

As for baits, if you're want ready-mades I'd say the DT frozen range take some beating, as in my experience they outfish the best of the rest. And no, I'm not sponsored by them.
 
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Hi Craig, sounds very frustrating to me! I would probably go for the natural bait approach with a lobworm being number one, bit of a stupid question but are you using the same size bait to feed and on the hook? i have had success using 4mm feed and superglueing 2x 4mm pellets onto the hair, a bit fiddly but it did the trick,also a finer hair can make a difference as it allows the bait to waft up a bit more naturally,say 1lb mono hair about half to one inch long, hope this helps and good luck!
 
Craig, i wouldn't add any more to chris' post, his advice is spot on.

I think added to your problems, will be the likleyhood of others trying to catch it too, and there's nothing you can do about that.

I will just add though when you do eventualy fish for her, pin you line down if possible for several feet, the presence of a line in mid water is one of the biggest spook factors for big cute barbel, and will alert them to something being wrong with the baited area, and as bob says fish a slack line, and a lighter lead as you can get away with as well, so that if she even just mouths the bait, she will feel the minimum of resistance, and have the confidence to take the bait fully in.

Don't put a line in until after dark, put it in not cast if you can, this is when her confidence will be highest, and she just wont be able to see lines on the bottom, which i dont believe anyway are anywhere near the spook factor of mid water lines.


Good luck mate
Ian.
 
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Try coating your hook in dried silt/sand taken from your river.

Add a dab of super glue to the hook and dust in the dry silt/sand. Keep doing this until you have coated the whole of hook except the point.

I've had a similar situation on a small river I fish and this made the difference.


Steve
 
I certainly agree with Ian about pinning down the line. And if the bottom is uneven I have occasionally used a string of two or three small back leads to run it pin it down along the bottom contours.
 
totally agree with all the above....
And something else you could try is to put a bait outside your feeding area and seeing if she will pick that up more confidently,i suppose like trying to get a starters before dinner situation,if that makes sense

mark
 
Great thread this, and its good to see such open ness from BFW members. Cant wait to see your result Craig.

Good luck
 
Some great advice here, the only thing I would add is to hide the hook inside a fold of paste the same as you bait.........if you have not critically balanced it, that is...
 
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