RIVER FISHING TIPS | HOW TO BAIT FOR BARBEL – DAI GRIBBLE

A bait dropper is a quick and accurate way to feed a barbel swim

by Angling Times |
Published on

I prefer a bait dropper over making lots of casts with a feeder because it’s accurate and often much quicker too.

I bait up with different-sized pellets and a few crushed boilies. The pellets keep the fish in the swim for long spells while the crushed boilies give them a taste of my hookbait.

Use a real mix of pellets to keep the fish in the swim for longer
Use a real mix of pellets to keep the fish in the swim for longer

Crushing the boilies releases lots of flavour. I’ll introduce around a pint of mixed barbel pellets and 30 crushed boilies, the exact amount depending on several factors…

The size of the river - The bigger the river I’m fishing, the more bait I will use.

you can catch barbel from nearly any river with some effort
Large well stocked rivers like the Wye, Trent and Severn require heavier feeding

Stock of barbel and other species - if I know there are a lot of barbel, chub, or even silverfish such as roach I will up the amount of feed I put in at the start.

If there are lots of fish they will need more feed
If there are lots of fish they will need more feed

Temperature - As temperatures drop towards autumn, I will scale back on the amount of bait being fed.

Scale back the feed as temperatures drop
Scale back the feed as temperatures drop

How long I am fishing for - The longer my session, the more feed I will introduce.

If you are fishing a long session, try a bait and wait approach
If you are fishing a long session, try a bait and wait approach
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